A Restaurant Down Memory Lane

To paraphrase a comment from James May, car enthusiast and presenter on Top Gear (BBC), "Never drive the car of your childhood dreams."

This applies to food as well, as my husband and I found out this evening. Periodically throughout our marriage, I've heard my husband wax poetic about Almond Chicken from a local restaurant. Over the years I've attempted to make the dish a few times, but none so far have been the dish he recalled, or even come close. So after tossing the idea around a few times, we finally decided tonight we'd try that restaurant for dinner and see if I could get a better idea of what this dish really entailed.

Bad idea. I think I can borrow Mr. May's comment and take it one step further. My revised version is as follows: Never return to the restaurant you idolized during your childhood. It will NOT live up to the memory.

Our first hint to turn and run should have been that the sign now included "buffet." When the parking lot on a Friday night seemed to be sparsely populated, that should have been the second giant red flag waving us and our car into a different direction. Then the food... cold, salty and so loaded with MSG, it wasn't what I'd call pleasant. I've had worse experiences, but this was up pretty high on the list of bad food.

It wasn't as bad as that infamous burger in Maui. That truly was horrific, I don't think there are words to describe it. I can't recall the name of the place, but after a long ride motorcycle ride around the quite literally breathtaking Honoapiilani and Kahekili Highways from Kapalua, my husband and I were tired and ready for a place to relax and chow down. As is our usual traveling style, we were trying to go with a local restaurant, so we found one and stopped in for a sandwich. What we got were two of the most awful, grease drenched burgers I've ever had anywhere. We actually both took one gut-wrenching bite, paid for the "food" and left the restaurant. To this day I can recall how truly bad that inedible item on the plate was, described mysteriously as a burger. There are meals I like to remember and even reminisce, and then there's that experience that I won't ever be able to forget.

Take my word for it about the childhood thing though. Keep the memory untarnished. Let it remain happy there in your mind and history. In my case, I'm just thankful that Mexican restaurant I used to adore back in high school is long since gone, but not forgotten.

The Food Rules

After a couple of surprisingly good recent meals I'm feeling forced to reconsider my food rules. I know I'm not the only one who has them. They're the basis from which I determine what to order where and when. They do require a little basic food knowledge, like that strawberries ordered in November will not be fresh or at least not flavorful. Here's a few of my own food rules:

1. Seafood should not be consumed more than an easy day's drive inland.
2. Don't order dishes featuring out-of-season fruit.
3. BBQ is only done right from about as far north as Kentucky.
4. Do not order fried catfish in a northern state. Ever.
5. Only in the south do they know how to make sweet tea correctly.

Let's take these in order. With modern shipping services providing delivery so fast that the shrimp could just say "beam me up Scotty" and arrive from the boat to the restaurant kitchen instantaneously, I'm willing to let this rule slide a bit. However I do limit this to places I know can actually get their seafood fresh. The big tip-off? The prices usually reflect the added cost of that sci-fi speed delivery.

I'm really not sure I want to change my out-of-season fruit rule. Strawberries out of season or those big beauties they try to pawn off at the local grocery store as "fresh berries" look pretty. That's where the goodness ends. They have a complete lack of any discernible flavor. Visual is important with food, don't get me wrong, but flavor is pretty essential too.

With my recent experiences, I think I'm strongly reconsidering my BBQ rule. I've had some mediocre BBQ in the south and some good things coming from our northern friends. I have to conceed, this rule has finally become obsolete, thankfully so!

The catfish rule.... that's a tough one. I have stuck to this one thanks to a wonderful great uncle of mine who used to come visit at least once a year from Michigan and would always want to eat fried catfish at least once. He assured us that the folks from his current home state did not know how to cook catfish, and that breading with cornmeal was a lost concept there. I can't say I've traveled in Michigan or even in northern states enough as of late to really test this out, so I'm for now I'll trust what he said.

A friend recently returned from an Alaskan cruise and she remarked how one thing she really missed was sweet tea. I can undoubtedly relate. After travels across the states, my rule of "Sweet Tea only in the South" still holds true. What is labeled as sweet tea in the south is really a concoction resembling simple syrup with a twist of tea. It's not just sweetened, it's truly sweet. It's probably not the healthiest beverage but it is often the beverage of choice in the south and getting outside of that area of the US is done at the tea drinker's risk.

One final rule I didn't list earlier that I simply cannot and will not ever let slide is the restroom rule. If the restaurant cannot be bothered to keep the restrooms at least clean at some basic level, that's simply inexcusable. I'm not asking for marble counters and floors that are spotlessly shined hourly; I humbly ask that the toilets, floor and sinks are clean. I prefer adequate amounts of toilet paper, soap and some mechanism for drying my hands (paper towels are preferred but dryers are acceptable. Bash away at me for killing precious trees, but I don't like having the cootie-filled air of a public restroom forcefully blown onto my now cootie-free hands.) These basic things don't take much to maintain and as I recall reading once, if the restaurant can't be bothered to keep the basics done in their restrooms, what level of cleanliness can you expect from the kitchen, or any area of the restaurant for that matter?

I have a few more guidelines when dining out, but these touch on the areas dealing with the seasonality and location of the food, which I have been reconsidering as of late. The global economy introduces tastes of one region into another and restaurants are embracing this trend. My own tastes over the years have gone from frustratingly finicky to somewhere approaching a willingness to try anything that can't bite back. That attitude change has led me to eating rattlesnake a few years back and just last week topping a french fry with a dollop of pimento cheese (it's actually good.) Most important, I've come to even break the rules, as sometimes those lines do have to be tested. Otherwise I never know what culinary goodness I might be missing!

BBQ Lunches

For some reason, it seems I've been chowing on the BBQ lately. I know I take food cravings in cycles, as I recently went to Blue Coast Burrito three days in a row. The tacos are really good, but three consecutive days? Maybe we are creatures of habit.

I while I do like BBQ, admittedly I am not a connoisseur of all things BBQ. Just the term "BBQ" has a vague definition, making reaching a pinnacle of experience appear unattainable. What is BBQ exactly? It depends on who I ask. It could be any number of smoked portions of a critter, or some food item(s) cooked on a grill, or simply a meat drowning in a BBQ sauce. There's that elusive term again, BBQ. Presuming we could even narrow down that BBQ is a cooking methodology that employs a slow, low heat source and smoke from a type of wood, there's then a whole debate on what makes a good sauce. Sweet? Spicy? Slippery thin? Molasses Thick?

