Sunday night the Blackmon Clan ventured out to a new restaurant up at 40 and 42. I had no clue it was there. I think Mom heard about it so we thought we would try it out. If you know us well you probably know that most of the time when we go somewhere to eat that there is always something that goes wrong or isn’t right with our meal. Well it was one for the books. All of us were extremely pleased with our meal and the service was very good. Chris and I had a Kentucky Chicken Salad with honey mustard. I believe Kelly Mae had a Cobb Salad. Jayme had Blackened Chicken Fetuccine Alfredo. Mom and Dad went with Baby Back Ribs. They said the ribs were as good as they have eaten.

I like the fact that they had 2 big screen flat panel tv’s with the NFL games on. I could watch my fantasy players while ate supper. The big dining room was smoke free which is a huge plus. I definitely recommend dining at the Cleveland Draft House. I’m sure we’ll go back again.

In stark contrast to my last entry about good food in Four Oaks, this is about squat in Benson. I mean can we get a good eating establishment in the Benson city limits? One that will remain open? So last week Frank’s closes and so does the Sandwich Shop. Frank’s was really good until the last few months it was open. Who would have ever thought the Sandwich Shop would have closed? Now all we have is McDonald’s, Pizza Hit, Andy’s and Pat’s!! LOL Pat’s might be the best thing in Benson now…I don’ know. I mean for crying out loud, Princeton of all places at least has a Bojangles. The intersection of TWO major interstates plays host to nothing. I may as well set me up a tent off exit 79 with some Beans and Franks. And to top it all off the one new thing that is opening soon in Benson is Fat Ratz Sports Bar.

I used to think there was only one place to eat in Four Oaks…Thornton’s. For a long time I didn’t know what I was missing. We played at the Farm Park back in April and we wanted to get some lunch before we had to get back. Somebody suggested Mary’s. I was like Mary’s? My expectations weren’t very high. It had never crossed my mind that there was such good eating in that small town. Needless to say, I’ve been a fan ever since.

Sadly, Mary passed away while at work in May. The restaurant was closed for a few months after her death. Her husband, Larry, decided that she would want the restaurant to open back up and serve those fine recipes that everyone loves. They serve backbone, hamburger steak, fried chicken and the many country vegetables that put you in size 40s. I only saw her twice while eating there, but Mary definitely impressed me with fine country cookin’.