Leaving Virginia, I had a long drive ahead of me. I planned a stop in Atlanta to see a professor at Georgia Tech and then head on to Cape Canaveral to see the last voyage of the space shuttle Endeavour. The launch was important and carried the last project that I would ever work on that flew on the space shuttle. I was excited.
A co-worker had told me to eat at Mary Mac’s Tea Room in Atlanta if I got a chance. Mary Mac’s is famous for serving up southern food including fried green tomatoes. I got there late, maybe around 8:30, but I was hungry.
Not wanting to cheat myself, I decided to put a lot of food on the table. I ordered Butter Peas, Cheese Grits, Collard Greens, Fried Okra, Fried Green Tomatoes, Pickled Beets, Broccoli Soufflé, Squash Soufflé, Tomato Pie, and Cornbread. Yes I did. I was hungry.
There’s no sense in fooling around, if you know what you want. You only live once; you ought to make it count.
I was hungry.
I’m not a restaurant reviewer and I don’t want to pretend to be, but I know what I like. Unfortunately for restaurants, when it comes to southern food, fried stuff and other cooking that I know about, I compare it to my Mama’s cooking, my Grandmothers’ cooking and my own cooking. Mary Mac’s vittles didn’t measure up to anything my Mama ever cooked. It may have been because it was late, it may have been because I was tired and it may have been because I had other things on my mind.
The food looked pretty, but it just didn’t twang my buds. The folks were nice and they put a lot of food in front of me, it was just missing something. I’ll just leave it at that. I can say that the pickled beets were good, but it’s hard to mess up pickled beets.
The shuttle launch was delayed and I was disappointed. In mapping my drive back home, I decided to go through Juliette, Georgia. The population of Juliette is around 3000 and home of the Whistle Stop Café.
The Whistle Stop Café was used in the filming of the 1991 Film “Fried Green Tomatoes.” Being from Alabama, I have to acknowledge that the setting of the movie is actually my home state and not Georgia. However, it is a place everyone should go and it was perfect for the movie.
There’s not much to Juliette, other than the restaurant, a few shops, a fire station and a couple of unisex bathrooms. The wait for a table was 45 minutes, but it was a spectacular day and the time flew by. One store had a stuffed squirrel riding a tractor and a stuffed possum eating Cracker Jack. I was in heaven.
It seemed that a motorcycle gang of about 100 was doing Juliette for the day also. They were nice folks and a fellow named Marcel even let me have my picture made with him and his friend Rowena. If you’ve ever seen the movie “Wild Hogs,” these guys would have been great for the movie.
They finally called my name and I went inside and sat down. After looking at the stuffed possum eating Cracker Jack, watching the train go by and sitting on the porch for a while, I was hungry.
A sweet girl named Morgan took my order; she was the real Juliette deal. There are some things you can’t hide. I had to order Fried Green Tomatoes (as an appetizer); I followed them with Collard Greens, Fried Okra, Cream Corn, Butter Peas, White Potato Soufflé, Corn Bread and Fried Chicken.
I was hungry.
What can I say?
I would take my Mama to this place and not worry. The Whistle Stop Café is the real deal and knows how to throw food on the table. The food, the Sweet Tea in the Ball/Mason/Kerr jars and the jackalope on the wall were perfect. My bill was about half the price of Mary Mac’s Tea Room Yankee Trap in Atlanta and the food was 100 times better.
The Fried Green Tomatoes were to die for. Mary Mac’s Tea Room not only failed in the food department, but they didn’t have a motorcycle gang, a stuffed possum, an outhouse, Morgan the cute waitress, a train or the cicadas. Yes, cicadas. I’ve never heard anything like it.
The cicadas were in the trees and everywhere else according to the fireman at the fire station. He said “It was in the paper, they’ve been here for a while.” I must have missed that edition of the Juliette newspaper, but it was like being in the middle of an Alfred Hitchcock movie.
So would I do the Whistle Stop Café again? Yes. What would I order? The Fried Green Tomatoes (as an appetizer), I would follow them with Collard Greens, Fried Okra, Cream Corn, Butter Peas, White Potato Soufflé, Corn Bread and Fried Chicken.
To be a perfect day, I would want the same folks there and have to wait 45 minutes for a table. I would stroll around town without a worry in the world and go look at the stuffed squirrel and stuffed possum again. They are not for sale, so I assume they will still be there.
How can you compete against a stuffed possum eating Cracker Jack?
More Pictures from Juliette, Georgia and The Whistle Stop Café (including the one with Marcel and Rowena)
Cicada Sounds at Bottom
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I'm BN Heard and I like semicolons, dogs and the sound of rain on a tin roof.
Brent - Loved the story! I, too love the silly stuffings of jackalopes and the motorcycle riding squirrels. Kinda sick when you think of it, really...but then aren't most things humorous? Tell ya what my fellow statistics prof and fellow Southerner...you come on down to NashVegas anytime and I'll show you some fun, great southern cooking, and hot music!!!
Becky
Posted by: Becky Shaw | 05/03/2011 at 11:53 PM
I might take you up on that Becky, thanks so much for the invitation! BN
Posted by: BN Heard | 05/09/2011 at 04:32 PM