Fortunately, none of this matters to me. Put the cooked critter on a plate and give me a fork already. Sweet, savory, vinegar-based, molasses based, I'll take it all. About the only BBQ that I will skip uses a mustard based sauce. I've actually seen my husband get an indescribable expression on his face and excuse himself from the table to rid himself of bbq with mustard-based sauce. I don't quite have that strong an aversion to it, but why waste the calories and fat on something that's not to my liking? If it requires running an extra mile that day, I'm going to make it something truly tasty.

Anyway, I've had the good fortune of finding good BBQ in my path as of late. Searching for something local open on a Sunday, which in itself is a challenge, my husband and I found Woody's BBQ at the end of a strip mall in Elizabethton, Tennessee. I wouldn't expect a BBQ chain centered around Florida to have BBQ that Tennesseans find acceptable. When it comes down to it, people are pretty picky about their BBQ, we southerners most especially. So a BBQ joint that has a fairly full parking lot is as good an indicator as I could find that day. It was a good call too, as their sampler of pork, chicken and turkey were very good. The turkey was served as a section instead of pulled and in conjunction with some great chili cheese fries, made for a good lunch stop.

Another good BBQ experience I've enjoyed twice now at Famous Daves in Little Rock, AR. They are a chain out of Minnesota, and to this southerner's surprise, there IS good BBQ to come from north of Kentucky! (I have a short list of food rules and this breaks one of them, more on that later.) Their BBQ chicken is truly exceptional! Also seeing that they're based out of the North explains their sweet cornbread muffins, as any southern cook will tell you that cornbread isn't supposed to be sweet. I take issue with that, and I like it both ways; I say that doesn't make me un-southern but that I have a more flexible palette! I have it on good word (my mom) that their bread pudding is also fantastic, but both times I've been I filled up on too much BBQ chicken to give it a try. There's always next time, and with chicken that good, there will definitely be a next time.

So regardless of what it's called, the deliciously cooked meats and their accompaniments I consumed at two "BBQ" restaurants recently were worth the calories. I do like my BBQ, in most any form. I think that qualifies me as southern enough.

Sub anyone?

How weird is it that at the beginning of very rainy day of traveling, I stopped in at at sub shop for lunch? I think a sub of the larger kind might have been useful at times today in place of the car while navigating through the torrents of rain that poured down almost endlessly.

Back to the sub shop, Sub Depot is a small place at the end of a strip mall my husband and I stumbled upon while leaving Nashville. The start of any good sandwich begins with good quality bread and these guys have that down. Sampling both the white and cracked wheat, which was more a heavily seeded wheat, both were exceptional. What was on them wasn't half bad either. They also know how to properly cook bacon for a club sandwich; not raw and not solid enough to drive nails, but nicely balanced at that just right spot in-between.

The sheer variety of sandwiches, salads and more available was impressive, and especially amazing was the fairly speedy fashion in which we got our order. Tasty, fresh and made to order from a huge menu, all in maybe 5 minutes? Noteworthy to say the least. Other interesting touches were the free wifi (always nice) and the notepads & pens at every table. That to me was a stroke of brilliance. How many times have I been at lunch discussing something with my husband or a friend and wanted to make a note for myself for later? This is the point at which my husband would remind me that a simple PDA or an iPhone would eliminate the need, but I digress. They provide the means to make those important notes and get some free marketing later as you reference the note on their note paper, pre-printed with their name of course. Not much surprises me in the way of restaurants these days, so I appreciate the creative attention to an overlooked detail.

After a tasty lunch we took off headed East. That's when a more water-based craft version of a sub would have been handy. After a few trips over the years headed east, I don't know it's possible for me to make a trek across I-40 without experiencing some sort of inclement weather. Last time it was snow through the mountains around Asheville, NC. More than once we've met with heavy rain through Nashville. This time it was steady rain from Nashville all the way east to Johnson City, TN. For one brief interval, the sun came out and the rainbow appeared, in all its colorful glory. It wasn't meant to last, and driving that long in the rain gets old in a hurry. At least we had the two of us to swap driving and keep each other motivated. Sing-alongs in the rain at full volume help too.

For some reason, I persist in traveling the highway and enduring what nature dishes out. I guess I'm a glutton for the punishment, that or it's just my sunny outlook because "it's just a part of the adventure."

A Friendly Recommendation

"We're going to insert city name here, got any recommendations?"
Being a frequent traveler, I hear that question fairly often and do my best to provide ideas of worthwhile stops. Most often it goes right, but there are instances where something goes awry.

For example, after I posed this same question to a friend in Little Rock, Arkansas, my husband and I went to a cool place called Imagine a Restaurant. They had good sandwiches and very good fresh made chips. Within a few months time, I had friends going to Little Rock that would be in that area of the city, so I suggested the place for lunch. They arrived to find it had closed. Just a few doors down was Crew, a restaurant I'd also tried and found it to be pretty mediocre at best. I wish I knew what caused the good restaurant to fail and mediocrity to live on; I can only assume it was either under-funded or poorly managed, either of which will take places with the best food down in a hurry.

Then there's that time you make a suggestion and it falls flat. I've recommended both hotels and restaurants that were in my book worth return trips that for various reasons didn't pan out. The Crowne Plaza in Little Rock, Arkansas is a prime example; I encouraged my parents to stay there and their experience was far from good. The room was noisy and didn't have proper working curtains so bright spotlights beamed in like pointed lasers all night. I've stayed there on several occasions and have yet to have a room anything like their description, but during my last visit I discovered the difference. Rooms facing into the atrium area would hear all the music and sounds of the bar drifting up, plus the high-placed spotlights would be blinding to the eyes at 3am without the curtains pulled tight. So I stand behind my recommendation for the hotel, but know that guests must ask for the right room placement.

Another issue is level of tolerance. How much of a "dive" looking place will someone take? I've had some amazing bbq at a place in Memphis, Tennessee, but I can assure you I'd never go there after dark. I don't think the bars on the windows are just ornamental. For the sake of some good eats, I'm willing to accept the rough edges that may come with the package. There is one I won't tolerate though, and that's smoking. Nothing will make me do an about face and promptly leave as quickly as a cloud of smoke hanging over the tables, waiting to irritate my desensitized nostrils.

As of late, I've gone three for three. Brave New Restaurant, Cupcakes on Kavanaugh (both in Little Rock) and The Green Tomato Cafe (in Pocahontas, AR) all are places I've mentioned on here. Recently I've had friends give a thumbs-up review to all three, so not only are they still in business, they're approved by other trusted foodies.

Now I just need to get out and find more places to recommend. Despite those occasional bumps in the road, I'll keep on making my suggestions and take the chance. It's a worthwhile risk.

