When I wake up each morning, the future is all a mystery. Sure, I know my daily routine and can predict the happenings that are all a part of my usual schedule. However… I never could have predicted that I would eat the greatest cheese omelette of my entire life today! This same cheese omelette I have now looked back upon as The Worlds Greatest Cheese Omelette. Yes, I have eaten and enjoyed many a cheese omelette, at many fine restaurants and diners during my life. Yes, many family members have made a cheese omelette for me over the years. I have consumed every style, shape and even store brand type of cheese omelette, from the half cooked to eye popping in taste. Still… this cheese omelette I ate today was something special. An omelette experience to behold… really.
How my cheese omelette experience came to pass today: My wife had a vacation day from work, therefore we embarked on our journey to find a diner/restaurant that was not filled to capacity with hungry breakfast zombies. Fate was in the works from the get-go… our first stab at finding a parking spot at the first diner, Hamilton Family Restaurant or Ham Fam as we locals call it, had no parking space available. Lately, Ham Fam has been very difficult to get into… maybe due to President Obama dining there for lunch, back in early December of 2009, has something to do with it’s excessive overflow of popularity? Nevertheless, Ham Fam, (located in the fantastic city of Allentown, Pa.), is as excellent a diner as one could ever eat at. Upon our realizing Ham Fam was out of the breakfast equation, we set forth for another fine, morning dining destination – The Willows Restaurant, located in East Texas, Pennsylvania.
Admittedly and not to sound too cheesy… this omelette I savored at The Willows Restaurant today, well, it ROCKED.
Upon arriving at The Willows Restaurant, (which has ample parking), my wife and I noticed quickly, there was quite a morning breakfast crowd already there. Not to be shunned away a second time this morning for lack of parking, there was a space for the car… and not too far from the building itself! Walking towards this aged, yet well kept and inviting restaurant, we were already semi-psyched knowing the breakfast vibe was good. Once inside, we noticed the staff was super friendly and professional. Being seated in micro seconds put me into an instant tailspin too. Laughter, chatter and the sounds of a baby crying made this breakfast theater come alive… a feeling of home away from home swept over us both.
Both the waiter and waitress catered to my wife and I like we were the Presidential Couple. Our coffee cups were filled without request! Both breakfast meals were served upon us with the upmost expediency. (Pinch me please, service like this only happens in Mayberry R.F.D.). Now, for the cheese omelette experience… relax and enjoy what I’m about to tell you.
I gazed upon this cheese omelette as if it was gazing back at me. The cheese was melting out from it’s delicate edges and the visual softness of the egg was like nothing I have witnessed before. This omelette was thick, not thin or semi-thick… a real home cooked omelette… and I was not even at home! Alas, we did feel at home, here at The Willows Restaurant. With service and food this unreal great, again, this is not a Happy Days episode either, this is supposed to be 2010. I needed to save this precious omelette for last, the home fries and wheat toast beckoned me to devour them first. I eyed, even flirted with this omelette while my fork gently, ever so deftly, began to part it’s layers. Delicious and satisfying was this cheese omelette. The cheese really was melted to perfection, flowing within the cavernous egg omelette, making for a taste so remarkable, I can only call it The Worlds Greatest Cheese Omelette.
There are those moments in my life I cherish the most, moments shared with my wife, on a Friday morning where normally our schedules dictate us to feel like we are worlds apart. Instead, we were able to enjoy the simplicity and joy of just going out to breakfast together. As a bonus, I discovered the greatest omelette I have ever tasted.
Besides the exceptional service, food, cleanliness and prices at The Willows Restaurant, this is also an establishment where you can laugh and/or cry at… as the above sign reads, from the happiest of occasions to funeral dinners.
– Stone
Before I, my wife and daughters began our journey to Bird-In-Hand, I just figured my only connection to Heavy Music was going to be from the ipod I packed. Uh, nope. Right on Old Philadelphia Pike, Route 340, is a row of vintage built shops and barns… everything from a Hardware Store to a Teddy Bear Store is in view. Yes, I mentioned a Teddy Bear Store on Metal Odyssey. One of these shops contains a cluster of antique dealers, where all the dealers are not present… yet their goods are. Walking in, I perused the unusual and typical, the mundane and interesting of all things antique. My wife and daughters set off on their own path, navigating this rather large antique mecca of a barn. After twenty minutes of scouring the old artifacts that surrounded me, I heard my wife in an excited voice tell me to walk over in her direction. There, it was there, that she motioned with her hands… three large rooms filled with Rock, Hard Rock and Heavy Metal albums, CD’s and memorabilia. The Amish Country Rocks. 
To say I was Metal ecstatic would be an understatement. How can this be? How could there be such a bounty of Heavy Music and Rock memorabilia smack dab in the middle of Bird-In- Hand, Pennsylvania? There are some questions in life, that are better left unanswered… this is one of them. Who cares why there are cool dealers within this antique shop, nestled in the middle of Amish Country, selling their Heavy Music memories… all that matters is it exists! Hooray for this Metalhead. The dealers who had used albums and CD’s for sale have great Heavy Music taste. I immediately grabbed hold of the Kiss – Gene Simmons solo CD, it was my wife’s choice pick to boot. I will admit, it was a no brainer picking up this used CD, the entire package is in mint condition. I also picked up, without hesitation, the ZZ Top used CD, “Antenna”. (My wife and I saw ZZ Top on this tour, back in the ’90’s). There were also a few CD’s still originally sealed for sale as well, running at six bucks each. The lone unused CD I bought was Cheap Trick – “Heaven Tonight”, (released in 1978). I never owned this Cheap Trick album, therefore it was about time. Some Kiss trading cards, a couple of Beatles magnets and a used, mint copy of GTR – self titled album, rounded out my finds. 
I could not have been more satisfied, of having found such an assortment of Heavy Music memorabilia to look over. Especially gratifying is the fact, I never expected to uncover the music that means so much to my life on this trip, in the quaint and friendly village of Bird-In-Hand, no less. As I exited this antique shop, with my bag of Hard Rockin’ goodies in hand, I vividly recall having to walk very closely past… an Amish man tending to his horse and buggy. My way of life, is not this Amish gentleman’s way of life. This whole experience walking out of the antique shop felt rather awkward, maybe semi embarrassing. Here I am, all psyched out about my finds, walking towards the family car, with a Kiss – Gene Simmons CD clearly visible through the plastic bag that I am clutching onto, as this polite Amish man tends to his horse. Talk about a tale of two separate worlds crossing paths. 
Metal Odyssey > Heavy Metal Music Blog 
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