It is at least twenty years later and I can still remember my first visit to Lou’s Café. Stopping in to see if anyone could tell us where to locate the turn we had missed, my husband and I received a large dose of culture shock. It seemed as if we had opened the door to the decades: a place where generations came and went, a place where time stood still and passed by at the same time Miss Lou Dixon owns and runs that restaurant in the middle of the town of Sunbright, Tennessee. Miss Lou has been in business at that location since 1954. Even though the place looks a little squalid, it is not for lack of care; in fact, Lou is proud of how clean she keeps her place. She has often been heard to say, with the strongest East Tennessee accent, “It don’t matter how pore a body is. They can be clean.” She is proud of her “A” rating and prominently displays it. It is not a fancy restaurant. The hundreds of booted loggers, railroad workers, and oil field roughnecks trekking through have worn the carpet thin. Chunks are missing from the carpet at the favorite tables of the workers. The hardened veneer on some of the tables is missing a notch here and there. The paint on the walls has cracks and there is a perennial smell of hamburgers permeating the air. The casual observer could be forgiven for thinking the place is about to fold financially; instead, what we found that night was a well camouflaged center of social activity and the finest, most accurate, information
The kitchen is a stomach leading to the lower intestine, also known as the garbage and dishwashing section. Adjacent, the bathroom is the “Very rectum of the gastrointestinal system” (Ehrenreich 30). The anatomical description humanizes the workplace and allows the reader to imagine a grotesque and quite realistic restaurant. The name of the chain restaurant is so generic it creates the question: Have I eaten there before? Ehrenreich creates this visual in order to sympathize with the reader in recognition of how absurd this sounds to a middle class citizen and the sympathize with employees on just how gross it is.
(Grace’s had the East End; Charlie’s swaddled the Brentwood/Islip area.) Maybe the hot dogs, steamed in bouillon, and the onions, bathed in a slightly sweet, generously spiced sauce, brought customers in. But they came back for Charlie and his wife Rose, the faces of the business. If Rose saw a group of kids having the hot dogs, she’d always hand them a bag of chips, too. Charlie used to flirt with customers endearingly. “Why, don’t you look beauuuutiful today.” An uncountable number of families made a tradition of Charlie’s, including the former NFL quarterback Boomer Esiason, who started going at age 5 and brought the Food Network there for an episode on players’ favorite
Starr took a city that has “slammed its doors and barred its windows at 5p.m.” and elevated it to one that is described as “bubbling over with vitality and life. “ (Starr) Like Fry, Starr is “relentlessly restless” in trying to incorporate his new neighborhoods with new restaurants like the “Momofuku-style restaurant. “ (Starr) The thing about Starr is that even though the success he is having is almost a “mathematical impossibility”, his strategy of building up is driving in this newest creation of restaurants that “Philly didn’t have, that it needed.
Creamy carrion, pizza barf, decomposing lemon wedges, and water-logged toast crusts; sounds like the typical garbage can. Would anyone believe that these phrases apply to a run-down restaurant in the middle of Florida? Barbara Ehrenreich goes undercover at a local fast food diner known as Jerry’s to investigate life as a blue-collar laborer, serving to customers arriving in “human waves” (Ehrenreich 180). It is throughout her journey working for both Jerry’s and a factory known as Hearthside that she learns the difficulties faced with minimum wage and severe working conditions, and how the career you pursue and the environment that the career puts you in can change you. Through the
Margery was such a slob when she’d been drinking. She’d pick up fast food, but be so bombed that half the time she couldn’t find her mouth. Burger wrappers, nibs of French fries, and oozing condiment packets littered the floor of her posh Cadillac…probably the floor of her apartment, now, too, I thought in disgust. I mean, sure, the house was already shabby, but I was
“The Itis” restaurant, brought to life by Aaron McGruder, is not only a restaurant that people would love to actually have, but also one that brought along some negative aspects. A new restaurant opens up and everybody decides to give it a try. On the inside a lounge singer and instead of tables, beds. Immediately after enjoying a meal one could fall asleep without having to go home. This sleepy feeling a person gets is sometimes referred to as “the itis.” After consuming Sunday dinner and before coming down with “the itis”, which is the “tired feeling” you get after eating a big meal (some say it is all in the mind), Ed Wuncler proposes the idea of Granddad having his own restaurant since the healthy food place Wuncler owns now isn’t
*These four old guys (definitely into their late sixties, early seventies) sell cars at one of the dealerships on the boulevard. I would bet fifty dollars that they all work for Cadillac. They come in once a week, on Friday afternoons. They love me. They like to give me a hard time, ask why I don’t love them anymore, when I’m going to run away with them, etc, etc. They are caricatures of car salesmen but are obviously unaware of this. They hold court in Eat Well like it’s 1965 at the Sands, talking in loud voices and telling stories about one another to each other. (“This guy here, one time he says to me, ‘Paulie’…”)
This review was mind-blowing to say the least. Although it begs the question if Mr. Wells is a comedian, part time performing gigs at abominable restaurants or he just simply had a few too many that night. The plethora of synonyms and metaphors was enough to make my mouth water, however, solely for the content of information. I did not mind the sarcasm of the review, as a matter of fact; the picture Mr. Wells painted inside my head added a refreshing, vivid, and fearless look at what might have awaited me had I decided to take the plunge at Guy’s American Kitchen & Bar.