Nearly Famous

In recent years, my range of tastes has changed and expanded, which to me is for the better. There's things I wouldn't touch as a teen or young adult that now I'm quite happy to find on my dinner plate. Common foods like lettuce or baked potatoes weren't a part of my diet then but now I eat them regularly. One of those such foods that in the past year I've decided that I do like after all is vinaigrette dressing. While I'm still not a huge fan nor have I sampled enough to deem myself a connoisseur of the vinaigrette, I tasted one recently that really got my attention. After hearing about Nearly Famous Deli & Pasta House in Springfield, Missouri, from a couple of very trusted foodie friends for at least a year, I finally got to visit the restaurant myself. They're ravings didn't go unwarranted. From the quiche to that amazing dressing, I was quite impressed with the quality of food served as well as the right sized portions. Nearly Famous isn't the "24 ounce cheap cut steak for $8.95" type place, but a bustling busy deli, noisy and active with reasonable portions and quality ingredients even an amateur foodie will appreciate. Between the delicious lunch and a good hotel, I was so pleased that I'm still trying to think of an excuse to go back to Springfield.

Speaking of the hotel, it was the first time in years I've had a chance to stay at a Residence Inn. Just pulling into the hotel lot in Springfield I was impressed with the exterior of the place; rarely do chain hotels have texture and style beyond stucco in one of about nine shades of bland. If they're feeling funky, the architect might leave a provision for a second shade of blah to add a little contrast. The hotel room was spacious with a comfortable living area and kitchen space, a usable size desk (sans one of those annoying glass tops) and a completely separate bedroom and bath space. The open space of the room was refreshing, and with a rainy night it made for a relaxing stay. The included free breakfast had plenty of options, better than I have come to expect from most hotels "free continental breakfast." The icing on the cake was the price, as I know I've often spent more for a whole lot less in both square footage or overall quality. (I did not take the photo at right; the hotel gave an accurate portrayal for once on their website, so I thought it worth posting here.)

We made one other noteworthy meal stop, that was dinner at Flame. The contemporary decor definitely sets the mood for a relaxing and intimate conversation over a good meal. The food was good but I found the steak to be overly salty. The quality of ingredients used was very good and the signature desert featuring a concoction of various fruits and pastry was immense but too delicious to not attempt to consume it all. It's not a regrettable choice for dinner, but I'm looking forward to trying other restaurants in the area too.

Now my friends are talking about yet another restaurant and giving it rave reviews. Oh well, I guess I just found another excuse to go back to Springfield. As if I need an excuse to travel and eat well...

And the trip goes on...

After a long day on the road, we finally arrived at the Crowne Plaza in Greenville, South Carolina. Our experience with the Crowne Plaza and reasonable reviews on Trip Advisor led us to stay there. Chatting with some of the hotel staff we found that the hotel was very recently renovated and used to be some other variant in the Holiday Inn family. It had two things going for it that I highly prize in a hotel: a comfortable bed and nearly non-existent noise level. They took the philosophy adopted by the Crowne Plaza chain with a sense of humor; at the lobby of the top floor, a simple sign greeted guests explaining that this floor was a Quiet Zone and no families with rambunctious kids, marching bands or otherwise noisy crowds would be permitted to stay there. The coordinating Do Not Disturb door tags even asked that guests keep the show tunes in the shower to a hum instead of stage-ready levels. Overall, the fact it was quiet and comfortable made for a winner. I don't think the hotel is quite as spacious and plush as other locations, but the price reflected that.

Then there was the other reason to stay there, and I would have tolerated a lot just for this one thing. Attached to the hotel was Ruth's Chris Steak House, and they just opened a week before we arrived. A quiet, comfy bed merely steps away from the best steak I've found yet, that might be a pinnacle of travel goodness. Suffice it to say that the Ruth's Chris in Greenville is well worth a stop and the new crew there are doing a great job keeping up the well-earned reputation of the best steak, period.

I think I'd describe Greenville as a comfortable city. It's one of those places that as soon as I got there, I felt at ease and could see why it's residents like it. The downtown area is what my hometown aspires to be someday, yet it still hasn't quite reached its full potential yet. Catchy shops and cafes fill most of the spaces along the tree-lined main street. It was notably clean, and the folks strolling along seemed to truly care about keeping it that way. Downtown there's a park with an usual suspension pedestrian bridge that overlooks a small waterfall. The park overall provides a place to relax for both tourists and area residents alike; locals were out playing frisbee and walking their dogs. With the downtown area just steps away, it's a balanced blend for small city life.

Downtown includes a variety of restaurants, leaving us plenty of good choices to just randomly pick from, including where we stopped in for lunch at Trio. We hadn't planned on a casual dining Italian restaurant, but we were glad we did. Ordinarily I'd have ordered a cup of soup and a small pizza to share, but my husband and I opted for the Pepperoni & Mozzarella Calzone. Again, we couldn't have chosen better. It was probably the best calzone I have ever tasted, with a perfect ratio of crust to fillings, all of which were delicious. I also tasted the roasted chicken, which in an Italian cafe whose emphasis is more on pizza & pasta, was surprisingly very good. With some warmer weather, I'd love to return to the downtown area, take a nice slow stroll through the shops and despite the variety of restaurants to tempt my taste buds, it would be difficult to turn down a return trip to Trio.

When I head out for a good road trip, I try to do a little research online for what is good local, and when it comes to BBQ, Henry's comes well recommended on sites like Chow. (No recommendations for chain restaurants on this site, unless they're really something extraordinary.) This was one of the few times I think our group disagreed with the recommendation. The only way to describe it is that it was some of the wettest BBQ I've seen anywhere. It wasn't bad, but only half our group thought it was good, the rest were unimpressed.

After a couple of days exploring Greenville, it was time to head home. With me, the adventure doesn't end until I'm back in my own living room, so as we approached Knoxville at lunchtime, I got out the laptop for some quick on-the-go research. Creamery Park Grille kept coming up as a local favorite, just a couple of miles away from the interstate. One exit and a short drive later and we were walking in the door. It's a very small but quaint restaurant. Patrons write their names and number in their party on a chalkboard near the entrance, and are then seated as available. Everything we ordered was definitely fresh-made and top quality. I had a ham & cheddar melt, but it arrived with a sugar glaze dip that made it go from good to Wow in one bite. The triple grilled cheese ranked highly, up in the range of my own home cooked favorite. Served with lunch were small scones, which didn't last long with my mother & I devouring them. During the summer I usually make at least one pass through Knoxville, and I'm putting this on my list of places well worth seeking out again.

