Ha! Fooled you! You thought this would be a diatribe on the wonders of bran, but you were mistaken. I'm talking about being a regular at a neighborhood dining spot. And no, chain restaurants and fast food joints do not count. I mean real, neighborhood restaurants, with real servers and food that hasn't come straight out of a box.
When LA first moved in with me way back in November of '09, we made it our goal to become regulars at the North 29 Grill in Kannapolis. We went every Saturday; eventually Miss Tammy and the gang learned our names. Then they learned that we lived two houses away. They also learned some personal information about us, which I will not go into further at this time.
For us, becoming a regular somewhere gave us a sense of home and community. Neither of us has any family in the state (unless we count each other), and we were both tired of feeling anonymous in the community. We solved that problem with our weekly outings to "the Grill".
We've since said our good-byes to the fine folks at the North 29 Grill, as we embarked upon new adventures in the Queen City. But being in the big city left us with a bit of dilemma: which place should become the new "our place"? We had Carolina Kebap, which is run by friendly people who serve fantastic Turkish food. If you go there and the roast chicken is available, get it! Las Margaritas is good, but it didn't quite fit the bill. On one of our early outings to see what was in our area, we stumbled onto Liberty East Restaurant, Open 24 Hours.
We took our chances on Liberty East late one night. The parking lot was practically empty. The unfriendliest host in the restaurant seated us. We then had the pleasure of meeting our waitress. She was an older woman with short hair and a smoker's voice. Here's our actual exchange:
Me: "We've never been here before. What's good on the menu?"
Peggy: "everything"
Me: "And what's your name?"
Peggy: "peggy"
Peggy doesn't speak with capital letters. Or inflection. Or even a glimmer of life in her eyes. Other servers have confirmed that Peggy is always like that. Other servers are also friendly and helpful, but there's something about Peggy's soulless service that makes her our favorite.
The Liberty East is a diner, whether their name says so or not. Wood spindles between booths, wood-patterned melamine on the walls, and wagon wheel light fixtures. They also have a refrigerated pie case that they use (much to my consternation) to store boxes of cereal. At the front, near the cash register, is a non-working cigarette machine--the old school kind where you pulled the lever and your box of cigarettes fell down. Ah, the good ol' days. The menu also hasn't been updated in a generation. Not only can I get livermush with breakfast, but I can get liver and onions for dinner. With that being said, the food is certainly worth the trip.
Liberty East has three daily specials that may or may not come with soup (depending on whether Peggy is your server), three vegetables sides, and your choice of banana or chocolate puddin' (again depending on whether Peggy is your server). All this for usually under $7, depending on the main item you pick. LA had beef tips over rice, which he thought was really good, although the gravy had a weird taste to it that I attributed to allspice. I had the pot roast. Tender, with chunks of carrot and fingerling potato, but again with the allspice. Another server said the hot open-faced turkey sandwich is made with deli turkey, so she didn't recommend that. I did get the hot beef sandwich and got my money's worth. Two slices of white bread, with probably a half pound of roast beef, served with the brown allspiced gravy and a side of steak fries. The roast beef dinner is stacked even higher. In both cases, I was eating roast beef for more than one meal. My favorite menu item is the cheeseburger. Nothing special, but it is tasty. The burgers are served with unsalted steak fries, which is a bonus for me.
On the flip side, LA was disappointed in the gyro pita, as was I with the patty melt. And I love a patty melt. Neither were bad, just not as good as some of the other items we've had.
Liberty East is where we head late at night when we're hungry and don't feel like cooking. We've gone anywhere from 8pm on a Saturday night to 11pm on a weeknight and have been on of the few tables. The folks that are there are of every age, color, and "lifestyle". Saturday mornings are a different story. I took my friend Vince to the Liberty East when he was visiting from Orlando. The restaurant was packed, and we were the youngest people there by probably 30+ years. The breakfasts are good, and they are available all day. Watching the breakfasts cooks was also a fun pasttime, as I could watch the stack of eggs quickly shrink.
A few things to keep in mind AKA the bees in my bonnet: 1) The wait staff goes out the front door to smoke. 2) The bathrooms are clean and in good condition, but smell like mold and cleaner. I couldn't even stay in there long enough to use them--I just walked in, looked around, and walked back out. 3) The servers usually have friends and/or family there while they're working. Don't they have sidework? 4) I've seen three different men working the cash register, all at different times of the day, so I assume they are the owners and have shifts. They all have the same accent that I can't place, and they are all exceptionally unfriendly. One is less unfriendly than the others, but not by much. When they're not busy, they usually sit in the first booth nearest the register, which is intimidating for me when I'm seated near them. I heard one of them joke with a customer once, but it came out sounding more like a threat on their life. And they never act like they've seen us before.
