Number 43, your meal’s ready!

IT might not be a calming influence, but there’s often something relaxing about being in the country.

And while the development at Jimboomba might no longer qualify the bustling town as being “the country”, the atmosphere carries with it an old charm albeit with the conveniences of modern life.

As we sit in the dining area of Jimboomba Country Tavern, a couple of blokes run through the room with their cattle dog. Okay, maybe not entirely above deck when it comes to workplace health and safety.

But nobody cares. And nor should they, really.

Buzzers might have replaced the scream of “Number 43, your meal’s ready” from the kitchen. But the smile that comes with the delivery of the food is as nostalgic as it is hospitable.

The special menu today has a seafood platter – grilled fish, crumbed calamari, prawns, oysters kilpatrick, salad and chips.

It’s fresh, and if the indication of well-cooked calamari is in the way it slices, this is close to perfect. None of those chewy “cord-type” bits in this lot.

The chips have slightly brown ends with the potato melted inside. Yummo!

The menu is a typical pub lunch. Ribs, schnitzels, lamb shank, beef pie and carbonara among the favourites.

They’ve also got a seniors menu with rissoles, fish and chips, roast of the day and lamb fry and bacon which seems to be making a comeback on some of the pub lists.

That menu is $14. If you’re not a senior, don’t feel like you’re missing out. The same sells to everyone else for $17.

The pub might have new interior, but there’s some old-fashioned edges to this country counter meal environment.