There are so, so many franchise restaurants in this country of ours. Sometimes I think there are too many. I imagine that most people tend to patronize them because they know exactly what they’re going to get wherever they happen to be during their travels, and they don’t worry about unpleasant surprises.
But what about pleasant surprises? What about the thrill of discovery? We miss out on both if we overlook mom and pop restaurants and other little hole in the wall gems.
Take the mom and pop cafe that Macho Guy and I found on Mount Dessert Island when we visited Acadia National Park. This was a definite gem. We stopped in just for a little snack. MG had his taste buds set for a lobster roll, and that’s what he ordered. I was in the mood for blueberry pie. The wedge of pie served to me was huge, three inches high, and tightly packed full of blueberries with just enough blueberry juice for moistness. The crust was light and flaky. One bite and I was in Heaven. The cafe owners were retired military who met and married while in the Army. If that pie was an example of Army chow, I would have enlisted years ago. Continue reading »
