succoring trough and glaze huffing

Almost any trip we make leads us south through Spartanburg, SC. And anytime we go at all near Spartanburg our lunch plans include a stop at Wade's. Spartanburg's heat is something else. It hits you like a skillet right in the gut and makes you almost have to walk bent-over when first exiting the air conditioning of your car.

Then Wade's offers succor. For years I've heard tales of the trough, as Ian and his co-workers call Wade's Express Lunch. Mostly we miss it. It's gone at 1:30 p.m. and only available through the week. For one price, around $7 a person, you get dessert, veggies, meat, and non-fountain drinks.

We stopped there Friday. They were out of fish. Out of perch, actually. But the woman working the meat area said she thought they had flounder. She returned with a plate of three strips of fried flounder and as many hush puppies. They weren't piping hot, but still serviceable.

Once you reach the vegetable area on this cafeteria-style trough line, you're on your own. Yup, you ladle or serve up the amount of veggies you can fit in your mouth. Don't think there are seconds, so you ought to fill up first time out.  I sampled the cole slaw (a winner!), mac n cheese, steamed cabbage, sweet potato souffle, and collard greens. Actually, I exclaimed upon seeing the greens, "They've got collard greens!"

Ian had many of the same sides as did I, yet also brought their potato salad, creamed corn, and black eyes peas to the table.  Potato salad was better than store-bought, but not my favorite. It wasn't creamy enough, maybe not enough mayo. Black-eyed peas were okay, but that's not something I regularly eat. Didn't try his creamed corn.

Neither of us got pie. Lemon, apple, and maybe pecan were offered. But none appealed to us, and a mere two days later neither Ian nor I can quite name the pie selections. Wade's has divine peanut butter pie, but that, and their other deluxe desserts don't accompany the Express Lunch.

The real winner was the sweet potato souffle. It was so sweet and yummy. Real butter in there. Melted marshmallows on top. Ummm. No nuts, not too heavy-handed with the spice. Pecans stud the top crust of the sweet potato souffle recipe I use, that's why I mention the lack of pecans. I can take them or leave them, but prefer most food nut-free.  I doled out a small portion of souffle on my plate, because I know there's very little nutritional value in this dish; other than beta-carotene. And when this sweet potato bliss converged with the cabbage and collards, let me tell you, everything tastes better with sweet potato souffle topping it! I finished off Ian's portion that he left uneaten. That souffle was better than any dessert I've had in recent memory.

And their tea is good, too. The only sweet tea Ian drinks is Wade's. And being calorie-conscious (he's lost about ninety pounds since March), he went with the un-sweet tea. He's also a bargain hunter, so even though he spends lots of grocery money on diet sodas, he didn't want to pay extra for the diet whatever that didn't come with the Express Lunch.

Before quitting Spartanbrug completely Ian drove us over to the Krispy Kreme store. No donuts for us. But oh that KK merchandise? He's gabbed about how great their t-shirt and sweatshirt selections were for months. Once we walked through the door, there was none found. They had a few t-shirts behind the counter. And one in his size. He bought it despite the bit of donut glaze dried to i's front. Since we remained donut-free we got our jollys by huffing the shirt from inside its plastic bag as we found our way back to I-26.

Ian wore the shirt next day on our stop at Saint Augustine, FL. Women were drawn to it. One looked at him, and his shirt and said "Krispy Kreme, mmmmmmmmmmm." Another said "Oh, Krispy Kreme would be so good right now." He reported that she was hot.

I've written of Wade's in the past. How can one resturant be so special and yet so ordinary all at once? Many folks could easily pass it by. Wade's offersd good quality food at great prices. Sure, some of it is fried. But my cabbage was steamed. And those greens weren't fried. Wade's is a treat.

Comments

[lla]

Enjoying reading all the restaurant reviews from the trip! You really have a way with words...

You need to get Ian the KK boxer shorts. I got Bubba a pair (for Christmas, maybe?) a while back - they're so silly.