Biscuits and Gravy Review : Cindy's Diner

I gotta tell ya, I had very high hopes for Cindy's Diner. It is a Fort Wayne staple, a classic diner that's been stuck in downtown Fort Wayne for decades. A few years ago when a developer purchased the lot where Cindy's had been squatting since the dawn of time, one of the concerns of the public was moving the diner to a new location before building the skyscraper. If you go inside you'll see signed pictures of all the famous people who've eaten there. Like the sign says, they're feeding the world 15 people at a time.

Because of their diner layout, where you sit at a long counter and watch your food being made, I was able to see them split two average-sized food-service biscuits and heat them in a microwave. No toasting. Then they ladeled on two generous scoops of gravy from a vat on the burner and microwaved it some more... in a styrofoam container. I don't like to microwave on plastic and definitely not in styrofoam but hey, I did order it to go and they did get it to me in about two or three minutes.

And here it is. It looks quite presentable, dontcha think? However those biscuits really could have used a toasting because they were gummy and lacked any character. The gravy was likely made in-house and was peppery to the point where my nose was running slightly at the end but was not overpowering. It had a very good flavor and excellent consistency but did not have very much sausage. There was exactly enough gravy for the meal and I enjoyed it to the very end, squishy biscuits and all. And now, hours later, I'm sleepy.

With tax the whole shebang was just under five bucks. Here's another picture that shows the generic biscuit.

Biscuits - 5
Gravy - 8
Value - 6
Service - 8
GRAND TOTAL - 6.75

Rallys Eat-It-All #21: Philly Cheesesteak Burger

Here they go again, making new burgers! Now they have a Philly Cheesesteak Burger and a Crispy Mushroom Steak Burger, with or without bacon. Since my tummy wasn't too rumbly I just went for the Cheesesteak burger.

And there it is. On a "hand-seasoned patty", which means the cook shakes some salt over a batch of burgers while they're frying. Whoop-de-doo. So taking a look I see a burger and swiss cheese, plus some grilled red onions, goopy mayo and the few shreds of the star of the show, Mr. Steak. Compared to their other specialty burgers, this one was pretty durned tasty. I might even buy it again, although it's difficult to pass up my old buddy, Bacon Cheddar Crisp.

Biscuits and Gravy Bonus Review: Hardees

This one also doesn't count because it's not in downtown Fort Wayne. I think there is only one Hardee's in Fort Wayne and it's far enough away from me that it doesn't pose much of a threat.

However I recently had a chance to sample their biscuity wares. And it was pretty good. The single biscuit for $2.19 came in a styrofoam container and was paired with a little styrofoam cup of gravy which had it's own lid. I'm a bit mixed on this. If I'm driving through then now I have another step that needs completed before I can eat (pour gravy over biscuit) but it's also nice because I can dip a piece into the gravy for less mess.

The gravy itself was pretty good. There was a decent amount of meat and it had a nice flavor and texture... fast-food pudding-like but not over the top. The downfall was the biscuit. It's a good thing they gave me a fork AND a knife because I needed that knife to cut through the top of the biscuit. Overcooked and tough! Inside was decent, however, and it had a passable flavor.

Biscuits - 5
Gravy - 7
Value - 6
Service - 7
GRAND TOTAL - 6.25

Biscuits and Gravy Bonus Review: Cracker Barrel

I wasn't raised on biscuits and gravy. In fact, I didn't try them until I was well into my teens. However probably my first experience with this heavenly combination was at Cracker Barrel. They haven't changed much in the last thirty years... but I have. I used to love, love, love Cracker Barrel's biscuits and gravy but... Let's take a look at them and see how they stack up, eh?

Well, not actually a look because I didn't have my camera with me. If you've had 'em you know how they are... these buggers are amazingly consistent.

First up is the biscuit. They are on the small side, somewhat dense, and uniformly shaped. They are also buttery, rich, and slightly salty. You can eat one or two and not feel like there's concrete in your aorta. An order of biscuits and gravy will net you three such gentlemanly rounds while you get two gratis with most meals.

The gravy is devoid of meat. Sawmill, I think it's called. It has an almost pudding-like consistency, is as polite and un-offending in flavor as the biscuits, and comes in a small bowl. Small is the key here because I doubt you get even a cup of the stuff, but the biscuits are so dainty that this amount is usually enough.

For $3.99 it's a bit disappointing, value-wise. If you get the biscuits with your meal and add a side of gravy (for nearly two bucks) then it's a nice bonus. I'd say these are pleasant, every-day biscuits and gravy, not sometime to rave about but good enough to look forward to.

Biscuits - 8
Gravy - 6
Value - 3
Service - 5
GRAND TOTAL - 5.5

Biscuits and Gravy Review: Comfort Food Cafe

I was originally going to try Revitalize Health Bar because I have been seeing Biscuits and Gravy on their sidewalk sign for months. However it turns out that last week was their last week for serving Biscuits and Gravy. Come back in the fall, they said. Such is life.

