We went to dinner tonight with my in-laws to a place called the Corner Stable, over in King's Contrivance in Columbia. Their claim is that they have the best crab cakes and ribs in Baltimore, and we put them to the test. I really love my wife's family, and it had been a while since I last got together with all of them. Grandma (Lynda), Grandaddy (Jim), Aunt Jody, Uncle Jerry, and Aunt Janice joined my daughter, Melody, and me.
Let's start with the food. Most of us got the crab cakes, including me. I love a good crab cake! It had a good taste overall, but I was just a little disappointed at the size. It was a good size, but honestly, I'm used to the crab cakes at Timbuktu or G&M, which are softball-sized. Timbuktu beats them out for the overall better taste, in my mind. For my sides, I got the mashed potatoes & gravy, and the vegetable medley. Jerry and Jody both got the ribs, and while they said they enjoyed them, both noted they have had better. Melody had the fried shrimp with broccoli and apple sauce, and she was very pleased.
The Corner Stable is nice overall, but it doesn't stand out as anything too special. We enjoyed talking with our very knowledgeable server, Kayla, who put up with a lot of kidding by the family, including their attempts to set me up with her. Once they heard she was only 21, they realized how ridiculous the whole attempt was, especially after I reminded them that they were old enough to be the poor young lady's grandparents. But she was kind enough to bring a birthday sundae to Jim, even though his birthday was at the beginning of October. The ambiance gets a solid B, but the service gets an A. The food was a B.
The rest of the night was enjoyable conversation and laughs with the whole gang. Anytime you get siblings Jim, Jody, and Jerry together, you get a good time. Just a sampling of their stories:
Jim recounted the time he went to have a colonoscopy, and after putting on his gown, getting up on the gurney, and the doctor had given him the anesthetic to knock him out, he asked the doctor if he should have taken off his underwear.
Jerry shared his recent trip to the dentist. All he wanted was a cleaning, but the dentist had other plans. Unfortunately, the hygienist was off that day, so the dentist did the cleaning. He promised Jerry a thorough cleaning using a new technique that worked much like a water pic. Except the water pressure was significant, and Jerry said he thought he was being tortured by water boarding. He finally yelled at the dentist to stop, and said he was drowning, and the dentist said he knew what he was doing...he had a full year of training on this technique. Jerry asked, "When? In 1938?!?" The dentist told him to calm down, and they started again. Jerry said he had a towel wrapped around his head and he was still soaked by the time he finished. He also had x-rays done, and the dentist had this HD-quality TV that magnified his teeth by about 400 times, and the dentist then pointed out a cavity that Jerry said looked like the grand canyon on the screen, but must have been really tiny in reality. The dentist told him he needed 11 crowns. Cost? $17K. Jerry said, "Are you serious?!? I'm not made of money!" They dentist asked how many could he have done. "Two?" he asked. Jerry said, "How about one." The dentist said okay. Jerry got up to leave, went to the front desk, where the receptionist asked when he wanted to schedule his next appointment, and Jerry said, "Never," and walked out. It was a funny story. I guess you had to be there.
Anyway, it was a great evening, and I'm glad we got a chance to visit with everyone. Jody (AJ) in particular seemed to be very thankful we could all get together. I always love these opportunities for Melody to spend with her Mom's family. Thank God for this wonderful family.
Have a great evening, everyone!
No comments:
Post a Comment