It was Easter weekend this past weekend, and my family came up from Louisiana. And truthfully, we had a grand old time. Was great for everybody to get together in one roof.

AND, its happening again next weekend, only with my Mom’s side of the family.

But this entry isn’t about either of those things. Its about food.

My father in law decided he wanted to do a nice Easter dinner, so he wanted to take us to “a Roswell Institution.” This post is about that.

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On sunday, I ate dinner at the Brookwood Grill in Roswell.

A Roswell Institution

I had heard alot about this place from not just the in-laws but several natives of the area. Anyone who had been around when it was first founded, about 25 years ago, extols the virtues of the place. However, I suspected something was up when I asked them to describe the food. I usually got one of two responses

“You know, chicken and stuff” or “You know, steak and stuff”

But, its been around for this long, and people out here with hate on any business that doesn’t cut it, and this thing managed to survive in that climate for 25 years. So there has got to be something there right?

Nope. Starting simple, the decor is full 80s casual dining with steak. Dark on the inside. Brick. Stone. Booths.

The first thing I notice is that its one of those places that clearly scales based on how busy it is. Over half the restaurant is empty but had to wait for a table. I dont mind that, just always felt it was odd.

The menu is Applebees+. Like its got crowdpleasers. Heather must have been hipped to this because she just got a chicken tender salad.

I however, wanted to try the best they got. I was recommeneded the Seared Ahi Tuna steak and the Cajun Chicken and Shrimp Pasta. Against my better judgement, I ordered both.

I love sushi, but this was that thing of restaurants who have to cater to people who dont like sushi. It wasn’t fully cooked but it was like breaded and overseared. So the texture was somewhere in between and kind of bland. The noodle cake that went with it was fine but overpowered by the Asian slaw on top of it.

The Cajun Chicken and Shrimp Pasta is what made me write this. It was basically alfredo in a can with Tony Chachere’s on it.

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Like, I used to do that in college as a cheap meal. And 100% that is all what was in there.

So I casually asked her dad why he liked this place so much, without hinting that I was eating some dorm food here. He just went off about the deals. If you bought a bunch of giftcards they would give you more free, or there is a free pie night, or a free soup night.

Nothing he said about the quality of the food.

When we were paying and getting ready to leave, the waitress offered to bag up my food. I didn’t want any more of it, but her dad insisted that I take it to go. The waitress came back and gave me the bag with the food in it. However, the bag couldn’t fit the to go containers they had.

And that is a microcosm for this place. The togo bag that cant fit any of the plates that they give togo food in.

I read Yelp reviews when I got home. And they seem to be filled with people looking for the best meal deal.

And I guess there is a value in that….I kind of wonder what this restaurant was like when it first started out. Like if they were ambitious. Had big ideas, and then just shifted with their customer base into cheap-as-free being the primary motivation.

Especially with downtown Roswell exploding with AMAZING restaurants, its kind of surprising that this place lasted.

There is a place like this in every town. Been here forever. Basically serves Applebees menu, but the locals love it for no reason at all….

If you come to Roswell avoid the Brookwood grill. It takes you back to the past of having to wear a button down shirt to go out to eat Applebees equivalent food.

Sorry its been a while folks. Totally different reason this time. Just all quite here. Not much to write home about. We are still settling in. Almost done unpacking boxes. A few straggling items on our list, but our house is for sure a home. I have a feeling things may be this spaced out for a while, till we get deeper in the summertime.

To get up to speed on today’s post, read here, cause I think its kind of pointless to rehash national news. 

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About 3 Sunday’s ago, I get a knock on the door. My wife answers it. My son is running in circles around my wife’s legs; I’m in the kitchen washing dishes.

At the door was a girl in her 20s, says she is from North Carolina and was there to talk to us about Amy Kremer, who is a member of the Tea Party Express and apparently, founder of Women for Trump. My wife was polite and cordial. Took the pamphlet, closed the door.

I told my wife, “This is Georgia. She’s lucky I didn’t answer the door. I would have told her get the fuck off my land before I stand my ground and shit.”

 

And the nation’s eyes have turned toward the 6th. Its an odd thing to think about. As I have discussed previously, this area of the world is so much different than the Newt’s troops time of the 90s. Its slowly diversifying (very slowly) but equally as important, mindsets are less locked in. For example, I have met several of my neighbors at this point, and no one has asked me what church I go to. I cant say that for when I first came out here.

But, all I hear from the national news is how Georgia’s sixth is the litmus test of the Trump administration. I am not astute enough to give biting political discourse, but Ill  give some thoughts.

1. People like the frontrunner.

And its true, People like Jon Ossoff, as do I.

 

Looks like a nerdier Justin Trudeau

Local boy. Not crazy. Not super duper liberal (which the locals like), but has actively done work against corruption (which the locals really like. This is a big sticking point down here). And its driving the republicans crazy. Which brings me to point

2. The Republicans are coming off as dumbasses, more than usual.

If you use youtube anywhere in the 6th, this is your only preroll ad.

This ad isn’t working for a number of reasons. First off, everyone does dumbstuff in college. Second, this is just endearing. At least it is to me. Look at this guy. Looks like the stuff I did in high school. 100%. He basically lived the life that me and my high school cohorts did.

And it really pisses me off that the Republican attack is basically on doing dumb stuff while being filmed. And that is like the only platform I care about.

3. Trump is fucking crazy

And the people out here know this. Oh sure, you have people who 1000% drink the Fox News coolaid, but people don’t like how he’s handling the global political issues (read: North Korea, Syria), and they definitely dont like that healthcare plan. People out here are smart enough to know a raw deal when they see it.

 

I dont know if any of those three are enough together to actually flip the place, but I think Georgia’s 6th is alot more moderate than the powers that got Trump elected. I also dont think I would consider it as a bellweather for the nation or the Trump administration.

If the 6th goes democrat, it just means that the changes in the 6th are relatively strong (remember, Hillary won the 6th). At least, thats what I see for now. Expect more updates on this as the special election happens.