Meet Your Family!

Returning from our trip to the Outer Banks of North Carolina, we stopped in Pennsylvania Dutch country where Wendy has roots. She was born and raised just outside Philadelphia.

After finding a motel, we hunted for a restaurant that served P. Dutch. Settled on Good 'N Plenty, a rather large establishment in the heart of Amish country near Lancaster PA. They advertised family style dinners, which sounded good to me as we've enjoyed the family style chicken dinners they serve in Frankenmuth, Michigan.

But . . . we didn't really have our whole family with us. No problem. The restaurant staff took care of that for us. They brought us to a banquet room and put us at a long table that sat twelve of us strangers together. It was like we'd just walked off a tour bus. Or walked into a wedding reception. No choice either, since everyone inside was seated likewise.

It was a surprise, which some people enjoyed, but made others seemingly uncomfortable. Chicken, roast beef, dressing, vegetables, noodles, sauerkraut and sausage, rolls . . . everything was passed out in serving bowls.

But hea, hasn't this happened to you at a big family meal gathering? The good stuff ends up at the other end of the table? Well, it happened to me. The fried chicken, dressing, and gravy were with the folks over yonder while the bowls of sauerkraut, spiced cole slaw and chow-chow landed next to my plate.

By the way, chow-chow is a Pennsylvania Dutch favorite, a mixture of pickled vegetables that include cabbage, cauliflower, carrots, etc. The other Dutch treat served with the meal was shoo fly pie, which is also baked by my wife Wendy. She says she prefers the way she bakes it. I wouldn't know because I don't like it.

So I asked for seconds on the fried chicken, which meant the bowl had to travel back through several sets of hands. The gentleman next to me said, "Here, why don't you take a couple pieces. You can have it all if you want. Just a few pieces in there." Some people do get grumpy when asked to pass food in the middle of eating their own dinner.

Gee, I just wanted what's coming to me. I just wanted my fair share. Never mind. I'll just fill up on the chow-chow here. Usually, I can fill up on the mashed potatoes, but it's tradition here to puree the potatoes to a texture resembling applesauce. Just didn't seem as filling nor as appetizing to me.

Afterwards, bellies full, we started chatting a bit. I learned that the couples directly around us were from Texas and New Hampshire. The ladies exchanged some pleasantries about their families and travels and the weather. Then the New Hampshire fellow had something he wanted to get off his chest.

"You know I can always tell when there's a Texan around. They're always the loudest one in the place," he said. Then he told the story of being in a classy European restaurant where a staff of waiters hovered over every table--filling glasses, carrying away dishes, meeting each diner's request instantly. But at one table, this service was too much. "Get the heck away from me," a man bellowed to the waiters. The New Hampshirite explained that this was a Texan. And he hadn't seen anything since to convince him that Texans weren't all similarly cultured.

I wanted to mention that I have some blogging buddies that are Texans who don't appear to be anything like his stereotype. But the gentlewoman from Texas spoke first. "On behalf of all Texans, I apologize," she said.

Holy cow! A bit of conflict around the dinner table? Somebody speaking his mind? A matronly type smoothing it all over? Eating too much food, even if you're not sure what it was or how it was cooked? This really WAS a family style dinner.