Well, the place I just went to yesterday falls into the latter category. It's called "Billy's & Milly's Restaurant".

It's located on US route 29, about 40 miles south of Lynchburg, Virginia. It's in a town called Chatham, Virginia.

As you can see, the place doesn't look like much but it does have that "Small Town, USA" character that you just don't see anymore. That's what attracted my attention in the first place... That and the sign out front...

So I figured I'd roll the dice and see what it was like. You can tell it's definately no Maison Robert... More like Bob's Place!

Formica counters and wood paneling adorn the inside as you might expect. The food is served on blue Mel-Mac plates like the "Blue Plate Specials" of the old days. The menu is your basic "Meat-and-Two". (That's Southern lingo for a main dish with two vegetable/side dishes.) I had country fried steak with a sweet potato and corn pudding. It was pretty good. Again, not gourmet food but Good ol' Down Home Cookin' just like the sign says. Quite acceptable, if you take it at face value.

Now, leave your Visa card at home because their motto is, "In God we trust... Everyone else pays cash!" Don't worry, I got out of there with a tab of just under $6.00. $7.00 including the tip!

If you are looking for one of those out of the way places where the people are friendly, this is a place to put on your list. Next time I'm passing through, I'd definately consider stopping by to say, "Howdy!".

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Two other guys came in right as I was finishing up and asked for coffee. The waitress who I bet was Milly, herself, said, "I'm jes makin' a freysh pot."

For sit down places in Dallas, Country Buffet is quite good and I think they have locations across the country...but not a lot of them. Enchilada's is a pretty darned good mexican sit down place too, with (I think) a couple of locations in Dallas. If you don't mind being the youngest person in the place by a good 20 years, Luby's cafeteria has lots of locations and they are the best cafeteria I've ever been to.

Sit down places in Denver include the Country Buffet and a place by the UA Greenwood theater in Englewood called Old Santa Fe. There are no fast food places that serve digestible food in Denver.

Here's another place in Norfolk:

This one's for carnivores only! Vegetarians can pass this place up!

It's called "The Grate Steak". It's on Route 13 (North Military Highway) in Norfolk, VA. It's right near the Military Circle Mall. It's pretty easy to find.

Sort of a "Frontier Style" decor. You'll find lots of signs and knick-knacks on the inside. (Definately not like TGI Friday's, though!)

So what's on the menu? MEAT!!! If you want to cook a "Hunk O' Heiffer" this is one place you have to stop at. There are several different cuts to choose from, Delmonaco, T-Bone, NY Strip and more. You can get "Reataurant Cut" which is the normal size or "Owner's Cut" which is the larger size portion. Of course, there's an All-you-can-eat salad bar. No respectable restaurant like this would be complete without it.

This is a "cook it yourself" place. That's right! You get your meat RAW! You take it into the grill room and cook it over a giant charcoal pit!

If you want you can have one of the waiters, known as "Chef's assistants", help you cook your dinner. For an extra price you can have them cook it for you but where's the fun in that?
On the side are baked potatoes, bread and melted butter. You can use these to make your own garlic bread, etc over the fire while your meat is cooking.

Just for information... take a look at this next shot:

This is one day's worth of charcoal for this place. Something like 300 pounds! (That's 136 kilos to those of you across the pond!)

For those of you who don't want to cook your own meal there are other menu choices like "Crab Stuffed Flounder" but I've been here 3 or 4 times and have never tried it.

Prices are a bit on the steep side. Expect to pay $30 per person... More if you run up a bar tab. All major forms of plastic money are accepted, though.

To sum this place up in four words: MEAT!... BEER!... FIRE!... GOOD!

TACO CABANA RULES!!!!! Its the first place i hit after getting off the plane when I travel to San Antonio...

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Martin Frandsen
Film crazy!, Big 70mm fan!

Did you know that Belgium actually invented the 'fry'? Those pesky French stole the idea and named it after themselves!

HOW RUDE!

That and Belgian Waffles!\

Next time you are thru Asheville, try stopping at exit 44 on I-40 and try the El Chapalla MEXICAN joint. I've eaten there several times and have not died, yet.

If I know about your arrival in advance, I'll do my best to meet you there.

Other than that, there's no other good places around here besides the TASTEE DINER on Haywood Road just a few miles off the interstate. They have good old greasy Southern cooking that can out-do any WAFFLE HOUSE anywhere!

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Is there still a place called the "Trail Dust Steak House" in the Denver area somewhere? I think it was in the Westminster Mall. This goes back a few years....man, they had good steaks there. Had a big wood-fired grill in the middle of the place where the steaks were cooked in front of everybody.

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