text: Dinner with the Grobmyers: Vacation Eats
  We have just returned from a very nice vacation. While gone we ate a several of our favorite places and a few new spots. Along the way I took pictures of the special foods we ate so I could share them with you when I got back. I hope you enjoy and will try some of these special foods at your home soon.
  Our first stop was in Louisville, Kentucky. Mark's Feed Store has been a favorite of ours for years. Check them out on line. www.marksfeedstore.com
  They have the best onion straws. They have a little bit of zip to them. The sauce was really good too so I asked the waitress what was in it. Now sometimes they won't tell you what is in sauces but she did. All that is in it is Ranch dressing and some of the red bar b que sauce. I am going to try that at home soon. There wasn't enough bbq sauce in to make it red it just was a small amount.
  My meal was their bbq pork sandwich, baked beans and the best corn on the cob I have ever had. Several years ago I asked if they soaked the corn in some kind of sugar water because it was so sweet. Nothing as difficult as that. They take frozen ears of corn and drop them in hot oil and "fry" them for a few minutes. The corn is not greasy at all. The kernels just pop off in one piece. I have said for years I was going to try this at home and this summer I am.
  Joe's meal. BBQ pork sandwich and burgo. The Kentucky area is known for their burgo. I don't ever get it but he always does. It is a thick stew. I think it has three types of meat chicken, bbq and some kind of beef, I think.
  Our next stop was Packo's of Toledo. If you are a MASH fan you probably remember that Klinger talked of going home to Packo's. I think he also had some shipped to Korea.
  Packo's is known for their hot dogs. We found out right before we left that Fresh Market carries their hot dog chili. They are Hungarian hot dogs and have a little spice to them. Check them out on line as well. www.tonypacko.com Their walls are decorated with signed hot dog buns. When celebrities are in Toledo they come by and sign a bun and then they are placed on the wall.
  On up the road in Frankenmuth, Michigan is one of our all time favorite places to go. Just like the sign says Zehnder's home of the famous chicken dinners.
  First course. I had the French onion soup and Joe had chicken noodle soup. They also brought out slaw, cranberry relish, two types of bread, a cheese spread and pate' with bread.
  Second course. Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, buttered noodles, stuffing, gravy and corn. All so fresh and good. Then for the final course ice cream. You can learn more about them at their web site.
  The next morning I had several hours on my own to explore the town. I went back over the Zenders to the bakery. Inside the bakery they have a little cafe. I ordered the Michigan Dry Cherry Salad for lunch. This was the best salad. Nice greens, dried cherries, sunflowers, fresh parm cheese and tossed in a honey dijon mustard. I recreated this salad when I got home. Kraft makes a good lite honey dijon dressing that was very much like the one there. Try it at home for something different.
  The bakery there is really good too and I just had to pick up some treats. This butterfly cookie just called my name.
  A peach flip. Very good.
  The infamous pie cookies. I have looked for a recipe for years to make these at home. I have found something close but not quiet the same. You can have these shipped to you.
  A cheese onion bread that was very good. They make a pizza bread that is good but I found out they only make it on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. This was a close second.
  Some other treats that we picked up in Frankenmuth. The garden vegetable cheese spread id mine. The cheese curds and meat sticks are Joe's.
  Our next stop was Mackinac Island. A beautiful place! We ate lunch at the Pink Pony. I had the French onion soup and a chicken salad sandwich. The chicken salad had dried cherries which I want to try sometime.
  Joe had the chicken salad and some kind of soup. The food is good here but...
  We go there for the million dollar view. This was our view from our table.
  Back over in Mackinac City we ate at another of our favorite places. Mama Mia's pizza. A friend took us there a couple of years ago. Upstairs is a museum of the Mackinac Bridge.
  We could not decide what kind of pizza we wanted so we got half supreme and half taco. They did a good job of dividing it.
  From Mackinac we drove across the U. P. to Green Bay. We took a tour of Lambeau Field a couple of years ago and discovered they have a restaurant inside Curly's that is open all the time.
  I got an ordinary hamburger but it is neat eating it inside the stadium in the middle of the summer. Wish they had done this to Bryant Denny.
  The last special place we ate at was in Mall of America. Kokomo's Tropical Cafe. Seeing the sand snowman and the palm trees made me want to eat there.
  This was my second good salad of the week. This was Koko-Nut Chicken Salad. The chicken was a coconut battered chicken (think like shrimp). It had strawberries, pineapple, mango and mandarin oranges in it with a pineapple mango vinaigrette. I have the stuff to try this at home today. Now to find a recipe for the vinagrette.
  I hope you saw some things you would like to try at home or places to try if you are in the area. I will be sure and post my salad when I get it made.