Breakfast for Dinner and More…

…continuing with our home bound ‘happenings’.  It’s easy going time in the spring here in East Tennessee.  The good news is that Laurie will be free (we think) from her walking boot as of this coming Tuesday.  We continue to go for exploratory drives, casual meals out, etc.

The latter leads me into eating out and food in general…

We like Waffle House Restaurants.  Yes, we have had less than positive experiences in a couple of them and yes, the food isn’t gourmet nor is it particularly healthy.  Our bad experiences were due to a couple of locations we’ve visited where the staff wasn’t a team…friction was obvious and the usual friendliness was missing.  When all is well team-wise, eating at a Waffle House is like eating with a big family.  

FYI, if you sit at the counter and a true grill master is at work, that alone is worth the price of admission!  

In this case, we had breakfast for dinner at the Waffle House in Madisonville Tennessee.  Nothing fancy… Laurie had the basic breakfast with 2 eggs over medium, bacon and raisin toast, plus hash brown potatoes.

I still have never had a waffle at Waffle House… I just never get past the protein offerings.  My breakfast was just like Laurie’s…well, sort of.  I had ‘normal’ toast with my eggs and I ordered the sausage patties.  I like to make a sausage sandwich with my toast when I’m done with the eggs and the hash brown potatoes. 

Each of us had identical helpings of hash brown potatoes…way too much actually.  They were good but we’d asked for them to be a little crispy and I guess everyone has a different interpretation of ‘little’.  They were ‘crispy’ but still good.  Of course we also ordered coffee…always good…and an orange juice to wash down our evening regimen of pills.

This particular Waffle House (#2297) is located at 4625 US Hwy 411 in Madisonville Tennessee.  Website: Waffle House #2297 - MADISONVILLE, TN.  Most Waffle House Restaurants are located in the southeastern USA with a scattering in the lower Midwest, Texas and Oklahoma.  Outliers exist in Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado.  As of April of this year there are 1,988 Waffle House Restaurants.

While we were eating dinner at Waffle House, we suddenly noticed emergency vehicles racing down US Hwy 411…police, fire trucks and ambulances.  We hadn’t heard any crashes but when we looked out the window beside us to see where all those flashing lights had gone, we noted that they were all gathered around the entrance to the shopping center where Waffle House is located. 

At first glance, we couldn’t really see what the fuss was all about…

A closer view disclosed the reason for the emergency response.  Note the wreckage in the street plus that black SUV in the ditch.  It appeared that it had been hit/side swiped and had rolled over on its side.

Everything got more serious when we saw the wheel on the ground, the jack being used to stabilize the wreck…and all the first responders working to free one or more people from the SUV.  The good news is that no one died and the accident didn’t make the local news.

Moving on…

On another occasion I grilled a couple of really nice porterhouse steaks that we’d purchased from Fresh Market some time ago.  Nice weather is grilling weather!  I actually managed to grill them perfectly…medium rare for both of us.  The potatoes were commercially packaged cheesy potatoes…and were ‘prepped’ in the microwave. 

Yes…the steaks were very large.  The good news is that Laurie rarely eats leftovers so I have to take charge and ensure that no food items are wasted!

No surprise for anyone who knows me.  I love breakfast!  What carnivore can resist leftover strip steak, (one side of the porterhouse), paired with over-medium eggs and a slice of ‘healthy’ buttered multi-grain toast.  It was a great start for my day!

Laurie and both took photos of some of our Iris plants that are blooming in one of our front flower beds.  The flowers are both delicate and flashy! 

There are 310 accepted species of iris.  They are perennial plants, growing from creeping rhizomes or from bulbs, depending on their environment.  FYI, Presby Memorial Iris Gardens in New Jersey is a living iris museum with over 10,000 plants.  The black iris is the national flower of the Kingdom of Jordan.

That’s all for now.  Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them.

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

Dining in Sweetwater Tennessee

With Laurie on the mend from her ankle surgery, we haven’t been out and about much lately…other than our drives along local backroads.  But now that she’s in a walking boot, our mobility and need to get out a bit has taken hold. 

Friends had recommended a relatively new restaurant in Sweetwater Tennessee.  Not only had they enjoyed their meals but we had also heard that it was owned by a well-respected local restauranteur.

This is the Lazy Beagle Grille in downtown Sweetwater.  The façade of the restaurant is warm and inviting and we were able to score a street parking spot right in front of the building.  Laurie took the photo from up fairly close in order to avoid being run over by traffic. (With that 'boot' on she can't run fast)  

I did find a photo of the building as it was being repurposed to become the Lazy Beagle Grille.  Basically the structure was gutted down to the brick walls and the floors.  Previously the structure housed the “City Recreation Center”, a sports bar that served burgers and had a pool table or two.  We never frequented the former sports bar as it allowed smoking.

