Playing With Our Food

We were on vacation. We were hungry. And when we saw it, like a magnet, we were drawn to it. We trudged through the snow and walked into the 1960s. Or was it the 1950s? Well, whenever it was, it delivered a nostalgic blast from the past. And don’t forget the milk shake! A most interesting way to be greeted in the men's bathroom He said: As the waitress slid a menu in front of me, there they were – five of the most welcoming words anybody anywhere can find at a restaurant: “We Serve Breakfast All Day.” Oh man, we hit the jackpot! Biscuits and gravy, steak and eggs, stacks of eggs, pancakes, and then there were all the other meal choices like pasta, steaks, burgers, sandwiches, soups, salads and starters. Just so many choices but hey, this was a we-serve-breakfast-all-day kind of place so was there really any true conflict? No! I ordered cinnamon maple French toast. Yes indeed, a stack of thick satisfaction with a crusty coat of sweet goodness. I’m also the kind of guy who loves h...

There's something about comfort food, especially when you sit down to get it at a long-time, comfortable Ma and Pa Shop. That's why our wood-gathering trip to the small western Montana town of Drummond started out as one of anticipation but ended up being so disappointing. At our house, we burn wood in the winter. To stock up, you can either head into the mountains and cut down/haul/split/stack your own trees (which is heck of a lot of work), pay through the nose to have it delivered already cut and split, pay for an 18-wheeler to dump a load of logs at your place (still a heck of a lot of work) or you can do what we do. We take an annual hour-long drive east to the small town of Drummond to visit Pfendler Post and Pole, which has a pile of already pre-cut firewood on the back portion of its property. You just need a trailer and a couple of hours to load it. Lori and I brought along a couple of grandkids, Kyler and Lyla, to join us. I was excited to take all of them to the Wago...

“Surprised and satisfied.” Those are the words I told my daughter after she took Lori and me to eat brunch at Poa Café in Portland, Oregon. Surprised because well, hangouts like this one aren’t exactly my vibe. Maybe that’s because my history would instead place me at a Ma and Pa restaurant featuring those large oval plates – one half filled with a three-egg omelet and the other with a huge mound of hashbrowns as part of an all-day breakfast menu.     Plus, I’m more of a breakfast and a lunch guy, not so much a brunch guy. Still, this was good. I mean, really good. He said: Since it was late-morning, I was h-u-n-g-r-y for this brunch stop. The menu featured a wide selection of dishes, smoothies, bowls and other choices. I went with the egg and cheese melt. More specifically, “three omlete-style eggs and melted cheddar cheese on toasted sourdough with a side of dressed greens and a seed garnish.” And yes, I added a couple of strips of bacon on the melt. I was afraid...