We're still working on becoming regulars. Since LA and I are always together, we're a little easier to remember. Maybe it will sink in one day and we'll be welcomed with open arms. And, to answer your unasked question, no, there's no Liberty West Restaurant. We asked.
Liberty East Restaurant is located at 5112 E. Independence Blvd. It's between Sharon Amity Rd and Idlewild, next to Casual Male XL and Enterprise Rent-A-Car.
UPDATE: We went back to the Liberty East for lunch on 4/9. The same cook and dishwasher have been there every single time we've gone, which makes me wonder if they are ever given any time off. The man at the cash register was younger and friendlier than the regular ones (and an admitted chocoholic). I had the roast beef dinner, this time ordering the black-eyed peas as one of my sides. Oh my word! Next time I go, I may just order those and nothing else. They had been cooked with onions, which I could taste, but they were so good. I didn't detect as much allspice or whatever it is in the brown gravy this time either. I practically liked the plate clean. LA had a "tossed salad", which was iceberg lettuce and one tomato wedge. Our waitress was quite pleasant and gave me regular refills of my soft drink. She just brought a pitcher of sweet tea for LA. We'd actually gone there because LA was craving banana puddin', then he didn't even order any! It's still our favorite place in Charlotte.
Showing posts with label pot roast. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pot roast. Show all posts
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Monday, June 14, 2010
Escapades v. 2.0
I watched Super Size Me. I read Fast Food Nation. I was indignant about what I was seeing and hearing, but my indignance slowly waned. I went back to my fast food diet, and, as I’d been warned, I gained weight. I can honestly say that I was living on a fairly steady diet of fast food. Fast food is so much easier than going shopping, picking things out, preparing them, and finally cooking them. Fast food is one stop. You order it, they give it to you, you eat it. It is fast.
I’ve had The Omnivore’s Dilemma sitting on my bookshelf for two years. The book came highly recommended by my friend Russ. He had stopped eating French fries after reading it. I had started reading it, but then walked away. In the course of those two years, every time I’d considered picking it up again, my mind had said, “I’m tired. I don’t want to have to think. Read something that is easy and requires no mental effort.” Whenever my mind puts up an argument like that, I tend to acquiesce. Last week, I decided that the time had finally come. I’d been spending a lot more time at the farmers’ markets, meeting wonderful people who were active proponents of fruits and vegetables and a healthier lifestyle. I wanted to know what my dilemma, as an omnivore, was. Now that I’ve read it, I don’t think I have much of a dilemma anymore.
I learned that one of the antibiotics given to cattle on industrial feedlots is erythromycin. I’m allergic to erythromycin. Is that why I got a stomachache every time I ate beef? Supermarket beef is out. Even if it doesn’t all contain erythromycin, there’s no label telling me which does and which doesn’t. I’ll have to avoid it all. I’m left with natural farm-raised beef. I know just where to find that.
As I’ve mentioned before, supermarket foods travel an average of 1,500 miles to get to me. That’s a long trip. I don’t want my food to be better travelled than I am. I guess that means that I’ll be eating local fruits and vegetables, which have come an average of less than 50 miles to get to my plate. If I don’t need to get meat, fruit, or vegetables at the supermarket, what does that leave? Soda.
But soda’s out, too. Whether you are for or against high fructose corn syrup, the simple fact is that soda provides empty calories. No nutritional value, outside of the sweetener. I’ll stick with water, tea, and juice, thank you. If I’m getting no nutrients, I don’t want the calories. Diet soda doesn’t have any calories, but much of it has caffeine. I’m pretty sensitive to caffeine. I can drink small amounts, but I’ve avoided energy drinks due to the high levels of caffeine. I’ve looked at the labels on diet, caffeine-free soda. Basically it’s brown carbonated water containing a lot of things I can’t pronounce. I could find that for free in some puddle in the street. I’ll pass.
