The best of the West
At W.B. Cody's, comfort is on the menu

By GAIL CIAMPA
Journal Food Editor

• See the menu.

WESTERLY -- Ribs and cowboys and a bear, oh my.

W.B. Cody's Restaurant offers a taste of the Wild West, and some of its flavors, too. Once past the covered wagon on the lawn and through the front door, you'd barely know you were in a strip mall along Route 1 in Westerly.

An enormous Alaskan brown bear greets guests upon entering. Owner Marty Fox bought it from a taxidermist when Cody's opened 13 years ago. While the bear's fur has bleached out some from the sun that flows into the restaurant, the animal, with his menancing claws, never fails to elicit a response. It can range from a natural fear from the small fry to bemused chuckles from the teenagers I brought along on my visit.

The restaurant has three dining rooms -- a dark, lodge-like interior room with buffalo heads mounted on the wall, and two glassy solariums. There's also a "saloon" for sitting at the bar.

We sat in the sun-filled front solarium, warm and inviting on a cool New England spring day. The rounded space at the end of the room held a big round table, comfortable enough for our party of five. Nearby, we studied the wallpaper, an Old West scene with cowboys rustling around on their horses. The old-fashioned wallpaper brings one back to childhood. (It made me recall a similarly patterned wall in a friend's Maine beach house.) Those nostalgic feelings can only enhance the dining experience, even if you didn't know you felt anything for the Old West.

Smokers make the difference

The menu, too, is comforting, with lots of favorites. We started with pink lemonade for the kids. What brings you back to your childhood kitchen like pink lemonade? For the grownups, we started with draft beers, the local Newport Storm and the imported Smithwick's.

For starters, we opted for Tumbleweeds, boneless Buffalo tenders and Buffalo-style chicken wings.

Tumbleweeds are Cody's name for super-thin onion rings in a crispy batter that disappear from the table quicker than a withered plant rolls across the desert. The chicken tenders, too, made a popular choice. The plump pieces of chicken in batter had just the right amount of spicy bite. We ordered these naked (without hot sauce), and that was a good decision with kids at the table.

After the onion rings and chicken tenders, the kids were done, save for an order of fries, and more pink lemonade and milk.

But I was just getting started with an order of Buffalo-style chicken wings. They were meaty and tasty, benefiting from a turn in the smoker. They were plenty hot in their buttery Tabasco-plus coating, which made me finish my beer pronto.

As for that smoker, in an interview after the visit, Fox said he has two smokers in which ribs, brisket and other meats are cooked each day. When we first entered the restaurant, I thought the scent of smoked food wafted in the air, but it didn't quite reach the solarium seats, so I forgot about it until he mentioned it. Slowly cooking meat in a smoker is what makes barbecue great. It infuses the meat not only with a smoked scent but with all the spices that have been rubbed on beforehand.

Saucy ribs

The pork-loin ribs at Cody's were loaded with moist, tender meat, making a half-rack the perfect portion size after filling up on appetizers.

Served over a cole slaw that was there more for the texture than the taste, the ribs were slathered in the house barbecue sauce with a tomato-based finish. This was my bone of contention. They didn't need quite that much sauce. The meat would have spoken for itself, especially since it was smoked and some of that flavor was covered by the sauce.

If they are a little liberal with the sauce at Cody's, it may be because Fox is mighty proud of it. He said the recipe originated 16 or 17 years ago when he and his partners opened their first restaurant, an Arthur Treacher's in Connecticut.

It was his blend that they took to the corporate kitchen operated by Ken's Steakhouse, of salad dressing fame, too. There, his recipe was replicated and pasteurized to make it suitable for daily restaurant use. They also sell bottles at the restaurant for home barbecuing.

If ribs and appetizers don't float your boat, the menu is so large and there are many other food ways to go.

There are lots of salads, from spinach to Caesar to grilled chicken to a chef's salad, called the Annie Oakley, which includes everything up to those Tumbleweeds as a topping. Big eaters will find steaks and surf-and-turf combo plates. Sandwich lovers can find a Philly Cheesesteak Sandwich offered along with burgers and fish filet sandwiches.

Finally, there are Mexican offerings in starters and salads, sides such as refried beans, and entrees including chimichangas, enchiladas and tampiquenas. For my dinner, I went south.

Filling fajitas

The chicken fajitas were as I hoped they would be, a dinner I got to put together myself.

On one sizzling plate, there was the chicken, a huge portion of thinly sliced and tender marinated pieces, and plenty of sauteed onions and peppers. On the second plate were white and orange shredded cheese, lettuce, tomatoes and sour cream.

I wrapped several delicious rolls with the warm tortillas that accompany the dish. But it needed one more thing -- hard to believe, I know -- some rice. So our fast and efficient server brought me a side dish as soon as I asked.

The thing about making your own fajitas is that you don't want to stop. This left me no room for dessert. Though the housemade brownie sundae sounded delectable, beer, Tumbleweeds and tortillas full of chicken and peppers left me bursting. One of my teens ordered the cheesecake and, trying a forkful, I found it to be a nice, cool, creamy finish to a spicy dinner.

On the way out, walking past that bear again, the kids deemed Cody's a fun place to eat and said they wanted to come back. I agreed, finding the restaurant welcoming, sweetly consistent in its Old West motif, and offering a menu with something for everyone.

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Details

W.B. Cody's, 265 Post Rd. (Route 1) Westerly, www.wbcodys.com, (401) 322-4070. Casual. Call-ahead seating available, no reservations. Wheelchair accessible. High chairs available. As of this week, open summer houurs: Monday-Thursday 11:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., Friday 11:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., Saturday noon to 10:30 p.m. and Sunday noon to 9:30 p.m. MC, V, AE. Appetizers cost $4.25 to $7.95; entrees cost $9.95 to $23.95; desserts $3.50 to $4; kid's menu $2.99 to $5.95. Ten wines by the glass $4 to $7.50, same by the bottle $17 to $22. Eleven lines for draft beers $2.50 to $4.

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If you like Smokey Bones, Texas Roadhouse or TGI Fridays, you'll like W.B. Cody's.

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Bill of fare

The bill for two at W.B. Cody's might look something like this:

Pink lemonade ... $1.85

Newport Storm ... $3.75

Buffalo style chicken wings ... $6.50

Tumbleweeds ..... $4.25

Fajitas ............$9.95

Half rack pork loin ribs ....$11.95

Cheesecake ........$3.95

Tax .....$3.38

Tip .....$8.50

Total ...$54.08

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W.B. Cody's