#40 WEST VIRGINIA - Almost Heaven

Bless me Father for I have sinned. It has been 20 days since my last healthy breakfast and here are my sins. I have consumed about a gadzillion calories and saturated my insides with fat. I have eaten enough eggs to cause the cholesterol in my arteries to have a party. I ate chicken fried steak two mornings in a row!  Believe me, I have attempted atonement. I have walked and hiked a total of 120 miles on this trip. I have had lunches of only an apple or carrots or a small salad. Dinner however, is another matter. I'm ready to repent but... 

Jesus said  “Come and have breakfast.”  John 21:12

                               
I was in church for breakfast. Well, to be totally accurate, it use to be a church. 


Cathedral Cafe
Fayetteville, West Virginia

The Cathedral Cafe was originally built in 1905 as a Methodist church. It was de-consecrated in 1985 and next served as a storage facility until 1997 when it was converted to a cafe. Calling the building a cathedral is a stretch but may be good marketing. The name Cathedral Cafe does create more lofty expectations than Church Cafe. 

AMBIENCE:   The motto of the Cathedral Cafe is "Feeding Your Mind, Body, and Soul" which sounded like a place to bring your yoga mat as well as your appetite. As the sign hanging outside indicates, there is a juice bar located upstairs in the choir loft but it was closed and anyways I wasn't interested in organic juices or gluten free pastries. I wanted to sin in this cathedral because it was to be the last breakfast of the Midwest leg of the Breakfast Tour. (I know it can be legitimately argued that West Virginia is in the East and not the Midwest but the state was conveniently located on the way home.)

We headed into the nave of the church building and sat down under a very high ceiling at a table with a colorful hand painted design covering the top. The large room containing about 12 dining tables had a lot to look at. In one corner, there was a bar with an attractive mosaic tile top and about 5 stools. Next to the bar was a large refrigerated glass case filled with various beverages and take away food. In a far corner of the room was a small store that sold T-shirts, locally crafted pottery, and adventure guide books. To the side of us was a little self service coffee and tea table. White lights were strung from wall to wall. But what really grabs the attention of one's eyes was the morning sun filtering through two 14 foot high stained glass windows at one end of the room. The windows are framed on each side by tall book filled shelves, giving an appearance of a library room in some antiquated English church.

 Folk music played in the background, evoking the coffee houses of the 1960s and 1970s. Overall, the place had an odd yet gratifying aura.

The clientele was mostly made up of locals. One exception was a table of 5 men who all possessed the wide, dilated eyes of adrenaline junkies. I couldn't help but think that they were town to engage in some high risk outdoor activity. They were certainly fidgety, sending out certain nonverbal cues that indicated their frustration with the slow speed of service. Suddenly, one of their group, who I suppose had been out scouting other breakfast options, ran into the cafe and shouted "we're out of here!".  They rose as one out of their seats and proceeded to dash out of the cafe.

Still, there were plenty of patrons in the cafe to keep the cook busy. Some twenty-somethings who seemed to be in town to recreate, looked enviably slim and lithe and wore a high-low fashion mix. Others, who were on a first name basis with the waitress, and were obviously locals wore wool hats on this warm morning and had the rugged outdoor look of a rafting guide. One local sitting at the bar was with his dog who stared intently at me when he heard I had ordered some bacon. 

 5 out of 5 stars 

FOOD:  If you're going to be sinful you've got to start off with something really decadent. I ordered a "Ooey-Gooey Cinnamon Roll". It was heavenly with a nice warm chewy inside and finger licking  sugar and cinnamon frosting on the outside. It bordered on being a mortal sin. Of course I shared it with The Healthy One, if you call sharing 80% for me and 20% for her. 

I also ordered the "5.10 Special" so cleverly called because it sold for $5.10. It turned out to be a great bargain. The two scrambled eggs tasted fresh and the pecan-smoked bacon was gobbled up before it drove the dog crazy. The potatoes were not as crisp as I like breakfast potatoes but they were still pretty good. The marbled rye toast tasted like it may have come from a local bakery    

The Healthy One was singing "Hallelujah". The menu had all sorts off healthy options. She settled on something called the "Nutty Doodle" which was peanut butter, granola, local honey, and sliced bananas spread between two slices of 15-grain toast. She thought it was very satisfying and was happy to end the trip on a healthy, grainy, note.