(Be aware the grille is located in a two-story building, with no accessibility to the top floor beyond a pretty long staircase. Those with bad knees or trouble climbing stairs will want to request street level seating.)

Head East, Eventually.

A couple of weeks ago I attended the International Motorcycle Show in Greenville, South Carolina with my husband and my parents. Each winter, Cycle World puts on a series of events in about a dozen major cities across the US and every year we pick a location to attend. We've been to places like the Georgia World Congress Center, and after hiking what seemed to be literally miles of mazes to just find the show, we promptly vowed to never return. There there are others like the Carolina First Center which was probably one of the best show locations I've seen yet.

Being February and still cold by southern standards anyway, we decided to all load up in one car and drive. We have a limited stable of larger cars in our family and rather than buy a tank to drive year-round, we rent one for the once-a-year time we need it. If the trip had any downfall, this was it. We reserved a car (or rather a "class" as they say in the rental car industry) for the trip and called that week to verify the reservation. "You'll have your pick of the lot" I was reassured by the friendly agent on the phone. He failed to complete the thought with the rest of his sentence, "... as long as your pick is the smallest Kia SUV we could find." So my reserved tank-class vehicle was presented as a minimal at best increase in space to my own small four-door car. Suffice it to say, we were highly frustrated. Frustration led however to a moment of creative thinking and we loaded up in the car we had, heading east. Since our planned route took us through Memphis and right by the airport... ah ha! Of course National at the airport had exactly what we were looking for, a clean big SUV ready for 10 hours of rolling down the highway. One swipe of the credit card and a bit of bag shuffling and we were finally on the way, properly outfitted for the trip.

I'd like to report we found some amazing stop on the way to Greenville, but with the delays leaving and stopping to rent an SUV, we just barreled through Tennessee, covering the length of the state at a steady pace. We did spot an interestingly named restaurant when we stopped for dinner, Petro's Chili and Chips, but at nearly 10pm and 3 more hours of travel to go, we decided it might not be a wise stop. Next time I'm in Knoxville, Tennessee though, I may just have to look up Petro's for a stop. I can't pass up a chance to try chicken tortilla soup, especially one described as "homemade."

Next stop, Greenville, South Carolina at a good hotel with a comfy bed. More on that later...

Gut Instinct

When the lady at the front desk said "We don't have any king beds, all our rooms are single or double queen rooms" I should have listened to my gut, thanked her for her help and gone to the next hotel. Instead I allowed myself to be caught up in the newness of the hotel. Not the best move on my part.

Let me back up to the beginning. We were visiting family in Mountain Home, Arkansas and decided to stay the night. I knew there was a fairly new Holiday Inn Express and had expected to grab a room there. However, when my husband and I drove by, we spotted a brand new Hampton Inn next door. "Even newer?" I thought. "Sure, why not!" So along the way we stopped and I ducked in to reserve a room for the night. Everything was shiny-new and looked like a typical new Hampton Inn. The rate seemed reasonable, and rooms were available. Then the clerk gave me the news about bed choices. Succumbing to the gloss, sparkly gleam and a mostly empty parking lot, I decided to proceed with the room.

That night we returned to our room for the night. The room itself was standard fare, but typical of a small town was a bit more spacious, especially for the price. The bed was reasonably comfortable, as was the rest of the room. We nodded off for the night. Then came 6am. Around that time, it began to sound like someone was taking a shower about 3 feet from our bed. Anytime someone walked by in the hallway, it was as if they were talking to us. So while it was nice on the surface, the sound issue falls into that area that is inexcusable.

So I have to remind myself to listen to that little voice when booking a hotel. Anytime I've questioned my judgement and not heeded the warning, I've regretted the decision. Next time it's the Holiday Inn Express with the king-size bed.

Powerful Lessons

As the new year began, I had convinced myself I'd blog more. Then I blinked. Then I was changing my calendar to February and I was falling way behind on that goal. It's not like one of those vague "In insert year here I will eat better and get in shape" type resolutions. It's simple. Plant myself in front of the computer, and put some words on the screen. For someone who works at the aforementioned computer all day long, you'd think it would be easy. It's proven to be a bit more challenging than I thought.

My only legitimate reason was a power outage and that lasted a mere three days. It did however lead to some interesting food experiences, so that alone is worth noting. Mother Nature delivered to our area a blanket of freezing rain, which of course created an icy landscape complete with large treetops dipping down for a close-up view of the earth. That same thick layer of ice that made things look beautiful found its way onto to power lines, cable lines, power poles and most anything and everything exposed to the outdoor air and wind. So about ten minutes into watching a tv show everything went dark and stayed that way until about three days later. I forget just how much relies on power, it's those basic little things like the refrigerator, freezer, microwave, tv, computers. If you're married to a techno-nut like me, all phones require power too.

So where did that leave me? Sitting at home with no power and below freezing temperatures. In the Southern US, we are most definitely not prepared to deal with this sort of thing. The mere mention of possible snow flurries sends hordes of panic-stricken shoppers to the grocery store buying up enough milk and bread to last them through the impending blizzard. However we southern folks are hardy enough to improvise and make the best of a situation. We'll just skip over those infamous "Hey y'all watch this!" moments that make their way to YouTube showcasing southern ingenuity at its not-so finest.
So I didn't have power, but I did have two things going for me: a gas fireplace and a gas water heater. Most would take that as I had a way to stay warm and hot water. That's just the beginning of what was to come. With the fireplace, I had a way to cook scrambled eggs for breakfast. (I have to admit I was only being a copycat on that one, my neighbor did that first. He's full of good ideas.) The grill outside at the same ingenious neighbor's house allowed us to heat up some chili and soup for lunch. My own grill became my freezer. Since it was already below cold enough outside, and my somewhat temporarily underpowered freezer was starting to show signs it would no longer keep its contents at a chilly four degrees, I bagged everything up that would fit and put it on the grill. The cold temperatures outside kept everything frozen and the lid to the grill would keep out any nosy hungry critters. Coolers with the remaining ice from the freezer kept the refrigerated contents chilled. As power gradually came back to restaurants around town, it provided those of us without such luxury a chance to escape the candlelit house for a hour or two to return to civilization. It also meant meeting up with family and friends, all of us taking our time and just enjoying the meal and socializing. It reminded me how it's easy to forget in all our daily hustle that sometimes it's nice to just relax and linger over a meal with good company. There wasn't any pressure to get back home, as none of us wanted to leave and go back to staring at the walls, waiting and hoping we were next in line for power to return.