They did an excellent job of maximizing the space for patrons, which is narrow but quite long or deep.  That center divider actually houses a couple of booths on either side while providing a design element that makes the restaurant more appealing.

The open ceiling with its wooden rafters add a sense of spaciousness.  The original brick walls and those old wide plank floors provide a touch of the past as well as overall warmth.  The building was originally built in 1910.

So…how to decorate these old 110 + year old walls in a way that takes diners to a different era…or at least a different feeling given today’s hassles, the bustle and frustrations?  In this case the answer was simple.  Take old photos…items that might be discarded…or copies of old photos, provide varied frames and cover your walls with a multitude of images from the past.  Very nice indeed.

The busy bar at the Lazy Beagle just adds to the overall ambiance of the restaurant.  The wood top of the bar looks like it’s been around for a while and the simple lighting fits perfectly.  The signature piece at the bar is the mirror and its surround behind the bar.

The mirror ‘fixture’ with its curved edges and those inlaid parallel metal strips is a classic piece of “Art Moderne or Streamline style” furniture and décor.  The Moderne style was the American ‘baby’ that arose or was a progression stemming from the earlier French ‘Art Deco’ style in the early 1900s. 

Art Deco was all about verticality plus stylized, geometric ornamentation.  Art Moderne has horizontal elements like those metal inlays, and it emphasizes movement and sleekness.  If we were talking about automobiles, think the 1934 Studebaker Landcruiser, the 1934 Chrysler Airflow and of course the 1937 Cord.

…but, once again I’ve wandered off the topic at hand!

On to the food!  As I’ve aged, I have discovered that my food consumption…or my ability to consume a lot of food at any given time…has seriously diminished.  Certainly the same is true for my much younger better half.  So, at least for this visit, we skipped the appetizers.

For her evening meal, Laurie ordered the Flat Bread French Dip Sandwich. ($15.00) It was constructed with sliced beef tenderloin, caramelized onions and provolone cheese served on a grilled naan flat bread, accompanied by a cup of au jus.  For her side, she had French fries.

Laurie liked the idea of using naan instead of a bun of some sort as it reduced the amount of bread on her plate.  It was a satisfying sandwich/creation and the meat was of a good quality.  It was a messy “French Dip” sandwich compared to one on a bun.  Her only wish was that the beef should have been thinly sliced…as the menu stated.  The beef on her sandwich was more the thickness of slices of brisket.

Since we skipped the appetizers, I thought that I’d give you a summary of that part of the menu.  Items included: Spicy Honey Cheese Bites; Mahi Tacos; Fried Green Tomatoes; Spinach Artichoke Dip; Fried Pickle Chips; Buffalo Boneless ‘Wings’, Shrimp Tacos, and; Boom Boom Shrimp.  Maybe the next time...

For my diner I skipped the sandwich menu and headed straight to the entrees.  My choice was the Wildcat Pasta. ($16.00) It was made with Andouille sausage slices, shrimp and Cajun chicken, all tossed in a spicy cream sauce and served over corkscrew pasta and finished with parmesan cheese.

This was a very satisfying dinner.  There was lots of food involved…almost too much…and there was plenty of meat and shrimp in the mix.  Our waitress did ask if I wanted the spice/heat kicked up a notch, and I did indeed!  The only issue was that if I hadn’t requested more heat/spice, I wouldn’t have noticed any.  This was a tasty pasta offering in any case and I’d order it again with some real ‘heat’ added. 

Two other entrees really caught my attention.  The first was the Shrimp and Grits for $15.00.  The second was the Fried Catfish Dinner.  I’ve had the latter entrée over in Vonore Tennessee at the Countryside Restaurant so I didn’t want to order it again without trying something else.  Note: The same restauranteur owns both restaurants.  In any case other tables around us did order the catfish…two really big hand breaded fried filets, hush puppies and 2 sides for only $13.00!

The Lazy Beagle Grille is located at 107 North Main Street (US Hwy 11) in Sweetwater Tennessee.  Open Tuesday through Sunday from 11 AM until 9 PM.  Phone: 423-836-9136.  Website: The Lazy Beagle - Sweetwater, TN (lazybeagletn.com).

I thought that it would be appropriate to end this spring season post with a photo of our bright white azalea bushes.  They live right up against our deck at the back of our home.  They must love the location with shade from our big old oak tree in the early morning, lots of sun mid-day and shade again, this time from the house itself, during the hot afternoons.  These are far and away our most bloom laden and seemingly ‘happy’ azaleas anywhere in our yard.

