AMOT: T.J. Rockwell's Outdoor Deck

A Matter of Taste

T.J. Rockwell’s Outdoor Deck
800 Mt. Gretna Rd, Elizabethtown
367-5544

by Sue Barry

It’s summertime’s last hurrah and there is nowhere better to have some outdoor dining fun than on the massive outdoor deck at T.J. Rockwell’s in Elizabethtown. Reservations are not accepted except for large groups, so you will most likely have a wait if you arrive at prime dining time. Just enter the main entrance in the front, pass by the indoor hostess station and the large horseshoe bar to the right. Keep walking straight through the back door and put your name in at the outside hostess station. Time will fly before you know it.

A sign on the outdoor Tiki Bar reads, “Mai tai’s on the island $6.95, keep the glass.” That and the 90-degree weather, lures you to try a frozen drink. Just find a spot around a mounted surfboard or a fabricated beer bottle cap turned cocktail table and check out the outdoor bustle.

Barmaids in Hawaiian shirts tend tons of patrons at two outdoor bars — one easily accessible on the top deck directly next to the large outdoor kitchen, and the other on a lower deck, framed by the natural woods. Horseshoe pits are located off to the side of a tented dining area and small water garden. You can have a seat at the benches lined up along the side of these sandy pits and watch as players toss their horseshoes. There is, also, a small area off the beaten path to the rear of the outdoor kitchen with play equipment for the children.

There is no tacky intercom system for calling your name when your table is ready. When it is ready, they just find you. I don’t know how they find you, they just do. Have a seat at a typical outdoor white resin table, possibly sporting an umbrella advertising Corona or Foster’s beer. Colorful plastic coated tablecloths make clean up a breeze.
The young set comes in droves, attracted to the deck atmosphere and reasonably priced good American tavern food. T.J. Rockwell’s feature appetizer is Rhino Fries ($5.95), a huge platter of home-style French fries piled high and topped with a melted blend of cheese sprinkled with bacon. Go for the fries in the cheese goo that converges in the middle of the plate and then dip them into a side of Ranch dressing.

Rockwell’s Buffalo Wings ($4.95) arrive hot from the frier and with perfect crispy skin. They don’t drip with sauce yet they have a good tang to them. The heat of these wings is manageable but some fire-eating friends could have stood one more notch of heat. A generous supply of the traditional celery and blue cheese is served on the side.

Constant deliveries of Ale House Onion Rings ($4.45) come from the kitchen to diners, resembling the classic stacking rings child’s toy. After a few brews, you can test your hand-eye coordination by removing them one by one from the pole and dipping them into a side of mild horseradish dressing.

Salads complement outdoor dining and I compliment Rockwell’s for their Caesar collection of salads. Flavor-studded Caesar dressing coats crisp, fresh torn romaine lettuce leaves topped with diced tomato, croutons and parmesan cheese. Finish this salad off with Grilled Marinated Chicken Breast ($6.75), ten succulent Gulf Shrimp ($7.25) or a golden brown Chesapeake Crab Cake ($7.25), and you’ll have a dinner salad that will last for days. Phillip’s Crab House (from Baltimore) supplies the choice jumbo lump crabmeat and seafood seasoning for this crab cake, and makes you feel that you are on deck bay-side instead of on a deck roadside.

This same jumbo lump crab cake shows up on a fresh kaiser with a side of tarter sauce for $6.95, and two of them as a dinner entree on a bed of rice for $15.95.

T.J. Rockwell’s heeds the health department warnings and recommends you order your burger cooked to an internal temperature of 155 degrees, or medium-well to well. You can specify otherwise, but considering that the burgers are half pounders, they stay relatively moist inside. There’s a lot going on in the Bourbon Street Burger ($5.45), when cracked peppercorn and cajun spices meet a load of rich blue cheese and fried onion rings on the classic half pound burger. This burger with the works — works! Kettle cooked chips and a pickle spear round out all burgers unless you give up an additional 95 cents and the chips for seasoned home-style fries.

A “Sea Specialty” that I would order again is Riverboat Jambalaya ($11.95). Dried and smoked, spicy andouille sausage is tastefully teamed up with a ton of nice sized gulf shrimp and sauteed peppers and onions in a cajun sauce over a bed of rice pilaf presented on a parsley spangled Fiesta Ware plate.

A few pasta offerings center around broccoli and creamy Alfredo sauce — lobster claw meat and lump crab with broccoli ($14.95), herb grilled chicken and broccoli ($10.95), gulf shrimp with fresh steamed garden vegetables ($12.95), and grilled chicken and andouille sausage with broccoli in a cajun-spiked Alfredo sauce ($11.95).

In a traditional way, Kansas City-style barbeque sauce is lathered on a full rack of ribs that falls over the sides of the plate in the Baby Back Ribs Dinner ($12.95). These slow roasted, grilled, hickory smoked babies, have meat that gently tugs off the bone, and is sweet and savory. Home-style fries and a cup of cinnamon apples round out this dinner. A good deal for sharing is the BBQ Built for Two ($19.95). You will share a full rack of these delectable ribs, barbeque chicken breast, a dozen wings, and fries. Both of you will be satisfied.

Desserts are down home and comforting, taking you back to your childhood. Those same cinnamon apples that you had with your ribs show up for an ending in the Warm Apple Betty, an apple crisp dessert topped with French vanilla ice cream. Remember the last time you had a S’More? If you want this campfire companion again, you can have it at Rockwell’s. Graham crackers coated with melted chocolate, toasted marshmallows added, and then warmed and topped with ice cream will make you feel like a kid again.

There is a real possibility that you may not have room for dessert because the serving sizes are as big as the outdoor deck. So, for 39 cents, you can have the World’s Smallest Sundae — a teeny, weeny sundae with chocolate, strawberry or butterscotch topping, whipped cream and cherry.

This is deck dining fun. You will admit it, too.

T.J. Rockwell’s Outdoor Deck
Entrees – $6.95–$15.95
Average Dining Time
60 minutes

Location
Easy to find

Parking
On-site

Handicapped Access
Yes

Exterior Appearance
Tavern

Initial Interior
Hostess station

Reservations Necessary
Only for large groups

Preferred Dining Attire
Casual

Wait (to be seated)
45 minutes during prime dining time

Wait (for service)
None

Lighting
Subtle

Meal-time Music
N/A

Dining Area Appearance
Outdoor deck is festive/tropical

Noise
Fine

Climate
Weather dependent

Tables
White resin

Chairs
White resin

Booths
N/A

Table setting
N/A

Your meal
Tasty

Automatically served
N/A

Cocktails
Mai tai

Soups
N/A

Salads
N/A

Main Course
Riverboat Jambalaya

Desserts
N/A

Coffees/Teas
N/A

Staff Attitude
Friendly

Staff Appearance
Neat and clean

Hospitality
Welcoming

Cleanliness
Clean

Wash Rooms
Clean

Crowd (Qty)
Packed

Crowd (attitude)
Fun loving

Food (portions)
Extra large

Overall Service
Good

Payment Accepted
All major Credit Cards