There were some lessons to be learned, such as having a spare no-power-needed phone can be handy. It's useful know where to find a flashlight with working batteries. Using dry ice to keep the contents of the fridge or freezer cold is fine, just don't use the dry ice in the actual refrigerator. It will likely require repairs when the power returns. Also carbonated sodas will explode when stored with dry ice, causing your refrigerator to look like it's been shot. Thankfully, that lesson didn't occur in my kitchen, but lesson heeded either way.

That explains three days in January, and of course a few more after the storm passed as I then had three days of work to catch up, so we're up to six days. What about the other twenty-five? I did manage to make one trip to Mountain Home, Arkansas. That's a whole other story and another post.

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I can only imagine the problems for those still waiting on power to return. It's been almost two weeks since the storm hit and there's quite a few out there with no power. I hope that it is restored soon and wish the best to those out there working long hours to make it happen.

Odds & Ends

Last year I visited a number of places that while they were interesting and definitely blog-worthy I didn't always take time out to make note of them. As it's the start of a new year, it's probably time I mention them in the order they pop into my mind.

After driving by one of those little roadside trailers a few times while heading to Little Rock, we finally remembered on one of those trips to not eat lunch before leaving town and make a stop there. I don't even know the actual name of it, other than it's the only place to eat in Amagon, Arkansas short of visiting family or killing whatever lives in the swampland nearby. So despite chiding from friends that we were eating what was "cooked using swamp water" we stopped in for lunch one day. The burger and tater tots were cooked just right and flavorful. Topping the meal off with a homemade apple fried pie reassured me that the risk of swamp water infection was worthwhile.

I've also had my eye on another place, this one leaning quite the opposite direction in atmosphere and style. I bookmarked Bailey's Chocolate Bar in St. Louis a number of months ago and had planned to put that on my next trip that direction. On my most recent trip there, I was able to fit it in the schedule. It was a little hard to spot at first, just a small nondescript entrance mixed in a few buildings near downtown. Once my husband & I convinced ourselves we should go see what was waiting inside, it was an experience. Seated in one of the larger spaces, we relaxed at a tall table to one side of the room and could take in the whole place. The restaurant was divided up into smaller areas, all with dark walls, velvet & candles draped around each space. As far as the food, the white hot chocolate was very good, and the Chocolate Inebriation cake was good, but the cinnamon ice cream on top was something to write home about. The Lover's Plate featuring a variety of delights had some interesting sauces and truffles, but the nuts included were so odd we had to bring some home. The exact flavor is indescribable, other than I didn't like it but I could not stop eating them either. I'm not sure what exactly they put on them that can create that sort of desire to eat something that just isn't that good, but I'd like to buy a few ounces and introduce it to some broccoli.

Since I've had a sudden shift of thoughts to breakfast, I'll jump back to Arkansas and the Green Tomato Cafe. Located on the square in Pocahontas, it's easy to find and will be wonderful to visit when warmer weather arrives. I've sampled both breakfast and lunch and would go back anytime I get the opportunity. The menu has a range of staples such as eggs, hash browns and classic southern fare meats. They also have very good pancakes, with a slight touch of citrus in them. It's not overpowering, but definitely adds a little something worth noting to the taste. At lunch the vegetable beef soup got rave reviews from our table, and if the two guys with me whose tastes are somewhat opposite ends of the spicy-heat index to agree it's good, that really makes a statement!

While on yet a different trip to Little Rock last year, we happened to get a late lunch at Cantina Laredo, a place that labels itself as gourmet Mexican food. I don't know I'd quite call it gourmet, but it was a nice change from the same menu we get at all the local "Authentic Mexican" restaurants that dot every busy street corner in my hometown. I'm not a fan of guacamole, but they make it tableside, and the menu had enough variety that I didn't go away hungry. It's in a handy location near The Container Store, a place where I could spend too much money in a very short time. The location alone puts it in my book as a worthwhile stop.

This past year I got the opportunity to try a tapas restaurant, and I can't wait to go to another. After my enthusiastic reviews to friends of the place, I think I may need a bigger car for my next trip down bite-sized goodness lane. I love the whole "small plates" concept. At a new restaurant, I always want to try a little of several things on the menu, especially if it's in a place where I'm not sure I'll be back soon. So I either feel like a glutton ordering too much food and wasting it because I can't begin to eat it all, or just roll the dice and hope I choose something great. Enough about the joys of going tapas... the specific Tapas restaurant I went to was BARcelona in St. Louis. I sampled a variety of dishes, all of which were good. Just like Il Vicino, which I mentioned in a previous post, the cozy, small space atmosphere seemed fitting. This place however was buzzing with chatter from full tables of happy patrons downing pitchers of Sangria and nibbling at all the tasty small plates. It's probably best that I don't have a handy tapas restaurant just around the corner or they would certainly know me on a first name basis.

This isn't an exhaustive list of good eats I found along my travels last year, but it does cover just a few that were blog-worthy and that somehow failed to make it into a previous post. When there's good food and good fun to be found, I can't keep all it to myself!

Small Chain Pizza Goodness

While I'm not always the advocate of chain restaurants, Il Vicino in Clayton, Missouri (the St. Louis area) falls in that short list of exceptions. With around eight locations total, this is definitely worth a stop for lunch or dinner.
In our search for something nearby our hotel on a Sunday evening, the concierge suggested we put this one on the list to consider. Thank you concierge! While it starts with ordering at a counter, the service after is very good and the menu varied enough to please. The focus is primarily on made-to-order pizzas, with pastas, sandwiches, soups and salads also on the list. The roasted garlic tomato soup was some of the best I've had, however the Minestrone did seem to contain about every veggie they could find chopped into large hunks. (I prefer a smaller, more easily consumed diced version of veggies in soup, but that's just me.)
Then there was the pizza. Ranking as probably one of the top five pizzas I've had, to say it's good is not really fair. It starts with a wood oven baked thin crust. Topped with a variety of choices, but the one I chose had roasted red peppers. Ordinarily I avoid any peppers on pizza because most chefs simply dice up a red pepper and toss it raw onto the pizza. It comes out crunchy, and I don't care for the texture. The only things that should crunch on a pizza are a really crisp thin crust or bacon. Beyond that, it should be spicy, ooey, gooey goodness. So when I ordered it without the peppers and it arrived decorated in red strips I was apprehensive. Thankfully I gave it a try. Red pepper, with all that rich flavor and none of the offensive raw crunch. Yes! Oh, it had some other toppings too including chicken, fontina cheese and sun dried tomatoes. All in all, a mighty fine pie.
Across the table from me, my husband had pretty noteworthy pizza. The sausage on his pizza was fantastic, probably some of the best I've had anywhere.
Il Vicino has a small corner cafe appeal, it's cozy yet a reasonable choice for a small family to dine. It's one of the few places that reminds me of restaurants in Italy, minus the long-aged feel that seems just natural to all the eateries there. Give it a few hundred years and they'll be right at home. In the mean time, I hope they don't change the recipes!

