Barbeque Kitchen, College Park, Georgia, May 26, 2018

We’d dropped Jenna off at the airport to head off on a three week trip to Alaska with her friend Lily (yes, I tried my best to stow away and go too but I just couldn’t fit in her suitcase and, of course, would exceed the 50-pound weight limit for a checked bag). Since Jenna and her friend were flying stand-by ConnieLou didn’t want to get too far from the airport until we knew that the girls would make it on their flight we decided to have breakfast nearby. We thought about going to Chick-Fil-A’s Dwarf house in Hapeville but decided against it since there are two other CFA locations within 5 miles of our house and we could have CFA anytime. Instead we opted for the Barbeque Kitchen in College Park.

The Barbeque Kitchen is a College Park institution, having been in the same location since it opened in 1958. ConnieLou, being a College Park native, has been there quite a few times over the years but I think I’ve only been there a time or two and never for breakfast. We walked in and sat down and our server came by with menu’s and took our drink order. After giving the menu a quick look ConnieLou ordered the two egg and bacon plate that came with grits and biscuits and I ordered two steak biscuits and a side of hash browns.

When our food arrived ConnieLou was quick to notice that the tops of the biscuits weren’t painted with melted butter, a common restaurant practice that I’m not particularly fond of. Indeed they weren’t. To make things even better they were light and fluffy, unlike the dense, chewy bread cakes that most restaurants try to pass off as biscuits. The steak in my biscuits was fresh breaded ‘country fried’ cubed steak, not the frozen, deep fried pieces of mystery meat that many restaurants try to pass off as country fried steak. ConnieLou said that her fried eggs were cooked just right and the grits were actually good. Yeah, try getting good grits at a restaurant these days…generally doesn’t happen.

So how did the Barbeque Kitchen fare on the Thumbs Scale? We gave it 4 out of a possible four thumbs up. There’s a pretty good reason the Barbeque Kitchen has been around for 60 years. The place may be a little worn around the edges but 60 years in business will do that…but the food is darn good!

The Blue Hen Cafe, St. Augustine, Florida, October 22, 2017

One last entry from our Flagler Family Weekend weekend in St. Augustine.

Family Weekend Sundays usually aren’t fun days. We tend to be pretty wiped out from trying to cram way too much into a couple of days, there are goodbyes to be said, and then there is the long drive home.  But, more often than not, there are bright spots during the day like having brunch with Jenna and her roomie, Hannah, and Hannah’s mom Jodi before having to leave and then being greeted by Ashley and our dogs and cats when we arrived home.

We ran into Hannah and her family Saturday morning as we were on the way to lunch in the college dining hall (No, I’m not going to do a review of the dining hall) and they were on their way to a lunch meeting.  We only had a few minutes to talk but it was enough to decide that we were going to get together for breakfast/brunch Sunday morning and that ConnieLou and Jodi would work out the details later.  By evening the details were worked out and it was decided that we’d meet up at the Blue Hen Café in St. Augustine’s Lincolnville neighborhood.

Sunday morning rolled around and we met up with Hannah and Jodi and got our names on the wait list.  The Blue Hen Café is a small place with a dozen or so tables and, by the number of people waiting at any given time, a fairly large following.  Good things come in small packages, right?  We waited about thirty minutes before being seated but it gave us time to talk…yes, talk.  Remember that?  That thing we did before texting and instant messaging?  You know, verbal communication.

Once seated we placed our orders.  I picked the Corned Beef Hash, Jenna chose the Breakfast Burrito, and ConnieLou went with the King’s French Toast, French toast made with a brioche roll stuffed with banana and peanut butter.  Hannah ordered the Pumpkin Pancakes and Jodi selected the Zada Jane’s Stack, a sausage frittata with sweet potato home fries.

I’m not going to go into detail about everyone’s impressions of their meals but it’s safe to say we all walked out stuffed and satisfied.  How did the Blue Hen Café fare on the Thumbs Scale?  Yeah, 10 out of a possible 10 thumbs and I think I saw a few fingers and toes thrown in.  FWIW, I happened to notice their Chicken Biscuit on a plate at a nearby table and it looked mighty good.  Think I know what I’ll be trying the next time we visit.