"The Entire Usual"

"Will it be the entire usual today?"
"Why yes, thanks!"

Is there any happier event in life than going to a restaurant where they know just what you want, and they know how to make it just the way you want it!? That was the experience we had on this day when we went out for a late lunch at Jim's Italian Cuisine. Jim's is located on East Cherry Lane in Bellefonte, behind the Undine Fire Company.

It was a beautiful, sunny but chilly day, the very last day of the year. We were heading out to Fishermans Paradise for an afternoon hike, but first, we were starving and we wanted to grab some lunch. So this was the lunch we had!

I don't know if you get the way we do after the holidays: we've had just about everything you can think of. Turkey, and chicken, and ham, and mashed potatoes and stuffing and gravy. And even lasagna, and apple pie, and taco dip. We'd had it all and really couldn't think of anything we were hungry for. Ah, but then: this!

The restaurant closes for lunch around 2, and we got there shortly after 1. I'd like to say the lunch crowd was thinning out, but it was still really packed and so we ate at a table out front, not far from the door. It was informal and fun. The wait staff were pleasant, as always, and our food arrived quickly. Young Jim was behind the counter making hoagies, talking football with my husband. (And yes, we have been patrons for 25 to 30 years, long enough to remember the original Jim, young Jim's father, in his wheelchair.) 

This photo features "the entire usual." My husband and I each order a small chef salad (the photo does not show his, as he was tucking into it with what I can only describe as great gusto as I snapped this shot), and we split a small garlic bread and a small order of cottage fries. The garlic bread was buttered and lightly salted. The fries were golden and crispy, absolutely perfect. They were the kind of fries that girls (and maybe even guys) who love fries dream about!

The song to accompany this tasty image has to be about food, and in particular about the wonderful experience of eating out, where somebody else is doing the cooking - AND the dishes! The song is Be Our Guest, from one of my favorite Disney films, Beauty and the Beast. Enjoy!

P.S. A girlfriend and I like to go out for a salad on occasion, as well. Jim's has the best Italian chef salad that I know of. Brother's, near the Nittany Mall, has the second best.  :-)