5 out of 5 stars

    

COFFEE:                

"Praise Be!" "Thank Heavens!" "God is Good!" Finally, a great cup of coffee was had on this trip. Now I'm convinced that West Virginia does not belong in the Midwest.

I've come to learn that cafes and restaurants that have their coffee set up on a self-help altar of sorts, usually means the cup will come close to coffee Nirvana. Here, that was no exception. The French Roast Bottomless Coffee was as magnificent as the local scenery and offered political correctness as well. The coffee beans were purchased by the cafe from the 30 year old Equal Exchange, headquartered in West Bridgewater, Massachusetts. Equal Exchange is one of the largest democratic worker cooperatives in the world. The enterprise uses a trade model that eliminates the expensive middleman by buying directly from small farmer cooperatives in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. By eliminating the middleman, Equal Exchange offers the farmers above market prices for their coffee beans and other goods.

5 out of 5 stars

SERVICE:  The lone server was friendly and self composed. Given that most tables were filled and she was the only one working the room, she seemed nonplussed about the overwhelming task she faced. It took about 15 minutes for her to get to our table just to take our orders but once she arrived she was very pleasant. Additionally, it took another 20 minutes to get our food. My guess was that there was only one cook in the kitchen. The delays gave us plenty of time to feed our minds and souls and to pray that we would  soon be feeding our bodies.

 4 out of 5 stars

.

A FEW WORDS ABOUT FAYETTEVILLE:

There are a number of Fayettevilles throughout the United States; 13 to be exact. The Fayettevilles are named for the Marquis de Lafayette who at the ripe age of 19 became a hero in the Revolutionary War as a major general in the Continental Army. Fayetteville, West Virginia is small compared to its namesakes in North Carolina and Arkansas with only a population of about 2,900. The town avoided the great decline of the coal industry that rendered so many small southern Western Virginia towns impoverished. It did this by turning to sport recreation as its economic base. Rafting and kayaking on the Gauley and New rivers, as well as mountain biking and rock climbing in the New River Gorge bring in the tourist dollars, provide jobs, and help preserve the historical charm of the downtown area.

Just a mile from where we had breakfast is the New River Gorge Bridge. The steel arch bridge is 3,030 feet long which makes it the 4th longest single-span arch bridge in the world. It is also the 2nd highest bridge in the United States with its road bed 876 feet above the New River. (The highest is the Mike O'Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge which bypasses Hoover Dam.)

Every year on the third Saturday of October is "Bridge Day" a festival that celebrates the day the bridge was completed in 1977. It also happened to be on the day after we left town and I noticed that the locals were more filled with trepidation than excitement at the invasion of people. About 80,000 people show up for Bridge Day. The bridge is closed to vehicular traffic and throughout the day about 400 BASE jumpers hurl themselves off the bridge and parachute to the water below. There is also music, food, and other insane extreme sport events.


BURN THOSE BREAKFAST CALORIES OFF:

We drove across the breathtaking bridge over the New River., Whoever named it the New River had a fine sense of irony because it is an ancient river system which is purported to be the oldest in North America and the second oldest in the world behind the Nile River. Just past the bridge is the New Gorge National River park where we spent about 4 hours hiking out and back along the spectacular rim of the gorge.

       October 20, 2017

NEXT UP: The last segment of the breakfast tour will probably occur in June 2018 - Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, Montana, & Idaho. Also, at some point I'll report on a breakfast in DC.

#39 KENTUCKY - A Fast Track

   
I thought we would do something a little different and Kentucky-appropriate for breakfast on this beautiful morning so we headed out to the Keeneland Race Course, a National Historic Landmark.

