For those of you who are unfamiliar with the North Country, it is quite easy to get off the beaten path and to go back in time. Generally, I slide back in time about every fourth or fifth Wednesday. I do this because I belong to an illustrious weekly luncheon dining group known as the ROMEO's.
ROMEO's is an acronym for "Retired Old Men Eating Out." We are in our entirety a group of former academicians, and our membership includes the following: a geologist, an anatomist and bat expert, a science historian, an anthropologist/folklorist, a mathematician, a forester, an occasional musician and myself, a former associate dean. We have few ground rules, but one of them is that politics is always on the table for discussion and the state of our medical health, although not a forbidden topic, is generally downplayed. Typically, our conversations are academic, informational or cultural. All of us enjoy travel, the cinema, good books, PBS and NPR topics, live concerts and the Metropolitan Opera. Well, as for the latter, not all. We also enjoy solving homeowner problems, and we seldom have to seek out additional information resources beyond our group. Mostly though, we are just old-guard political liberals, who remain abreast of the news and like to offer analysis -- that is when we're not talking about such things as bat white nose syndrome, boat-building on Mt. Desert Island, Ethyl -- a contemporary string quartet from the Julliard School, or Iran and the Bomb.
I noted that we get off the beaten track in our choice of restaurants. That said, we kind of have a loose rotation, depending on the condition of the roads. If it's bad (snowy or icy) we stay in Potsdam. Our latest preference "in-town" is the relatively new Thai Restaurant. There are three others that we also frequent, but there's really nothing very exceptional about any of them. Eben's Hearth has excellent wings and specially named sandwiches, and is popular with Clarkson faculty. Another called Scoops offers angus beef, excellent salads and gelato, and the last is a general, all-purpose restaurant known as the Village Diner with a friendly wait staff comprised of matronly middle-aged women. Whenever a new restaurant opens, we always give it a shot as well.
On our more adventurous outings, we have three out-of-town standbys, each one in a different direction. Heading east for 25 minutes takes us to Winthrop, NY to an "average" but friendly place called Goose Landing overlooking the St. Regis River. They have good pies there. Heading south to Colton, just beyond my neck of the woods, is Debby's Hideaway. Debby's menu seldom changes but offers good specials. And it is reliable and comfortable. Heading west, as we did today, we ended up at Mom's Schoolhouse. Mom's pies are better Goose Landing's and Debby's.
I think Mom's Schoolhouse in West Potsdam, about a 15 minute drive, is our favorite eatery because nearly everything on the menu is home-cooked and fresh that day. Food at Mom's is always traditional. And the desserts there are seldom ignored, especially Mom's rhubarb pies and cobblers -- seasonable of course.
Well today was a Mom's adventure and I arrived a few minutes early. Whenever, I pull up out front, my mind and stomach immediately synchronize and I begin thinking about her old-fashioned frappes (what Mom calls her ice cream-laden milkshakes). The coffee frappe is a tough one to turn down. And Mom markets her menus straight out of the fifties, just like the decor of the restaurant, which really is an old schoolhouse at a rural four corners across the road from a nineteenth century church.
One wall at Mom's is devoted to 50's memorabilia. For some reason or other Roy Rogers and Dale Evans dominate the displays there, although obligatory Elvis posters are prominent as well. There is a 50's quiz board on another wall which changes every couple of days. The music playing in the background is always golden oldies. That wall is covered with 45's. And then there are patriotic overtones evident throughout. I think Mom has a son who served in Iraq. He's home now and in good health. The waitresses are reserved, smile pleasantly and are extremely competent. Their garb, seems almost Mennonite in appearance -- especially the very modest long skirts they all wear. No stiletto heels at Mom's.
As I sat there waiting for my buddies to arrive, I noted the old-fashioned gingham table cloths -- my wife tells me they're actually made from something called oil cloth. The sun was streaming in through matching window curtains dancing over display cases of quick take-home items and old-fashioned, traditional candy bars, neatly arranged beside the cash register. Beyond the counter space is the food preparation area, all out-in-the-open, and easily maintaining conversation between customers and servers in on-going exchanges. Mom's is a happy place. Today I had a delicious basil tomato soup and the "Amtrak" salad, consisting of many crunchy vegetables on a bed of chicken salad and cranberries. Yummy!
I like Mom's best of all our restaraunts, and I definitely enjoy the weekly exchanges with my buddies. I suppose there are many such eating groups, but I like to think we're a just a wee bit unique. At any rate, I'll soon be heading south for six weeks and will miss all of them. You certainly won't find anything like Mom's on Hilton Head Island. There one moves forward in time, not back.
Stay calm and carry on,
Paul in Potsdam
http://www2.potsdam.edu/loucksap
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