Red Bike Restaurant, “home of the only dueling piano bar in Lacey,” was until recently Ramblin’ Jack’s Lone Star Kitchen, a country-western establishment. In the creative and inventive hands of experienced food and beverage director Brandon Escovedo, the restaurant saw a complete overhaul that seems to have gone rather seamlessly. Red Bike is now owned by the same group that’s behind Jazzbones and Station 56 in Tacoma, and various other area restaurants and bars, with Terry Suzuki at the helm. Kyle Murphy has been selected as general manager. Previously a manager at one of former Lone Star managing partner Adam Adrian’s other restaurants, Mercato, Murphy reports, “The public seems to have been looking for this sort of entertainment for a while and have been very generous with their patronage. The regulars are very happy and are excited that the staff has remained basically the same.”



Commanding the kitchen is chef Arturo Valdovinos — fresh from the Crystal Saloon in Enumclaw, another steak-ribs-seafood Suzuki group-owned restaurant. Chef Valdovinos knows his way around meat. Regulars will smile that previous Lone Star items and new recipes from Escovedo were combined.



The result is a mammoth menu. Items range from nachos, roasted garlic with goat cheese, seven salads and vegetarian options to diner-type sandwiches (Rueben, BLT, turkey melt and club), and half-pound hamburgers, smoked pulled pork and grilled chicken sandwiches. There’s King salmon, catfish, Cajun cream pasta with blackened salmon and prawns, and cod fish and chips for seafood while top sirloin, rib-eye, New York, tri-tip and filet mignon strongly represent the steak knife-required section of the menu. Southern fare from baby back ribs, a slow-smoked half chicken with either barbeque sauce or simply lightly seasoned to North Carolina pulled pork, boneless fried chicken and a create-your-own sampler. Amazingly, Red Bike offers more pasta and pizza dishes than some pasta and pizza places: butternut ravioli, beef stroganoff, braised chicken and bacon fettuccine, home-style macaroni and cheese, and the spicy Mamou — a blackened baked chicken and fettuccine favorite. With toppings of roasted garlic, barbeque chicken, tri-tip steak, roasted coconut, black beans, bacon, Andouille sausage, and habanero or garlic cream sauce, adventurous souls will want to try a signature pizza. A hefty creative cocktail menu which comes in handy after 9 p.m. when Red Bike transitions into an adult-friendly bar.



Prices are consistent from past to present —  $6 tomato balsamic brochette appetizer all the way up to $21.99 for an 8-ounce bacon wrapped filet mignon entree. Featured bar and restaurant specials are $3.99 happy hour munchie menu, a daily $3 specialty cocktail, $19.99 all you can eat Dungeness crab on Tuesdays, $1 off drinks for women during Thursday’s ladies night, and family friendly Sunday brunch with house piano player Brent Pendleton.



The dueling piano shows take place on the newly built stage every Friday and Saturday from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. As far as other entertainment goes, Murphy shares that there are no plans for live bands in the near future though he’s not closed to the idea. Dueling pianos it is.



[The Red Bike, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday-Wednesday, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday, 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Friday-Saturday, 4441 Pacific Ave., Lacey, 360.538. 3226, www.redbikerestaurant.com]