So Many Dishes

Sometimes I get an idea for a post, but before I can get it down, another idea pops up and says, “nope, you need to run with me first!” That’s what happened here.

We continued our Valentines celebration into Saturday. We had a beautiful walk at the botanical garden, although we were actually there to look for samples of plant diseases for the master gardener class that Ken taught this morning. But between clipping begonia leaves with bacterial spot and squash leaves covered in powdery mildew, I managed to get pictures of two vines that are in flower and are among my favorites: jade vine and Mexican flame vine.

Going out for lunch the day after Valentine’s Day was still a special treat. We visited one of our favorite places near home, Agliolio’s. As you can probably guess from the name, this is an Italian restaurant, practically a neighborhood joint for us—but a touch more upscale than a “joint.” We’ve been coming here for quite a few years, and have never been disappointed.

Our choices for lunch were salads. I tend to choose either a salad or what they call a “perfect pair,” salad or soup with one of their sandwiches. Sadly, the pairing is no longer available on weekends, but the salads are so good that I don’t care.

My usual choice, and what I had again, was the house salad topped with grilled chicken. It’s a simple salad of chopped Romaine, diced plum tomatoes, and lots of black olives, served with what is, in my opinion, the absolute best house vinaigrette. I absolutely love their dressing. Ken decided to do the “create your own” salad option, mostly, I think, because he could include artichokes in his salad. When our server offered to grate some fresh Parmesan on our salads, we both accepted.

And no meal At Agliolio’s is complete without their delicious garlic bread, swimming in olive oil. The bread is always crusty and chewy, just the way I like it. No vampires followed us home, either.

What a contrast that was to our lunch today. Ken taught the plant pathology section of the master gardener course in Indian River County this morning, so we left home early and headed to Ft. Pierce. After leading a three-hour class, we definitely needed lunch before heading home. Nearby choices were limited, however, so we chose Cracker Barrel over fast food.

Now, I’m not knocking Cracker Barrel. If you’re traveling, Cracker Barrel is a chance to take a break, get a meal that’s not fast food, find clean restrooms. It’s a stop we usually make when we’re on a road trip. We’re likely to grab a piece of fruit before we leave home early in the morning, then stop at a Cracker Barrel for a late morning breakfast that will get us through until dinner.

But, as I said today as we walked in the door: Cracker Barrel, where the food is secondary to the shopping. We had a perfectly acceptable lunch, but maybe the best word I can use to describe it is pedestrian. I didn’t even think about pulling out my phone to take a picture.

So what did we eat? Ken ordered a “saucy”grilled chicken sandwich, and chose a Carolina mustard barbecue sauce. Rather than fries, he asked for corn as his side, and he poured some of his sauce on the corn. He said it was okay, but he termed the lunch menu uninspired. I ordered a soup and sandwich combo, and agree with the uninspired description. There was just one soup, chicken and dumplings soup. It reminded me of Pennsylvania Dutch chicken pot pie, which is a soup, not a pie. I know I was comparing the soup to the fond memories of my grandmother’s cooking, but this was just bland. It truthfully tasted like a canned soup. The salad ingredients at least were fresh: iceberg lettuce, grape tomatoes, and some cucumber slices, with some shredded cheese and croutons.

I don’t think I would have even considered writing about today’s lunch if it weren’t for the stark comparison with our great lunch just a couple days prior. Is it fair comparison? Probably not. But I don’t think I’d have considered it a satisfying experience even without thinking about Saturday’s meal. I can say that, by the time we finished, I wasn’t hungry anymore. But I prefer a meal that’s more than just fuel. Is that asking too much?