Good Times at the Village Inn

As you know, we are visiting family here in Iowa for Thanksgiving. We ventured out the other night to get a quick meal at a small local place called the Village Inn. The restuarant is a informal family eatery similar to a Perkin's, Shoney's, or a Baker's Square restaurant depending on your region of the country.

Let me set the scene.

Thanksgiving is a couple days away. This Village Inn restaurant has extra folding tables and countertops covered up with baked pies that families order this time of year. There are 2-3 waitresses covering a fairly packed restaurant. Our lovely waitress, Earnestine (or Ear-stine as the receipt read) brought me a regular coke and shot me a nasty look when I asked for another diet coke. [No tip for you ,Ear-stine!] Finally the drink was correct and we proceeded to order. Miss Ear-stine brings our food 30 or so minutes later. [I ordered a Belgian waffle and bacon. I can't resist.] Miss Ear-stine lays down my waffle plate and an additional bowl of butter.

Yes. A bowl of butter.

We had a good laugh before Ear-stine could leave the table. She was ready for us to go I'm sure. I never did get my side of bacon. We were charged for several items that never arrived. Additionally, Ear-stine flew by our table to give us yet another receipt. This new receipt was from a different server, "Bernice", and had someone else's order on it. We just left that one on the table. Not sure if she thought we wanted to show some random act of kindness to one of Bernice's customers. The feeling just wasn't there.

I got a quick photo,"Laura Tomlinson style", of Bernice and her fantastic hair.

So, if you are in the area, and your cholesterol is low, head on down to the Village Inn. No need to ask for a bowl of butter, it is complimentary!

P.S. No one has peed their pants yet. We have had a couple of close calls though.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!