Something to chew on

On the way to Branson for vacation we stopped at this great diner in Salisaw, Oklahoma called “Emma B’s”. My Moms always laments that there’s no good place near Fort Smith to have a good meal, since it’s just about the right time to stop for lunch on the way to Branson from Dallas. So we pulled off the highway to go to the Braum’s (the best of a bad lot), and we spotted the Emma B’s sign. Diner? Yeah, let’s go for it. It had that sort-of-50s décor with pics from Happy Days and Grease on the walls and candy colored accessories.

The menu was kind of impressive, in an unexpected way (okay, my small city snobbery is showing). They had the usual diner fare(pot roast, BLT, country breakfast). But it was dotted with things like a homemade veggie burger, tortilla soup with New Mexico chiles and something very intriguing called Chunky Monkey Pancakes. I was feeling self-righteous and adventurous, so I took a flier at the veggie burger.

While we were waiting, I kind of people watched. The clientele was mainly your average Okies. Think of any “report from the Heartland” segment you’ve seen on the evening news and you’ll pretty much have it. Men in plaid shirts, women in the decorated sweatshirt. The kind of place where nobody blinks if a man is wearing overalls. Mixed in were a few bikers and truckers.

And this one fellow (in overalls and a completely un-ironic trucker hat), is having the breakfast bar with a friend. Two old guys talking over eggs and sausage and coffee. Overalls says in a loud voice “That’s a real man! That’s a real man right there!” My friend looks uncomfortable. Redneck could be going down not 10 feet away. What sort of he-man, hillbilly chest beating are we about to be witness to? Of course, she hadn’t been eavesdropping the way I had, and only heard the loud part of that statement. I love listening to the music of everyday conversation, and this place was a symphony. What I heard was “He ain’t afraid to just say it. He’ll say “I love you” right out. That’s a real man! That’s a real man right there! If you can’t be honest and open and just say what you feel, what the hell are you doing?” How ‘bout that?

And, for the record, the veggie burger was outstanding. And we stopped on the way back for those Chunky Monkey Pancakes – fluffy pancakes with sliced banana, pecan and chocolate chips, whipped cream on the side. Like heaven on a plate with a side of bacon. If you’re ever in Salisaw, Emma B’s is quite obviously the place to be.