The World Chicken Festival

For a classic Southern festival with all the character, odd items for sale and next to every food possible deep-fried, the World Chicken Festival in London, Kentucky is a prime example. Every summer this small town opens up its doors to the world and according to locals about 300,000 people pour in for all the festivities. Less than twenty miles down the road from the home to the original KFC in Corbin, Kentucky, London hosts the yearly festival over several closed off blocks downtown. Besides, any event that advertises the "worlds largest skillet" is worth checking out.

We spent a couple of hours roaming the street, ducking into booths of local wares, t-shirts, toys to tempt the younger crowd, and of course a few places with items pawned off as local with those little "made in china" stickers still prominently affixed. For those looking to mingle with the unnaturally gorgeous types that live in tv-land, this isn't the place. It's a place to disappear in a t-shirt clad denim world. That infamous skillet is located at one end of main street; the line for chicken meals was long enough that despite my strong desire to consume something from a skillet so large it requires a garden rake to stir, I gave in to the call of a shorter line for funnel cake instead. It was a tough decision, mass quantities of fried chicken or a funnel cake... hmm... fried and artery clogging in the sweet or savory form... Either one has a truly satisfying effect.

Despite the size of the crowd and location, parking wasn't terribly difficult or expensive. Rather than starting at the nearby lemonade stand where they didn't even make a pretense of trying to hide the Country Time Instant Mix they were using to make their $5 a glass "homemade" lemonade, we stopped at a local restaurant for lunch on the way to Main Street. House's Restaurant was a real find. The food was good, but what really made it exceptional was the hospitality of owners Dean and Doris and their really cool pool hall in back. Decorated with quirky message signs and memorabilia and with the tunes provided by a real jukebox (the kind that plays 45 singles) the pool hall was the kind of place you could hang out for hours and never get bored, while never really doing much either. Owner Doris is there grilling up burgers daily, and it's clearly one of those fixtures in the area; the restaurant has been in the same spot since 1963. Well worth the stop on 4th Street, plus it's right on the way to Main street and the Chicken Festival.

To compensate for the overload of inevitable fried goodies that ultimately most any visitor to the festival will be tempted into consuming, the day starts with a 5K run. It certainly made me feel better knowing that I'd prepaid my penance for the funnel cake I ate that afternoon. Plus the course for the race was interesting, and definitely hilly enough to be challenging. For those who are not into such a hardy wake-up, sleeping in until the parade starts at around 11am is a perfectly acceptable substitute.

Overall it's worth a drive, but at 7 hours one-way, I'll probably not make it a yearly pilgrimage. But if I did go back, I'd probably wait in line for a piece of chicken.

Patti's Pies

So if you were to have a good meal at a restaurant back in the 1880's, would it have included a list of around thirty different pies, many of which are topped with enough meringue to reach 9 inches high? In those days there wasn't a Denny's or IHOP in nearly every town, much less a variety of deserts to compare to the modern day choices.

But at Patti's 1880's Settlement in Grand Rivers, Kentucky, you can kick it old school... really old school... and get your choice of a whole lot of pies in a somewhat kitschy 1880's style setting. The restaurant sits among floral and plant gardens, sculptures, pens holding a odd collection of barnyard critters and a bit of a small town on the lake. (See photo at right of one of the oddest chickens I've ever seen. I honestly thought it was a dog at first.) Ladies wearing long simple floral print dresses take orders and rattle off the list of pies from memory to full patrons who just keep on eating anyway (me included.) The menu includes plenty of choices of good southern food in generous portions, including fresh homemade potato chips, which themselves are a treat not to be missed. The pies... they were something to behold, in all their massive glory. Just looking at the miles of meringue waiting to be consumed was blissful. Oh, and they do have pies that aren't meringues that are pretty amazing too. The Chess Pie, Bill's Boatsinker Pie and the Dutch Peach Pie were all amazing in their own way, and honestly I couldn't choose a favorite of them all, they were all that impressively good.

I've been asked more than once how do I find these places? This one was recommended to my dad, and it was just a few miles out of the way on our trip toward eastern Kentucky. The recommended dish was the Pork Chops and they were definitely pretty outstanding. If they took away the "theme park" of the place and just kept the menu with all its tasty bits intact, it would be worth making a stop. It's the added theme (and convenient gift shop) that brings in the busloads of tourists on their own treks across the state. I can't say I blame them for doing what pays the bills; just don't stop making those pies. Those will bring the foodies like me back, and have us sending our friends by to sit a spell too.

About Town in Fredericksburg, Texas

There's a certain set of elements common to the small, southern, tourist-friendly town that makes these types of places easily identifiable. For the tourist, they center around a cluster of a few blocks containing local specialty shops, or at least shops that put up a "local" appearance. Mixed in are a few restaurants that primarily focus on the area's reputation or heritage, from Victorian to German to whatever nickname the town has garnered over the years. Parking is always limited and awkward, and often the buildings are presented as old, regardless of their real age, as a way to draw in the nostalgia-seekers and history buffs. And there's almost always one good sweet shop or chocolatier selling their decadent treats to tourists needing a sugar-fix or a good way to truly blow their diet to smithereens.

I've been to a number of these towns, and when they aren't quite as well known beyond about a 200 mile radius, they tend to be more relaxing and maintain their charm. Once they reach much beyond that, they morph into something entirely different; they become a haven for rednecks, a tourist trap complete with twenty-seven miniature golf courses and traffic that slows to a crawl. When that change becomes imminent, I scratch them off my travel destination list. I've seen what both look like, and fortunately there's enough of the good kind left that I don't think we're in danger of them all going downhill to become the next version of "hillbilly hell."

Fredericksburg shares the basics of the better type of these small towns. Parking isn't quite as difficult, although it is somewhat limited. The class of shops there is a bit of a step up from the typical corner ten-dollar t-shirt stands and trinket shops; those looking for designer label clothing can shop here quite well. Crowds were very moderate, and the main street blocks are a mostly flat, easily accessible area to roam around during the day. It's clear that a number of the shops aren't someone's dream business where they've poured every last penny of savings into making it happen. Someone has provided quite generous funding so that no detail goes unnoticed, from the flooring to the light fixtures and every inch in-between. Not all are this way, but enough to make them worth noting.

