Post VIII - Brenda's Diner

Let me start by saying that I don't get any kind of reimbursement for any of these entries.  No free pie or coffee or anything like that.  And let me follow by saying I've eaten at a lot of places over the years- places that range from hot dog carts that should have been condemned to steak houses to almost everything in between.

Brenda's Diner is easily one of the best places I have ever eaten, bar none.

I was out last week and wanted to get some lunch, so I started driving and asked OnStar (I should also note I get nothing free from them) for a nearby Diner and they gave me Brenda's as one that wasn't too far away.  So I drove up 31 and pulled in to the fairly crowded lot.  The front room was pleasantly bright and a later inspection of the back dining room proved it to be, while not fancy, very nice.

I sat at the counter and was almost immediately asked what I would like to drink and was given a menu.  I looked it over and didn't see my first choice (meatloaf) but they did have roasted lamb over stuffing.  On a lark, I ordered that and got the mashed potatoes to go with it.

I will be honest here....I wasn't expecting what I got.

Homemade.

All of it.

The lamb was a little closer to well than I like (I like mine on the sunny side of mid-rare, but absolutely understand why it has to be cooked further in a restaurant) but it still had a pink tinge to it to show it wasn't overcooked...a solid medium, which is better than a lot of places do without prodding.  The lamb was tender, flavorful and moist- likely cooked on the bone.  The skin showed definite signs of having been rubbed with a spice blend prior to cooking and the fat had rendered enough to give it an unctuousness you usually only get at high end restaurants.  It was obviously well seasoned, needing no salt or pepper.

The stuffing was amazing.  If there was a superlative of the word amazing (amazingest?) I would use that word instead.  The perfect blend of smooth and crispy, I could tell it had been cooked in a roasting pan in the oven.  There was a distinct, though not overpowering sage flavor and a fair amount of moistness that kept it from needing too much gravy...and since the gravy was a homemade wonder, that's going some.

While it's easy to say the potatoes were just potatoes, it's also unfair.  Potatoes get a bad rap. Sure, as a species (that's the word, right?) they lack a certain joie de vivre - they need that levelness to bring everything else around them up.  These managed to be special though.  They were most certainly homemade- the consistency wasn't exactly smooth, but wasn't chunky either.  And there was a nice level of creaminess that makes me think they were made with heavy cream and butter.  All of this helped them serve as the perfect platform for the gravy.

The gravy was simply some of the best that I have ever had.  I don't even know how to describe it.  It really seemed to be nothing more than thickened lamb juices.  And that's not an insult!  A lot of gravies either taste like a can, have a raw flour taste to them or that kind of chemical underpinnings that indicate gravy powder stuff.  You know the stuff I mean!  It just tasted of lamb, but was thick enough to not run off of everything it was on.  There was a little pepper added, but just enough to give it a kick and not enough to overpower the lamb flavor.

The waitress asked if I wanted dessert and I ordered a strawberry shortcake (as it turns out, I think the last from that day).  I have the feeling that the strawberries were frozen (just because the time of year makes fresh very difficult), but they still had a nice sweetness without being cloying.  The biscuit was (to my palate at least) fresh baked.  It was warmed up prior to the strawberries being applied- a nice change, as many places can't be bothered.  It had that....(biscuitieness?  tang?  sourdoughishness?) that good homemade biscuits have as well as a nice crumble/moistness and was a great counterpoint to the sweetness/softness of the strawberries and whipped cream.

The coffee refills came fast and often, and everyone seemed happy to be there the entire time I was there.

If you are nearby, stop in and get something to eat.  If you aren't nearby, drive to get a full meal to eat.  If you are REALLY far away?  Drive/Fly in, leave a message here for me and we'll enjoy a meal together- schedule permitting, of course.