Hopefully, you all know I love and seek the “just right” experience, which is harmony in all things. What could be more “right” than a brunch in a church hall, served by members of the church. They’re not paid, they volunteer their time, no tip to worry about, no “Hi I’m..” no “are ya still workin’ on that?”. Just bring the food and clear the dishes. Water filled, coffee refreshed, nice. Just right.
So we checked in, made one of those little sticky name tags that never stay attached, and entered the “hall”. It’s a rather smallish place with 10 tables set closely enough that you had to suck it in to get around. They were set with (cloth!) wrapped tools, and a little plastic cup of fruit, and coffee and juice were available on side tables. Just right.
Despite the little name tags which mostly fall off, most everybody knew everybody else anyway, as the Library community is a pretty tightly knit bunch. After the requisite milling around time we eventually sat down at the tables. There was some speechifyin’, introductions of various board members, luminaries, politicians, etc., and then we were ready to eat. At this point the kitchen informed us that indeed we were NOT ready to eat, so that gave our local director of libraries a chance to remind us (and those politicians) of the importance of libraries in our community.
A change from previous years was the food wasn’t put out on a buffet but plated in the kitchen and distributed by the “church ladies” by bringing out plates on little carts that had to navigate around the tables some, which was no easy task, but eventually (eventually) everybody was served. If you have noticed, a lot of “up town” breakfasts feature “low fat” this and that, yogurt, crunchy little oats and twigs, “lite” butter for your toasted English muffin, and so forth. Well, guess what? Down Country doesn’t do that..
Clockwise from ten o’clock we have “French toast”, grilled little slices of baguette, a slice of Quiche with real eggs (no beaters!) and ham and cheese. Then we move on to the chicken noodle casserole (with real chicken mind you), broccoli and cream sauce with bread crumbs. Oh, there’s a couple of sausage patties. Hey! What’s that little square? Down County folk will know it’s Scrapple! Ever seen that on the Up Town Buffet? Just right. We could do a whole post on Scrapple, but for another time. If you don’t know it’s a “mush” created from pork (everything but the oink) by boiling with cornmeal and flour, formed into a loaf, then sliced and fried. I’ve been told there are just a few places in the county where you can order it: Linda’s, Abell’s, and Quades are apparently the only options. Plus the church ladies..
Although I’ve had it before and been less than impressed, this was pretty good. A little blander than the sausage, but still a unique taste. Feel those arteries closing? Boy everything tasted good.
And if that weren’t enough, there was a table full of “sweets” for those with enough room after the hearty fare...
After the meal we were treated to a little program by David Brown of Sotterley who has authored a book about the plantation and it’s people. Very informative.
But for me, the fascination was with the food. Prepared honestly by real people and tasted like it.
So, “up town” restaurants have their places, but so do little brunches like this. Not that there’s a competition, just two different experiences. One might require a little driving, the other a little looking around.
Just another example of nothing to do “down county”.
Thursday called for
DFD
While Saturday we were
DFB(runch)
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