The German heritage of the area shows in the restaurant menus, schnitzel in about every form is commonplace, as well as German beer, beer and more beer. Did I mention that they clearly must move a lot of German beer? While there, my husband and I went to August E's for dinner one night and The Auslander Biergarten another evening. Both were good, though I will say I liked the atmosphere and food overall a bit better at August E's.

For hotel, we chose a suite at the Fredericksburg Inn & Suites. It's well located for convenient access to the shopping and dining district. For the price, it wasn't bad but I would probably choose something a little quieter and newer for any return trips to the area. With the old school outside entrances to the rooms and a courtyard in the middle with a large pool, it's going to be a bit noisy by design. The staff there was exceptionally friendly and helpful, which these days is a very pleasant find. The included continental breakfast was worth stopping to eat, and better than many others I've found.

Fredericksburg was our home base for the trip, but we spent a good deal of time driving the back roads of Texas Hill Country. The quality of roads that seem to be completely out in the middle of nowhere is pretty impressive. Another noteworthy thing was the friendly nature of other drivers. Anytime we were behind someone that was traveling a bit slower than we would prefer to go, all we had to do was wait a minute. As soon as it was reasonable to do so, they would pull off to the far right side of the lane, using the shoulder of the road as much as possible to allow us to pass. If only all slower drivers went to Texas for a little driving lesson... sigh. On Saturday, we made a lunch stop at Frio Canyon Motorcycle Stop in Leakey, Texas. Talk about your obscure places, this is up on the list of out-of-the-way eateries that's worth finding just for the experience. The eclectic collection of motorcycles, cars and other unusual motorized devices made for entertainment just walking through the parking lot. Oh and they serve food too.

Also just a few miles east of Fredericksburg is Wildseed Farms. Their primary business is wildflower seed used throughout the US in highway areas for erosion control and other purposes. At their Fredericksburg store, they have a large selection of garden plants and gardening items, decorative accessories, locally produced foods like honey and preserves. They also have a $5 tour of their Butterfly Haus and trial gardens. For a amateur photographer or hobbyist, this place will virtually guarantee a need to go buy more camera memory cards on the way back into town. I clicked away until I saw the dreaded "CF Full" on the display and let that be my indicator I'd been behind the lens long enough. (See picture at left from the Butterfly Haus and above from the trial gardens. )

I'd rank Fredericksburg up in the group of still really undiscovered small tourist-friendly towns with places like Blowing Rock, North Carolina or St. Charles, Missouri. It's a bit more upscale like those two towns, but with the benefit of Texas Hill Country roads right at it's doorstep, it does have some extra mileage. The only downside I see is that it's a 13 hour drive to get there. That's a long way to drive, especially when a significant portion of the plan after I get there is to go for a drive.

Back to Nashville

Recently I made my yearly pilgrimage to Nashville to see Alton Brown's seminar. As always, it was well worth the trip and he has a fun and informative talk. I always come away with a case of the "wants" for new toys that he's using on stage. This year was no exception, he used a Thermal Circulating Bath to slowly cook beef spareribs. (See picture at left.) I hope that Alton is right in his theory that we'll be seeing these machines become more consumer level in usability, size and price. I just don't have a deep abiding love of ribs, and so far I've not found a recipe that is so spectacular as to justify lightening my wallet by a few thousand dollars. Get the cost down into the few hundred range and it might get more appealing.

The event was at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel, as it has been the last couple of years. It has been renovated which is nice, but the details were skipped somewhat. It seems the quality of maintenance has declined over the last couple of years. The resort has become very much a convention oriented hotel, with I suspect a grand total of about five rooms with king beds in the whole facility. Despite reserving a king bed room three years in a row, I've yet to get one. Apparently the whole Gaylord reservation system is a disaster as I haven't gotten the right type room I've reserved anytime I've been to any Gaylord location. Not once. The hotel overall is still worth visiting just because the immense indoor gardens are a visual treat. They're a shutterbug's idea of a fun house, giving me a chance to hone my mad photography skills.

Within the property is Old Hickory Steakhouse, an upscale restaurant heavily oriented to the carnivore. The atmosphere and presentation are excellent, but the food was a bit disappointing. Previous visits were better but this time didn't impress me all that much, especially for the price. The restaurants overall on the property tend to be overpriced; and while the buffets offer a plentiful variety, they're just moderate in quality and taste.

Saturday morning provided us a chance to meet Alton during a breakfast Meet & Greet. The staff there put together a well run event that morning, with a nice variety of interesting dishes that I wouldn't expect to find on any buffets there. They came with the recipes too, so I've already repeated a couple of them at home. The food at this part of the event served as a clear indicator that while they do have the ability to serve up some quality dishes, the corporate rules don't let them showcase these talents in the restaurants. The presentation was great too; if I could have found a way to get my hands on the "portable flat-top" they used to cook the Turkey Re-Hash, I'd have one right now. Not that I have a clue what I'd use it for, but it's one of those culinary goodies that drives me into finding recipes to justify it's existence in my kitchen. Or garage as would be the case here. This thing is pretty sizable. I appreciate the helpfulness of the chef manning the devise, as he was quite happy to show off that slab of cooking goodness. (See picture at right.)

On Saturday evening we found Macke's, a small and obviously somewhat not well known delicious restaurant. Patrons should be lined up out the door of this place. We had excellent food all around! The shrimp appetizer was phenomenal, as well as the low country boil. I believe the menu changes seasonally, which definitely makes me want to go back more than once. It was quiet and the setting perfect for a relaxing dinner to end a great day of entertainment, education and downright fun.

It's a Gamble: Food away from the Interstate

Sometimes when you venture off the known food road you're rewarded with a memorable experience. Those aren't always the best food experience but it's one of those risks generally worth taking. On the way to Texas hill country my husband and I stopped at Dixie Diner in Texarkana. The food was mostly food service bland but the music was funny. For some truly odd country music this is the place. The example that sticks with me most was the song where the only lyrics I could catch were "chicken fried". Now that I think about it, one other singer did seem to have an abnormal fixation with the phrase "visibly shaken". I'm not really sure why either would inspire an entire song dedicated to their wondrous phraseology, but someone deemed it necessary. We also made a stop at Penny's Diner, somewhere in southern Texas. It was another instance of the setting made the meal better. The waitress was chatty, but in that good southern hospitality sort of way and the place definitely had the 50's long metal diner building style down quite well.

