BUCKET LIST UPDATE - No. 470: Eat a BLT Supreme at Radley’s Fountain Grille in Monroeville

I scratched another item off my bucket list on Friday afternoon when I ate a BLT Supreme at Radley’s Fountain Grille in Monroeville. To say that it was one of most awesome things I’ve ever eaten would not be an understatement.

I know there will be a few of you in the reading audience who will find it hard to believe that it’s taken me this long to eat one of Radley’s famous BLT Supremes. While it’s true that I lived in Monroeville for a number of years and have eaten at Radley’s more times than I can count, I’d just never ordered the restaurant’s signature dish. Now that I’ve finally had one of their BLT Supremes, I’m kicking myself for waiting so long, and I’ll probably order it from now on when I’m in Radley’s.

I put this item on my bucket list a while back when I saw that the state tourism department had placed Radley’s BLT Supreme on its “100 Dishes to Eat in Alabama Before You Die” list. My desire to scratch this one off my list really ramped up a few weeks ago when The Monroe Journal newspaper ran a front-page story about how the dish had been featured in a recently released book called “Alabama Food: Classic Dishes, Restaurants and Chefs.”

For those of you who haven’t tried it, Radley’s BLT Supreme is a sandwich that’s served on a large, fresh croissant and includes plenty of bacon, fresh green lettuce and fried green tomatoes. The sandwich also comes with a delicious side sauce (that I didn’t catch the name of) which I lathered on liberally with a butter knife before devouring the entire thing. The sandwich also came with an abundant side order of crispy fries, and I washed it all down with several glasses of sweet tea.

The meal left me feeling very satisfied and didn’t leave me walking away hungry. My wife and young son were with me on Friday too, and it cost less than $25 for us to enjoy an outstanding lunch at one of the most atmospheric restaurants in Alabama. And, as always, the restaurant was nice and clean, and the staff could not have been more friendly.

Managed by Sam, Nancy and Hank Therrell, Radley’s Fountain Grille opened in August 2002, taking the place of the former Radley’s Deli, which opened in the same location in 1984. Taking its name from the character Boo Radley in Harper Lee’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel “To Kill a Mockingbird,” Radley’s Fountain Grille is considered “Monroe County’s premiere dining establishment.”

If you’d like to visit Radley’s Fountain Grille for yourself, it’s located at 1559 South Alabama Ave. in Monroeville, next door to the Pizza Hut and between the McDonald’s and Captain D’s restaurants. Radley’s is open Monday through Saturday, starting at 11 a.m. each day, but they’re closed on Sundays. To reach them by phone, call 251-743-2345.

In the end, I enjoyed scratching another item off my bucket list. How many of you enjoy eating at Radley’s? What’s your favorite item on their menu? Have you ever tried their BLT Supreme? What did you think about it? Let us know in the comments section below.