Clay Perry: May 2011

May 31, 2011

A glimpse: Christy's Cafe

A few years ago I started a series of posts here entitled "glimpse", the reason for these posts were to give you guys a glimpse into the things that I see in everyday life. A glimpse of places that I like to go and things I like to do.

Recently, I felt a need to revisit the topic...

A few months ago I logged onto facebook and saw a post on my home page feed. The post said something about the daily special being beef tips and rice with gravy, collard greens, and black eyed peas... of course I took notice. I clicked on the link and was taken to a page for Christy's Cafe in Newnan. I can't remember when or how I became a fan of the page, but there it was... Real food.

Each day had a different special listed, as I read down the list I thought to myself, "why haven't I heard of this place?" I began to investigate, it sits at 30 Perry Street, I knew exactly where it was... The place had been a used bookstore at one point and another restaurant that my wife and I had visited. A few days later my mother wanted me to give her a ride to town for a few things that she needed, while in town she mentioned getting something to eat, so I mentioned Christy's..

We walked in to a chorus of, "Hey Y'all!" We were told to just sit anywhere and grabbed a table. They brought us menus and took the drink order right away and returned a few moments later with a glass of sweet tea that was comparable to the tea my mother makes.. and that's saying something... The daily special was a burger and fries with a drink included, so I ordered that, instead of fries I opted for tater tots... The burger was amazing, cooked just right, the tater tots were also cooked to perfection... My first reaction was to the freshness of the food, the flavors were perfect. The "fixins" for the burger, lettuce, tomato, etc.. were so fresh I ate them by themselves... I left the place sated and excited for having found somewhere that served good food..

I told my wife about it and suggested that we visit for breakfast that Saturday. They are only open seven to two during the week, so going with her would have to wait for the weekend. I had looked over the menu and was excited about trying the breakfast. Saturday rolled around and and we headed out with James in tow... Once there I ordered the "chicken skillet" when they brought the food I sat and stared at the plate before me for a couple of minutes... It was a huge pile of grilled chicken, hash browns, onions, peppers, and mushrooms topped with two scrambled eggs and a huge biscuit on the side... holy shit...

I sat and ate slowly.. the meal was perfect... Let me tell you about the biscuit... Do you remember the way the biscuits that your mother and grandmother made tasted? That buttermilk flavor? That's the way this biscuit tasted... except, they cut it in half, buttered it then grilled it.. the taste is amazing. I hadn't experienced that flavor since I was a kid... Yes.. I was damn near in tears...

I posted a picture of the chicken skillet on facebook, yes, I'm one of those annoying food posters... I was immediately inundated with texts and emails asking where this place was at. That has now become a sport for me. I post pictures or status updates that I'm there and I am always asked repeatedly where it is, what they have, etc...

They told us that they had just celebrated one year in business and were about to start having catfish and barbecue on Friday nights from five until nine. We looked forward to that all week and when Friday evening rolled around, there we were. James loves catfish, I love barbecue.. so he and my wife ordered the two fillet plates of fish with fries, and I ordered the full rack of ribs... an hour and a half later, after calling a few people to meet us there we finally left, barely able to move... We had to walk around the Court Square in Newnan a few times just to get the feeling back in our legs...

Since that fateful week I have worked my way around their menu, a few times... I have never had anything that I didn't like. The slaw is astounding, the tuna salad is unbelievable, the burgers are unbeatable, the fish is incredible, the hush-puppies are perfect, the brisket is always exactly right, and Christy makes all the desserts herself.. the banana split pie will make you cry its so good......

If you are tired of chain restaurants with poor service, televisions all over the place, stale menus, and tired gimmicks, go over to Christy's Cafe on Perry St. (its between the tag office and the post office) and give them a try. Christy, Rick, and Trina will treat you to something you haven't had in a long time... a pleasant experience at a place where you are welcome, where quality is upheld, and you actually feel like you just went over to your moms house to eat lunch on a lazy Sunday afternoon... I suggest going on Friday night first to get the experience of the "Friday night catfish and barbecue special" I'm sure I'll see you there.. Hats off guys on a job well done, keep it going! and for the love of god... put deep fried corn on the cob on the menu!

May 23, 2011

The Wizard Staff

I received an email from a customer asking about a wizard staff. We went over the details and I began the search. He wanted a staff six feet in length with a face on one side a name carved on the other. I went through the supply of wood I have on hand and discovered that I had nothing in stock that was quite long enough, so I began my search.

It was slated to be one of the hottest days of the year thus far, so I started early. I gassed up the kawasaki mule and headed out into the woods. I made my way toward a pond where I knew there was a good stand of trees that would fit the order. Once parked, I began walking in the direction of the suitable trees. When you're searching for trees in the woods you have to keep a sharp lookout for things that will kill you... I spotted a possible candidate and searched the area for snakes, I found a snake hole, and kept an eye on it as I worked. I took the tree back to the kawasaki and began cutting it into lengths, I got enough from it for the staff and a walking stick, along with enough limbs to begin making wands for an upcoming project I have in August.

I made my way back to the porch where I began the debarking process. Once the piece was ready, I treated it to keep it from splitting and set it aside... I then began work on a few other projects until it was ready to for carving...

During the carving portion of the job, I sent a few photos to the customer via cell phone and received a message back from him that everything looked good and "By the way.. can you get me another one?" So the next day I set off into the woods to retrieve another tree, providing more walking stick and wand material along with it...

Once the carving was completed, I finished the two pieces and set them aside to dry, then I went about mailing them off to the customer. Building a proper box to send two six foot wizard staffs safely across the country is no mean feat.. not to mention the adverse reaction walking into the post office with a huge package of that nature has on the employees that have to process it... I walked in with my assistant, me with the wizard staff box and two others, he with his arms full of several others boxes.. trust me you get lots of stink eyes from everybody around when you walk in loaded like that...

Once everything was received I began getting the report emails in. The wizard staffs went over great, I hope that the new owners get a chance to see this post so they can get a feel for where they came from. Several hours were spent deep in the woods of north Georgia picking through trees to find the right ones.. But in truth, that is my favorite part of doing this, spending those hours out in the woods searching. You know you're in the right place once you're pretty much lost but don't really care. Like any creative process, you get so involved in what you are doing, nothing else seems to matter, it is indeed the perfect therapy...