Dinner Out

Usually, when I write a "Dinner Out" posting, it will be a review of the restaurant. And this one will probably be a bit of that.

But mostly, I'll just tell a bit about the newest young lady in my life: my granddaughter Katherine.

Jan and I went to Tennessee last Wednesday and Thursday - she had a business meeting to attend on Thursday morning in Smyrna, and I went to have lunch with my friend Ron, and to keep Jan company on the trip.

Along the way, we had a meal at a Cracker Barrel, and we noticed they had their double chocolate Coca-Cola Cake on the menu again.

Both Jan and I have only two words to say about this offering from Cracker Barrel, and they are both "Yum."

We first encountered this cake several years ago, when we met my sister and her family at a Cracker Barrel in North Carolina, and we got on piece and passed it around to everyone. It was so yummy that when we got home, we just HAD to go to Cracker Barrel and try it again, this time getting a whole piece each, so we didn't have to share it.

Unfortunately, when we got there, we were informed that the Coca-Cola cake was just a seasonal offering, and they had taken it off the menu just a couple of days ago.

AAARRRRGGGHHH!

About a year later, we found they again had it on their menu, and got some, and came back the next week to get some for Jan's birthday, and again it had been taken off the menu!

How frustrating.

So when we encountered this cake on the menu just a few days ago, we got some, and determined that when we got home, we'd have to go to Cracker Barrel again, taking Grace (Jan's mom) with us this time, and get it again.

So today, Sunday, September 20, 2009, I called my son Chad and invited him and his wife and daughter to meet us at Cracker Barrel tonight, and of course, they accepted.

Katherine just had her first birthday last week, and I've got to tell you, I've never seen a happier baby. She is such an amazing blessing to everyone who meets her.

The picture at the right is Katherine a couple of weeks ago (Sept 6) at a pool party in Gulfport, MS, where we had gone for a Home School association reunion. But that's a different posting.

Well, Katherine got a wee little nap after church today, but unfortunately, she had been awake pretty much all afternoon, and by the time we all got together at the restaurant, the poor girl was already scrubbing her eyes.

She was happy to see everyone, but still, it took several minutes to get a smile out of her. She wasn't fussy, or grumpy, or any way you'd expect a tired and sleepy baby to be. She was just "zoned out," just staring and hardly taking it in.

Eventually, she did get a little cranky, but by this time, dinner was pretty much over, and it was time to leave. She voiced a small objection when she was put back into her baby carrier, but you could tell the objection was only a formality, and she was truly glad to be mostly lying down again.

I doubt if she remained awake for five minutes after Chad and Sarah got her back in the car.

Now, about Cracker Barrel tonight.

We had a very nice young lady as a server, and she took good care of us. When she came to take our order, I picked up the advertising card they had on the table, the one that ctrumpeted the glories of their double chocolate fudge Coca-Cola cake, and while pointing to the cake, told our server, "We're going to get this for our dinner tonight. But for an appetizer, we'll split the pot roast."

She laughed delightedly, just as though I'd really said something funny, then she changed expressions. "I've got some bad news for y'all," she said. "We're out of the Coca-Cola cake."

Wouldn't you know it.

So hopefully we'll be able to go back there some other time and get the cake - while they are still making it.

The rest of the meal was quite good, and our server kept us well-supplied with biscuits and cornbread, so we definitely didn't leave hungry.

But we did miss out on the Coca-Cola cake.