If you’re ever hungry, can’t decide where to eat and out and about in Rutland, go to Applebee’s located on Woodstock Ave next to Ben&Jerrys. They have a great selection of American food which you can smell as soon as you exit your car; I’m getting hungry just thinking about it. I have been here on numerous occasions which is why I plan to share my experience with you. Throughout this essay I will show you what it’s like when you enter Applebee’s, what’s on the menu, and what I get to satisfy my hunger.
The façade of the Diner is lackluster, the tin roof hides under a blanket of rust and the parking lot nothing more than a mingle-mangle mess of assorted potholes. The interior consists of scruffy vinyl booths mended with strips of steel gray duct tape, faded tabletops, and the linoleum worn down exposing the bare wood floorboards. However, the locals love the place. It offers inexpensive authentic southern food, the best coffee in town, and various forms of entertainment, occasionally.
Café Latte, a new espresso bar, is about to open in Pocatello, Idaho. The business was formed as a limited partnership between three siblings and a friend, Cynthia, Stuart, and Rob Chan, along with Jeff Burns, respectively. The Chans are somewhat knowledgeable about running a business
My tan painted brick house, accented with deep canyon red bricks beneath the windows, stands on the outskirts of Philadelphia. Down the driveway to the left is Fairmount Park where hundreds of people walk alongside the creek and feed the greedy ducks. Turn right, and about ten more turns lies the cloud-breaking buildings that are Center City. Although my location provides the best of both worlds, Roxborough does not have a good diner. When I was younger there was an amazing diner near my home, but it suffered a fire; the mint green and white building still remains stagnant with its burnt insides and graffiti contaminated exterior. There is a diner near us now, but its reputation of multiple restaurants housed in the same building preceding
Buffalo Bills restaurant is a well-known restaurant that sits at the heart of Hayward on B Street. It is surrounded by a chain of many other fine dining restaurants, but none as good as the western inspired Buffalo Bills. On the outside of the restaurant at first glance it reminds you of an old Italian place, yet the name “Buffalo Bills” set your mind at askew when you notice the western title compared to the Italian landscape outside. Buffalo Bills has a variety of delicious Soups, Burgers, Pizzas, Desserts and assorted appetizers. Although their menu seems to be very simple, it’s the simplicity that catches the eye. Yesterday I visited Buffalo Bills restaurant, and I must say their main goal is to keep their customers happy and make them want to come back. The customers seem to enjoy the enthusiasm that Buffalo Bills portrays within the eating environment, service, and the amazing food.
April 10, 2013 I seated myself in a booth with my back faced to the wall. It was here that I had an ominous view of the Galleria food court. With pencil in hand, and notebook ready, I began taking notes on the many observations I noticed in the three hour window that I sat and “people watched”.
Once I stepped inside the restaurant I automatically could hear the music playing at a moderate level and the laughter of the customers. Right off the back the restaurant's ambiance had a positive vibe. Mindful, it was a Saturday late afternoon. Mary Jane Burger and Brew is a local restaurant trying to stay true to its past. The granddaughter of the original owner now runs the place with the intention of serving good quality food where the ingredients are fresh, mouth watering, and surely not filled with antibiotics and all that other genetically modified elements found in processed foods. The vintage, rustic looking place, holds a small town atmosphere with a big taste.