Cafeteria Style

Lisa and I have embraced our ‘empty nest’ status by enjoying a series of weekend dates. In some ways, it feels like we are back in college.

Our ‘old school’ date on Saturday, in fact, featured going to a UT basketball game. If we are shooting for the ‘college feel,’ why not?

To complete the package, we did something else we might have done during our college years: we had lunch at a cafeteria. Talk about ‘old school.’ When Lisa and I entered the S & S cafeteria in Bearden, I am quite sure we were the youngest patrons in the establishment.

Cafeteria style restaurants used to be all the rage, especially when we came of age. In my family, a trip to any number of area cafeterias was almost a standard practice every couple of weeks. When I was a young fellah, I was not amused. Why go to a cafeteria, I thought, when happier places – like McDonald’s – offered trendier eating options?

They don’t give out Happy Meals at cafeterias.

Still, those eateries ruled while I was a kid. Same for Lisa.

It’s funny how time stands still in certain arenas. When we went for lunch on Saturday, we found exactly the same set-up as in any cafeteria we might’ve frequented in the 70s, 80s or 90s.

• Walk down the long narrow hall
  
• Reach the traditional serving line
  

• You find, in order, salads, desserts, entrees, veggies, breads and then beverages…before the cashier would total your order up
• Then, you wind your way through a maze of tables until
  
• You find the cozy booth in the corner

          

Like I said…timeless.

And going through the line, many of the menu choices were unchanged from days gone by…including a variety of gelatin-based confections, pies of every sort, country-style steak, etc. etc. The choices were served up by apron-clad servers sporting hairnets (or bonnets) and offering witty banter with the customers.

For the record, Lisa and I by-passed all of those choices and settled on a yummy vegetable plate (we picked the exact same four vegetable selections). We definitely enjoyed the squash casserole, okra and green beans. Nothing could compare to the creamy mashed potatoes.

And to tie a bow around the day, a lady who resembled her predecessors from olden times, occupied the same sort of cashier’s booth – the ones where you can buy a selection of gum, mints and Life Savers with the coins that come down the chute of the manually operated cash register.

You hear of certain foods being described as ‘comfort foods.’ The trip to this cafeteria was like a ‘comfort meal’ – including the interactions with the S & S staff, our surroundings and the overall experience.

And whereas I wouldn’t imagine that many of our weekend dates would feature a cafeteria meal, for one afternoon – just before tipoff – it definitely felt like a nice place to be.

JG

Originally posted 2/10/2014