Soaking Up Local Color

We took a break in the middle of our college moving on Friday to grab a little lunch. Now, we could have gone just about any place. Macon, Georgia is a fairly large city full of options. They have all the typical family restaurants, and the brass and ferns, and the fast food. Downtown, they have quaint delis and ethnic eateries.

We didn’t go to any of those places.

Nope.

Instead, we followed the suggestion of one in the bevy of friends.

When parents come to visit,

she opined,

they ought to soak up a little local color.

I hadn’t really given it much thought, but she’s right.  Anytime that I want, I can drive to a national chain or enjoy a downtown deli. Only in the Macon, Georgia area, can I eat at here.

Where the local color is red.

You see, there are frankfurters.

And there are hotdogs.

And then…
there are wieners.

That’s our friendly little color guide in this picture. I wonder if she knew that her hands instinctively rushed to her stomach upon receiving her order. The hands apparently recognize what the head does not…

The place is called Nu-Way Weiners

Since 1916, they have been serving all versions of the
red dogs 

and fountain drinks with their famous flaky ice.

I'm pretty sure that's just shaved ice,

but if they say it's flaky... then flaky it is.

Long a local favorite, Nu Way gained some national attention when Oprah made a famous visit for her Favorite Things episode filmed in Macon.

Now, the husband and I have always been somewhat crunchy granola. We like our food on the natural side, and there’s something just a tad unnatural about a red dog. We’re not all that fond of soft drinks, either. Our drink of choice is water. When we want to take a walk on the wild side, we make it seltzer water. We plunged right in, though, and soaked up that local color, fat grams, additives, and all.

Because, frankly, the friend is right,
 and life is short.

Even shorter after that meal...

So we laughed our way through lunch and enjoyed the local color. 

Of course, I whipped out the shiny red Kodak so I could yak all about it. I think I deserve some credit, though, for resisting the urge to title this  The Great Wiener Adventure.  I hope that the next time we visit, we can soak up some more local color. I just kind of hope that the next time, it's just a little bit more green.

So what about you? Do you like to soak up the local color? If I came to eat in your hometown, could you show me some?