|
buffetbuster
|
Re:My Year in Roadfood (2011)
Fri, 01/13/12 3:48 PM
( permalink)
Roadfood is every bit as much about the people as it is the food. Here are some of my favorite people from 2011: At Curtis's Barbecue in Vermont, I got to listen to owner Curtis Tuff and my girlfriend  compare barbecue from Georgia (where he is originally from) and the Philippines. My favorite waitress all year was this sassy lady  from J.R.'s Ribshack in Panama City, FL. She told us she was originally from Pennsylvania, but her accent was pure Southern twang. Those are our peach cobblers she is bringing to our table. Gail Kreger  is half of the husband-wife team who own Giant Drive-In. She shocked us by saying that she frequently eats one of their huge Filler burgers all by herself. The story goes, a few years back, a Burger King opened across the street, but they couldn't compete with the Giant and ended up closing. Too humble to brag, when I asked her about it, she just gave me a big smile. We didn't like much about Mae's Phinney Ridge Cafe, but we did like this woman,  who proudly told us she made the biscuits and even offered to pose with them. One of the biggest characters in Roadfood is Bud Royer  from Royer's Round Top. For instance, if you don't want ice cream with your pie, they charge you extra. In a booth outside of South Beach Fish Market, a young man was boiling up some crabs. He happily took a few minutes to pose  and answer a few dumb questions from tourists. Margot  from Terry's Turf Club was another excellent waitress. Since it was our first time there, she made good recommendations and as crowded as the place was, still found plenty of time to chat with us. Love that pose with the scary knife! Angela Scott is the owner of Woodruff's Cafe & Pie Shop, while her 90+ year old mother,  sits at the back table, reading her bible and providing what she called "the entertainment". This place had the feel of eating in their family's home. I owe this guy,  who sits out front of Cisco's, big time. I had originally parked in the lot next to Cisco's, which is owned by a different nearby restaurant. He came running over to make sure that I parked in the lot across the street, because the other restaurant, apparently, likes to have improperly parked cars towed. In the Roadfood review, Michael Stern raves about the great service he had from a young lady at Cake Nouveau. We wholeheartedly agree, since she  also took great care of us. Of course, who wouldn't be happy working around all those delectables? Just as we were getting ready to leave, an equally as pleasant young man  came out of the back, wearing an appropriate t-shirt. When we ordered one of the beautiful blackberry muffins at Marcy's Diner, our lively waitress recommended we get it cut it half and then grilled. Here she is,  showing us we made the right call! While eating at Connelly's Goody Goody Diner, you always see owner Richard Connelly going from table to table, making sure everyone is happy. A really nice man, he once gave me an anniversary coffee mug to take home. This year when he stopped to check on us, I had him pose with me, Mariton and cousin Johnny.  No year is complete without a stop in at Charlie's Pool Room to see the Fencz Brothers, Joe and John. Here they are  posing with a framed photo of some mealies that was given to them by a loyal customer. We never caught this young man's name  while we were eating at Solly's Grill during the Roadfood Bus Tour, but he made a big impression on me. He was enthusiastic, polite and told us proudly about his plans to join the Marine Corp. During a visit to Cleveland, we liked the ribs, wings, Polish boy sandwich and the personable owner Gregby Camp at Mickey Flickey's Amazing Wings. He was happy to pose with the two lovely ladies,  my girlfriend and her Japanese cousin.
<message edited by buffetbuster on Tue, 06/26/12 2:05 PM>
|