I wouldn't really recommend either diner, but they were worth a good laugh and provided sustenance. Not every off-the-beaten-path choice is a perfect winner. It could also be that I've finally traveled enough to become a tough customer to surprise and impress.

Tea Time

The Little Tea Shop in downtown Memphis got my attention when it was featured on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. Its always nice to find some new good food not so far away that only other hard core crazy food junkies can imagine driving (or flying) that far just to eat.

While I would not put The Little Tea Shop on the places-worth-driving-thousands-of-miles-to list, it is worth finding parking in downtown Memphis to get there. Each patron gets a copy of the paper menu with a pencil. Despite the "tea room" name, this meat-and-three diner has menu of daily choices followed by other classic dishes and deserts. My favorite portion of the meal was the cornbread sticks. I know true cornbread aficionados would cringe that it's not made in the traditional round cast-iron skillet but these are really good. Besides, in stick form you get more of the outside crusty goodness that gets consumed first anyway. The daily special fried catfish was quite good, as well as the chicken breast and the corned beef & cabbage.

From the outside, this isn't a place I'd likely have spotted from the street, much less stopped. The atmosphere is relaxed, and clearly this is the place to see and be seen among the locals, but not in an arrogant sort of way. The few non-regulars that day included myself and my group, plus those brave souls who'd ventured away from their revelry at Graceland during an event known locally as Dead Elvis Week. The service was friendly but the clearly small wait staff struggled to keep up. I've watch just enough of Diners, Drive-ins and Dives to tell when the host Guy Fieri is really into a place, and he seemed to really enjoy this stop. I guess if I ever meet him I owe him a meal for pointing out a few local gems that I might not have found otherwise.

Quick Restaurant Review

A couple of blog-worthy places that I visited while in Little Rock were Loca Luna and The Hop Diner.

While subscribing to that "loud means good" trend I've seen in what's often the local hot places, Loca Luna is definitely a place for the cool kids to hang out. However the salsa makes it worth bringing the earplugs and digging in. The cheese dip is good, but the roasted red pepper and jalapeno salsa is good yet not as tongue-incinerating as the name might sound. The wood-fired pizza oven produced a tasty crisp crust pizza as well. Desert was a bit lacking but not bad.

The Hop Diner had a truly fantastic burger. Located downtown near the Rivermarket, the menu features a small but mostly diner type food choices of sandwiches, burgers and hot dogs. The turkey melt was also tasty; it arrives served on seared Parmesan bread, which is something I can't resist.

Both are worth checking out if you're in the area and looking for a good meal. I wouldn't rate either one as a Must-Visit, but I'm glad I went to both restaurants.

What a Hotel Should Be

Last night my husband and I were in Little Rock for the evening and stayed at the Crowne Plaza Hotel. After my trip to Atlanta, I was a bit apprehensive of the quality of nearly any hotel. Not that my Atlanta experience was that bad, but it left just enough of one to dampen my enthusiasm about another night in a hotel.
Thank you, Crowne Plaza of Little Rock. Thanks for having someone greet me at the door when I walked in. Thanks for having such a beautifully clean room, following through completely on the renovations to the building, and providing an adequate number of both pillows and towels right from the start. This hotel deserved to wear a banner proclaiming the "Whatever, Whenever" slogan that the W Hotels touted yet fell flat on delivering. The staff was friendly and seemed to bend over backward to help with any needs. We chose a room on the Club Floor, which I think was a wise choice for us. I do think the other floors are probably an equally good value, but for minimal price difference and the added amenities, the added expense was money well spent. The club floor had a lounge that included evening cocktails and hors d'oeuvres as well as breakfast the next morning. The food served wasn't the typical sad quality heat & eat steam table foodstuff, it was actually pretty tasty. I'd even describe the cookies as really, really good! Unlike the last hotel, the bottled water in the room was free. I've paid upwards of $40 for hotel breakfast elsewhere that didn't compare to what I ate this morning. It wasn't a 5-star gourmet breakfast, but it was good.

I know Top Ten lists are so cliche and overdone, but I'm going to go there anyway. There are a few things I look for in a quality hotel, and this one covered them all quite well. Some of those, not in any particular order, include:
1. Curtains can be closed to create a truly dark sleeping environment. They took it one step further providing a "Curtain Clip." Close those shades up and at 9am and the room had barely the faintest sign that we'd gone from night to day.
2. Quiet. Period. I have little tolerance for the herd of elephants on the floors above me, and of course being on the top floor helps. I didn't hear hallway noise either, despite being in very close proximity to an elevator. Going above and beyond, they provided earplugs, a sleep mask and even a CD of soothing sounds or something like that.
3. Don't put a glass top on the desk. If it's a business hotel, as this one is marketed, make it business friendly by making using my optical mouse on the desk possible.
4. Give me adequate pillows and bath towels. Again, well done in this aspect.
5. High-Speed Internet access should not cost me $10 or more a day. Most moderate priced hotels have this right, it's most often wireless and it's free.
6. Some bottled water in the room (that you don't charge $10 for looking at) would be great too. In some cities the tap water isn't fit to drink. It's barely tolerable to take a shower. Little Rock generally isn't that way but a couple of small bottles in the room was a welcome find.
7. It's great to have a small light source in the bathroom to keep from tripping over the bath mat on my way to the toilet. This hotel had one of those flat plug-in night lights. Fantastic.
8. Providing a blow dryer with more wind power than a chihuahua's sneeze and that isn't permanently affixed to the most inconvenient wall in the bathroom is a nice touch.
9. A real thermostat, hallelujah! While I understand from the maintenance standpoint it's far more difficult to repair a centralized type of unit than those stand-alone devices, it's not as noisy and easier to get the temperature comfortable and keep it that way.
10. Use a fitted sheet on the bed. So many hotels try to make it easier on themselves by making do with a flat sheet on the bottom. They don't stay tucked in if I move more than 3 inches to the left after climbing in bed that night.

Of course those are just a few of my little picky things I think help make for a good hotel. Some are forgivable based on the price or special circumstances, some are not. Finding a hotel that meets them all is rare. Yesterday I did find one and am quite pleased to know I've got a good place to stay anytime I visit Little Rock.

Since I can't leave well enough alone and just heap on the praise, I'll give my two small complaints about the hotel. The desk wasn't placed all that well for two guests in the room as the chair blocks the path of travel. The bathroom was a bit small, but again that really comes with having two guests in the room instead of one. Basically, I'm really reaching to find issue with the hotel. Finally! A place really worthy of a positive blogging experience.