Here are the reviews I mentioned in my last entry; Gailey's Breakfast Cafe, the LIW Museum and Trolley's Downtown Cafe and Grille.
I'll get around (soon) to finishing the entries on our trip; just one more, I think.
Mrs. B
“The Best Place We Ate in Springfield!”
Gailey's Breakfast CafeEmpress5150 (5 out of 5 Stars)
Durham, North Carolina
Apr 23, 2008
But, blink an eye and you'll drive right past it. It is located inside what appeared to us to be a refurbished old bank building.As with everywhere else we ate on our trip, we had a buy one get one free coupon for this place. It was WELL worth it and we would have been happy paying full price!First off, the place is so darn cheerful! The waitress we had was almost bubbling over with good will. The decor is funky and bright; lots of Fiesta Ware all over the place. The menu (mostly breakfast items but some lunch items as I believe they are also open for lunch) was extensive. All the usuals, omelets, egg dishes, waffles, pancakes, sausage gravy, etc. Plus, they offered a lot of options for health conscious individuals.Which my mom took them up on with her Greek omelet with egg beaters (she reported it was very good although she should have had the regular hashbrowns instead of their "sweet browns" (just like it sounds; hashbrowns with cinnamon and brown sugar)). I had the banana walnut pancakes which were very good (although they would have been better had the walnuts/bananas been baked into the pancake batter). They certainly didn't skimp on the walnuts; I had almost a whole bag of whole walnuts on top of my cakes! So many that I asked for a plastic bag so I could scoop over 1/2 of them off and take them with me for a snack later on.The pancakes came with a choice of meat (bacon, sausage, etc.) and two eggs. So, it was a lot of food. The omelet came with hashbrowns and choice of bread.We both left food on our plates!Oh, and another important thing, the coffee was fresh, hot and strong!We thought the prices were reasonable for the amount of food.I'd highly recommend this place!
Gailey's Breakfast CafeEmpress5150 (5 out of 5 Stars)
Durham, North Carolina
Apr 23, 2008
But, blink an eye and you'll drive right past it. It is located inside what appeared to us to be a refurbished old bank building.As with everywhere else we ate on our trip, we had a buy one get one free coupon for this place. It was WELL worth it and we would have been happy paying full price!First off, the place is so darn cheerful! The waitress we had was almost bubbling over with good will. The decor is funky and bright; lots of Fiesta Ware all over the place. The menu (mostly breakfast items but some lunch items as I believe they are also open for lunch) was extensive. All the usuals, omelets, egg dishes, waffles, pancakes, sausage gravy, etc. Plus, they offered a lot of options for health conscious individuals.Which my mom took them up on with her Greek omelet with egg beaters (she reported it was very good although she should have had the regular hashbrowns instead of their "sweet browns" (just like it sounds; hashbrowns with cinnamon and brown sugar)). I had the banana walnut pancakes which were very good (although they would have been better had the walnuts/bananas been baked into the pancake batter). They certainly didn't skimp on the walnuts; I had almost a whole bag of whole walnuts on top of my cakes! So many that I asked for a plastic bag so I could scoop over 1/2 of them off and take them with me for a snack later on.The pancakes came with a choice of meat (bacon, sausage, etc.) and two eggs. So, it was a lot of food. The omelet came with hashbrowns and choice of bread.We both left food on our plates!Oh, and another important thing, the coffee was fresh, hot and strong!We thought the prices were reasonable for the amount of food.I'd highly recommend this place!
“Loved it Loved it Loved it”
Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic Home and Museum (5 out of 5 Stars)
Empress5150
Durham, North Carolina
Apr 23, 2008
My mom and I drove two days there and two days back just to see this place for one day. Neither of us regret this decision.We got lucky the day we went; it was pretty empty so we had the place to ourselves.Having read the books as a child (and having just recently re-read them), everything we saw meant something to me. Both of the houses (the farmhouse and Rock House) were fascinating; especially the farmhouse since this is where Laura and Almanzo lived the majority of their years in Mansfield AND it's been left much as Laura had it when she passed away in 1957.The museum is chock full of interesting things to look and and read; some real special things, too, like Pa's fiddle and some of the beadwork Mary made at the school for the blind. There was also a fairly extensive exhibit on the Wilder's daughter, Rose Wilder Lane.The gift store was stocked with a lot of interesting items, including not only Laura's books, but many books about her and then some other children's books written by others that follow Rose's life and also Laura's mother's life before she married "Pa". I had no idea so many of these books existed!Now, my guess is that unless a person either read Laura's books or was just interested in history in general, they'd be bored out of their heads here. But, if you've read the books and/or are interested in Laura Ingalls Wilder, you're in for a treat.The only downside to our trip was that we didn't get to stay in the houses overly long, no pictures were allowed inside (which I suppose I can understand) and the trail from the farmhouse to the Rock House was closed (due to previous flooding).Oh, one last thing. Although all of the docents were friendly and fairly knowledgeable, one of them (inside the museum) couldn't tell us who was in a picture that was figured prominently throughout the museum. It seemed to me that she should have known, or, tried to find out for us.That was just a minor blip, though. Finally, we also drove into town to the cemetery to see Almanzo, Laura and Rose's graves. I can't say visiting a grave site is a treat, but, it was special being able to see where one of my child-hood idols was laid to rest.
Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic Home and Museum (5 out of 5 Stars)
Empress5150
Durham, North Carolina
Apr 23, 2008
My mom and I drove two days there and two days back just to see this place for one day. Neither of us regret this decision.We got lucky the day we went; it was pretty empty so we had the place to ourselves.Having read the books as a child (and having just recently re-read them), everything we saw meant something to me. Both of the houses (the farmhouse and Rock House) were fascinating; especially the farmhouse since this is where Laura and Almanzo lived the majority of their years in Mansfield AND it's been left much as Laura had it when she passed away in 1957.The museum is chock full of interesting things to look and and read; some real special things, too, like Pa's fiddle and some of the beadwork Mary made at the school for the blind. There was also a fairly extensive exhibit on the Wilder's daughter, Rose Wilder Lane.The gift store was stocked with a lot of interesting items, including not only Laura's books, but many books about her and then some other children's books written by others that follow Rose's life and also Laura's mother's life before she married "Pa". I had no idea so many of these books existed!Now, my guess is that unless a person either read Laura's books or was just interested in history in general, they'd be bored out of their heads here. But, if you've read the books and/or are interested in Laura Ingalls Wilder, you're in for a treat.The only downside to our trip was that we didn't get to stay in the houses overly long, no pictures were allowed inside (which I suppose I can understand) and the trail from the farmhouse to the Rock House was closed (due to previous flooding).Oh, one last thing. Although all of the docents were friendly and fairly knowledgeable, one of them (inside the museum) couldn't tell us who was in a picture that was figured prominently throughout the museum. It seemed to me that she should have known, or, tried to find out for us.That was just a minor blip, though. Finally, we also drove into town to the cemetery to see Almanzo, Laura and Rose's graves. I can't say visiting a grave site is a treat, but, it was special being able to see where one of my child-hood idols was laid to rest.
“Fat Tire Beer!”
Downtown Trolley's Bar & Grille (4 out of 5 Stars)
Empress5150
Durham, North Carolina
Apr 23, 2008
My mom and I ate here on a brief trip to Springfield. We had a buy one get one free coupon for the place and we're glad we tried it because we enjoyed ourselves, despite the strange mushroom side dish my mom ordered!Seriously, the menu is fairly cosmopolitan; lots of choices from sandwiches to burgers to pasta to fish. I was personally especially pleased to discover they had Fat Tire beer on draft ($2.50 pints on Wednesday nights).While we were there, it was pretty empty. My guess is that business picks up later in the evening (we were done by 7:00). I think there is a college nearby.I ordered the blackened tilapia over Yukon smashed potatoes with a roasted red pepper cream sauce and asparagus as my side dish.This was decent enough; although the sauce was a bit heavy on the cream and light on the peppers and there were only three or four spears of asparagus (pretty skimpy). I do have to remember, though, that this WAS the mid-west; can't expect your average restaurant to have gourmet chefs on hand.My mom had a chicken, spinach and pasta dish, which she said was quite good. She also had the strange mushrooms, Mushrooms Venus, as her side dish. This appeared to be canned button mushrooms swimming in a butter and olive oil sauce. Sorta yucky looking, actually.But, the service was efficient, the prices were reasonable, they had excellent beer, so, I'd go back.
Downtown Trolley's Bar & Grille (4 out of 5 Stars)
Empress5150
Durham, North Carolina
Apr 23, 2008
My mom and I ate here on a brief trip to Springfield. We had a buy one get one free coupon for the place and we're glad we tried it because we enjoyed ourselves, despite the strange mushroom side dish my mom ordered!Seriously, the menu is fairly cosmopolitan; lots of choices from sandwiches to burgers to pasta to fish. I was personally especially pleased to discover they had Fat Tire beer on draft ($2.50 pints on Wednesday nights).While we were there, it was pretty empty. My guess is that business picks up later in the evening (we were done by 7:00). I think there is a college nearby.I ordered the blackened tilapia over Yukon smashed potatoes with a roasted red pepper cream sauce and asparagus as my side dish.This was decent enough; although the sauce was a bit heavy on the cream and light on the peppers and there were only three or four spears of asparagus (pretty skimpy). I do have to remember, though, that this WAS the mid-west; can't expect your average restaurant to have gourmet chefs on hand.My mom had a chicken, spinach and pasta dish, which she said was quite good. She also had the strange mushrooms, Mushrooms Venus, as her side dish. This appeared to be canned button mushrooms swimming in a butter and olive oil sauce. Sorta yucky looking, actually.But, the service was efficient, the prices were reasonable, they had excellent beer, so, I'd go back.
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