No Más

After 18 years of Krystal Thursdays, what would one get on their final official Krystal Thursday. I had almost 2 hours to think about that while I drove down. My poor planning resulted in me hitting Myrtle Beach at 5pm. Rush hour, idiot drivers, and multiple car wrecks made the final 10 miles last forever. For a brief moment I wondered if the Krystal Gods were trying to get me to turn back and reconsider. In reality I didn't need 2 hours to decide what I would have. I didn't need 2 minutes. The decision was one of the easiest ever:I want it all!Yesterday I didn't eat breakfast. Since I was helping register students for next semester from 10-1, I didn't a real lunch either. Half of a turkey and swiss croissant and two cookies. By 5pm I was starving. Normally I celebrate special occasions by adding Bacon to my cheese Krystals, so that was a given. But then there's the ultra rare delicacy known only to the few people who really know Krystal: the Chili Cheese Krystal. In fact I still remember a debate I had with a manager in Macon over if you could actually add chili to a Krystal. I am not sure he believed me when I told him you can add chili to anything at Krystal. As I turned the corner to pull into the Murrell's Inlet Krystal there in bright shiny glorious color was a sign proclaiming that it was essentially Chili-time! (Can't Touch This!) It was another sign. Chili Cheese Krystals would be mine. I walked in, took a slow deep breath, and firmly placed my order: A number one combo with cheese, but Add chili to two Krystals Add bacon to the other two Two Chiks, no mayo Two Chili Cheese Pups This is what $12.09 can get youNormally I am a "non rotational eater" which means I tend to eat one thing on my plate until it is all gone. This is especially true when it comes to a good steak. But this was a tray full of wonderful amazing flavors and I didn't want to show any favorites. I tried to work around the try right to left: Chili Cheese Krystal, Bacon Cheese Krystal, Chik, Fries. Then a long pause and some Mello Yello. This leg of the trip took roughly 10 minutes. (The ketchup packets slowed me down.)Then it was time to start the reverse trip: Finish the fries, Chili Cheese Pup, Chik, Chili Cheese Krystal and ending with the Bacon Cheese Krystal.That last Bacon Cheese Krystal took 4 times as long to put away as the first one. I am unsure if it was my stomach or my heart that just didn't want to see the end of that final tasty bit. I said a brief blessing and gave thanks for the many years of steamy goodness I have enjoyed, and then snapped it up. I sat there, staring at the remains scattered across the tray. Spent Krystal shells scattered across the battlefield of my dinner. Barely a crumb from the steamy bread to show what had happened here. The only one who knew of the significance of what had happened was me, and me alone. Which is really how it should be. While I have shared Krystal Thursday with many people over the years, when it gets right down to it, most of the 18 years were a solitary journey. It all started alone, and it is fitting that it ended alone. But I couldn't simply toss it all in the trash and walk away. There had been one last Krystal Kreation I had been thinking of for months, but unable to try due to geography. I decided it was now or never. I walked to the counter and asked the girl if we could get a little creative. Apparently these words signaled to the manager that she might need to get involved so she stepped up to the counter to take my order: "To make the Strawberry Milkquake, you start with vanilla then pour strawberries on top, right?" "Yes, sir, that's right." "Can we do the same thing, but start with a chocolate Milkquake instead?" "That sounds great!" There was never a pause, no hesitation, no complaints. I think she felt that great feeling of excitement and discovery that I felt. She rang it up and jumped right to it. This is why I love Krystal. The cashier came back to the counter and mentioned that she was shocked she'd never thought of it before. We then got to talking of other great things you can do at Krystal. I mentioned the Apple Pie in the Vanilla Milkquake and she said she'd already done that and loved it. She said she'd tried it in all 3 flavors of Milkquake and apparently chocolate is good too. If only I had 3 more stomachs, but sadly I am not a camel. I only had room for mine:So how is this final(?) Krystal Kreation? It is wonderful. Imagine if you took a Whitman's Sampler and put it in the freezer overnight. Then the next day you dug out the Strawberry Creme chocolate. But now imagine it's like 20 times bigger and you can drink it! And what's even better, you don't have to navigate the coconut minefield of a Whitman's Sampler just to get a taste of the really good parts! As I said yesterday, I do not know how the end of Krystal Thursdays will impact this blog. I certainly have a lot of Krystal topics left untouched. I have, as a friend once called it, a "Krystal Kloset full of Krystal Krap" that I haven't even mentioned yet. But for right now, for the first time in almost 2 decades, I don't have a unreasonable craving for Krystals. I am happy, and I am satisfied. And when it gets right down to it, isn't that really all we need out of life? I know personally, that the past few years of my life have been missing one or the other.