Real Deal Italian!

Well, once again we returned to Willie's, an Italian Restaurant in Seymour TN. This time we brought Big Dude, aka Larry and his better half, Bev. (Check out Big Dude at: http://bigdudesramblings.blogspot.com/) Since we moved down to East Tennessee from Chicago, we've been looking for quality Italian food. This was our third trip to Willie's and we wanted Larry and Bev's input on our "find".

We all agreed that the food was very good...and the service was excellent! All of the waitstaff in this casual restaurant are attentive to all of the tables. Water and ice tea refills...used plates removed...checking on the food...napkins needed...to go box provided...all on automatic with all of the employees focused on providing great service.

So, how about the food... The Italian meals come with Garlic Bread Knots and a small chilled dinner salad. For entrees, our group ordered Lobster Ravioli with 8 homemade ravioli ($10.95)...Mussels Marinara which included 2 dozen mussels ($8.95)...Chicken and Shrimp Carbonara ($10.95)...and Shrimp Fra Diavlo, spiced just right with 8 nice size shrimp ($8.95) Very good to excellent ratings on all 4 entrees...plus lots of food and great value for your money as well!

To cap it all off...each couple split a piece of Willie's homemade cheesecake. Now yours truly is not a cheesecake fan...but in this instance, the cheesecake got rave notices from all of us at the table. We liked it so well, we forgot to take a photo...

Willie knows how to prepare really nice food at a great price... Guess what?! He's a good Italian lad from Queens in New York City! Next time we try the pizza... Note the photo below of Willie preparing a pizza for the oven. Willie's Restaurant, 11612 Chapman Highway (US 441), just south of the intersection with US 411. Phone: 865-773-0170. Recommended by Big Daddy Dave!

Auto From the Past...

While we were cruising through western New York State, we passed through scenic Westfield, near Lake Erie. In a small park, we spotted an artifact from the past. It's been quite a while since we've seen a Nash Metropolitan. For some reason, it looks pretty nifty...much more appealing than I remembered. It may be the color scheme or it may just be it's retro lines as compared to most of today's homogenized automobile designs.

Dining in the Buffalo Area

On a recent trip, we had the opportunity to eat in 2 well known restaurants in the Buffalo NY metropolitan area. As per an episode from Guy Fieri's "Diners, Drive-In's & Dives" on the Food Channel, we stopped by Grover's in East Amherst. Despite the fact that I don't like waiting...this former hunting lodge where Grover Cleveland used to hang out was worth the delay! Great Burger cooked the way we wanted it... Terrific Wings, crispy and flavorful...and yes, some very tasty cheeseburger soup! The soup contains hamburger, cheese, tomato and lettuce. Sounds a bit gross but tastes great... We agreed with Guy's assessment that the lettuce actually pulled the soup together!

Then there was Schwabl's! Located in West Seneca, this place has been in the same family around in one form or another since 1837. Listed in 'Roadfood' and having been featured on Anthony Bordain's show 'No Reservations', Schwabl's is most famous for it's Beef on Weck... This sandwich consists of a pile of top notch thinly sliced roast beef served on a kimmelwick roll. This hard roll is crusted with coarse grains of salt and caraway seeds. The roll is soft on the inside but it's firm enough to stand up when it's sliced in half and dipped in the natural a jus. With or without a little horseradish from the pot on the table, this sandwich is just terrific! Note: The carver was extremely particular...discarding pieces of roast beef that we'd kill for...apparently just because they didn't meet his visual quality check.

Bye Bye Buddy...

Today was a sad day. We lost a member of our family... His name was Buddy and we'd rescued him from a shelter a little more than 5 years ago. In the last two months, he'd lost about a third of his body weight, he was becoming uneasy and uncomfortable and he was diagnosed with a severe case of diabetes. We'll miss him on our laps, helping us when we work on the our computer and especially his assistance in holding the pages of Laurie's books when she reads in bed at night. He'll be joining Max, Fluffy, Lhasa and Hank in Cat Heaven...

Classic Railway Depot

This classic railway depot is located in Jackson Michigan. It was built in 1872 as a replacement for an earlier depot and in 2002, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places. This depot is now used as an Amtrak Stop for the 'Wolverine' on it's trek back and forth from Detroit to Chicago.

Top Drawer BBQ

Ribs, Ribs, Ribs!! Big Dude/grandpop1 did it again!! My better half and I plus 4 guests from Indianapolis... A bit of golf, some appetizers and then these terrific ribs. After heating up Big Dude's ribs with a touch of apple juice for an hour, I dropped them on the grill for a couple of minutes on each side. Terrific. We had some very satisfied and happy guests! Rave notice on the ribs...

"Real" Antiques

While recently rolling along the back roads, we came across this sign in front of an antique shop on US Highway 17 in Woodbine GA... It was just too good to pass up so we took a photo. As you can tell...the owners are up front about what they sell and the shop was emphatically closed.

The shop is called Me and My Partner - Antiques & Collectibles. The proprietors are Jodie and Windy Briese. (Love Windy's name too!)