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Pie meringue almost always comes out either one of two ways: really good, or just white stuff on top of a pie. The Crystal Grill‘s pies (incl. the meringue) are *always* great.
While we were in Greenwood this time, we took these pics:
I had the coconut pie:
Av had the chocolate:
Giardina’s is now open on Mondays – so while we were there this last week, we took some pics (Giardina’s is right next to the Alluvian Hotel – so if you’re a guest at the hotel, you don’t even have to walk outside to get to it).
This is the view from inside the curtained booth. BTW, if it’s important to you to eat in one of the curtained areas, be sure to tell them when you make the reservation so there’s no chance that you’ll be put in the dining room at the end of the hallway if they’re busy (the dining room isn’t bad at all – but why not get the full experience?).
The booths all feature buzzers, so if you need the waiter, you can just ring for him. Our waiter seemed pretty talkative (but he kept calling us ‘guys’ – I heard him doing it with the table next to ours, too…..and this is just a peeve of mine or whatever….but when you’re somewhere you’ve gotten dressed up to go and you’re going to spend real money….I just think people shouldn’t be called ‘guys’. At Burger King, okay – but not somewhere nice.). I asked him what percentage of people actually used it (of every time we’ve been to Lusco’s or Giardina’s, I think we may have used it one time). He said that about 30% of tables will use it, and went on to say it was usually rich women who didn’t work that really liked to wear it out.
Anyway.
…as you can see, it’s nice and dark….
Behind that chair, the button:
My mint julep:
Here’s a pic of my bloody mary. It’s nice, and they put fresh pepper on top to give it a little bit of a bite:
This is Av’s gumbo, which I’m not sure qualifies in my book as gumbo. There was no detectable okra and no rice at all….
These were the tamales we had as as an appetizer:
I had the linguine pasta with basil pesto cream sauce. Very good…
Av had the whole broiled pompano. Nice….
…and for the sides, we chose the garlic mashed potatoes and the ricotta spinach (very, very good).
This is a pic of Lusco’s, which we like a little bit better than Giardina’s. They aren’t open Sundays or Mondays, so we didn’t get to go this time – but when we’re back in Greenwood in December, we’ll be there!
We had a really nice lunch at Airport Grocery in Cleveland. I’ve been wanting us to visit since I got the cd of Willie Foster playing there in 2000, I think.
Hot tamales were pretty good:
We both had hamburgers – Av thought they were excellent. Everything was good, but I think the potato salad was the icky Sysco brand. Overall, a really good lunch spot though.
Av and I got back over to Doe’s Eat Place (the original) in Greenville – and I took lots of pics:
Aunt Florence seated us – she’s *always* there. This time we sat in the back – we got there early (about 5:30pm) because we had to be at something later that night. BTW, they open earlier in the day for people to come by and get tamales.
The interior is all oilcloth tablecloths, framed magazine and newspaper articles about Doe’s, football posters, and seed sacks.
The fries on cooking on the stove. They’re cooked the right way – in big cast iron skillets.
Above: the middle room is where the salads and fries are made.
Here’s the salad – the dressing is just fresh-squeezed lemons and olive oil. Yum!
We *of course* had to get a small order of tamales.
..and we shared this *huge* Porterhouse which we weren’t even able to finish (delish)…our dog Bagel will looove this bone. Also in the picture are Av’s french fries, which are always amazing.
…here’s Doe cooking the steaks. Doe’s daddy (also Doe) started the restaurant.
…in the front room. These are steaks that have just been cut.
Everything, as always, was fantastic!
A couple of weeks ago, we visited the original Dreamland in Tuscaloosa. There are several other Dreamland locations now – a couple in Georgia, a new one in Northport, and four others around Alabama.
…so on our way to our trip this week, we visited Archibald’s in Northport:
…you could sit inside at the counter, but there’s three or four picnic tables out front by the road, too.
…here’s a pic of the pit (above). The inside is the blackest thing you’ve ever seen.
Walnut Hills is a ‘revolving table’ restaurant, which means that you sit at a large table with 10 or 12 other people and food is put in front of you on a giant lazy susan that everybody spins to get the dish they like.
Just getting started:
We talked mostly to two couples, one was local and they were super-nice. They were originally from the Delta, and so we got to talk about Cleveland and that area for a while. The other couple (also super-nice) was in Vicksburg because they were on their way back from visiting their condo in Biloxi to see what damage had occurred after Hurricane Katrina. As it turns out, their condo (ground level unit) was damaged very badly. And the couple – they were from Franklin, Tennessee – were in for a fight with their insurance company. They said they had asked their agent when the policy for the condo was written about tidal waves and such, and they were told that they couldn’t get that type of policy written for that location. They will also have to fight (just like everybody else) because their condo is a huge, broken mess and if the damage is due to wind, then they have a certain amount of coverage. But if everything was okay until the storm surge, then it’s classified as a flood and they’re completely out of luck. It’s just something you feel terribly about.
We did get to talk about nicer subjects than the hurricane, and really had a lovely lunch with some very nice people.
As far as what was served, there was coleslaw, fried chicken, greens, rice, macaroni and tomatoes, I can’t even remember everything that they put out….Av especially likes their chicken. The only thing I wasn’t crazy about, that I didn’t remember from the last time we visited, was that they only served unsweet tea!
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In Vicksburg, Av and I also really like Solly’s Hot Tamales (1921 Washington St).
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