That’s all for now… Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them.

Thanks for coming by to see what we’ve been up to!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

Mostly Nature and a Wounded “Bird”

For the near future at least, my posts will be all about local views and happenings, ranging from our home and yard, to local dining venues and on to short back road drives and what we might encounter along the way.

I’ll start with my ‘wounded bird’.  We haven’t been doing too much lately although I will admit I’ve been more physically active than usual.  The crux of the matter was surgery that was performed on Laurie’s ankle in mid-March.  A couple of years ago she’d broken her ankle and had to have a plate and screws installed to allow it to heal. 

Well, as time passed the ankle healed but the screws were becoming an aggravation and risk, so she had to have all the hardware removed.  Then it was 2 weeks in the cast (photo) with no weight bearing, followed by 2 weeks in a ‘boot’ using a walker to lessen the pressure on the ankle.  Until the end of this month, she’ll be in the walking boot (no walker)…and then she’ll be free to 'fly' once again!  As a person that doesn’t sit still well for very long, this has been a challenge for my better half…

Fortunately it is spring season and drives around the countryside yield lots of blooms, plenty of greenery…and in this case a cute pair of donkeys’ along-side the road.  These local outings gave Laurie a break from sitting and reading or watching TV and they certainly cheered both of us up…

Did you know that there are more than 40,000,000 donkeys in the world?  Also, donkeys are stronger than horses of the same size.  Did you know that there is increasing demand for donkeys in China?  At least 7 African countries and Brazil have banned the sale of donkeys to China.  Donkey-hide gelatin is obtained from the skin of a donkey by soaking and stewing.  It is an ingredient in Chinese traditional medicines as well as some edibles.  It’s called ‘ejiao’ and estimates are that between 2,300,000 and 4,800,000 donkeys are slaughtered annually to satisfy the demand for ‘ejiao’.

Blogging ensures that I learn something new every day…even if what I learn isn’t a positive thing.

We both love red bud trees and their blooms, perhaps even a little more than we love the more dominant dogwood blooms that overlap the end of the red bud’s blossoms. 

For those that don’t know, the eastern redbud is a large deciduous shrub or small tree that is native to eastern North America from southern Michigan south to central Mexico.  Some species thrive as far west as California and as far north as southern Ontario Canada.  It’s the state tree of Oklahoma...

The flowers range from light to dark magenta pink and they appear in clusters beginning in the early spring.  They appear on bare stems or branches before the leaves begin to show themselves.  These flowers are pollinated by long-tongued bees such as blueberry and carpenter bees.

With Laurie hobbled, I’ve been the ‘cook’ for the most part.  However my skills are limited to frying, grilling and microwaving.  Simple is better as I’m not patient enough for anything that takes much time.  Laurie got tired of sandwiches, grilled meat and microwaved offerings.  She saw an ad for Hamburger Helper and became nostalgic…so I bought a couple of boxes of this ‘quick and easy’ meal.  It’s basically hamburger, noodles and seasoning combined in a big frying pan. (There are also tuna and chicken versions)

In any case, we had leftovers from the first Hamburger Helper entrée we’d eaten in a long time.  So it became a breakfast option.  I ‘browned’ it up a bit with some cheese in a frying pan, grilled a buttered leftover hot dog bun as an accompaniment and then topped it with 2 easy over eggs.  Not a great breakfast, but filling…and the food didn't go to waste.

Laurie took these photos from her recliner… They are all about ‘dove love’!  In the first photo the male…all fluffed up and ready to go…appears to be trying to convince the female that he’s worthy of her attention.  In the second photo she appears to be telling him “Hell No!”  But, in the third picture, it appears that they’re making up and baby doves could be in their future.

There are 3 dove species native to Tennessee but this pair are mourning doves…colloquially as the turtle dove.  This bird is one of the most abundant and widespread North American birds and it’s a favorite gamebird for hunters as well.  More than 20,000,000 birds are shot annually in the USA but doves are prolific breeders.  In warmer areas of North America, a pair may raise as many as 6 broods (12 young or squabs) in a single year.  FYI, mourning doves are generally monogamous.

Speaking of broods and breeding, a neighbor took this photo of a mama red fox nursing her young…while looking directly at the photographer.  It’s like she’s saying, “What are you looking at?  Leave us alone”!

