The Adventures of Krystal Kid: Last of the Macon Food

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Last of the Macon Food

Today looks to be an exceptionally busy day. I have a last trip to WR today. I expected to spend the rest of the day packing, but it now appears I'll be burning up the phone lines to utility companies getting my address changed. ARGH! I did want to squeeze in the last few "must eat" places in Macon while I am still actually IN Macon.
First up is Sid's. Sid's is a simple sandwich shop. The name comes from the fact they first opened downtown in the locaton that formerly served as the law office of Poet and Macon native, Sidney Lanier. That's Sid in the beard.

There's actually two locations in Macon. The second one is just off I-75 at the Forsyth Ave exit (163 I think). That's the one I go to when I can. Since they're only open for lunch on Mon-Fri I can't eat there except rare holidays or when I have a day off work. When i worked at Mercer I'd eat at Sids at least twice a month, since it's only about 3 or 4 blocks away and was on the way.

They usually have very funny quotes on their signs, but today it only had something about them being open on the 4th of July. That's written on the other side because the road is one way and no need to put anything on the "downhill" side.

Sid's has a fairly simple menu, with lots of options. They follow what I commonly refer to as the "Central Park" concept. Central Park hamburgers always simply stated "Burgers, Fries, and Cokes." That was all they did and they did it well. It also kept the prices down. When they started to branch out into other foods (fish, chicken, milkshakes) they got their clocks cleaned by Checkers. Over 15 years later they're finally starting to recover after changing their whole business concept.
The same thing happened to Dominos pizza many years ago. When they started they made pizza. Period. Then they started tryin subs, salads, chicken wings, and all sorts of stuff, and then Papa Johns showed up and crushed them.
As the sign says, Sid's does "Soup, Salad, Sandwiches." Its actually a brilliant way to run a business. There's no grill and they really have no need to "cook" anything. The only hot stuff they have is either microwaved, toasted (bread), or warmed in their crock pots (soup and chili). This lets them concentrate on keeping costs down and the fastest sandwich service ever.
You hear me talk often of the wonders of Mise En Place well here it is in action:

Compare this with Subway. At Subway it takes 10 minutes to get your sandwich made and your order paid for. At Sids the folks preparing your sandwich "intercept" your order as you tell the girl at the register. They will occasionally ask if you want "Mayo, Tomatos, Mustard, Lettuce" and build your sandwich as you place your order. By the time your drink is done, your sandwich is sitting on your tray ready to go. I went with the vegitable soup, despite the summertime Macon heat, because its just that good.

Another great Macon eatery is El Sombrero Mexican Restaurant. Or "The Hat" as some Mercer folks call it. There are actually three of the scattered around Macon, plus one down in Warner Robins and one up in Milledgeville. It is your typical Mexican restaurant. I firmly believe that they all buys menus from the same place and then just make whats on the menu. They all seem to have a lunch special called the "Speedy Gonzales" which is a burrito, a taco, and your choice of rice or beans. That is my lunch time favorite.
Jen and I went to The Hat down in Baconsfield late on Saturday night. Sadly I didn't take my camera so I don't have any pictures of the Hat. Please be aware that Saturday nights are apparently Karaoke night. While I think it would be hilarious if they were doing Mexican Karaoke, in Spanish, they weren't. It was pretty much all country. And with the arrangement of the place we couldn't hear the music, just the "singing."
Someone once told me that you should only go to Karaoke at a bar. At the bar you can drink heavily. That way you can get up the liquid nerves to get up and sing, and everyone else can get the liquid nerves to listen.
The food at The Hat is always wonderful and scaling hot. The salsa is just the best ever. In college Nancy always loved the cheese dip. I could eat it with a spoon if no one was watching!
With their three locations in Macon you can find one easily. On I-16 there's one at the first exit south/east of the I-16/I-75 ~~insantity~~ interchange. On I-75 there's one a few miles out on Mercer U drive. You can also catch Mercer U drive from I-475 if you're smart enough to go around Macon. That one is across from the Mall. The last one out by Wesleyan is a bit harder to find, but the newest of the three.
One last eatery I wanted to throw in, is not native to Macon. But I ate there yesterday for the first time in years. It's Ruby Tuesday. The reason I had avoided it for all these years is that the Ruby Tuesday down in Warner Robins got a health rating several years back that was down around the 50's. I don't know what it takes to get that low, at least not by accident. I suspect if someone was intentionally deep frying rats or having sneezing fits in the salad bar, then I could see it. But I swore I would never be back. It wasn't anything major for me to give up. Every time previously I had been to that RT the service was miserable the food less than spectacular, and the wait was unreal. I could never figure out why people would wait so long for bad service and crappy food. But then again, I was there.
When Jen was in town last week she went and had lunch at the Ruby Tuesday in the Macon Mall. She didn't die, so I figured it would be safe at least one more time. I'd been seeing commercials for Ruby Tuesday's mini burgers. And as you know I am a sucker for trying people's attempts at Krystal hamburgers.

The fries were good and the burgers were alright. Obviously they were grilled not steamed. And as usual the square buns were all a psych out, as the burgers were round. The onions were french fried onions they scattered on top. Were they good? I suppose so. Were they worth the $8.99 price tag? Heck no! Not worth the time, the trouble, or the cost. Not when I can make my own.
I was especially annoyed at the fact they add to my bill at the bottom a list of "traditional gratuity calculations" for the 15%, 18%, and 20% levels. It's not that I am good at math and can do it in my head. It's that they implied I would not give less than 15%. My server, Traci, was good. Especially when you consider she was running the bar and trying to eat her lunch, in addition to being my waitress. I tend to tip more when I am not guilted or coerced into tipping.
Give me Bernida and Krystal's customer service any day.
ON a closing note, I have left out a few other Macon eateries because I quite simply have run out of time. I have glaringly left off Hotlanta Wings. They have good wings and chicken tenders, but really they're the best Philly Cheesesteak in Macon.
I am sure I have left off some other great places to eat. If you can think of any feel free to post a comment on here, but my time is short and I likely wont be able to visit and click off pictures before it is time for me to go.
Hopefully you've enjoyed my quick culinary trip thru Macon and perhaps if you find yourself in town someday you can hit one or two of these spots. But certainly do not overlook my Krystal out on Vineville Ave.!! Krystal Lovers like hot buns.