The Chimes – From onion rings to blackened alligator

The Chimes is an old friend and a home away from home. It’s been there in good times and bad, sickness and health. I’ve celebrated birthdays, graduations and random Tuesdays within the walls of its famed Highland Road location. It’s helped me get over lost loves and revel in new ones. I even met my spouse there. And I would never have survived graduate school without its happy hour.

The Chimes has been consistent, only tweaking their menu slightly over the years. Long-standing favorites on the appetizer menu include fried or blackened alligator (I’d suggest blackened) and crab fingers fried or sautéed (I recommend sautéed, but order bread to sop up the garlic butter sauce—my heart palpitates thinking of this). What makes these tasty treats especially “exotic” is their rarity on other menus around Baton Rouge. I mean, this is South Louisiana, after all. Yet you’d be hard-pressed to find many other restaurants nearby tossing gator or crab fingers into their mix.

The ethereal onion rings, however, are a different story. Though they are found on menus all around town, no one has mastered the fine art of the OH-rings quite like The Chimes. One of my best friends makes The Chimes his first stop on any trip to Baton Rouge for these rarified treats. He swears he’s never had better rings anywhere. And he don’t lie. The appetizer menu even has the traditional comfort food angle covered with the unique Crawfish and Three Cheese Baked Macaroni. Hot, bubbly and oh so gooey, this may make you want to slap your momma, but I wouldn’t recommend it.

If you’re looking for something more healthful, order the Pasta Grazi. Humongous pieces of broccoli, cauliflower and carrots adorn a heapin’ helpin’ of noodles all tossed in butter and Tony’s. Want it healthier? Hold the butter. Not in the mood for rabbit food? The Chimes Club is right up your alley. A monstrous stack of chicken breast, ham, swiss and bacon dressed with lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise barely held together by bread, it’s enough to make Dagwood jealous. But if you’re going to do it, do it right: get the chicken fried! And what goes more perfectly with this behemoth than a stack of onion rings? Did I mention the onion rings are outstanding?

If neither sandwiches nor pasta is your thing, The Chimes has a surprise up their sleeves with their fantastic BBQ Shrimp. Most other restaurants serve it with rice or (eww!) mashed potatoes. The Chimes takes it South a notch and serves theirs with a crisp yet creamy fried grits cake. Be still my Cajun heart.

Monday to Friday, The Chimes offers two to three daily lunch specials with a side salad and a roll. A true highlight is the Chicken Jacque. A fried boneless chicken breast rests on pasta, all topped with a creamy crawfish sauce. And with brunch served on Saturday and Sunday at both Baton Rouge locations, you could eat here seven days a week and never have the same thing twice.

No discussion of The Chimes is complete without a mention of Round the World. An excellent way to imbibe a ridiculous number of brews and impress your friends in the process, this contest requires participants to drink 60 beers from at least 20 different countries within six months. If you complete the challenge, you will be immortalized with a small plaque on the wall and rewarded with a T-shirt that announces to the world, “I am somebody … who can drink a boatload of beer.”

Besides their steadfast ability to make you feel all warm, fuzzy and full, The Chimes can be counted on to provide tried and true food that has stood the test of time. Few would argue that it’s their steadfast, seldom-changed menu that keeps fans coming back for more year after year.