Breakfast in Chicago?

TRAVEL THERE – GOOGLE MISDIRECTION

Google had been very, very good to us on Wednesday night, so rather than spend an unnecessary moment at our horrible motel, finding out how they interpreted “breakfast included,” we googled “best breakfast downtown.” Apparently, overnight Google had forgotten where we were. We’d been researching restaurants with great ease the night before, but for some reason, it thought we wanted to go to Chicago for breakfast. You’ve got to love the SEO and algorithms that dreamed that up.

So, we tried again – “best breakfast downtown Little Rock.” It responded with Down Home, less than 10 minutes away. That was more like it, but it still wasn’t in downtown. We ended up backtracking a few exits and then when we got there, the restaurant wasn’t keeping its sites up-to-date, because the restaurant had a big McClard’s BBQ sign out front. “Down Home Catering” was further down and in smaller print.

At first, we weren’t sure whether they were closed for remodeling, because we thought the pick up trucks around the restaurant might belong to the construction crew. About that time we saw two great big old boys coming out rubbing their bellies in delight. We had arrived.

McClard’s BBQ / Down Home Restaurant and Catering

The restaurant was neat as a pin and you could tell everything was recently refreshed. The décor was early flea market with an emphasis on the USA, Hollywood and Christmas. We were led to a seat and given menus.

Our waitress was chatty. She and Deb discussed the sign, Google and the Christmas tree. In true flea market tradition, Deb’s coffee cup was a Christmas mug. The menu was fairly basic, nor surprises. We both got the same breakfast, but with different choices for meat and eggs. I like my eggs DONE, over well, hard enough to bounce on the floor and I told them to hold the gravy on my biscuit. Deb was over easy, she had bacon instead of sausage and she did want her gravy.

Our first reaction when the plates arrived was laughter. They serve toast with their biscuits. That cracked me up. Then I cracked into my egg and it was over easy, maybe more solid than Deb’s, but still runny. Our waitress picked my plate up before I could even say anything. It came back out in a few minutes over well, DONE. I was a happy camper.

The breakfasts were good and our conversation with the waitress continued. We told her where we were headed and I think she really wished she could just walk away and go with us. I wish we could have made that possible. Were I rich, I would have asked her what she made a week, written her a check for it, paid for her trip and the conference and squared her absence with her boss. That would be the best part of being rich – doing outrageous things for other people.

We also told her we were headed downtown to see the Clinton Library. It didn’t seem as if she was as excited about that. To tell the truth, I wasn’t either, but I sort of collect presidential libraries and homes. We were in Little Rock and it was too, so I wasn’t going to miss it. We paid our check and headed downtown.

Come back next week and visit the William J. Clinton presidential Library with us. I will admit is was better than I anticipated. You might be impressed enough to visit yourself, even if, like me, you aren’t a member of his fan club.