Taking A Walk

by Dwayne Phillips

Dublin Virginia is a small town. It sits fairly close to Interstate 81. There are four or five motels there by the Interstate as well as fast food restaurants and the usual Golden Mile things. One of those restaurants is Fatz. Fatz is a chain, I guess a national chain but not as big as most.

The menu at Fatz is about like those of most “American Food” restaurants. They have the variety of burgers, soups, salads, entrees and on and on. What is different is their side dish: grits. I grew up eating grits. I still eat them from time to time. What is more, I disdain the alternative to grits – oatmeal, yuck.

My great meal was a hamburger with grits on the side instead of french fries. Their grits had a few extra spices in them and a little cheese on the top. It was great. I had never thought about it much before, but the protein and fat in a burger mixes well with the, well I don’t really know what it is in grits that makes them grits. Whatever it is, it mixes well with the protein and fat of a burger.

Now that I write about it, I realize that I haven’t had a burger with grits on the side since that great meal at Fatz. I’ll make a point of fixing some grits the next time my wife cooks some burgers. I wonder if I could convince McDonald’s, Burger King, or Wendy’s to…oh, never mind.

One thing I know for sure – I will N E V E R try a burger with oatmeal as a side dish.