Bama Bucks Brings Wild Game and Animal Encounters to Sardis City

A meal at Bama Bucks in Sardis City, near Boaz, Alabama, can begin with a bison ribeye and end near a camel, a black bear or a group of kangaroos. The property combines a wild-game restaurant with a walk-through animal park, a country-cabin setting, shops and enough visual oddities to turn lunch or dinner into a longer stop.

It is a useful place to keep in mind when a regular steakhouse sounds a little too regular. You can order elk, venison, pheasant, quail, alligator or wild-boar sausage, then spend time strolling the animal area or browsing for gifts and antiques.

The mix is pleasantly unpolished in the best roadside-destination sense: a substantial meal, wood-heavy rooms, outdoor seating and a property that gives people more to do than wait around for a check.

Bison is one of the marquee choices here, particularly the bison ribeye. It is available in 8-ounce and 12-ounce portions, and bourbon sauce is among the possible accompaniments. For diners trying bison for the first time, the staff can help steer the decision.

The game selection is broad enough to invite a little table-wide sampling. Elk steak, deer tenderloin, pheasant and fried quail have all appeared on the menu, while the sausage trio brings together wild boar, bison and elk in one plate.

That trio is more elaborate than a simple platter of links. It comes with pimento cheese, naan bread, onion marmalade and Wickles, giving the sausages salty, creamy, tangy and sweet company. It makes a fine starting point for a group that wants to taste its way around the menu before committing to entrées.

Alligator bites are another easy conversation-starter, especially beside fried green tomatoes, fried pimento balls, crab cakes or cowboy chips. The menu does not require everybody at the table to be in a frontier mood, though. Sirloin, hamburger steak, salmon, salads and crab cakes give mixed groups plenty of familiar territory.

The sides keep the plates grounded in steakhouse comfort. Cowboy beans, mashed potatoes, baked sweet potatoes, macaroni and cheese, grilled vegetables and salads all show up alongside the more unusual proteins.

Warm rolls are another small pleasure. They have been likened to soft pillows, which is a fair description of the sort of roll that disappears while everyone is still deciding which game meat to try.

For a rich finish, crème brûlée cheesecake has been among the dessert choices. After a plate of bison or elk, it is not exactly a restrained ending, but restraint is not the organizing principle here.

The on-site animal park changes the shape of a restaurant visit. Rather than heading straight back to the car, diners can pay the separate $5 admission and walk through an area where animals may include deer, alligators, a black bear, camel and kangaroos.

Not every animal is necessarily visible at every visit, but the range is part of the appeal. There are also occasional smaller surprises: a baby alligator and a porcupine have been brought out by employees on some visits.

This is primarily a viewing walk, not a hands-on animal encounter. Visitors should not assume feeding or handling will be available. Still, it gives children, grandparents and anybody who enjoys an unusual roadside stop a reason to slow the outing down.

Inside, Bama Bucks has a cozy country-cabin look with substantial wood décor and a strong rustic visual identity. The setting is lively without asking diners to rush through a meal; it works for a birthday dinner, a family gathering or friends catching up over steaks.

Outside seating extends the experience onto a back porch and patio. One porch table sits near a fireplace, and the porch has included a television playing The Rifleman, with geese and ducks audible outside. It is a specific little corner of the property, somewhere between a cabin den and a porch at a hunting camp.

The grounds and buildings offer plenty to look at as you move between the dining room, animal area and shops. A meal here has a wandering quality that a standard restaurant strip-center location cannot duplicate.

The general store gives the visit another stop after the meal. T-shirts, candy and other gift items make it easy to leave with something more portable than a memory of the bison ribeye.

There is also a separate antique or gadget shop, fitting the property's fondness for objects with a little story behind them. The hunt is the point in places like this, and an old-fashioned curiosity can be as entertaining as a planned purchase.

A Jack Daniel's barrel room adds one more unexpected feature. Barrels have been available for purchase, an option that will mean little to some visitors and immediately set off ideas for a den, patio or bar area for others.

Bama Bucks can handle the small version of the outing—a couple sharing starters and trying an unfamiliar steak—but it also accommodates larger groups. Parties ranging from family tables to groups of around 22 have gathered here, and the varied menu helps when appetites and adventurousness differ.

The animal walk and shops are especially handy because the restaurant can be busy. Waits have sometimes run from roughly 30 minutes to an hour or longer, though other visits have found no wait at all. On a crowded day, there is at least somewhere to wander besides a parking-lot curb.

Parking is free, with a lot described as having ample space. Outdoor patio and porch seating provide another option when available, including that fireplace-side porch setting.

Bama Bucks works best when treated as more than a quick meal stop. Order a few starters, let somebody at the table try elk or bison, take the animal walk, browse the general store and see what turns up in the antique shop.

The result is a distinctly Alabama outing: game steaks on the plate, a cabin-like dining room, animal sightings after lunch and maybe a bag of candy or a T-shirt on the way out.