Raffertys

1939 Scottsville Road

Hours: Sun.-Thurs. 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Fri.-Sat. 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Cuisine: American

Price range for dinner: $8.95 to $18.95

Libation situation: Full bar

Smoking: Yes

The last time we ate at Raffertys, we enjoyed a summer evening on the patio. This time, we ate inside and I was struck by how much smaller Raffertys is than the other casual dining restaurants. If you drive by and the line to be seated winds out the door (during nice weather), dont be discouraged. They have a small lobby area, so the wait might not be as long as you would find at other places. They make up for less floor space by cramming in as many tables as they can. We were seated in an area that was mostly glass with an awning on the outside. Therefore, in this part of the restaurant at least, the acoustics make it impossible not to hear whats being discussed at surrounding tables, but hard to hear whats being said to you. The person who seated us even explained after she told us about the specials of the day that if we couldnt hear her, they were on the menu. But since Raffertys is almost always crowded, apparently most people consider the atmosphere to be high-energy and dont find it disturbing. While drinking ordinary margaritas and glancing at the menu, we decided this was going to be a dessert night, rather than an appetizer night. When my dinner companion remembered their White Chocolate Banana Cream Pie, she agreed. So we went right to the main course. I ordered the Kona chicken and my date ate lightly until dessert having ordered chicken salad and potato soup. She enjoyed the salad thoroughly. Raffertys says it makes all its meals from scratch and its easy to believe when you dig into this salad. Youll find nuts and grapes that make the salad delicious. The potato soup was very good also. Kona chicken is a boneless chicken breast, marinated in pineapple juice and soy sauce. Grilled ham, Monterey jack cheese and a slice of grilled pineapple are placed on top. Im not a big chicken fan at restaurants unless thats the special of the house, but Im a fan of Kona chicken. The meat took on the slight flavor of the pineapple and soy sauce, and the slightly salty ham with cheese was super. I was disappointed in the lack of imagination in the choice of side items: fries, cole slaw, vegetable medley, baked or mashed potatoes and cottage cheese. Pretty ordinary selections. A nice fruit dish would have been great with the Kona chicken, or how about red-skinned potatoes?The best was last of course. The banana cream pie has a Graham cracker crust, white chocolate and is topped with white chocolate shavings. What a great dessert. Highly recommended. However, if you are a chocolate fan, you will have a difficult choice. I had the Kentucky Silk Pie and it was out-of-this-world good. It is a light chocolate mousse on a sweet flaky crust doused with Hersheys chocolate syrup. I found it a little odd that the desserts were garnished with a strawberry and parsley, but learned thats the Raffertys way. Both desserts were generous servings, yet light enough that we had no regrets. The food reviewer continues to eat his/her meals with a critical palate and write uncompromising reviews from the comfort of his/her own desk at the Daily News, all the while hiding his/her identity from the masses. New restaurants are given an eight-week grace period before being subjected to his/her wrath. To get your comments to his/her ears, call managing editor Mike Alexieff at 783-3235, and wordll be passed along.