Frosty in May

Yesterday in my little town, it was rainy and 46 degrees F, and yet The Breakfast Guru and I chose to sit around with my car window down for about twenty minutes.

Here's the reason:

We still have an old-fashioned, seasonal, drive-in A&W. When you order a combo 'for here', they don't ask you what kind of soda you want with that; they know. The car hops serve you root beer in a frosted glass mug.

Now it's spring.

For more about the rite of A&W, see this post. For a time when I actually could eat something fried, read about my visit to Joe's Gizzard City. If you want to know how the Breakfast Guru got his name, try here (or try his sausage gravy).

All Signs Points to Spring

Crocuses? Bah. Robins? Who needs 'em? In my little town, where the state highway meets the road into town, we have an old school, drive-in A&W. It closes in the late fall, and when it reopens, well, you can be sure it's spring. 


We stopped yesterday, and nearly everything about the first trip to A&W for 2010 was right. When I handed the kids their food, they treated it like a sommelier handles a fine bottle of cellared wine. There was the admiration of the packaging. The unwrapping, married to a deep inhale through the noise. A satisfied 'oohhh'. Praise poured forth from the lips of all: the perfect coating on the chicken strips, the crispiness of the hot fries. To all this, we added the glory of the Black Cow: creamy soft-serve ice cream blended with that signature A&W root beer.


Nearly everything was right. How did it fall short? Two things: we didn't have time to eat right there, so I was forced to drink my root beer out of a paper cup. If you stay, they bring your food on one of those trays that latch onto your window, and your root beer is served in a glass mug. Mmm. The second thing that was wrong? I'm still recovering from the stomach flu and wasn't up for the deep-fried mushrooms. 


Ahh, but there's time, now. Spring is here, at last.