A View of St. Louis

If the only thing I can say was less than excellent was the temperature, that's pretty exceptional. That was mostly in the hands of Mother Nature although in hindsight I'd have either dressed better for the elements or sat indoors. Either way, Vin de Set is a fabulous bistro in St. Louis and I recommend it highly. The cheese course was delicious and generous enough to share. Our table required a second helping of the fresh baked bread. I ordered a tilefish entree, that evening's special and it arrived perfectly cooked served on top of some tender-crisp veggies, which isn't really my favored preparation method. I also tasted the flatiron steak and frites; the steak's juicy and meaty flavor reminded me that when cooked properly, flatiron steak is a cut well worth the calories. For desert, we sampled the beignets with various sauces, the raspberry being the most outstanding to me. I also ordered the lime and blueberry crepes which I thought to be even better, with the lime's tart flavor paring well with the warm blueberry.

With all that was going on in the area that particular weekend, our hotel choices were limited. We ended up at a Hampton Inn in Glen Carbon, Illinois. When we arrived, I heard the dreaded phrase "soccer team." Certain phrases overheard at checkout can strike fear or horror in the heart of a traveler, and any sort of sports team or group that arrives via school bus ranks highly on the list. Usually hordes of kids lead to noisy hallways later in the evening and very early in the morning and a breakfast area that has been picked clean of any remaining food by 7am. So it was quite the pleasant surprise when the only way we knew there was any sort

of sports team was sharing our hotel was seeing a few of the teen boys lounging in the front sitting area playing PS3 on the big screen tv.

Other than being a bit out of the way with virtually nothing located really close by, it was very quiet and had a thoughtfully designed floorplan to our room. Just what I want in a hotel. The hair dryer did quit functioning while we were there. Twice. Both times they replaced it promptly and were friendly as well.

During the drive home, we took a slightly different route south than the utterly dull I-55. We followed the Great River Road southward to just north of Cape Girardeau, Missouri. One of the more interesting things we found along the way was the giant Brook's catsup bottle as we were heading through Collinsville, IL. It's a 170 foot tall water tower built in 1949 for a local bottler of Brook's catsup. Just like the giant peach water tower in Gaffney, SC, it's a sight you can't miss and at the same time is difficult to capture in words. It's something practical turned into roadside art that captures a bit of the fun in engineering something otherwise ordinary and mundane. I'm glad there are designers who do that and make life for the rest of us a little more entertaining.

We crossed the Mississippi River at Chester, home to the creator of Popeye and his cast of characters. Statues of these famous names dot the town with the most famous namesake greeting visitors as they cross the river. It's just another one of those roadside oddities that make sharing the backroads with farm implements worthwhile.

Yianni's

In Greenwood, Mississippi, a town described as "it's all about the food," I found an interesting dish at Yianni's. I can't say I'd tried a fried hot tamale before then. Hot tamales? Yes, but battered and fried? That was a new one. Leave a group of good southern cooks alone in the kitchen too late on a Friday night and we'll take something already tasty and contemplate a bit on how to best deep fry it. The chefs at Yanni's must have had such a Friday night and the results were this culinary wonder. Lightly breaded and fried, they're served with Ranch dressing as a dip but it's not needed. What is normally the exterior of the tamale becomes extremely soft, almost to the point of melting. The flavors all blend together to make one oozy, gooey good mess.

My husband would have taken home an entire chocolate toffee cake, as he said it's one of the best he's ever had anywhere. The bit of remaining summer heat in the car might not have been to kind to the cake and he likes being able to fit into the car; eating that entire cake might not be so conducive to that.

Overall rating : 3.5 stars
Pros: Those fried hot tamales are worth the trip. Save room for desert as the chocolate toffee cake is great. The menu has plenty of choices, good for a group or family. Another good local restaurant.
Cons: While the filet mignon was a good cut of beef, it lacked a bit in flavor. The overall food was quite good but not spectacular, with a few previously noted exceptions. I was unable to locate a website for the restaurant, but you can see them on a Google map here.

The Best Fried Chicken

I probably should be concerned about my complete willingness to go drive over 700 miles on a weekend to get Fried Chicken, but I'm not. The consumption of some tasty bird may have been the official destination, but the other purpose of the trip was a change of scenery. Sometimes I just need to go and take in something different. Different walls, different roads, different air.

