It's never too early for steak

One of the difficulties of my road trips back to Georgia has to do with proper planning of pit stops. With current gas prices, you really have to do your homework. Gas in South Carolina is almost 10¢ a gallon cheaper than Georgia and NC. (This probably explains why South Carolina interstates stink.) Even more important that feeding my truck is feeding me. It's a given I'll be stopping at the first Krystal I run into. That would be either Pooler, GA if I go via Savannah, or in Augusta, GA if I cut across I-20. Either route is roughly the same distance to Macon. The decision point is Florence, SC. And that is the decision point in more than one way. As you approach Florence from the North, it lays in wait on the side of the road. Crouching down ready to pounce on you and attack your hunger.You may remember my visit to Iron Skillet back in March of last year. I myself can't seem to forget it. When that sign looms ahead of me, I cannot resist it. It's like the Death Star's tractor beam. The problem is, from Iron Skillet to either Krystal is almost exactly 2 hours. How do you plan your meals around that? The answer: You don't.Shut up and eat!Friday April 25th I left early to try to get to Macon with enough time to visit some friends. I skipped breakfast. I had a plan. Let's just call this an appetizer! I rolled into Iron Skillet at 9am. The rather impressive breakfast buffet was still set up and plenty of people were indulging in its wonders. As I made my way to a table, my waitress, Angela, caught up with me and asked, "How are you this morning?" to which I replied "That depends on if it's too early to get a steak." Angela's reply still rings in my ears (and my stomach):It's never too early for a steak at Iron SkilletHow's THAT! for customer service? She did have to inform me that it was too early for a baked potato, but potatoes are just speed bumps in on the carnivore raceway, so I didn't care. Sadly, I felt the 20oz steak might actually kill me before I got to Macon, so I started looking through the menu for "smaller" steaks. (By "smaller" I mean between 10 and 20 oz.) Angela then told me of a new steak that hadn't been put on the menu yet: The Rancher Steak. She told me it was a special cut, no bones and no fat, just meat. Let me say that again:No bones, no fat,just meat. Sold!Then Angela told me the soup was already up on the buffet but she'd have to hand make my salad since the breakfast buffet was still up. I told her what I liked on my salad and then I was off to get some soup.Chicken noodle soup at 9am? Heck yeah. Ask your doctor. Chicken soup is good for you. It didn't matter than I didn't have a cold. Let's call this preventative medicine. Extremely HOT preventative medicine. YUMMY hot preventative medicine. And as added health insurance, I got a salad, too, hand made (with love) by Angela:As delicious as the soup and salad were, they're like the previews before the movie. You tolerate them, but the entire time you're wondering when the big show starts. Well, there's no need to wait, cause here's the big show:Oh yes, 14 oz of carefully carved steak, mushrooms on top, and mashed potatoes and gravy. I almost didn't even notice when Angela returned to bring me FRESH rolls. She also had to toss them to me from outside the 5 foot danger circle that surrounds me while I feast on steak. You might get stabbed, sliced, bitten, or covered with food debris. Think of it like the guy beside Joey Chestnut at the Krystal Square Off. You better stay outside the circle. It was all so good. It was all soo much. I almost didn't finish it. Almost. (But I did!) When I was done I waddled back out to my truck and headed on down the highway knowing that in roughly 2 hours I'd be devouring Krystals. If my stomach wasn't so preoccupied with nearly a pound of meat, it might have cheered. Look mom! I ate an entire steak and it didn't ruin my appetite! PS Angela didn't get a regular sized tip. She got an Iron Skillet Rancher Steak sized tip.