Alley Food: South Plains Lanes

On Saturday, Aria and I went to South Plains Lanes to cheer on Mr. Alexander at a bowling tournament he was invited to participate in. South Plains Lanes is one of three of our local bowling alleys. Honestly, up until this weekend, I hadn’t been there in years. Vince usually bowls at Whitewood Lanes, and only goes to South Plains Lanes for tournaments.

We showed up way early because we all hadn’t had lunch yet and we were starving! When we walked up to the snack bar, there was this sign advertising a foot-long chili cheese coney with onions. Totally one of my favorite meals in the world, and the picture made it look so good! My first thought, “Mmmm, a coney, fries and a beer! It’s going down!” Vince got his own order of fries and a lemonade. Aria wanted one of her all-time favorites, a grilled cheese sandwich. When I told the cashier my coney order, she asked, “You mean, ‘The Jim-bo?’” I was like, “Yeah, whatever’s on this picture.”

We found a spot to sit at while we waited for our food. I went over to the bar window for my Dos X. Let me point out that having a bar window at a bowling alley is freakin’ brilliant! You don’t have to go into the smoky bar to get your drink. Just go up to the window and a super friendly bar tender gets you taken care of, so you can keep an eye on your kiddo and your stuff.

Anyways, our food was prepared quickly and Vince picked it up for us. As he approached our table, I saw that coney get bigger, and bigger. As he placed my plate in front of me, I realized I had no idea what I had gotten myself into. That was the biggest coney I’d ever seen! The dog part was not your average hot dog weenie, it was a whole freakin’ sausage! The whole thing looked delicious, but it was huge.

A lady passed by and asked me, “Now sweetheart, are you really going to do all that all by yourself?” I was like, “What have I done?” She laughed at me, “Oh, the Jim-bo.” Apparently, this coney is well known.

Vince’s bowling partner came over and noticed my entree. He said, “Ah, you got the Jim-bo! How’s that working out for you?” I go, “I don’t know. I’m currently regretting all my life choices.” He said, “Yeah, they have a burger version of the Jim-bo too. Anytime I get either of those I come in really early so I have time to eat it before I bowl.” At this point I was glad we showed up early too because eating this dog was going to take a while.

I cut off a piece of coney and bit in. Oh. Em. Gee. It was delicious! Seriously, so good! I never would’ve imagined substituting a sausage for a hot dog, but it worked so perfectly. It was covered in chili that looked amazing and was the perfect level of saucy without being watery. There was a good helping of shredded cheese. I would’ve liked more onions, but I’m an onion lover, so I can never have enough of those. I love a good coney, and the Jim-bo is legit!

Aria loved her grilled cheese sandwich. She said it was cooked perfectly. Believe me, there have been places that have messed up her grilled cheese sandwiches.

Vince liked the fries a lot too. He’s all about the crinkly fries. I was not a fan of the fries, but that’s because I prefer shoestring fries. I like the extra crispiness over the extra soft potato filling.

So we spent about $20 dollars on food for all 3 of us. Not bad at all! I thought my beers were a little on the pricey side for being in a bottle, but that sure didn’t stop me.

South Plains Lanes is the more updated of our local bowling alleys. It’s really clean and the staff was wonderful. They also have a small arcade, but we didn’t check it out this time so we could watch Vince do his thang. I look forward to joining Mr. Alexander for another tournament soon at South Plains Lanes. Maybe next time I can try the burger version of the Jim-bo!