So with the trusty GPS as a guide, my husband and I headed south with the ultimate destination of Lorman, Mississippi. (See Lorman on a map here.) It's a tiny town and about the only standing building is The Old Country Store. It's questionable how it's still standing; it could be a testament to the old adage "they don't make 'em like the used to." Quickly assessing the building's ramshackle exterior, I know it was not a place I'd ordinarily stop but based on good word (Alton Brown's Feasting on Asphalt) it's contents would prove well worth the risk. Tempting me with a promise of the best fried chicken ever was enough enticement to make the drive and go for it.

As soon as we walked in the door, owner Arthur Davis, or "Mr. D" as he's known there, greeted us with a friendly reminder to leave our diets on the nail by the door. After driving over 300 miles to get fried chicken, any thoughts I might have had of a so-called diet were fading, and the heavenly smells from the kitchen were happily stomping those remaining thoughts to tiny bits. Walking through the restaurant, which is proudly announces its heritage as an old country store by the wooden floors, the shelves to the ceiling and the ladders on casters and guide rails.
A simple buffet of mac & cheese, greens, peas, dirty rice, cornbread muffins and of course, the chicken awaits the large open room of tables and hungry diners. One bite confirmed that every single mile of the drive was worth it because this really was the best fried chicken anywhere. The secret? Mr. D cooks the chicken and doesn't use chicken that has been frozen. I wouldn't be surprised if some of what was served at lunch was happily clucking and pecking just a few hours prior to meeting my plate. There wasn't a bad item on the buffet, but the chicken was outstanding. The dirty rice reassured me that the stuff Popeye's scoops into a styrofoam cup and call by the same name doesn't begin to compare to the real deal. At this point, I'm not so sure about that stuff Popeye's sells, but I've promised myself I will from here forward only consume it under the most dire of circumstances.

The drive to Lorman was a bit further than we wanted to make as a day trip, so we chose to make a weekend of it and stay in Greenwood, with a visit to Vicksburg as well. The weather was flawless and the change of surroundings was a welcome breath of fresh air. The people in the area exude southern hospitality. Any town that wants to attract visitors could learn from the relaxed and generous nature of the people in the small towns along the Great River Road in Mississippi.

More to come about this trip to Mississippi...

I know it's a chain, but...

I think this is the only hotel I have seen with labeled pillows. Accurately labeled too.

I have to give credit where it's due, and the Holiday Inn Express at Greenwood, Mississippi really deserves some credit. While it is the generic highway hotel for the most part, it seems to step a bit beyond that. It was the quietest hotel I've stayed at, ever. Usually I don't expect a 40-plus inch LCD TV in the room and solid surface counter tops in a Holiday Inn.

I've read recently that Holiday Inn is pushing to update and upgrade their hotels and overall image, going as far as to drop some of the older hotels from the chain that refuse to bring their hotels up to par. This was a new location that opened this summer and should be an example for the whole chain.

A weekend trip to Atlanta - Part One

According to Wikipedia, a Vacation is "a pleasure trip away from home." While this trip was pleasurable, it wasn't quite as relaxing as I'd anticipated. Before I go on a long diatribe I should say that the food and hotel were both quite good overall. For most families, a car trip with your spouse and parents for eight hours each way for just for a long weekend would be a bit much togetherness, but we get along exceptionally well.

On the way, we stopped in for lunch at Abbays in Olive Branch, Mississippi. The restaurant opened about three years ago and is owned by a couple who, like my husband and I, eat out more than we probably should. They noticed the lack of vegetables available in the fast food restaurants they frequented and about three years later, Abbays became their answer to that unfulfilled market. I wish they had a location closer to me, as I'd be back often. Imagine your favorite local meat & three type restaurant with a quick service touch. It's a good concept that I hope works; they didn't seem to be short of business when we stopped in.

The next stop wasn't about food, it was about fun. (Not that food isn't fun!) Barber Motorsports Park Museum is one of the most spectacular collections of gas-powered ingenuity I've ever experienced. One could spend hours wandering through the endless motorcycles, sports cars, race cars and memorabilia. It's not just the size of the collection that is impressive; the presentation is really quite outstanding. It's five floors of goodness that will make any enthusiast happy. One other side benefit the museum has is the location. It overlooks the Barber Motorsports Park, and the day we visited the participants of the Porsche Driving Experience group were zipping along the track. Nice!

More details from this trip... coming soon.