We have a number of red fox and their dens scattered around our area in common grounds, the edges of the golf courses and on undeveloped lots.  One family has a den just a lot away from our house.  The red fox is the largest fox and it is the most widely distributed member of the order Carnivora.  It can be found in most of North America, Europe and Asia as well as in parts of North Africa.  Other than their beauty, the best attribute for fox families in the neighborhood is that they are voracious rodent hunters…mice, voles and rats for the most part…but they also help hold down the squirrel population.

That’s all for now.  Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

The Road Home…and Food of Course!

Finally…the end of our family road trip exploring parts of the Delmarva Peninsula.  After we checked out of our hotel in Easton Maryland, we needed to take the quickest route back to the Raleigh-Durham North Carolina airport so Laurie’s sister and her husband could catch their plane back to St. Louis Missouri.

As it turned out, the quickest route south from Easton was to take US Hwy 50 north and then crossing the bay over to Annapolis via the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.  Then when US Hwy 50 intersected with I-95/I-495, we headed south, skirting around Washington D.C. and on into Virginia.  By the time we got to the Richmond Virginia area, we realized that we had time to spare so I took secondary highways over to Farmville Virginia.  From there we could drop almost directly down to Raleigh Durham. 

By the time we neared Farmville, it was time for lunch and we’d skipped breakfast except for a muffin and juice.  A quick check on the Internet revealed a restaurant destination that was well rated and which sounded very interesting. 

That’s how we found the “Fishing Pig” restaurant.  Despite being a weekday, the parking lot was quite full.  This was obviously a popular destination.

We quickly discovered that the parking lot didn’t lie.  This was a very busy big  restaurant.  The décor is best described as industrial glitzy but with better lighting than most with this ‘look’.  There was a significant wait for a table so we headed for the bar.  The good news is that the bartender told us that we could order our lunches and eat at the bar…a real time saver for us.  In that second photo, Bonnie and Bill have secured our seats.

When eating at a bar, one feels ‘unnatural’ if one doesn’t imbibe with an adult beverage.  Even I had a Miller High Life.  The others went for Bud Lights, a pint of beer from Three Notch’d Brewery or a Bloody Mary.  It was $5.00 per beer, $6.00 for the pint and $8.00 for a Bloody Mary.  To learn about Three Notch’d Brewery, go to Three Notch'd Brewing Co. | Virginia Craft Brewery & Distllery – Three Notch'd Brewing Company (threenotchdbrewing.com).    

And so we ordered our lunches.  The ladies both ordered Joan’s Catfish Basket. ($13.95 LY/$14.95 TY) To say that this was a generous portion of fried catfish would be an understatement.  The Catfish ‘Basket’ came with cilantro dill remoulade, homemade coleslaw and a southern side.  Bonnie went for the beans and Laurie opted for the potato salad. 

The menu provided 11 different basic sides to choose from as well as 5 others with an upcharge.  The catfish filets were not only huge and numerous, they were also delicious.  Winner, winner, catfish dinner!!  The value was undeniable.

Bill wanted to mix it up a bit so he ordered the Pork and Catfish Combo. ($15.50 still) His pulled pork and catfish plate came with the remoulade, coleslaw, a bun for the pulled pork and he chose the beans as his side.  While he thought that the pork was good, he wished he’d just ordered the Catfish Baskets like our better halves did… In any case, he had plenty of food to eat.   

I do love good pork ribs and it had been a while since I had some, so I ordered a Half Rack of Ribs. ($21.75 still) ‘Grady’s” ribs are slow smoked with Memphis dry rub and they came with the coleslaw and French fries.  The ribs were among the best I’ve had in recent years…not overdone and, as I prefer, they didn’t just fall off the bone, I got to ‘worry’ the meat a bit…like a dog with his bone. 

Despite the fact that I ‘helped’ Laurie with her catfish overload and Bill did the same for Bonnie, we still had plenty of food leftover…and no way to save it with the drive ahead of us.

This was our bar tender/server.  Usually the names are on the receipts but in this case all it shows if ‘SC Bar 1’.  Like any good bar tender, he was friendly and helped us decide what to order.  We gave him an A+ for service.  The food was a solid 4.5 out of 5…with a 5 for the ‘bang for your buck’! 

If we didn’t have a long drive ahead of us, we would have ‘done’ appetizers too.  They range from Fried Green Tomatoes, to Fresh Fried Pork Rinds, to Blackened Ahi Tuna.  The menu at the Fishing Pig is quite large and there is a quite a bit of variety to choose from.  You can check out the menu and learn more about this restaurant at FARMVILLE | The Fishin' Pig (fishinpig.com).  There are 2 other Fishing Pig locations in Virginia.

