Digging for Gold: Boomtown Biscuits & Whiskey

One of my earliest jobs over summer break was as the sole biscuit maker at a local Hardee's. Ravaged with insomnia and feeling not unlike a vampire from the disjointed work schedule, I would commute across my hometown at 3 a.m. to the city's seedier South side, where I'd anxiously knock on a locked side door and pray the manager would graciously let me in before I got mugged.

But for all the 3-11 a.m. shift's hardships, there was something about the job I found strangely satisfying, if only in retrospect. I loved my workstation, with it's smooth wood surface flecked with flour. I fondly remember the sound of the kitchen scraper as I slid it at an angle against the dough. I smile when I recall how quickly I could take that round cutter and jam out a tray of biscuits, queuing up a dozen trays in a chilled pan rack in preparation for the long, chaotically busy morning where, despite all my efforts, I always seemed to be just on the edge of "falling in the weeds."

Biscuit making gave me a sense of pride. It was the type of job that produced clear, tangible results: you could see the product you created, watch it be consumed and appreciated, and know that those biscuits rose properly in the oven and got a golden-brown top and fluffy center because you didn't over-mix and kept your buttermilk and flour ratios on point.

Boomtown Biscuits & Whiskey, a newish restaurant in the tiny, resurgent Pendleton neighborhood downtown, evoked many a Hardee's memory from my college days. What better way, I thought, to exemplify the labor and care going on behind the scenes of this eatery than to make the centerpiece a well-executed, flaky biscuit?

Biscuit and honey

The restaurant is the brainchild of owner PJ Neumann and Chef Christian Gill, who has appeared and competed on two Food Network shows, "Guy's Big Project" and "Guy's Grocery Games." Gill's menu spotlights both his and Neumann's childhoods spent around their families' active kitchens filled with satisfying, wholesome comfort food.

Armed with the motto, "In every neighborhood, there is a bowl of gold to be discovered," Gill and Neumann conceived of Boomtown Biscuits and its old-timey, Gold Rush prospector theme. After all, it is said that at no other time in U.S. history were biscuits more common and vital to an American diet.

Dishes are served on metal tins or miniature cast-iron skillets, as though the hungry diner had just stumbled upon an awaiting chuckwagon from the dusty plains of the Old West. A full bar featuring an array of whiskeys beckons diners to "stake your claim," as a central LED screen silently plays a loop of old Westerns.

Boomtown's menu features a rotating list of seasonal options split among its sharable plates, biscuit sandwiches and sides. Right now, they offer a "winter onion poutine," with ancho chili potatoes, onion gravy, cheese curds and chives with the obligatorily optional short rib and egg toppings. There's a biscuit and gravy "flight" called "Gold Shoes," which includes two biscuits and a choice among Boomtown's four types of gravy, which currently include the seasonal winter onion ash; the classically creamy, sausagey sawmill gravy; a peppercorn variant; and the rotating "prospector gravy."

I stopped by a couple times to enjoy a biscuit sandwich and one of their vegetarian options. It's important to note that while Boomtown's lard-infused biscuits are not at all vegan or vegetarian-friendly, the restaurant doesn't dismiss its plant-loving friends. In fact, one of the vegetarian options was so surprisingly good that I list it among my favorite, most satisfying dishes of the year.

Lampang biscuit sandwich

On my first visit, I tried the Thai-based "Lampang" sandwich ($10), a seasoned fried chicken breast on a buttermilk biscuit with a garlic chili paste, resting in a pool of electric-yellow coconut curry and served with a side of pickled red cabbage. The batter was light and crispy and paired nicely with the warm, buttery richness of the biscuit. I expected the bottom of the biscuit to be soggy from the curry sauce, but it managed to maintain its form. Still, this was intended as a fork-and-knife sandwich. Alas, as of this writing, the Lampang is no longer on the menu.

On my second visit, I chose a single biscuit with a side of honey ($2), along with the vegetarian "Oregon Trail" ($10) after marveling at the sight of it when it arrived at a neighboring table. Served in a cast iron skillet, the dish features a sizzling bounty of sliced sweet potatoes, roasted brussels sprouts, crispy kale, shredded carrots, scallions, poblano peppers and a wonderful "bulgolgi glaze" sauce that makes the dish the stellar plate that it is. The umami bomb of the soy sauce-based bulgolgi glaze perfectly marries and enhances the flavors of all the caramelized vegetables once everything is mixed together.

Oregon Trail plate

My biscuit was just what I'd expect from a restaurant specializing in the underrated American foodstuff. It is not as large as some of the Instagram photos would have you believe --on the contrary, it's more standard, roughly three inches in diameter. Boomtown's biscuits are quite flaky and multi-layered with a buttery, fluffy center. Paired with just a touch of honey, it evoked all the most pleasant childhood biscuit memories.

Whether you're a biscuit aficionado, a mere biscuit enthusiast, or a vegetarian yearning for the day when a good lardless biscuit will arrive but until then will settle for a skillet full of veggies hearty enough to make your fellow diners jealous, Boomtown Biscuits delivers.