KENNY'S AND PAUL'S KNOW GOOD FOOD

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, March 12, 1993                   TAG: 9303120501
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: 1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: LELIA ALBRECHT SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Long
KENNY'S AND PAUL'S KNOW GOOD FOOD
The Roanoke History Museum ought to eat up this idea: a tiny time capsule of Roanoke history in two edible lessons. One would include fare from Paul's Restaurant downtown, which opened in 1948), the other would be the brand-new Kenny Rogers Roasters in Towers Shopping Center.
A diner might be hard pressed to think of two places more diverse.
Both restaurants, as different as they are from each other, have the same kind of good smells and down-home feeling (despite Roasters' garish neon). Nosh at either one of these places, and there's no way you can feel you're adding to the national debt - ours or anybody else's. The most expensive item on Paul's menu is $3.09. At Kenny Rogers Roasters, it's $6.99, or $18.99 for two fat, golden brown roasters with three large side dishes.
Kenny's roasters end up, in one form or the other, in just about everything in the place. One whole roaster feeds a family, they'll tell you.
Roasters could also appear in a roasted chicken salad ($3.95), which is superb, stuffed with lots of greenery and tomato wedges, shredded cheddar, red onions and black olives. Or it could well be the makings of a very tasty, down-homey Roasters Soup of the Day (half-pint $1.49; pint, $2.49), good to take home for a family supper.
Or the roaster could be a part of just about the widest pita I've ever seen (served warm, $3.49). When a friend ordered one, it included sliced roaster meat, shredded cheese, cucumbers, tomatoes, onions and "Kenny's Secret Sauce," unidentifiable and marvelous.
One night, I ordered "two sides," the chicken leg and thigh ($3.99) and the quarter-chicken breast and wing ($4.49), which totaled $8.48 and entitled me to two side dishes and included "Kenny's Famous Muffins" (brown, grainy, and marvelous).
So I gorged on all that, with delicious, peppy cole slaw as well as another accompaniment of mixed fresh vegetables, perfectly steamed to a crisp al dente. Needless to say, I took home enough Kenny's for another meal.

Another lunchtime, Paul's menu included a "Pita's Corner." Paul's six pitas ($2.44 each) boast soft crusty hand- made Greek pita bread with a choice of fillings of ham, roast beef, turkey, tuna salad, steak or hamburger.
One of the specials clipped to the regular menu included scallops, my most favorite seafood. Not believing my eyes, I remarked that they couldn't possibly be fresh, prompting a nice waitress to rush off for the large, labeled bucket of obviously fresh ones. I asked if mine could possibly escape breading, and back they came, unbelievably perfectly sauteed. With the vegetables and fresh, green salad I'd requested, I paid only $4.
Studying Paul's three-folds menu of nearly everything under the sun, I found no chicken. Why that is, I never managed to find anybody who could shake free at lunchtime long enough to explain.
Despite the clatter and hustle of Paul's at lunchtime, the staff is never too busy to try to listen to special requests. One day, my mouth watered for both a simple tossed salad (which I never found on the menu) and for cole slaw, which was on the menu (92 cents). I asked, and the waitress rushed back to the kitchen and came back with just what I'd ordered, each for the same price.
Paul's sandwiches are triple deckers, absolutely huge and each $2.99. All the ones listed included lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise, and french fries.
Obviously, desserts are the least of Paul's or Kenny Rogers' worries. Paul's dispenses with them in a one-liner, "Ask for the pie or cake for the day (92 cents)." Kenny Rogers takes care of his in a terse "Kenny's Cobbler, apple or cherry" (99 cents). So much for the sweets in their books.
Both down-homey, comfortable places are easy on the dress code and easy to drop in on. I'd advise you to do so.

Dining Out's evaluations of restaurant accessibility to the handicapped are conducted by the Blue Ridge Independent Living Center, a nonprofit organization.

Lelia Albrecht of Roanoke has written for The New York Times, The Washington Post and numerous magazines.
\ Paul's Restaurant\ 13 Franklin Road S.W. Roanoke 982-9583\ \ Price range: 92 cents-$3.09\ \ Beverages: Soft drinks, beer, tea, coffee\ \ Credit cards: None accepted, checks are\ \ No smoking section: As requested\ \ Reservations: No\ \ Hours: 6 a.m.-7 p.m. weekdays; 6 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday\ \ Handicap accessible: No.\ \ Kenny Rogers Roasters\ 2229 Colonial Ave., (Upper level, Towers Mall) 981-1010\ Price range: $1.10-9.99\ Beverages: Soft drinks, tea, or coffee\ Credit cards: No credit cards, checks\ No smoking section: As requested\ Hours: Open 11 a.m.; close 9:30 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 10 p.m. Saturday, 8 p.m. Sunday.\ \ Handicap accessible: YES

by Archana Subramaniam by CNB