Ann's Restaurant - Franklin, Indiana

Within steps of the Johnson County courthouse, on the southwest side of the downtown square in Franklin, Indiana, sits Ann's Restaurant.  The restaurant came to life in 1952 and was originally called Alta's Restaurant, after the owner Alta Spicer.  The original 13-seat diner was open 24 hours a day back then.  Ann Daugherty became partners with Alta in the 1960s and eventually took over the business after Alta retired. 

Ann's Restaurant - Franklin, IN

Ann's has a traditional decor inside and a simple diner-style menu.  To the more sophisticated diner, the decor would seem dated and boring, however for a small-town diner the decor is fitting.  The menu also looks like you would expect.  Good prices for homestyle foods and breakfast served anytime.  Pictures of local landmark buildings in Franklin adorn the walls and the din of customer conversations is occasionally broken by the sound of a ringing bell to alert the servers when an order is up.  A small, three-stool bar sits just outside the kitchen area.

Dining Room of Ann's Restaurant

Arriving for lunch, I chose not to order breakfast items, but settled on a burger and fries instead.  My meal also came with an additional side, coleslaw in my case.  I also added a cup of ham and bean soup.  The soup was designed to come out before my meal arrived, however it didn't show up until I got my entree.  Large chunks of processed ham were in the loosely, creamy broth along with an abundance of beans.  Despite containing ham, the soup seemed to be lacking a dose of salt to help bring out the flavors.  More importantly, the soup needed to be skimmed to remove the fat from the batch.  Small orange bubbles of fat were seen floating lazily in my bowl.

Ham and Bean Soup

When it came to my entree, I surveyed the menu and locked in on a meal filled with pork.  I am such a sucker for anything that used to have a snout while it was alive.  I ordered the sausageburger and fries.  The burger is a half-pound patty of ground sausage grilled on the flat top to crispy perfection.  The warm, toasted bun had 360 degrees of sausage showing like a UFO of meaty goodness.  The hand formed patty had great flavor and was easily the highlight of the meal.  I am also a fan of crispy fries and the ones with my meal were crispy, krinkle-cut fries that were well cooked.  

The coleslaw that came with my meal was cold and crisp.  It was a creamy style of coleslaw and while the crispness of the cabbage was refreshing, it was laden with mayo.  It was just sort of flat.  I added some salt and pepper in an effort to liven it up, but there was just too much mayo.

Sausageburger and Fries

The prices at Ann's are far, despite not being what I saw posted on their website before I came to dine there.  Online my burger was listed at $4.25 yet mine cost $4.79.  The fries and coleslaw set me back another $2.40.  The cup of soup was $1.75 online, yet it totaled $1.99 when I ordered it.  All told the prices were still fair, but if the rates have be raised it would be smart for the restaurant to change the website to reflect their new pricing.

Another positive note is that my server was wonderful.  She checked in often and had a pleasant demeanor.  She knew the menu well, could recommend dishes, and always made sure I had what I needed.  Overall, Ann's is a decent diner-style establishment in a small town.  Though they have hours limiting them breakfast and lunch only it is worth a stop to try the sausageburger.  I can still feel my heart beating in my chest. 

17th Street Bar and Grill - Murphysboro, IL

For years now, I have been into barbecue.  Eating barbecue, but also smoking it myself.  Several years ago, I found myself at the bookstore and a new book caught my eye called Peace, Love and BBQ.  I flipped through the pages and saw that the author was from southern Illinois.  My family is from southern Illinois and at the time I was living far away from home in South Dakota so the prospect of a book about barbecue and my homeland sounded great so I snatched it up.  I immediately read the book cover to cover and found it to be full of great recipes, wonderful stories and lot's of barbecue folklore.  The book is part cookbook, part memoir and part survey of the greatest barbecue restaurants across the country.  The book not only motivated me to take my smoking to the next level, but to also begin my journey as a professional barbecue competitor. 

Fast forward to September of 2010, and I set foot in Murphysboro, Illinois, with my barbecue team, Thin Blue BBQ, to compete in Mike Mills' own contest.  The annual Praise the Lard contest attracts a great deal of competition.  Some of the best teams in the country show up and as a newer competition team, we just hoped to be respectable.  To our amazement we got 2nd place in ribs!  The highlight of the weekend was getting to shake the hand of the man behind the contest and the book that inspired me, Mike Mills.

Two weeks ago, I found myself in Murphysboro and I headed to 17th Street Bar and Grill for some lunch.  I immediately ordered my favorite appetizer, pimento cheese and hot links.  The cheese is so cold and creamy, while the hot links are smoky with just the right amount of spice.  I can't get enough of it.

For my entree, I had a delicious serviing of perfectly smoked beef brisket.  My favorite part of the meal though were the sides.  I got my meal with coleslaw and hush puppies.  Two sides that I remember fondly from childhood.  And coleslaw in southern Illinois means that it has vinegar on it instead of mayo.  the crispness of the cabbage paired with the tart vinegar flavor is unbelievable.

While I was dining, I asked the server if Mills was at the restaurant that day and she said that he is usually in the office across the street when he was in town.  After my meal, I thought I would take the chance and head over to see if he was in.  To my fortune he was.  And I had the chance to talk barbecue and competitions with my personal idol for over a half an hour.  Mills was so generous with his time and so friendly.  It is easy to see how he has achieved such success when he is so personable and approachable.  The cap to my visit was a picture that I will always cherish.