We went to Bama Bucks over the weekend for a late lunch and a trip through their animal park. If you have never been, Bama Bucks is a restaurant in Sardis City (near Boaz) with an animal preserve on the premises. The menu features regular fare like chicken, steak and sandwiches, but it also has a variety of wild game dishes if you are more adventurous. They don’t take reservations and there is usually a wait. However, for $5, you can walk through the preserve and see a variety of animals, from several species of deer, elk, bear, alligator, buffalo and more. You can even take a camel ride if you are so inclined. (More about the park in a bit.)
We arrived on Sunday about 2:00pm and were told that there would be about a thirty minute wait. Their timing was correct and we were seated right on time. The atmosphere is nice and suitably noisy. The main dining room is a large, open, and spacious A-frame log cabin style. There is an area upstairs that appears to be private dining rooms. We were seated in the side room, off of the main hall but still comfortable and similarly decorated. My only issue with the interior of the restaurant was the lack of bathroom facilities. There is room for well over 100 guests and there is one male, one female and one family restroom. The restrooms had toilet and sink in one room, so even going in to wash hands after visiting the animal park required waiting in line. I will say that the restroom was clean and comfortable when you finally got there!
THE FOOD!
Our server was friendly and she seemed to not be overwhelmed with too many tables, so good on the management! We ordered the stuffed mushrooms. These were delicious. Nicely seasoned and large enough for the four of us to have one and a couple to spare. I ordered the Bison Tenderloin with Bourbon Sauce (“Drunkin Buffalo”) and it was fairly juicy and cooked to a perfect medium rare. I will say that Jesse got the 8 ounce beef filet (“Boone and Crockett”) and I thought it was much more flavorful than the bison. I will probably order the beef filet next time because it was tastier and much less expensive. However I am glad that I tried the bison and if you are curious about wild game, this place seems to get it right.
My son ordered the Barbecue Angus Burger and paid the upcharge for the burger to be bison instead of beef. He said that the burger was very good but that the upcharge was a bit wasted since the pulled pork flavor overpowered the burger anyway. He said he would order the burger again, but with beef. If he were to order a bison burger, he would go with the regular burger and pay the upcharge. My daughter had the Bison Ribeye and thought it was tasty. All of our beef/bison dishes were cooked to temperature and arrived hot.
The sides were typical and tasted fine. There were no stand-out sides from our experience. The server said that people raved about the macaroni and cheese. It was our least favorite side, basic elbows in a cheese sauce- just nothing special. I was a bit surprised that a $44 entree (don’t be scared, that was the most expensive item!) required a $1 upcharge for a house salad but it was clearly marked on the menu. The salad was fresh and the dressing was very good - so worth a dollar if you want a salad!
We didn’t have dessert but the table next to us raved about the Peanut Butter Pie and it did look delicious - so save room!
THE PRESERVE AND GIFT SHOP
The animal preserve was well worth the $5 to walk around while waiting for our table. There are all species of deer, antelope, elk, alligator, bear and even a camel! The animals look clean and well cared for. They have a lot of room to graze and run, with fresh water and food. EXCEPT for the bears. They have two black bears in a concrete run. While they had fresh water and food, the run is very small and the bears had very little room to move around. I am no bear expert but they seemed cramped and bored. Maybe they have another space where they have room to run and are in that location for other reasons since their space seemed so much less generous than all of the other animals. There is also a beautiful gazebo which, I imagine, can be booked for special events. We had plenty of time to wander around and see the animals before being called for dinner. It isn't a huge safari park but is a fun think for adults and kids to check out.
If the animal park is not your thing, there is a large fire pit with rockers in the front of the building for you to enjoy while you wait for your table. You can cross the street and see a large deer preserve without charge as well. You can also stand in the covered porch area at the back of the main dining and watch most of the animals for free. I particularly enjoyed hearing an elk bugle for the first time in my life. I didn't take many photos of the animals and you can definitely get better shots than I did!
There is a gift shop with all sorts of items from local honey, wild game jerky, toys, Tshirts stuffed animals, and the chance to see a live sloth. I was told the money from the gift shop helps to fund the animal park and it was fun to browse around after we ate. The bee exhibit was particularly interesting to me.
Bama Bucks is a unique experience with good food. It is well-worth the drive, which is about an hour out of Birmingham. It is open, this time of year, from Wednesday through Sunday but I would definitely check online as it appears to change based on the season. I also recommend going earlier in the day if you want to see the animals. There is no lighting for viewing them at night - thankfully!
For more info, https://www.bama-bucks.com/
Comments