       
Track Kitchen
Lexington, Kentucky

AMBIENCE:   Keeneland has two Thoroughbred racing seasons: a Spring Meeting in April and a Fall Meeting in October. We happened to be there at 9 AM on a race day so the whole area was bustling with traffic, both mechanical and equine. We told a parking lot attendant that we were not there for the afternoon races but only for breakfast at the Track Kitchen. He gave us a funny look but directed us to a one-story building at the end of a street lined with stables. We parked directly in front of the building which brought to mind a suburban dentist's office. We warily went inside. I had the feeling that we were treading on private property, like walking into the "employees only" cafeteria of a corporation. There was no sign that indicated the public was welcome. Indeed, most everyone in the place looked like they were associated with the racetrack.  We continued on only because I had been assured by the Track Kitchen's website that the non-horse crowd could partake in the food: "You don't have to be a horseman to enjoy the food, but you might end up sitting near a famous jockey, trainer or owner when you do." 

The Track Kitchen is part cafeteria, part conventional restaurant. You grab a tray, order off a menu hanging on the wall, self serve your beverage, and pay at a cash register. If you order something that needs to be cooked and assembled, a friendly employee delivers the meal to your self chosen table. How they know where to deliver what is a mystery. After the meal is consumed you just leave the remains at the table and someone will take care of the mess. This was not anything like the breakfast I once had at the Saratoga Springs NY horse track where you eat at tables with fresh cut flowers and are served by people in white shirts and black bow ties. But the Track Kitchen was ten times cheaper!

The dining area is strictly utilitarian in design. With cinder block walls, linoleum floor, and panel ceiling tiles, the room reminded me of a larger version of  the rooms where Target or Costco employees take their breaks. There was however some redeeming decor. In the front of the room were large plate glass windows that looked out on the parking spaces (at Saratoga you look out on the racetrack where you can see the horses gallop through their morning routines) so there was some natural light. The one feature that made you feel that you were at a horse racing track and not sitting at the Department of Motor Vehicles waiting for your number to be called was a collection of horse with jockey photographs covering the cinder block walls. Each frame identified the pictured horse, none of which I recognized. I assume each horse had won  a stakes race at this track but with a few rare exceptions, the purses at Keeneland are not nearly as large as those at the major tracks like Santa Anita, Saratoga, and Churchill Downs.

   

Never mind the purely functional environment of the room, it was the people watching that made the Track Kitchen a stellar place to eat breakfast. The dining room was filled with all sorts of interesting looking people, from stately gentlemen in official looking green blazers to stable hands who left clumps of dirt from their boots on the floor. About three-quarters of the customers were intently studying the day's racing form, more interested in odds and previous times than the fact that their breakfast was getting cold. Trainers, owners, exercise jockeys, track officials, security personnel, and gambling addicts were all gathered under one roof. It seemed everyone associated with Keeneland was there except the horses. I'm sure I could have picked up some "hot tips" but we weren't staying for the afternoon races.


 5 out of 5 stars 

FOOD:  I ordered oatmeal, the first time that had happened during the Breakfast Tour. I figured this was a good place to have oatmeal since we were surrounded by hundreds of horses and what do they eat? Subsequent research revealed that horses no longer eat straight oats like at one time when they were the staple of any horse's diet. Evidently, today's horse eats a much more balanced diet that may contain some oats. To balance my diet I also ordered an egg, bacon, and cheese sandwich.

The oatmeal came with a small plastic container of raisins, and a similar container of brown sugar. I poured the contents of the containers into the oatmeal and went at it as my sandwich had not yet arrived. The oatmeal didn't bowl me over. It was too watery for my tastes and in fact, didn't taste too different than the instant variety. 

The egg, bacon, and cheese sandwich on the other hand, was excellent. The egg was especially outstanding. Perfectly grilled, (in butter or bacon grease perhaps?), it tasted fresh and delectable. 
   

Ironically, as the creamy yellow yolk was coating my lips, I looked up and saw this scene through the window:

Those weren't horses but free range chickens! Maybe that explains why the egg sandwich was so yummy.  

The Healthy One found some granola and yogurt with fruit in a self serve refrigerated cabinet. That wasn't going to provide enough energy for the busy day we had planned so she added a scone. The scone was decent, not decadent. The granola and yogurt she said was nothing special, on par with what you might get at a McDonald's. 

