Monday's Meal

I know it's Monday - and I always post a recipe or pictures of a meal at a restaurant.

Okay, okay. I admit it. I didn't cook a single meal this weekend. And I didn't make anything exciting last week. And I didn't take any pictures of where we ate this weekend. *hangs head in shame*

Sunday's brunch was kind of amusing, so I'll tell you about that. We wanted to eat somewhere with outdoor seating because the weather was so nice. Our first two choices were closed on Sunday - so as we were driving around, I used my iPhone to try to find a place with outdoor seating that was open on Sunday. No luck with that, so we decided to just try to find a place that wasn't too far from where we were at the time. We finally agreed on a place, and after a wrong turn (or two, LOL), we managed to make it there. Gus tried to blame the wrong turns on me and my iPhone, but he was the one who told me we were going east instead of west. Pffsstt.

This was a place we had never eaten before, but the reviews were good, so we thought it would be nice to try. The restaurant was located in a huge old house - very much like some of the places you see in Gatlinburg or even Savannah. There was a 15-20 minute wait - and as we were sitting in what appeared to be the main hallway, we realized that everyone was going to a room on our left for...I can hardly type the words...a buffet.

BUFFET???? Oh. No. We don't do buffets. We don't like food that sits out. We don't like food that germ-ridden children can touch. So we looked at the buffet, then at each other, and back again. Should we leave? Should we give it a try? It was almost 1:30pm and we were both starving. "The food doesn't look too bad." - "It smells good." - "Maybe it will be okay." We really tried to convince ourselves that all was well - we didn't want to have to find another restaurant.

I admit - I was really nervous about eating at a brunch buffet. When we were seated, the waitress came to take our drink order - THEY DIDN'T HAVE SWEET TEA. Now what kind of restaurant south of the Ohio River doesn't serve sweet tea? No, ma'am - I don't care if it's fresh-brewed - it's NOT SWEET. Just give me water with lemon. Sigh.

Gus and I looked at each other and realized that we had no idea of the cost of the buffet. Good grief. We just hoped it wasn't $25 per person. Sigh. Yes, we could've asked, but at this point, it really didn't matter. We were starving.

Gus encouraged me to go to the buffet first. He acted like he was being gentlemanly, but I think he just wanted me to be the guinea pig. I'm sure he'll deny that - but I know him pretty well after being married to him for almost 22 years. Well, let me tell you - I was pleasantly surprised.

There were three buffet tables - one with breakfast foods, one with lunch foods, and one with desserts. The food pans weren't those huge ones that you usually see - they were about 1/3-1/2 that size - so the food was replaced often and it stayed hot. The scrambled eggs weren't rubbery - the bacon was fried to perfection - the French toast sticks were the best I've ever had - the fried potatoes were perfectly seasoned - and the biscuits would make any Southern mama proud. YUM-MY!! Gus's second plate was lunch - and he said the fried chicken was delicious, as were the green beans.

Gus definitely got his money's worth (the cost was $14.95, not $25 like we feared, LOL) - I probably didn't, but the food was really good. (That's another reason I don't care for buffets - I can never eat enough to make me feel like I got my money's worth.) Buddy would love this place, so I'm sure he & Gus will be back to scarf down as much breakfast as they can hold.

Did this change my mind about buffets? No, not really. There were still a lot of little ones filling their own plates (*shudders*) - AND running between the rooms (c'mon parents - keep an eye on your kids!). But - I would go back to this restaurant. Other days (and after 2 on Sunday) they serve from a regular menu - and I'd like to try that.

I apologize for not having a recipe or pictures for you! I promise to try to cook something exciting this week so I can share it with you next Monday!