Nov 05, 2010 23:37
Ahh, home.
Shirley and I have been away for the past two weeks, road-tripping to Florida to see the Space Shuttle launch (which was scrubbed til next month) and spend some quality tourist time in the South, which to some extent neither of us had ever really done.
(I spent several days in Savannah and Tybee Island about twelve years ago, but that's another story.)
The twin themes of our trip turned out to kinda be "food" and "space." All of our souvenirs but one have something to do with either food, space, or both. (The only exception? An Okefenokee Swamp ball cap. Because the coffee cups they sell don't have a gator on 'em.)
So I'm starting out by giving shout-outs to all the lovely places we ate at...
First up was May's Restaurant in Frederick, MD. An unprepossessing crab-shack in the shadow of the Giant Shopping Mall, but they sold us some incredible steamed crabs. Highly recommended.
We had brunch in Frederick at Firestones, which was most excellent. As was the company; a cousin of Shirley's and his spouse. Nice atmosphere, good conversation.
The Cork Street Tavern in Winchester VA drew us in with the claim that they were "voted Best Ribs in the (Shenandoah) Valley". I don't know who did the voting; the ribs were clearly not actually smoked, even if they were very tender and juicy. And the sauce was a sort of typical Midwest-style sweet ketchupy sauce. *sigh* The onion rings were real good, though.
The Amherst Diner (also in Winchester) was much better, at least for breakfast. Obviously a place where the locals all eat, and where the staff knows everybody and loves to crack wise in a friendly way. Possibly the weirdest breakfast I had on our trip: a pancake with sausage gravy. Great pancake, great gravy, delicious, just a little... weird. Next time, I'll eat their pancakes with syrup, or their gravy with biscuits.
Dinner in Roanoke VA that night was at some chain restaurant with a schizophrenic frat-house theme. The sandwiches were good, but nothing to write home about. It was late, we were hungry, it was open and near the hotel. 'Nuff said.
Breakfast in Roanoke was another story.
If you ever find yourself in Roanoke VA, do yourself a favor and have breakfast at The Roanoker. Their biscuits and gravy were hands-down the best we've ever eaten. Either of us. Absolutely no weak points. Better than mine. And I've been perfecting my biscuits-and-gravy like a maniac for the past five years. The Roanoker was Shirley's favorite breakfast of the whole trip, and very nearly mine. I seriously can't stress enough how good their sausage gravy is, or the biscuits. The recipe is apparently a closely-guarded secret passed down from five sisters who worked there as cooks starting in the late '40s.
And as if our mind-blowing breakfast wasn't enough, later that same day we pulled into Lexington #1 for lunch.
Lexington #1 (aka Lexington BBQ on US 29-70 S in (where else?) Lexington NC) is the epicenter of the "Lexington style" of BBQ, that famous North Carolina style with the vinegar-based sauce. Devotees come from all over the world, and with good reason. Their pulled pork was magnificent, their slaw was out of this world, and the hushpuppies were tremendous. And the pulled pork, did I mention the pulled pork? *grin* We left very, very happy.
The next morning found us in Charlotte, NC. We had breakfast at the Terrace Cafe, which was nice... I had their signature "Red Velvet Waffle," which is much as you'd expect from the name. Yummy. Shirley continued on her biscuits & gravy expedition, but the memory of The Roanoker was still too fresh...
Lunch was at Mutt's BBQ near Greenville, SC. (They have three locations; I think it was the one in Greer.) Most excellent BBQ! Their spare ribs were my favorite of the trip. Plus, they separate their pulled pork into the "brown" outside layer and the "white" insides on the self-serve table, so you can mix and match to your heart's content. They have an interesting and yummy broccoli-based slaw, too.
Which brings us to Atlanta. Breakfast in Atlanta was at a little place on Juniper Street called Babs'. It being a Wednesday or Thursday morning, the joint was nearly empty. (From some of the reviews online, I gather it's like -the- Hangover Helper brunch place for some segment of Atlanta's gay community on weekends.) Anyway, Shirley enjoyed her omelet a lot, the coffee was really good, and my lobster quiche was... well... let me relate a bit of the conversation between the cook/proprietor and me:
"Mmm, this is really good. It's not just lobster, there's some black beans and corn and tiny peas, and -- wait a minute -- is this OKRA!?"
"It sure is."
"But, but I HATE okra. And this tastes good! It's actually yummy!"
"We grow it ourselves! See, right over there."
*Skyler wee head asplodey*
Then after a long day of tourism, we took Shirley's cousin's recommendation and sought out Fox Brothers BBQ for dinner.
Now apparently Atlanta has kind of a spotty reputation when it comes to BBQ, but Fox Brothers is worth the trip from, well, basically anywhere. Shirley had a mixed pork BBQ plate that she was talking about in hushed tones all the next day ("Oh, those ribs... that pulled pork... oh my..."), and I had what the waiter called the "Flintstones rib," their long-cut beef short-rib that they only serve two days a week. I didn't know beef -could- be BBQed that tender and delicious. Yowza. Also, Shirley is now thoroughly in love with Fox Brothers' collard greens. We actually held onto the leftovers and ate them for lunch the next day, it was that good.
Let's just skip right past the Thing that Jacksonville FL considers "pizza," shall we? Quietly, now; we don't want to wake it.
On the flip side: Grumpy's (in Orange Park FL, just outside of Jacksonville) was MY favorite breakfast of the whole trip. That's right; more memorable for me than The Roanoker. But then, I did have their "heart attack breakfast," chicken-fried steak with gravy. Best I ever ate, etc., etc. Good home fries too. Mmm mmm mmm.
We spent two days at the Orlando Hilton (the one at the Orange County Convention Center, comfortably out of range of All Things Disney) waiting on NASA to decide when to light the candle. All three of their hotel restaurants are very good indeed. Certainly up to our spoiled and demanding culinary-tourist palates, even after so much bliss on the trip down. Their steakhouse even managed to serve up a chocolate dessert (a bittersweet truffle soufflé) that Shirley had to admit she couldn't match. Yeah, like that.
Oh, I think I'll leave it there for now. Part 2 tomorrow. For now, I'm off to sleep IN MY OWN BED YAY.