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Wednesday, March 22, 2006

Anyone else

When I'm not near a computer, and not "writing" I have so many ideas running through my mind. Blank screen -- nothing. Nada. Zip. The concepts and ideas about the next chapter in my book. The things I wanted to vent about on the blog. The great insights I've discovered during the course of my day. Gone.

Does that stop me from writing? Well, no. Sorry to torture ya'll.

Traveled to the big city of Lawton today for work. Inadvertently found an interesting cafe right off the Interstate. The sign said "Patio and Concrete Creations". Good prospect, we thought. So we went in. We found a cafe amid the old gasoline pumps,vending machines and neon signs of the past, made shiny and displayed as art objects. The haphazard layout of tables, some no more than white folding tables, like the one I use when I have a big art project, were scattered about. We approached the counter.

"We have steak sandwiches today." the waiter/cook says. He was a young 30-something. Not the owner he said, "brother-in-law."

It was noon, we were hungry and so we ordered. We had a choice of drinks, at least.

We found a perch at a "Coca-Cola" table and watched the range of people walking in. Construction workers, office workers. They all knew the drill.

"What's cooking today?"

The woman who was helping cook came out from behind the "Coca-Cola" counter, holding two styrofoam bowls and walked toward us. She planted the steaming bowls of beans, topped with grated cheese, in front of us and took our styrofoam cups for refills.

Beans. We were hungry, and by this time very curious. "Doesn't look like steak to me" my co-worker said.

We each took a bite, and I swear we didn't talk anymore until both our bowls were empty. I'll be dreaming about those beans. I can't even tell you what kind of beans they were. They looked like pork and beans - sort of. But they tasted better than anything I've ever tasted. Really. That good.

The steak sandwich took -- literally - almost 45 minutes to get to our table. But it too was superb.

We came in looking for a sponsor for the community project for one of our clients, and found instead a hidden gem.

Blake's. We'll be eating there every time we have to venture to Lawton this summer during the Clean Air campaign. Every time. This is now my favorite place for lunch. Ok, my real favorite spot to eat is in Rocheport, Missouri. A tiny restaurant that anywhere else would rate four-stars. In the little artsy town by the Missouri River, it's just known as the "Word of Mouth Cafe." Oh, and then there's the country store off the highway between Columbia and St. Louis...

So share. What out of the way place have you found to eat, that surprised you and made you want to share it with others?

5 comments:

Unknown said...

There is a shack off the side of the road on the way to Lake Travis.

The BBQ sandwiches there are divine. It's a pity the in-laws don't live/sail there anymore. The food was well worth it.

I can sort of mimic it with a bbq sandwich from subway with onions, pickles, and green peppers. but it isn't the same.

DebbieDoesLife said...

There is a dive here called Blue Water Boil. Excellent crawfish and cold beer. Blue jeans would be considered "all spiffied up" in this joint.

Carmel said...

Both places sound great. S - you guys can still go to Lake Travis.
DDL - Sounds great already. You'll have to tell me how to get there and I'll make a special trip the next time we're in Dallas. We're gonna be in FW April 1 - but taking the train, so limited to downtown.

Gina said...

One of my favorite food finds in Manhattan is the woman known around these parts as "the pancake ball lady." She usually works at the corner of Canal and Mulberry, right where Chinatown turns into Little Italy. In her little booth, she uses a couple of waffle-style irons to turn delicious pancake batter into bite-size pieces. Price: 15 for $1, served in a handy wax-paper bag. It's the perfect snack when it's cold outside, or when you need something to take the edge off while you try to pick out a restaurant.

Anonymous said...

Is the Word of Mouth Cafe still there? I was just looking at the Rocheport website and it wasn't listed with the other restaurants. I was there around 1883 and it was awesome.