Talk of the Town - Whitley County

By Jennifer Zartman Romano

It’s Good Friday – the last day to observe the Lenten practice of avoiding meat on Fridays for many in our community.

By now, most people have probably exhausted all of their best non-meat ideas for lunch and dinner, but I have a few ideas I’ve come across this year and though I’d pass them along this morning:

• The Grilled Cheese at CC Deli. This really isn’t the standard grilled cheese you may be thinking of and it isn’t even on the menu – you have to ask for it. Owner Steve Hostetler developed this great idea of his: he takes a bakery roll (pesto is an excellent choice) and stacks it high with every kind of cheese he has in the deli case and then he grills it, but only on the bottom. The end result is a delicious, melty combination of provolone, American, pepperjack and other cheeses. The deli also offers a great bowl of clam chowder that is worth trying as well.
• The fish sandwich at Wendy’s. By now, you may have tried fish sandwiches everywhere and though most fast food restaurants have fish sandwiches this time of year, it is definitely not apples to apples. The Wendy’s fish sandwich, however, is excellent and tastes more like the kind of fish sandwich you’d expect to be served in a slow food restaurant.
• A fish basket from Main Bowl. The fish, the fries and the unique tartar sauce they prepare are tops for a Friday night dinner panic.
• The “all you can eat” fish at Timmy’s Nook at Tri Lakes. A salad and a side complete the meal – with a nice atmosphere and helpful staff as well.
• The Fresca Fiesta burrito at Taco Bell. No meat, just rice and salsa for flavor. There might be beans too…The “fresca” also means it is a more healthy choice
• A salmon panini at The Pickle Cafe in Dunfee. Smoked salmon and cream cheese blend for a perfect combination. Their pasta salad, green salad, fruit and excellent visual presentation make it even better. Oh, and ask for a glass of raspberry lemonade and a piece of their decadent peanut butter pie or lemon sunshine. Mmmmm.

Readers, do you have any great suggestions of your own? If so, e-mail me here and I’ll add them to the list.