Thursday, September 09, 2004
Sherman Plate
Did you ever long to relive singular moments from your past? Yeah… it doesn’t work, does it?
Chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, and cream gravy – that’s typical Texas fare. Texans claim to have invented it, but, I must confess, we really ripped it off from someone else. Exactly who we “borrowed” it from, I’m not sure - either the Germans (schnitzel) or the Mexicans (milanesa). I’ll let those two groups duke it out as to who gets the props for the invention. Anyway, it’s darn good if done right. If done wrong, well… the gravy helps.
Once, I quested for the ultimate chicken fried steak. I looked everywhere. The restaurant in Johnson City proclaiming to have “the world’s best chicken fried steak” was actually pretty good, but not the best. Frank’s in Schulenburg serves a nice one. The dinning room in an old house turned eatin’ place in Wadsworth took top honors once. An Irish restaurant in Clute, Texas also topped the list for a while (of course, the fact that it was an all you can eat special may have skewed my feelings a bit). The search gained me a few unwelcome pounds, but, in the end, the Best Chicken Fried Steak In The World (BCFSITW) was found at Bullwinkle’s restaurant in College Station. The BCFSITW came as a plate special called the Sherman Plate, and it was served up with mashed potatoes, cream gravy, and green salad; just the way it should be. Sadly, neither the restaurant nor the dinner in question are still around (I ate one and the other went out of business).
I frequented Bullwinkle’s often, and I always had the Sherman Plate. It was always good, but never again “the best”. I have long pondered the sequence of events that led to the BCFSITW: quality of the meat, skill of the cook, amount of batter, temperature of the fryer, the people I was with… Yeah, I suppose that’s it… the people I was with. If I could reclaim the people, I could reclaim the past. The BCFSITW could exist once more, even if only for an instant. But, that’s not the way time works, is it? People are not quanta to be rearranged and life doesn’t run backwards.
I have accomplished what Pellinor never could: the quest has ended and the beast is slain. He’d be right proud of this Texan, I think.
Chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, and cream gravy – that’s typical Texas fare. Texans claim to have invented it, but, I must confess, we really ripped it off from someone else. Exactly who we “borrowed” it from, I’m not sure - either the Germans (schnitzel) or the Mexicans (milanesa). I’ll let those two groups duke it out as to who gets the props for the invention. Anyway, it’s darn good if done right. If done wrong, well… the gravy helps.
Once, I quested for the ultimate chicken fried steak. I looked everywhere. The restaurant in Johnson City proclaiming to have “the world’s best chicken fried steak” was actually pretty good, but not the best. Frank’s in Schulenburg serves a nice one. The dinning room in an old house turned eatin’ place in Wadsworth took top honors once. An Irish restaurant in Clute, Texas also topped the list for a while (of course, the fact that it was an all you can eat special may have skewed my feelings a bit). The search gained me a few unwelcome pounds, but, in the end, the Best Chicken Fried Steak In The World (BCFSITW) was found at Bullwinkle’s restaurant in College Station. The BCFSITW came as a plate special called the Sherman Plate, and it was served up with mashed potatoes, cream gravy, and green salad; just the way it should be. Sadly, neither the restaurant nor the dinner in question are still around (I ate one and the other went out of business).
I frequented Bullwinkle’s often, and I always had the Sherman Plate. It was always good, but never again “the best”. I have long pondered the sequence of events that led to the BCFSITW: quality of the meat, skill of the cook, amount of batter, temperature of the fryer, the people I was with… Yeah, I suppose that’s it… the people I was with. If I could reclaim the people, I could reclaim the past. The BCFSITW could exist once more, even if only for an instant. But, that’s not the way time works, is it? People are not quanta to be rearranged and life doesn’t run backwards.
I have accomplished what Pellinor never could: the quest has ended and the beast is slain. He’d be right proud of this Texan, I think.
R.T. Lemur 11:09 PM
1 Comments:
Speaking of reliving singular moments, did you ever try to "re-discover" movies or music that you loved when you were younger--only to discover that they weren't as good as you remember? Sometimes, though, things are actually better--like Dr. Who!
, at 12:35 AM