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Friday, Jul. 17, 2009

For good bar grub, give Shooters a shot

Shooters Grill claims to have the best burger in Gray.

I’m no expert on Jones County fare, but I think they’ve got a shot at it. Their burgers are simple but good.

In fact, that goes for most of the whole menu: simple, standard, fine bar food. Fries generally cost extra and come on the side. The lunchtime specials sound good.

Shooters is a shopping center storefront serving lunch, dinner and drinks. There’s a pool table and a jukebox in the back, separated from the dining area by about a 3-foot-tall wall. They’ve got three smallish television sets, a bar, a bunch of cool Allman Brothers Band artwork on the wall and college football emblems in evidence.

Several teams, including Georgia, are represented, though Florida dominates. I tried not to vomit up my food and close the whole place down.

They have karaoke Wednesday nights, along with a $10 special that gets you 15 wings and a pitcher. This is also known as a double-edged sword.

Smoking is only allowed outside, but I’d say Shooters is just slightly more bar than restaurant once the sun starts to set.

I saw a group of adults there one night enjoying a few beverages while their kids sat at a separate table or horsed around in the pool table area.

One of those kids asked me if I was the mayor of Gray. In his defense, I was wearing a collared shirt.

As for the food, it’s your basic bar stuff; burgers, hotdogs, chicken tenders, a variety of sandwiches and the expected fried appetizers. They’ve got a grilled chicken sandwich and a few salads on the menu for you health nuts.

You can also get fried pork skins by the basket.

I had a bacon cheeseburger, and it was a darn good burger. I had an Italian sausage sub that seemed like nothing special, but I ate the whole thing, so it must have been pretty good.

My salad was made with a nice, deep-green lettuce instead of your run-of-the-mill iceberg. Tell them if you don’t want bacon on it, because that’s how it comes.

The wings were very good, as wings usually are. I particularly liked the lemon-pepper-flavored ones, which were very crispy and had a lot of zing.

The fries are good: curly, with some sort of seasoned salt. They’re $2.50 an order, which isn’t too bad, since a burger will only run you about $5.

They also have a set of rotating specials that come with fries and will save you a couple of bucks.

Monday’s swiss-kraut burger lunch special sounds intriguing. Thursdays they advertise “home cooking” at lunch, and Friday they’ve got fried, grilled or blackened fish served with cheese grits.

If you’re in the area, it’s definitely worth a try.

Shooters Grill

Two and a half stars

Address: 300 W. Clinton St. Suite D, Gray

Phone: (478) 986-7894

Hours: 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday, Tuesday and Thursday; 11 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Wednesday; 11 a.m.- 12 a.m. Friday (kitchen closes at 10 p.m.), 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Saturday

Price range: Burgers and sandwiches from $4.50 to $5.95, fries not included

Payment: Cash, checks and major credit cards

Smoking: No

Alcohol: Beer, wine and liquor

Kids Menu: Yes

Noise Level: High

Health Rating: 97