On a recent visit to the supermarket, we mentioned to the cashier that we’d been to the farmers’ market. The cashier replied, “The farmers’ market is so expensive!” I’ve found some items to be more expensive, some less. In the case of those items that are more expensive, I’ll save up the money that I would normally spend on sodas. That should cover the difference. Another noticable difference may be in the overall value. I recently spent $15 for a roast from Scally’s Natural Beef. My mother bought a comparable roast from the supermarket for $10. The one I bought was so tender that I was able to eat it with a spoon. My mother complained that all the roasts she ever bought at the supermarket were tough, regardless of how long or low they’d cooked.
Hmmmm, it sounds like I’m on a new form of escapades. Instead of eating all of the processed foods from my pantry, I will try to stick to local and/or healthy foods. Fresh foods, like zucchini, tomatoes, and blueberries. Local, natural meat and poulty. No soda. I’ve been doing this for about a week, and I already feel a lot better. Hopefully, this version of the escapades, Escapades v. 2.0, will last longer than the previous version. Wish me luck!
I’ve had The Omnivore’s Dilemma sitting on my bookshelf for two years. The book came highly recommended by my friend Russ. He had stopped eating French fries after reading it. I had started reading it, but then walked away. In the course of those two years, every time I’d considered picking it up again, my mind had said, “I’m tired. I don’t want to have to think. Read something that is easy and requires no mental effort.” Whenever my mind puts up an argument like that, I tend to acquiesce. Last week, I decided that the time had finally come. I’d been spending a lot more time at the farmers’ markets, meeting wonderful people who were active proponents of fruits and vegetables and a healthier lifestyle. I wanted to know what my dilemma, as an omnivore, was. Now that I’ve read it, I don’t think I have much of a dilemma anymore.
I learned that one of the antibiotics given to cattle on industrial feedlots is erythromycin. I’m allergic to erythromycin. Is that why I got a stomachache every time I ate beef? Supermarket beef is out. Even if it doesn’t all contain erythromycin, there’s no label telling me which does and which doesn’t. I’ll have to avoid it all. I’m left with natural farm-raised beef. I know just where to find that.
As I’ve mentioned before, supermarket foods travel an average of 1,500 miles to get to me. That’s a long trip. I don’t want my food to be better travelled than I am. I guess that means that I’ll be eating local fruits and vegetables, which have come an average of less than 50 miles to get to my plate. If I don’t need to get meat, fruit, or vegetables at the supermarket, what does that leave? Soda.
But soda’s out, too. Whether you are for or against high fructose corn syrup, the simple fact is that soda provides empty calories. No nutritional value, outside of the sweetener. I’ll stick with water, tea, and juice, thank you. If I’m getting no nutrients, I don’t want the calories. Diet soda doesn’t have any calories, but much of it has caffeine. I’m pretty sensitive to caffeine. I can drink small amounts, but I’ve avoided energy drinks due to the high levels of caffeine. I’ve looked at the labels on diet, caffeine-free soda. Basically it’s brown carbonated water containing a lot of things I can’t pronounce. I could find that for free in some puddle in the street. I’ll pass.
On a recent visit to the supermarket, we mentioned to the cashier that we’d been to the farmers’ market. The cashier replied, “The farmers’ market is so expensive!” I’ve found some items to be more expensive, some less. In the case of those items that are more expensive, I’ll save up the money that I would normally spend on sodas. That should cover the difference. Another noticable difference may be in the overall value. I recently spent $15 for a roast from Scally’s Natural Beef. My mother bought a comparable roast from the supermarket for $10. The one I bought was so tender that I was able to eat it with a spoon. My mother complained that all the roasts she ever bought at the supermarket were tough, regardless of how long or low they’d cooked.
Hmmmm, it sounds like I’m on a new form of escapades. Instead of eating all of the processed foods from my pantry, I will try to stick to local and/or healthy foods. Fresh foods, like zucchini, tomatoes, and blueberries. Local, natural meat and poulty. No soda. I’ve been doing this for about a week, and I already feel a lot better. Hopefully, this version of the escapades, Escapades v. 2.0, will last longer than the previous version. Wish me luck!
Saturday, June 5, 2010
It's Just a Little Kibble
Today being a Saturday, LA and I were off to the Winecoff farmer’s market. We were on a quest for something a little different than the standard produce. LA found out that he would be the owner of a new puppy by the end of the day. To create a welcoming environment for Mr. Piddlesworth (you don’t want to know his full name), LA wanted to buy some dog treats. I wanted feta cheese. That’s the beauty of the farmer’s market—you can find just about everything there.