So instead I went to the Comfort Food Cafe. This sounds like a diner but it's in the basement of Citizens Square, the office building that houses the mayor, his minions, and other various public employees. Which is to say that the digs are not glamorous.

Comfort Food Cafe used to be the cafeteria for a local insurance company before they consolidated and no longer needed the building, so it looks like a cafeteria. At 9:00 AM on a Monday the place was a complete ghost town. I looked around, peeked in the back, and finally saw a bell by the cash register. One ringy-dingy. Someone came out of the back pronto. I gave my order and it was served up and paid for within about ninety seconds. Speedy!

With that kind of speed there's obviously no time for toasting the biscuits. I could see them clearly when he pulled them from either a refrigerator or a hot box, probably the later. The gravy was in a big metal tub on the grill.

As you can see, the emphasis it not on appearance. Yes, it kind of looks like a Styrofoam tray filled with vomit. Let's dig in, shall we?

Their sign says "Homemade" and it's possible that the biscuits are homemade. There's nothing wrong with them but they don't stand out. The gravy was of a very nice consistency and was full of sausage. It was also full of pepper. I know lots of guys like lots of pepper but I'm not one of them. It's two hours later and I'm still feeling a slight sting on the roof of my mouth. It wasn't way over the top spicy, just more than I'm inclined to enjoy. But flavor-wise, it was quite good and appeared to be homemade. It was also ladled up in an amazing quantity such that I had some left over, which isn't normal.

I mean, there was so much food for $5.25 that I was full after just one biscuit. However I soldiered on and finished, thus earning my yet another medal in the clean plate club.

Biscuits - 5
Gravy - 6
Value - 8
Service - 9
GRAND TOTAL - 7.0

UPDATE: I was so full that I skipped lunch and didn't eat again until almost three o-clock. A half-order is definitely the way to go.

More Black Kow Magic

Last year Black Kow sent me a T shirt and hat emblazoned with their logo because I sent them pictures of how great their product worked. And just like their manure, the shirt was high quality... thick fabric and the image has not faded one bit.

So this year I again picked up some Black Kow compost, plus some inferior no-name stuff. The proof, as Bill Cosby will never say, is in the pudding.

Here are watermelon seeds planted in a three-year old bag of Black Kow, with a handy quarter for size reference.

Here are the same seeds (and the same quarter) in a brand new bag. Both are doing great but the sprouts in the new bag are just a bit bigger.

And here's one of those generic bags of compost. Wimpy wimpy wimpy.

Thoughts Part ?

So I guess I'm probably suffering from low-level depression. Or male mid-life stuff. Or just the doldrums. Or maybe I just "live in my head" too much. But whatever it is, I'm just not enjoying life. To be honest I've never been one of those people who are packed to the gills with joy, though I've prayed for it often enough. No, I just kind of persist through life.

In other words, I feel very beige. Very bland. I used to think I was a deep person but I was probably just full of myself. For years now I just feel very thin and that I don't have anything creative to offer to others or myself. Creativity used to be my identity. I would create art and music and video and I realize that I got into computers because they were tools for creation. Now I'm lucky if I painstakingly pull one or two short stories from my brain per year and maybe a cover song. Original songs? They used to gush forth from the boredom of sitting in a classroom and now that well has gone dry. So what to do when that which was your identity is gone?

I'm tried and am trying various things to boost myself up. I mean, there's prayer. And I have a great wife and kids and I enjoy doing things with all of them. Lately I've been trying new things, such as last year when I became a secret shopper. And a couple of weeks ago when I climbed up the hill and spent about ten minutes going down the railroad tracks that run by the place where I've been parking my vehicle for work for the past fourteen years. Funny, it's been there all this time but it never occurred to me to check them out. There were tracks behind the house I grew up in and a number of times I would travel down them, exploring. And alone.

That's the other thing. Alone. Other than my wife and kids I have no friends. Growing up I usually had one friend at a time, the last one being in college. Since then it's been a desert of friendlessness. This whole stupid Facebook/email thing makes you seem like you have friends but there's no one I hang out with. But I suck at hanging out. I'm a doer. So maybe guys just like to "hang out" like the men in King of the Hill. I can't do that. When I think back to it, the person who I consider the best and longest of people I considered my friends, well, we only hung out now and then. Most of our time was centered on recording songs at my wee little studio. I've lost track of the guys I've reached out to these past 20+ years. Sometimes the guys wife didn't care for me and I was out of the picture. That still hurts.

I hope I'm not coming off as complaining. I know that God hates whining and I hate it when my kids do it. Journaling is supposed to help and I'm just trying to get this out of my head so maybe I stop living inside my head so much. I don't like that I'm a wet blanket for my wife and kids and wish I could be a different person. I'll just leave it at that.