As we wandered the back roads from Farmville Virginia down to Raleigh Durham, I stopped to take a photo of this deserted and lonely looking structure, probably an early gas station.  I’m tempted to start taking photos of deserted buildings and homes as there is some nostalgia involved as well as a haunting quality related to the past…

After we dropped Bonnie and Bill at the Raleigh Durham airport, Laurie and I headed west on I-40.  We did stop overnight in North Carolina as planned but continued our journey the next morning.  The photo shown above shows our approach to the Smoky Mountains and the pass through them to East Tennessee.

We made one last stop as we neared Knoxville.  This is the Buc-ee’s at Kodak Tennessee…just north of Sevierville, Pidgeon Forge and Gatlinburg.  As usual, it was a very busy place.  From what I could see, there are now more than 60 Buc-ee’s locations, mostly in the south and southeast but one is located in Colorado too.  They are huge family friendly ‘convenience stores’ that sell just about everything, have amazingly clean restrooms, a huge flock of gas pumps and no semi-trucks to deal with.

When we finally arrived home, we unloaded the ‘loot’ that we’d scored at Buc-ee’s.  It was quite a pile for sure!  We had a variety of unhealthy snack foods, a rice crispy marshmallow treat, hot dogs in a blanket, muffins, cookies and more!  To be honest though, although most of it was OK it wasn’t exceptional.  The best of our loot were the pecan brittle, the honey glazed pecans and our dinner for the evening, the brisket sandwiches.  We really did like those sandwiches…

To learn more about Buc-ee’s, go to Home - Buc-ees.

…and so ends the September/October 2023 Delmarva road trip saga!

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them.

Thanks for sticking with me on this journey and for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

 

Dinner at a Diner – Easton Maryland

I’m nearing the end of posts related to our late September/early October backroads exploration of the Delmarva Peninsula with Laurie, her sister Bonnie and Bonnie’s husband Bill.  So…as our last day of our adventures came to an end, it was time for dinner.  One more night and we’d be headed home.

The group decided to keep our dinner simple…no fancy food and no seafood for a change.  We chose the Easton Diner – Family Restaurant and Bar which was located close to our hotel.

The bar was bright and shiny, looking more like an old-time soda or ice cream bar.  One doesn’t see too many ‘diners’ with full service bars.  The interior of Easton Diner was definitely colorful…although it could use some new carpet. 

We stayed with the basics.  This hearty chicken noodle soup was the ‘soup du jour’. ($3.99 cup/$5.99 bowl) It was very satisfying and quite flavorful. 

Bonnie ordered the Roast Turkey Dinner. ($13.99) It came with the ‘soup du jour’ or the salad bar, plus 2 vegetables and a roll.  With the lack of color, it isn’t appealing to the eye but it delivered that satisfying ‘diner’ turkey dinner that was expected. 

I think that Laurie had the Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato sandwich. ($11.99) It came with the ‘soup du jour’, French fries, coleslaw and a pickle.  Lots of crispy bacon made it ‘right’ for Laurie.

I’m guessing that Bonnie ordered the Egg Salad Sandwich. ($8.99) It also came with the soup or salad bar plus French fries and coleslaw.  No one had any complaints or issues with these basic sandwiches.

I just had to be different!  My dinner selection became clear for me once I learned that I could order breakfast for my evening meal!  So I ordered the Country Fried Steak and Eggs breakfast. (Price unknown as I can’t find a current breakfast menu on-line)

As you can see, my 2 easy-over eggs are covering my country fried ‘steak’ and I have a nice portion of hash brown potatoes and 2 slices of buttered rye toast on the side.  I didn’t quite understand the brown gravy they served on the side with the breakfast…must be a local thing.  Tabasco wasn’t available so I used a lot of Frank’s Hot Sauce with my meal.  Breakfast for dinner makes me happy and this was no exception!

We didn't have any dessert...too much food for the previous several days.  However I did take a photo of the dessert display which was loaded with several versions of the Smith Island multi-layer cake.  FYI, the original version of these cakes can be ordered on-line directly from the Smith Island Bakery.  They resemble a prinzregententorte, a Bavarian torte.  Check out the shopping options at Smith Island Cakes | Fast Nationwide Shipping | SIBC.

We decided that our meals ranged from OK/average to very good, about what one might expect in a diner.  The Easton Diner – Family Restaurant and Bar is located by the north bound lanes of US Hwy 50 and its intersection with MD Hwy 33 toward St. Michaels.  The actual address is 8451 Ocean Gateway in Easton.  Website: Welcome to Easton Diner & Family Restaurant - Easton Diner MD.

Just one more post related to our fall 2023 adventure…and that will be on our way home.  Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them.

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave