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Grace:
Once the waiter gave us some menus, I feel like I was frantically flipping the pages and going back to certain items. I had my eyes set on a custom pizza, pasta, fish sandwiches, salads, and more! I was taking a lot longer than Shannon to decide--but I finally decided to try the Buffalo Garlic Shrimp appetizer, and a Caesar salad. I do realize I've gotten a Caesar salad for about 80% of our lunches, but it just always sounds good to me! We both got some glasses of H2O, and I knew I would definitely be getting a refill fairly soon because I've come to learn that buffalo sauce calls for tons of water.
I ordered the Buffalo Garlic Shrimp because I thought that sounded incredibly interesting. I am, quite literally, obsessed with buffalo sauce, food with garlic, and shrimp so the Buffalo Garlic Shrimp appetizer sounded so promising. I had never thought to combine all three things before, but now I know that I can easily create something like this at home! It was a fairly priced appetizer--$7.99 for seven shrimp. The shrimp were sauteed to perfection. I thought the garlic taste would have come from garlic powder, but I saw that minced garlic was sprinkled all over the dish when my appetizer arrived. The buffalo sauce was drizzled over all seven shrimp and I found myself cutting the tails off first, then sticking a fork into both sides of the shrimp; therefore, smothering the dish's excess garlic and sauce until I believed I had acquired the perfect ratio of buffalo and garlic.
I had the waiter bring out my appetizer and my salad at the same time, since I didn't want to be eating when Shannon wasn't. I had asked the waiter if I would be fine with just getting an appetizer and the smaller sized Caesar salad, and he said I would have had to have taken the bigger portioned one home. That being said, I got the smaller one because I'm really, really bad at remembering to eat leftovers. Plus, salads are not the best things to take home because if they already have the dressing on, wilting occurs. The salad was a pretty generic Caesar salad, but I still wanted more! The waiter said the small was a lunch size, but apparently I had the appetite of a NFL player today because after finishing my Caesar salad, I was still semi-hungry. I told Shannon I would give her a dollar if I could steal one of her onion rings, but she said she would willingly give me one for free. Well, one turned into two. I was a bit hungry. The onion rings were so golden and crunchy! We both had to be ladylike and cut the huge Os with our forks and knives.
Whistlestop was a really cute restaurant and the fact that it was right next to the train tracks was so fitting! It definitely made me feel some nostalgia for my childhood, and made me want to watch Fried Green Tomatoes immediately. I will definitely be back to try some of the other menu items I was finding it so hard to decide amongst.
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Shannon:
During my research of nearby restaurants I came across Whistlestop Restaurant and knew right away that we had to go to this place. I glanced at the online menu, but like we said, it was very difficult to read, but the cute pictures solidified my decision. As soon as I told Grace, I had to tell my sister, Fried Green Tomatoes being her favorite movie and all, which made me even more excited by her enthusiasm to read about the restaurant.
I picked up Grace and we drove the straightforward route down Lake Rd., admiring the houses along the way. We traveled a short distance down Cahoon, and as soon as we saw the railroad tracks, there was Whistlestop, placed right beside like a station. We entered the restaurant, delighted to see their was no skimping on train decorations and miscellany. After our brief stint by the door we bashfully sat down, noticing several people glancing at us strangely. Shortly after we seated ourselves our waiter came over with menus and asked for our drink orders. He went off to get our water while we browsed the menu, where I was pleased to see a Grilled Eggplant sandwich was offered. Ordering this with onion rings in place of chips, I was excited to have a vegetarian sandwich option other than a veggie burger or portabello mushroom cap.
We chatted for about fifteen minutes until our food arrived. My immediate reaction to the plate placed in front of me was due to the four massive onion rings that took up the entire right side. A pickle leaned on a garnishing pile of shredded lettuce, and my sandwich sat in the middle, the top of the bun on the side to display the heaping contents. Starting as I usually do with the pickle, I crunched away in order to make room for ketchup. I selected the smallest onion ring to eat first, which was about the same circumference as my water glass. The onion ring was as delicious as it was aromatic, although onion rings are always a bit tricky for me, so I cut up the next one to keep the onion in place with its breaded exterior. Not wanting to fill myself up before starting on my sandwich, I placed the bun on top and cut it in two more manageable pieces. I set it back down after my first bite, however, because it was still very hot. I allowed it to cool while sipping some water, and then tried again. The sandwich contained roasted red pepper, red onion, mushrooms and melted cheese on a Kaiser bun. The red pepper and onions were the most prominent feature other than the eggplant itself, giving the sandwich its strong smoking grilled taste. The eggplant was juicy and buttery, and the cheese was perfectly melted. Although the sandwich proved very difficult to eat because with every bite more contents slid out the other side of the bun, making me very glad I cut it in two. The flavors were satisfying, and I enjoyed having a different variation of a veggie sandwich, however, the vegetables seemed to have been grilled in overwhelming amounts of butter and oil. My plate had a little river running through it, and several times I blotted the bottom of the soaked bun. If I ordered this sandwich again, I would perhaps ask to have the vegetables grilled in less oil, or else I would blot the contents thoroughly before eating.
Whistlestop really was adorable and I loved the atmosphere of the restaurant. The drive to and from was enjoyable and relaxing, and the service is friendly. I would like to return on a warmer day, I would probably just amend my order a bit to alleviate my oil intake. I think that is a manageable goal in order to return to such a cute place.
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Whistlestop and the train tracks
Entrance way
Specials board and obvious seating sign
Stairs to bar seating area
Lower dining area
More tables
Our window
Grilled Eggplant Sandwich and onion rings
Buffalo Garlic Shrimp
Caesar salad
Upper dining area
Different angle of upper seating area
Bar area
Sign in the ladies bathroom
Fireplace, train, and beer sign
Stained glass window decal
Whistlestop Restaurant
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Whistlestop Restaurant allowed us to have a nice little trip and and enjoyably comfortable environment. We recommend this place for a easy lunch option and brief getaway from the hustle and bustle.
I WANT TO GO!!!!
ReplyDeleteYes, I knew you would. It is very cute!
ReplyDelete-Shannon