My Grandmother and Ely Dining,

So we go visit my grandmother yesterday -- now that we live close we see her pretty much every day -- and she decides she wants to go out to eat, but she won't say where she would like to go. In theory she doesn't care. My husband's stomach was upset so he had no opinion either. So it's up to me!

My grandmother starts listing off places and mentions Shagawa Sam's. I say I've never been there -- and she says, "Oh yes you have!" I tell her that the only place where I've eaten recently on Shagawa (lake) is a place called Stony Ridge Cafe. She looks at me like I'm The Ely Village Idiot and tells me that Stony Ridge used to be Shagawa Sam's. I pointed out to her that unless this change happened in the last month that there would be no way I'd know that unless it was covered on CNN.

This conversation was a lost cause due to the fact she thinks I should also know Big Band Music, and radio shows which ceased to exist decades before my birth. Not being born is no excuse -- so having lived 900 miles away is also not worth taking into consideration.

I think I need to say that I really do love my grandmother and she has many wonderful qualities. She still drives me bonkers!

So we head out to Stony Ridge (formerly known as Shagawa Sam's) and it's closed -- we don't know why, and it's raining so we are not investigating it. I then make the ironic suggestion of Ely Steak House. Ironic due to the fact that I don't eat beef (or pork for that matter.) But they do have drink called a Toesucker and I have my eye on that prize.

My suggestion is ignored, but is it really? My husband just does not care and my grandmother often does not bother to comment on things I say. I guess when you've changed someone's diaper you get a free pass on this. (Interestingly enough, sometimes she will respond to things I say 20 minutes after I say them...and I'm grateful.)

My husband is pretty respectful of my grandmother, and because she did not say "yes" he's thinking it's a "no." I'm not sure and now have a headache that has started to sap my will to live. My grandmother starts to rattle off names -- including the steakhouse. Since hubby is still not hungry, I suggest the steakhouse again or a place called...(My mind just went blank and I wonder if it's the beginning of senility. While I typed this the name came to me again, and then I forgot it by the end of the sentence...oh, wait) Journey's End.

I choose to also share that I'm tired, hungry, headachy, and -- I do believe -- beginning to PMS. THIS my grandmother hears and cracks wise! My husband looks grim because PMS + Me =s No Laughing Matter.

We end up at Journey's End which was okay because I like one of the waitresses there. She's a sweet girl and blonde haired, blue-eyed, and shy -- this means that any extraneous conversation with her means she blushes. In short, she's nice and I'm PMSing -- so I torture her by asking for things like masking tape to silence my grandmother, leaving the waitress unable to respond other than to blush. I consider that the combination of threatening my grandmother and torturing the waitress condemns me to hell, but I'm not sure what level.

For the record:

Stony Ridge Cafe has good burgers (I'm told!), great chicken sandwiches, and unnaturally good onion rings.

Ely Steak House has great steaks (I know this from my meat eating days), great broasted chicken, and -- if there is a designated driver -- try a Toesucker.

Journey's End has good omelets and generally good food, but I had this tomato soup last night which was just too bitter.