There's Nothing To Do In This Town...3

      About a month ago, I had a three day weekend and one of the things I wanted to do was eat at two of the local restaurants that Mel and I have never eaten at. Macon is great place for a variety of reasons, but if eating is something you like to do or look forward to doing, then Macon is your place. No, we don't have countless chic 5 Star restaurants nestled in our downtown area where you will impress all of your friends for going to and no, we don't have places opened and maintained by celebrity chefs, but we do have some great and regionally semi-famous places that you can go to that your palette and stomach will thank you for going to.

    One of Macon's most famous places to eat is H&H and it has gotten a lot of press. It is a must, but for some reason or another, neither Mel nor I have had the chance to eat there over the last nine years. Oprah Winfrey even made a highly publicized stop at H&H during her whirlwind visit to Macon back in 2007. And yes, people are still talking about it and the places where she stopped and ate still have her pictures up and the newspaper articles about the stop. The other restaurant I wanted to eat at was Cox Cafe it has gotten no press. In fact, when I went to Google to find pictures of the place, I could not find a single picture and so I had to load up FH and my second-hand digital camera and take them for myself. Oh' the things I do for this little blog and you guys, the faithful readers of the HTH. The only reason I knew about the place was from a bike ride around downtown Macon and one of the cyclist I was with pointed the place out and said if I wanted to go get some great home cooked food, then I should visit Cox Cafe. And so, I wanted to go and bring my two favorite people: Mel and FH.

     Our schedule and the times when H&H were open did not align, but we were able to make it down to Cox Cafe for a late family breakfast. And I am so glad we got to go. Cox Cafe is located in middle of the older industrial section of downtown Macon. I can imagine this location does it no favors as far as being in a "hot" location, but with the many people who work within the industrial section, Cox is a daily routine. I have even heard that some people depend upon the place for both breakfast and lunch. And while we were eating as many 20 people came in to grab a late breakfast, an early lunch, or a quick snack. Early morning and the early lunch crowd is when the place is most crowded. We went at 9 am and we had the place to ourselves with the exception of a couple of policemen on break and the workers busily preparing the lunch menu. 

    Cox is open when the picture says. They have a changing menu, but you can sort of imagine what type of food they serve. The prices are fair and the portions are large. We both ordered eggs, grits, toast, sausage, and bacon, and two different beverages and our total was a little over $11 and Mel couldn't finish her meal and I shared with FH. And Mel and I both got a refill to go and brought food home. The staff was kind, helpful, accommodating  and very friendly. We also received our meal in around 5-10 minutes after we had ordered it. And most importantly, the food was great and the coffee was very good and the kind waitress did not mind bringing me more half and half since I like a little coffee with my creamer. 

   Along with the usual breakfast items, they are known as a great meat and three restaurant. If you don't know what that is, it is a place that offers several choices of meat and then you can have three veggie or starch sides with your chosen meat. Mel and I love these kinds of places and I've heard that Cox does the meat and three right. Eating like this makes it feel much more like eating at your granny's table for Sunday lunch than going to another restaurant that is trying so hard to be what it is not. A place like the Cox Cafe doesn't have to buy things to make it authentic. Rather it is authentic. The pictures are of people who work there or who go there. The advertisements are for places where the workers and clientele actually go. And Cox Cafe, like most of these places, has a wall of business cards and homemade advertisements tacked to a whole section of the wall. And something I really like is that the workers knew the clientele by name and were familiar with their lives outside the restaurant. As we ate, there was a waitress rolling silverware and she wanted to know all about little FH and she told us all about her kids, but none of this was done in a nosy way. It was just something that doesn't take place much anymore except for in places like this and that is....real conversation. 

   No...don't go Cox and think you're getting food or people who've found the secret to cooking well with all USDA certified organic products and by eating the fare, you will be more healthy. If you are looking for that, go eat elsewhere. And no, the place is just what it is. You won't be impressed by the decor and the owners have not tried to fit in with the newest trends in restaurants. They have decorated the place for function and then moved on to making great food. And no, don't go to Cox Cafe looking for healthy choices or chic salad choices. They are a home-cooking kind of place. They serve food with a smile that will as my granny used to say, "stick to your ribs". 

    

     We will make a trip back to the Cox Cafe in the future. The food was too good and the service was too efficient and kind to not go back. I am hoping to catch the lunch menu next time and I hope to see you there.

Happy reading and happy eating,

    David