We have our Sunday after-church routine. We pick a restaurant so neither the warden nor I have to cook, the kids don’t have to do dishes, and I can get to my Sunday afternoon nap with minimal disruption.
Sunday, Brit chose The Grille. I sometimes forget they have a Sunday buffet. You have to check first, because if Marsha has a big catering job, she may not be able to open the restaurant. We checked Facebook and decided to go.
Pastor Stacy delivered a powerful message. I wouldn’t be completely honest if I didn’t tell you the hamburger steak was whispering to me just before we got out of church, though.
We arrived to find one table open. The food looked incredible, and we were greeted by both Heavin and Belynda. The rest happened pretty fast.
The salad bar was well-stocked, and Marsha’s house-made croutons are truly second to none. When you visit, don’t miss those. I apologize for the blurry salad bar picture. The camera pulled focus on something closer to me last-minute, and I was honestly eyeballing the mac and cheese at the time.
Hot entree choices were country-style steak, chicken and dumplings, and chopped BBQ. Then came the rice, pintos, collards, mac and cheese, potato salad, slaw, and hushpuppies. That chocolate eclair was hanging out too, but we’ll get to that in a minute.
The hamburger steak was so tender it nearly fell apart under its own weight. The chopped BBQ was great on the plate, and I imagine it would be fantastic on a bun. Brit said the chicken and dumplings were just like homemade.
A customer noticed the boys weren’t putting collards on their plates and gave them a good talking-to about what they were missing. He was right, by the way. I’m picky about my collards, and these fit the bill.
All the sides were excellent. Tate made it back to the table with the first helping of chocolate eclair, and it looked incredible. He ate all he could hold, but it just so happened his eyes were slightly bigger than his stomach. He was worried about it going to waste, but I eased his concerns as I slid the rest of it in front of a professional.
Doc, if you’re reading this, I promise I didn’t eat very much. A1C and all … I know. What I did eat was so good I had to stop talking, though. If you know me, that’s really saying something.
Marsha and her crew do such a nice job every time we go. We’re always pleasantly surprised by the value and the quality of the food. I don’t talk about price very often because I don’t know your budget. I will say this: we got out of there for less than I thought we should have spent. The food was hot, fresh, delicious, and plentiful.
If you haven’t been to The Grille lately, I’m sure they’d appreciate you stopping by.
John White is a photographer and lover of food who lives in Hamlet.
