Page 14 Thursday, September 11, 2003
Features
The Pendulum
Ham’s family-style food earns positive reviews
Jason Chick
Rcponer
The original Ham’s Restaurant opened
in Greensboro in 1935, offering curb serv
ice, kosher meats and deli take-out food.
Today, that tradition of fun, casual dining
can been found at the Burlington Ham’s
Restaurant, located at 1610 S. Church St.
With only 16 locations, it is hard for this
small chain to compete in the world of
restaurants. However, Ham’s has carved
out its own niche in the restaurant commu
nity and is putting its
own .spin on familiar
dishes.
A new menu offers
some old favorites and
many items featured at
other chains along
Huffman Mill Road.
New appetizers
include Spinach
Artichoke dip, $4.99,
reminiscent of the
kind available at O’Charley’s, Onion
Petals, $3.99, mocking those at Applebee’s
and, of course, Bacon Chee.se Fries, $5.99,
just like those at Long Horn.
A word of advice: Leave those features
for the other restaurants. At Ham’s you’ll
want to try the unique Homemade Potato
Chips, a heaping basket of fre.shly-fried
potato chips .served with Ranch dre.ssing.
So forget the diet today, they’re worth it.
But don’t stop at the appetizers. Ham’s
has soups, salads, burgers, wraps, pasta,
sandwiches and more. There are even
dessert .specialties.
Dig right in to the entrees, such as
Charlie’s Cheeseburger, a generous portion
of beef topped with American cheese, let
tuce, tomato and mayonnaise served on a
Kaiser roll. Or go for the Smokestack, a
pile of smoked turkey breast on a croissant
with lettuce, tomato and mayo and topped
with melted Swiss cheese and bacon.
How about a unique salad? The Mexican
Salad comes with your choice of refried
beans, grilled chicken or seasoned ground
beef with diced Roma tomatoes, green
peppers and shredded cheese on a bed of
fresh greens and tortilla chips. This item is
served with sour cream, salsa and jalapenos
on the side.
The Chaz Ice Cream Brownie, Sis’
Apple Crisp, the new Fried Cheesecake and
Ham’s Original Cheesecake complete the
menu offerings.
At lunch there was no wait to get in.
Parties were seated immediately, though
the waitress seemed distracted. She was
right on target at the beginning of the meal.
but she disappeared as the meal wore on.
After she brought us the bill, we waited
nearly 10 minutes for her to return.
The wait staff isn’t the only thing a bit
off in this place. The restroom floors were
coated in cigarette ashes, a plastic cup full
of beer sat atop one of the urinals and the
entire latch to lock the stall was broken off
and missing. So drink to your heart’s con
tent, but be forewarned: you might have to
hold it till you get home.
If eating isn’t on your agenda. Ham’s
can accommodate you. Many Elon students
frequent their full-serv
ice bar. The bar is a
lively place to be on
Thursday nights, and is
one of the more popu
lar stops on the list for
bar hoppers.
What if your night
out doesn’t happen to
be in Burlington? You
can find Ham’s at three
locations in
Greensboro: On High Point Road,
Battleground Avenue and Friendly Avenue.
There is also a location on Franklin Street
in Chapel Hill for students who travel in the
opposite direction.
Ham’s is open for lunch and dinner. The
chain also operates late-night hours at the
bar. Whether you want a casual meal in a
fun atmosphere, or you and your friends
have a late-night beer in mind. Ham’s can
help you out. Reservations are not
required.
Contact Jason Chick at
pendulum@elon.edu or 278-7247.
Spotlight on Ham’s
Signatures:
Mozzarella Sticks
$3.99
Soup-N-Salad
Vegetable Soup $2.79
Oriental Chicken Salad $5.99
Two Car Burger
Wraps
Caribbean Chicken Wrap
$5,99
Pasta & More
$8.49
Jeff Heyer / Photo Editor
Ham's restaurant, located at 1610 S. Church Street, offers a wide variety of food
selections, including homemade potato chips and cheeseburgers. All items are
sold at fairly inexpensive prices. Regular seating is open for lunch and dinner,
and the bar operates during late-night hours. Nightly entertainment is provided
Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. For more information, call 570-3099.
This is not your
Grandmother's church
• Gone are the boring sermons
• Missing are the blue-haired ladies
• Absent are the pipe organs
• Vacant are the stained-glass
windows, steeples and pews
Wcstsidc Fellowship offers a relaxed, casual atmosphere;
free breakfast; a “come-as-you-are" dress code; relevant, interesting
messoges; rockin' music; and a challenging college ministry.
Join us this Sunday at 10 a.m. at the Elon Elementary School gym
(across from the university tennis courts).
FEllOWJHIP
P.O. Box 455 • Elon, NC 27244
www.westsidefcllowship.org • 336-524-0098
College Pastor David Coker
dave_coker@yahoo.com • 336-226-1333