Prudhomme City Chronicle: Columbus Day Six: Sister Saturday

by CajunKate

So Day 6 began at the crack of dawn, and I didn’t mind one bit. In fact, I nearly ran out of the door in my PJs and bed head to get my Jack and Benny’s on. Ah, Jack and Benny’s! How do I love thee? Let me count the menu items. Well, maybe not. That would take all blog as I have a slight obsession with the place. More so even than with Schmidt’s Sausage Haus, ye of the beloved cream puff and Bahama Mama, and that’s saying something. Let me put it this way. All tallied, I have been to Columbus seven times now. I have never, NEVER, not gone to Jack and Benny’s when I am in town. I think I would crawl over broken glass while being forced to eat beans if it meant that at the end of it I would be able to eat breakfast at Jack and Benny’s.

At 7:30 I picked up Jen, and we headed downtown. We arrived five minutes before they opened and were the second ones in the door. I knelt down and kissed the doormat on the way in. Not really. But I wanted to.

Outside

Inside

The menu at Jack and Benny’s is very extensive and it’s ALL breakfast food. That’s it. Breakfast all day. Well, hello there HEAVEN! Am I right? Yeah, I’m right! Jen and I each got the Jack’s Dad which is two eggs cooked to order, hash browns, corned beef hash, and toast. You can even get rye toast (rye toast, people!), and that is exactly what we did. This is a major clue that we were raised by a Yankee mother. We actually eat and love bread that doesn’t say Evangeline Maid on the package. Also, the corned beef hash. I don’t know how it is that, being raised by a Yankee mother as I was, I had never had this stuff until last year at Jack and Benny’s, but I am now totally in love with it. I’d marry Jack and Benny’s corned beef hash if it were legal. When are we gonna make that a federal law, huh? Way more important than gay marriage in my book.

We also got a Buckeye pancake, which has peanut butter and chocolate chips in it, and a coconut pancake to share. Yeah, cuz, ya know. There was no way that oval platter overflowing with food would be enough for us. It is at this point that I thanked the Baby Jesus for giving me a sister. A sister who loves and adores the Jack and Benny’s as much as I do.

Buckeye Pancake

Coconut Pancake

The Jack's Dad

After our kick a** breakfast, we headed over to Target in Easton to pick up some flip flops and a tank top for Jen. Can you believe this girl has NO flip flops?!?!? We had been discussing this on the back porch the day before when she innocently said, “I love all of your flip flops. Don’t the things hurt between your toes though?” And I was all, “Uh, no! Not at all.” And she said, “Oh, I never wear them because when I was little they used to make the skin between my toes blister.” And I was all dumbfounded and said, “Dude! Flip flops have come a long way since 1983! WTF? You need to get on board the flip flop bus ASAP. Your life will never be the same. They are God’s gift to shoe wear. Cheap, comfy, slip on and off at a moment’s notice. What’s not to like? And Target is flip flop nirvana. You need to give flip flops another chance.” And then she said the most mind-boggling statement of all, “Oh, Target has good flip- flops?” Like WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA? What planet have you been on, girl? So I decided then and there that it was time for an intervention. And that is how we ended up at Target where I insisted that she get two pairs, a black and a brown, so that she could wear them with anything. Each of them even had a wedge heel. That’s a total bonus cuz for her that’s like a wearable step ladder. She may not have to ask for help reaching things on tall shelves during the summer ever again. And we picked up some liquid bandage just in case there was a “between toe” issue.

On the way out we stopped for Starbucks iced coffees (YUM!) with double shots of expresso (ZING!). That was just the ticket we needed for more shopping. Jen had pointed out a Trader Joe’s on the way to Target, and I wanted to stop and check it out. I have been hearing about Trader Joe’s forever, and I really wish we had one in Lafayette. It’s like an affordable, smaller Whole Foods. But I must not have said out loud that I wanted to stop there because when I was asked Jen, “Where do I turn?” She said, “Oh, we’ll just take this street all the way back to Gahanna.” And I got all hysterical and screamed at her, “We’re going to Trader Joe’s, guh!” And she said, “Oh, we are? You didn’t say anything. I’m sorry. Turn here.” And then I had to apologize for getting all panicked and psycho over the fact that she inadvertently suggested we not stop at a place that sells food and cheap wine. Yeah. There is something wrong with me.

But here’s where it gets bad. The girl literally lives seven minutes from Trader Joe’s, and she had never even been in there. Dude. I think that might be a venial sin. So I extolled the virtues of Trader Joe’s and once inside, she was rightfully impressed. For some reason, she thought it was like Whole Paycheck, which it totally is like that but very, very affordable. The poorer man’s Whole Foods. We picked up some Greek yogurt I had heard about and wanted to try, two tubs of cookies for the boys (my suggestion, of course), and some Two Buck Chuck. Awesome!

After our fantastic quality time together, we decided on the way home that we would make Saturday Morning Sister Time a tradition from now on. Loves it! And we totally shook on it, so she can NEVER back out. I am evil. But in a good way.

Back at the house, Tim had picked up Bydee at the hotel and Tim’s parents came by to drop off the boys and Schmidt’s Bahama Mamas for us to take back to Lafayette. I LOVE Tim’s parents! Also, David, his brother, who was actually the one who got them for us for free because he has an inside hook-up. It so pays to have connections.

A bit later, Tim’s friend Odee and his girlfriend Sam came over, and we headed down to ComFest. This was a lot of fun, but it was super crowded and with the boys with us, it made it hard to partake of the music and drinking which, let’s face it, is what I expect when I go to a festival. Helloooo, Louisiana here! Anyway, we ended up separating into guys and girls. We girls took the boys to play on the playground and jump in the space walk thingy. We stayed about 2 ½ hours and then decided we were whipped. We texted the boys that we were leaving and got the heck out of there.

We stopped of at CVS on the way home so I could play “Crazy Spoiling Auntie” and buy the boys Transformer toys and candy. Then we picked up some fresh sweet corn at Smith’s Market and went home where I busted open that Two Buck Chuck faster then you can say, “This b***h needs a drank!” Ahhhhhh, all bettah!

We spent the rest of the night playing with the boys and visiting. We had phenomenal ribs and corn for supper. Seriously? Those ribs? F**king fantastic!

We had the traditional bye-bye fest that night. Quinn cried. Oh my Lord, my heart was broken. But before we left for the hotel, Jen asked if we would please come by before we headed back to Lafayette in the morning. That didn’t take much arm-twisting, naturally, and was agreed upon immediately.

For you, that means you get a Day 7 blog. See? Evil. But in a good way. The end.

Whoops! Pics! Gotcha again!