Away from the main building, Deborah’s Kitchen Krafts was set up under a canopy. Not only does Deb make some great mustard and tapenade, she has expanded into the world of dog biscuits. These are available in cheese, applesauce, and carrot flavors. Deb recommended the applesauce variety, but LA ignored her and went for carrot. A carrot dog biscuit? As Deb pointed out, she had samples. I tried the carrot one. I could see the carrot but not taste it. LA was a bit appalled, but it was basically a thick, very dry cracker. I made him try it too. Homemade dog biscuits have very few ingredients and all of them are found in typical human food. The dryness was the most unpleasant aspect. So yes, today I ate a dog biscuit. A gourmet dog biscuit.
We took our dog biscuits and headed up to the main building. The heat was overwhelming but worsened as we got inside. Today was the busiest that I’ve seen the market so far this season. People were out in force, many with their kids in tow. We stopped and got peaches for later. We headed to the Cackleberry Farms booth (next to Darryl’s Copper Workshop) for feta and some hard Cheddar-like cheese. All I’ve heard it called is “hard cheese”. We’d tasted it before but never bought any. I’m looking forward to some grilled cheese sandwiches.
As we swam through the crowd into the heart of the market, just past the many bins of different soaps, a man collecting food donations stopped us. Not to ask for a donation, but to ask LA how often he changes his hair color. He’d seen him “around the village” and knew it hadn’t been red before. Then he gave me a high-five for my willingness to walk next to LA in public. But he did call me “striking”, so that was a plus.
We stopped by Ohana Favorites and tried some of Joanie’s Hawaiian pepper jelly. It started out sweet, with a taste of tropical fruit, then turned spicy. An added bonus was that it covered the dog biscuit taste in my mouth. We didn’t get a chance to talk to Joanie, as she had several paying customers in her booth. Along with the jellies and cereals, she also has started selling boiled peanuts. I’ll have to give those a try in the near future.
The booth in the back is occupied by Miller Produce. I wanted to get some honey, so that’s where I headed. LA is a bit of a honey-snob and wanted to know what type of flower their honey comes from. Laura Miller explained that they grow beans, potatoes, okra, zucchini, tomatoes and all kinds of other things, so the honey has a little bit of everything in it. She offered us a sample, but we both turned her down. I tasted it once I got home and found it to be very mild, much more so than wildflower honey. And lighter in color.
As we were leaving, I wanted to stop by Harvest Catering’s booth. On Wednesday nights, Harvest Catering offers takeout meals, including a meat, two sides and a dinner roll for $6. This past Wednesday, I had the pot roast with mashed potatoes and macaroni and cheese (this coming Wednesday's option is baked ham). I was told that the pot roast was fantastic and wanted to find out for myself. I had to give Sandra my opinion. The pot roast was fantastic. Also, the mashed potatoes included chunks of red skin potatoes and a hint of garlic. Delicious! I didn't initially think I cared for the mac & cheese, but then realized I was inhaling it. Although it was baked, it was cheesy and not eggy; just the way I like it. While I was picking up my dinner, I had been talked into some chocolate banana pudding too. Talking me into it didn’t involve much arm-twisting. It was definitely worth the $1.50. During the winter tailgate market, I’d gotten some Candy Apple Jelly from Harvest Catering. I don’t care for cinnamon, and the smell of it was the first thing that hit me when I opened the jar. I forged ahead and discovered some truly yummy jelly. I may be a cinnamon convert. Today I also bought some sweet spicy pecans from Harvest Catering to add to my beet and feta salad. I tried one when I got home. I popped it into my mouth, chewed a little, and thought, “This isn’t spicy at all.” Then it hit me. I take back what I said. They are sweet and spicy and will be an excellent addition to my salad.
With our bag filled with goodies and our constitutions weakened by the heat, we left the market. I was so thrilled to see all the people that turned out today, despite the temperature and humidity. Maybe they had all heard the same piece of trivia that I had: according to the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, most fruits and vegetables sold at U.S. supermarkets travel an average of 1,500 miles from their source, whereas farmers’ market produce is usually sold less than 50 miles from where it’s grown. I know how wilted I am after a long trip, and I’m sturdier than an ear of corn or a tomato. I was a fan of the farmers’ market before reading that, and I’m even more devoted now. I’ll be heading over to Harrisburg on Monday, and I hope to see some of you there!
