You guys won't believe this. My flight was canceled AGAIN! Jeez. My luck. The Mogurin and I got up at the before the crack of dawn this morning at 4 AM to get our sorry butts to the ariport, only to find out that my 6 AM flight was canceled due to bad weather in Atlanta THE NIGHT BEFORE. The worse part is that if my flight had been scheduled to take off at 7 AM, I would have totally had a normal flight. Luckily, from my last episode with canceled flights, I knew about those landline 'courtesy' phones - the ones that you're supposed to get on to get your flight rebooked (instead of getting in the line longer than the Nile River to get the ticketing agent's attention - but they don't tell you this until you get to the front of the line). I got myself on that phone as fast as I could to secure some seats on any flight getting into SFO, SJC, or OAK. It's a good thing I have three airport choices, since the man on the phone next to mine gave up flying out today after being on the phone for 2 hrs trying to get rescheduled to San Diego.
Traveling. Sometimes I wonder why I do it.
Anyway, back to the food blog part. While my fellow Bay Area bloggers were debaucherizing at Dr. Biggles' Palace of Fine Meats, I was doing a bit of debaucherizing myself. And let me tell you. It was slippery, oily, messy debauchery over at one of the most well-known eateries in North Carolina... An institution. A tradition. A cultural experience.
One of the things I miss the most about NC is my breakfast at Mama Dips' Country Kitchen. Seriously, the Mogurin and I frequented this place at least once a week - sometimes for breakfast, other times for lunch or a weekend brunch. There is nothing like a few pieces of Mama Dips' fine fried chick'n to wake me up! Yes, I really ate fried chicken first thing in the morning, and actually, so did a whole lot of other people. She's got a plate full of crispy chickeny goodness alongside a few eggs cooked on the grill, and boy, that's a plate to kick start your day!
Unfortunately, the timing this time around worked out so that we had dinner there, and it ended up being a bittersweet dinner. My dear friend, Seth, who sweated many a drops of sweat on/with me (even in my mouth - eeeeeeeeeeeewwwwe!!!!) during my years of judo training in NC is finally picking up and leaving the Tar Heel state for England. Mama Dip's Southern Fried Chicken is going to be the last meal Seth and I share in the familiar Chapel Hill scenerey.
I am feeling sentimental and bittersweet about all this. I've watched my friends scatter all over the place and leave the place I always thought I could come back to find them together. Chapel Hill, with its unchanging landscape, accustomed streets, routine paces - it's all slowly disappearing. They are all establishing themselves in new worlds, new surroundings, new friends, new families, new routines - without me. Sometimes, I just feel like I haven't found another place to really call 'home'.
2 comments:
NO fail - I am just just leaving the office and promised to cook a meal for wife. AND I DON'T HAVE ANY CHICKEN TO FRY. Seriously, until college I thought chicked was either friend or was Chicken And Dumplings. Your writings (and great photo) have put me in the mood for a taste of my heritage. Better luck on the flight next time
SMB
SMB,
Wow, I'm impressed you could make fried chicken if you had chicken!! I haven't quite gotten that brave yet, although I am starting to feel the urge these days!
I LOOOOOOOVE fried chicken. Spending four years in the South made me realize what wonderful culinary treasure fried chicken really is. I haven't quite found chicken like Mama Dips' here! I might just have to make it myself...
And my flight from Hawaii this time was actually on time for once!
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