Back to Sheena's - Comfort Food 2

One night last week, Wednesday, I think, a friend of John's was over, working on the next episode of the news show and helping with something in the basement. They were finishing up just as I arrived, so I suggested dinner -- at Sheena's. R_ had never been, and I'd been craving the stuff for ages.

It was pretty busy when we pulled up, but we received quite the warm welcome! It turns out that Sheena had received my note, linking to the first blog post. She loved the pictures showing off her food, and all the nice things I'd said (all true) about the taste of the food and the cleanliness of the place. (She also said it made her cry, I'm guessing in a good way, considering what happened next.) R_ got a tour of the grill, but no offers to taste things, because Sheena had something else in mind. She told us to order our dinners, and then she'd set us up with some other goodies.

So, we ordered and paid for our meals. R_ and I both got the brisket sandwich (mine with coleslaw, his without) and fries; John got the Red Hots dinner. And we all got lemonade (in larger cups!). I had enough left over from my sandwich to make another one for work the next day (between two slices of regular, boring bread).

I neglected to get a photo of the fries this time, and still haven't seen the making of them in action (I'm so easily distracted), but John says that they're fresh cut, on the spot, not frozen. He also says that they heat up - in the oven - pretty well.

Besides our meals, other food just kept arriving! It seems that the blog entry may have sent some business her way. It was definitely shared during a business expo. in Detroit a couple of weeks ago, showing a possible result of good product and customer service. (It's just as easy to write a bad review, but I find it infinitely more enjoyable to write a good one, with all the trimmings (pictures, details).)

There was a tiny bit of confusion when the food first started arriving. I hadn't heard John's order, so we thought this pile of deliciousness was a surprise from Sheena. Oops! It was John's dinner. But sharing a couple of pieces of Red Hots (that are really too hot for me) wasn't going to be a problem for him, because then the real surprises started showing up!

First, half a slab of ribs and both kinds of beans, with smoked apples. I didn't have much of the ribs, because my goal was just to taste everything; I still had my own dinner to eat! The guys raved about the ribs; I thought they were pretty tasty and really liked the BBQ sauce. The beans were great, too.

I wish I'd taken a picture of the whole table, instead of the individual dishes! R_ did, with his camera-phone. I should see if he'll send it to me.

I am not a huge fan of poultry, because poultry doesn't like me. I am a sucker for good chicken strips (largely because of the Ranch dressing), and Popeye's chicken nuggets, but I tend to avoid the stuff in general. I will, however, make an exception for this smoky goodness!!

This here could just be my new favorite thing. If you like a traditional Irish corn beef & cabbage dinner, this might appeal to you: it's one of Sheena's Soul Rolls, lots of cabbage and some other fresh veggies, tossed with a healthy quantity of juicy, sliced corned beef. This wasn't ours -- I wasn't kidding when I said that Sheena liked my photographs! She called me up to take a picture of another customer's food before he took it away. But then she brought me half of an identical one to try. Oh! It came with the (optional) hot peppers, which I would not order for myself, but I picked them out and devoured the entire half, forgetting about the pile of hot fries, ribs, chicken, etc. I need to point out again that these are only $3.95!

When the weather gets colder, come sometime this Fall, Sheena will close up and focus on her art (she was an art teacher until this calling, and sculpts in her spare time) until it gets warm enough to be outside a lot. I am going to miss it, but since it's only halfway through June, I have lots of time to get my fill until bleak weather takes it all away.