Away from the main building, Deborah’s Kitchen Krafts was set up under a canopy. Not only does Deb make some great mustard and tapenade, she has expanded into the world of dog biscuits. These are available in cheese, applesauce, and carrot flavors. Deb recommended the applesauce variety, but LA ignored her and went for carrot. A carrot dog biscuit? As Deb pointed out, she had samples. I tried the carrot one. I could see the carrot but not taste it. LA was a bit appalled, but it was basically a thick, very dry cracker. I made him try it too. Homemade dog biscuits have very few ingredients and all of them are found in typical human food. The dryness was the most unpleasant aspect. So yes, today I ate a dog biscuit. A gourmet dog biscuit.
We took our dog biscuits and headed up to the main building. The heat was overwhelming but worsened as we got inside. Today was the busiest that I’ve seen the market so far this season. People were out in force, many with their kids in tow. We stopped and got peaches for later. We headed to the Cackleberry Farms booth (next to Darryl’s Copper Workshop) for feta and some hard Cheddar-like cheese. All I’ve heard it called is “hard cheese”. We’d tasted it before but never bought any. I’m looking forward to some grilled cheese sandwiches.
As we swam through the crowd into the heart of the market, just past the many bins of different soaps, a man collecting food donations stopped us. Not to ask for a donation, but to ask LA how often he changes his hair color. He’d seen him “around the village” and knew it hadn’t been red before. Then he gave me a high-five for my willingness to walk next to LA in public. But he did call me “striking”, so that was a plus.
We stopped by Ohana Favorites and tried some of Joanie’s Hawaiian pepper jelly. It started out sweet, with a taste of tropical fruit, then turned spicy. An added bonus was that it covered the dog biscuit taste in my mouth. We didn’t get a chance to talk to Joanie, as she had several paying customers in her booth. Along with the jellies and cereals, she also has started selling boiled peanuts. I’ll have to give those a try in the near future.
The booth in the back is occupied by Miller Produce. I wanted to get some honey, so that’s where I headed. LA is a bit of a honey-snob and wanted to know what type of flower their honey comes from. Laura Miller explained that they grow beans, potatoes, okra, zucchini, tomatoes and all kinds of other things, so the honey has a little bit of everything in it. She offered us a sample, but we both turned her down. I tasted it once I got home and found it to be very mild, much more so than wildflower honey. And lighter in color.
As we were leaving, I wanted to stop by Harvest Catering’s booth. On Wednesday nights, Harvest Catering offers takeout meals, including a meat, two sides and a dinner roll for $6. This past Wednesday, I had the pot roast with mashed potatoes and macaroni and cheese (this coming Wednesday's option is baked ham). I was told that the pot roast was fantastic and wanted to find out for myself. I had to give Sandra my opinion. The pot roast was fantastic. Also, the mashed potatoes included chunks of red skin potatoes and a hint of garlic. Delicious! I didn't initially think I cared for the mac & cheese, but then realized I was inhaling it. Although it was baked, it was cheesy and not eggy; just the way I like it. While I was picking up my dinner, I had been talked into some chocolate banana pudding too. Talking me into it didn’t involve much arm-twisting. It was definitely worth the $1.50. During the winter tailgate market, I’d gotten some Candy Apple Jelly from Harvest Catering. I don’t care for cinnamon, and the smell of it was the first thing that hit me when I opened the jar. I forged ahead and discovered some truly yummy jelly. I may be a cinnamon convert. Today I also bought some sweet spicy pecans from Harvest Catering to add to my beet and feta salad. I tried one when I got home. I popped it into my mouth, chewed a little, and thought, “This isn’t spicy at all.” Then it hit me. I take back what I said. They are sweet and spicy and will be an excellent addition to my salad.
With our bag filled with goodies and our constitutions weakened by the heat, we left the market. I was so thrilled to see all the people that turned out today, despite the temperature and humidity. Maybe they had all heard the same piece of trivia that I had: according to the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, most fruits and vegetables sold at U.S. supermarkets travel an average of 1,500 miles from their source, whereas farmers’ market produce is usually sold less than 50 miles from where it’s grown. I know how wilted I am after a long trip, and I’m sturdier than an ear of corn or a tomato. I was a fan of the farmers’ market before reading that, and I’m even more devoted now. I’ll be heading over to Harrisburg on Monday, and I hope to see some of you there!
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