Our Lunch Adventure

Yesterday my friend Nannette took me out to lunch. We went to the Penguin Drive-In in Charlotte. Nannette has lived here all her life, heard about the Penguin all her life, and never eaten there.

We drove and drove and drove and missed our turn once. We ended up calling Mensa Boy at his office to see where we went wrong. (note to self: give Nannette a map of Charlotte for her car...just for my own peace of mind)

We finally found the place, and saw all these folks standing outside chatting, drinking various beverages...mostly sweet tea, of course.

The building is no bigger than an auto repair shop. And it's not a drive-in anymore. When we opened the door, we saw maybe 15 tables in there, a bar in front of the grill, and it was packed and noisy. We looked at each other, wondering if we should stay.

The hostess came up to us and said "Come in and shut the door." I told her we weren't sure if we were staying.

"Of course you'll stay, and it will be worth the wait," she replied.

She took my name, suggested we get a drink and hang around. "I'll come find you when I have a table for you."

"So we can wait outside and you'll find us?" I asked.

"I don't care what you do, as long as you clean up your own mess," she said.

And so we hung around. Soaking in the racket and the people and mainly watching the hostess. The girl was maybe in her late 20s? With a bright red eye shadow. I was fascinated by the eye shadow. And the way she and the obvious regulars greeted each other. Big hugs, loud exclamations. You know, those of you ladies that might have trouble with fellows looking at you with their eyes focused lower than your face? Try a stripe of scarlet-colored eye shadow above each eye. That should keep their attention focused on your face. For a while, anyway. Maybe you ought to have little designs drawn up there...

The fellow who was the waiter was also fascinating. He had this earring that looked like two claws hooked together on either side of his earlobe. Later Nannette commented that his hairstyle made him kind of look like a penguin. All swept upward into a point. I admit I hadn't noticed that.

After about 15-20 minutes, we were given a table. Big enough for 4. There were still a few folks waiting, so we told the hostess we'd be happy to share a table with another couple. We figured no one could hear our conversation anyway...we'd be lucky if we could hear each other!

I don't think people make that offer very often. The hostess seemed a bit surprised and then went to figure out who would be game to sit with two strangers. She brought us a nice couple from Ohio who were in town for Speed Street. They come every year and like to try restaurants they hear about. They'd heard about the Penguin on the Food Network.

We ended up talking to them throughout our meal, and the waiter stopped by every once in a while to be sure we were "getting along." They ordered fried pickles, which I'd never had. Apparently that is a delicacy in Ohio as well. The order they received was huge, so they shared them with us. I had one...when they were very hot. I have to say I liked it. But I didn't have any more because I was under the impression that they would not be very good once they cooled.

We talked about various places to eat. They had gone to Statesville the day before and eaten at Carolina Bar B Q of Statesville...our family ate there last year and really liked it. I asked them if they'd tried Bill Spoon's BBQ in Charlotte. They had not, so I told them about where it was. And we told them about South 21 Drive-In.

The burgers were pretty good. If I lived in the neighborhood, I imagine I'd go there when jones-ing for a good burger. It's a lot like Matt's in Minneapolis, or the 5-8 Club.

It was a fun lunch! Took 3.5 hours total, but very fun. I think we are going to try to hit some other fun places throughout the summer. And I will definitely put a map in her car. Even if I have to do it when she's not looking!