4 out of 5 stars

    

COFFEE:  The coffee wasn't bad considering it came from one of those large dispensers you often see at conference breaks.

3 1/2 out of 5 stars

SERVICE:  No nags working here. After you grabbed your tray and moved a few feet down the line, you ended up facing a couple of women with big smiles on their faces. They sincerely looked happy to see you. How could anyone look this cheerful at this hour of the morning? You placed your order with one of them and they pleasantly explained where to get your coffee and that someone would bring you your breakfast sandwich. The cashier was no less amicable.

I had purchased a container of juice which I had planned on taking with me and drinking later in the day. About 15 minutes after I left the Track Kitchen, I remembered that I had left the juice on the table. I went back, but the table had been cleared. "No problem" said the cashier when I explained my situation, "just grab another one from the refrigerator". Nice.

 5 out of 5 stars

.

A FEW WORDS ABOUT LEXINGTON:

Lexington, "The Horse Capital Of The World" and a city of 300,000, is located in the Bluegrass Region of Kentucky. The Bluegrass Region is primarily located in Northern Kentucky and is known for its phenomenal grazing land. The region, once dominated by agriculture has become increasingly developed with residential and commercial properties. The grass looked green to me but I learned the term came about because in the Spring, the bluegrass produces bluish-purple buds that convey to the grass a bluish tint when seen in large fields. The bluegrass is high in calcium content which greatly benefits the diets of horses.

Lexington is home to the University of Kentucky, Transylvania University, and Bluegrass Community & Technical College. Transylvania University (enrollment about 1,000) is much, much smaller than the University of Kentucky (enrollment about 30,000) but much older. Transylvania, meaning "across the woods" in Latin was established in 1780. It is the oldest college in Kentucky and the 19th oldest in the United States.

Lexington has a vibrant downtown area filled with restaurants, hotels, performing arts venues, shopping, and bars (where you can drink the famous Kentucky bourbons). In 1958 the city put in place the first urban growth boundary in the U.S. in order to limit urban sprawl and preserve the city's surrounding farmland. The boundary originally surrounded 67 square miles of developed land that was eventually expanded by 8 more square miles. When we drove from the city center to Keeneland, it was obvious when we crossed the boundary. All of a sudden the housing developments and strip malls disappeared and were replaced by rolling hills of grass filled with horses getting their calcium fix.

Although a source of continual tension between preservationists and developers, the boundary has helped preserve the area's numerous horse farms. Lexington is home to two horse racing tracks (Keeneland and The Red Mile, the latter the second oldest harness racing track in the world), as well as facilities for equestrian competitions. Economic activities related to horses generate approximately $4 billion annually for the area.


BURN THOSE BREAKFAST CALORIES OFF:

We walked the grounds of Keeneland. The access to the stables and the practice track was unbelievable. This place was really laid back. Riders were smiling and saying good morning. Even the horses looked content. Every place we wandered into I kept thinking "we're going to get kicked out of here" but nobody seemed to care. And I certainly wasn't being mistaken for a jockey after all I had eaten the past two weeks. We watched the horses engaged in their morning workouts and visited a few in their stalls. I gave this handsome guy a pep talk for his upcoming race which turned out to be all for naught because I learned that he was just an escort pony.

We also visited the renowned Keeneland Sales Pavilion where Thoroughbreds are sold at auction. Thoroughbreds are a distinct breed of horse known for their agility and speed and primarily bred for racing. There are a number of sales throughout the year (19 Kentucky Derby winners have been sold at Keeneland) but the September yearling sale is the world's most important Thoroughbred sale. The highest price ever paid for a yearling was at Keeneland. Seattle Dancer sold for $13.1 million (about $30 million in today's dollars) in July, 1985.  Seattle Dancer went on to win a grand total of two races and had total earnings of about $150,000; not a very good return on the investment. He did have some additional value as a stud however, siring a number of high stakes winners.

We then took a short drive to a place where pari-mutuel betting on horses was unheard of.  The Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill is the largest restored Shaker village in the U.S. We wandered through the tranquil grounds of the village and took the three mile loop trail to the Kentucky River.

       October 18, 2017

NEXT UP: WEST VIRGINIA