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08/15/2003 Archived Entry: "DINNER AT THE MIDLAND"

DINNER AT THE MIDLAND

I promised a full and comprehensive report on our dinner at the Midland tonight, but I got distracted. All I really need to say is that the food was very good and the service was fine. I will provide a few details.

They had several specials...stuffed shrimp, grouper, salmon, prime rib on Texas toast and mashed potatoes, etc. I saw several large platters of chicken fried steak go by. The regular menu looked good too and I ordered from it.

The salad came promptly and I had mine with raspberry vinaigrette. The French greens (no iceberg) were cold and crisp and there was an interesting array of other things in it...tomatoes, olives, shredded cheese. The dressing was on the side. It was very good. I think the salad is always a true test of what is to follow. If they put a bowl of iceberg lettuce in front of me and call it a salad, I know it's going to be downhill after that.

Dinner came on the heels of the salad and there was very little waiting. It didn't matter anyway. It was good...all of it. I'd been warned about the baked potatoes, but mine was baked (no aluminum foil...hurrah) the way it should have been....hot and mealy. I tried one of John's desserts and it was good too.

The place was packed. People were milling outside before and after our arrival. The parlor was occupied as we entered. The tables were all occupied, both upstairs and down during the time we were there. There were a lot of Ellsworth people having dinner. I ran across friends from Sylvan Grove who I hadn’t seen in ages.

We saw a couple of the Foundation members, John K. and Fred A., working and they were a big help. They are obviously short of wait staff and everyone is filling in. They are trying very hard to get everything finely tuned. It's not an easy thing to do and it just takes time to train employees and figure out how best to organize everything. Tonight was a good indication they are on their way to a very successful operation.