West of Mayberry

30+ Day Challenge, Part 14 – Favorite Place To Eat

For the longest time, my favorite place to eat was a little diner just outside of town.  It doesn’t exist anymore, but they had the best pancakes a man could ever want.  You could get pancakes all day long.  Not any other breakfast.  Just pancakes and bacon. They were fluffy in the middle¹ and crisp on the edge² and the syrup was always served warm.  I always got the pancakes with pecans.  A stack of five³ with a side of bacon and a big orange juice.  There was a waitress there for a while that, if I paid enough attention to her, would give me extra bacon.  The place has been gone since about 1999 or 2000.

I guess my favorite now is a place down in Knoxville called Litton’s.  It’s not a fancy place or a place with clever names for their foods.  It’s just a nice comfortable restaurant that serves basic good food.  As far as I know, everything is prepared fresh on the premises.  In fact, they have big butcher case filled with burger patties, steaks, fish etc., flanked by crates of potatoes ready to be peeled and sliced for fries.

You walk in, sign your name to a chalk board, and wait⁴ to be called.  While you wait, you can look at all kinds of framed news and magazine articles about the place, some of the intricate chalk drawings, or watch sports on one of the 3 big screen TVs.  The atmosphere is friendly and welcoming. The staff is always nice and they all help each other out.  Four or five different people might be at your table in one sitting.

Like I said the food is basic.  But so damned good. They are famous for their burgers, fries, onion rings, and deserts, the most popular of which are the also two of my favorites: Italian Creme Cake and Red velvet Cake.  But they also have daily blue plate specials, meatloaf, nice home-cooked vegetables, and soup or chili.  And they don’t skimp on the portions of any of it.

If I had to make any complaint, it’s just a little bit pricey for basic comfort food.  No matter how good.

I know the point of this challenge post was to talk about a favorite restaurant, but it said favorite “place” to eat.  So, that could also mean a favorite location.

In that case, I’d have to say our back porch.

I love being out there.   because it is screened in, I can enjoy the feel of being outside without the annoyance of insects buzzing around my food.

When the weather permits, I eat my breakfast⁵ out there on a daily basis, either in my underpants or my thermals.  I love watching the sunrise and enjoying the noisy quiet of nature before the dew⁶ burns off the grass.

And on summer nights, it’s a favorite spot of Granny and mine for dessert.

No waiting in lines, and the best seat in the house.

Or outside the house, as the case my be.

{ fin }

1. without being doughy [↩]
2. without being burned [↩]
3. even though they were almost as big around as a dinner plate [↩]
4. generally a while, because they are always crowded [↩]
5. always oatmeal and a Granny Smith apple [↩]
6. or frost [↩]

§ 5 Responses to What’s Cooking"

• Walt says:

  February 2, 2011 at 2:16 am

  I love pancakes with pecans. Haven’t had any in ages. I think I need to go to the store now…
• Todd/Imnot2bzy says:

  February 2, 2011 at 5:57 am

  Damn that made me hungry! I love breakfast food. I could eat it for the 3 meals a day.

  I recall the extra bacon story =P
• Rick says:

  February 2, 2011 at 6:52 am

  I love going out for breakfast, such a treat, and pecan pancakes sound wonderful.
• rayrayj says:

  February 2, 2011 at 1:17 pm

  One of my favorite places to eat is the back deck of my house. I love to have my coffee there in the morning while I relax and listen to the birds. I also enjoy watching the bats when I relax on my deck about dusk. In my opinion it’s the best place in the world to have a steak at the end of the day.
• A says:

  February 8, 2011 at 3:03 pm

  Must be nice to have a private, nearly outdoor space to eat breakfast in your underpants. I bet breakfast invitations are coveted.