Friday night, Mom, my brother, niece, and I went to D'Arcy's Pint for dinner.
Here's a somewhat better picture (I wish I knew how to do that 'click and the photo changes' trick!)
Mom, being the healthy eater she is, had a salad. I, however, had what you go to D'Arcy's for -- a horseshoe! Or, more specifically, a ponyshoe, which is the smaller size.
I took a picture of my dinner, but it didn't turn out very well, so let me explain what a horseshoe is. It's a uniquely central-Illinois dish, invented in Springfield, and not commonly available more than about 50 miles beyond Springfield. Take a slice of toast. Top it with your favorite meat -- a hamburger patty is traditional, although I usually get ham. This time, I got something else very central-Illinois -- a slice of breaded pork tenderloin. On top of the meat goes a mound of french fries. Traditionally, the fries should be in a semicircle around the toast and meat, in a horseshoe shape (ah-ha, you say!). Then, over the whole thing, goes cheese sauce. Yum!! Can't you just feel your arteries hardening? The first time people hear about horseshoes, they frequently turn up their noses, but if they taste one, they change their minds.
D'Arcy's routinely wins the award for best horseshoes in town, but until recently my favorite place for them was the Barrelhead. Unfortunately, the Barrelhead was a casualty (scroll down to the interview with Tracy Suter) of one of the tornadoes that swept through Springfield last spring. BTW, that cooler mentioned in the interview still stands on the Barrelhead's lot, although the rest of the building is gone.
And finally, here are some photos of my mom's pets:
Sabrina, the indoor-outdoor cat
Schuster, Sabrina's daughter, napping on the china cabinet
Blackie, the dog
And finally, a teeny little video of Sparky the Cockatiel. All you have to do is whistle, and Sparky starts to dance -- unless, of course, you're trying to record it, which is why this is only about 5 seconds long!
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