Mystery Tour

The Emma Chase

Last Friday, the Man of the Place (aka Ken) came home from his meeting in Lawrence. I asked him what he wanted to do that night, as I usually do on Friday nights and presented him with the Go section of the paper. He kind of looked through it and then told me that it was time to go. I hastily changed my shirt and shoes and off we went.

Now, from early in our marriage on, Ken has taken me on "mystery tours". We have gone to Dallas for dinner, a casino by Topeka and most famously, he took the girls to get a windshield fixed. They've never let him forget that one! Mystery Tours are always fun once we get there but the trip drives me crazy because it is so out of my control and worse--unplanned! I am completly out of my comfort zone and Ken knows it!

We headed east on highway 254. Aha I thought, we are going to PF Changs to use the gift card we got at Christmas but then, we passed Greenwich road and kept going east. Well, I knew that the restaurant at the Benton Antique Mall was out because it closed and I couldn't think of any place in El Dorado that would be worth the drive. Then I supposed that we might be going to Augusta to find the school that I was interviewing at on Tuesday. But, we didn't stay on 96. Once we got on the turnpike I guessed that we were going to Cassoday so I told Ken that I didn't think the cafe there was open for dinner. His response--"well, we will just have to see". We did get off at the Cassoday/Matfield Green exit but instead of going south, we turned north.

The drive up 177 is beautiful. To me, it is what Kansas is supposed to look like and the closest to what the pioneers probably saw. There are rolling hills and breath taking vistas. In some places, you can see for miles. The road takes you through the tiny whistle stop town of Matfield Green where train enthusiasts come to watch the 60+ trains that roar through town every day. Along the way are beautiful ranch homes and falling down buildings from the hey dey of the cattle and rail industry in the area.

After awhile, we pulled into Cottonwood Falls. Now, I was assuming that we were going to Council Grove to the Hays House as I have said several times that I would like to go there. But, we ended up on Main street at the Emnma Chase Cafe. Now I don't know who Emma Chase is or if she is a real person and that bugs me. I like to know the history of a place. But whoever she is, her cafe has some of the best pie and chicken fry I have ever eaten.

I wasn't sure about the place when we walked in. It is a small storefront with folding tables set up around the room. Some of them have table cloths and others didn't. As soon as the door opened it was like there was this long pause in conversation as all eyes turned to us to see if we were friends or strangers. Once the curiosity was satisfied, all returned to eating and we found a table and sat down. I don't know about you but I am used to having a menu placed in my hands when I go to a restaurant. I've only been to a couple of sit down places where you didn't have a printed menu. One was in Lousisana and had 3 choices...ham, ham or ham. The other was Chateau Briand and after eating at that place, Ken had to go home and get more money from his dad so we could go to prom. At the Emma, there's a marker board. Catfish is always on the menu and on Friday there were 3 or 4 other choices. I played it safe and got the chicken fried steak and ice tea. The tea was served in a quart sized mason jar which never needed a refill. Presently another 3-some came in and they were obviously from somewhere else. I thought they were German but found out later that they were Swiss. The woman was very agitated. First she was upset that there wasn't beer, then she was upset that there weren't more menu choices. Finally she was upset because the advertised music wasn't in the restaurant (more on that later) but down the street in the Emma hall. She never sat down! Well, that's an exaggeration but she never sat down for long. Her companions wolfed down their dinners and off they went down the street.

As I said earlier, the food was awesome. The steak was not frozen. It was fresh and hand breaded and I assume pan fried. I got rhubarb pie. I love pie crust anyway but this crust was flaky, crisp and wonderful.

After dinner we strolled down the block to find the music. We discovered it in a beautiful old limestone building. Cottonwood Falls was the "Limestone Capitol of Kansas" at one time so many of the buildings are built using limestone. The theme for that night was Old Timey Gospel. At the front of the room there were about 15 older people playing guitars, dobros, harmonicas, violins, pianos and a string bass. An elderly man was at the mic singing a song before an audience seated on wooden chairs. My first thought was "oh my-a whole evening of this?" But I quickly became enchanted with the harmony and enthusiasm of these amatuer musicians who come together to sing just for the love of music. They really didn't lack talent and any lack of intonation was made up for in sincerity. Soon I was tapping my toes and singing along. Around 9 we decided we had to head home and the music was beginning to wind down anyway.

Our drive home through the Flint Hills was punctuated by the field burning going on across the hillside.

All in all, it was a delightful, magical mystery tour. Thank you honey!