Originally Posted by amouthia22
Bamavol - Why don't you take the initiative (or put your money where your mouth wants to be) and open your own restaurant using your own "authentic italian" recipes? OR...if OG is so bad and there is no other option eat at home! If your "small town with a race track" happens to be Talledega, you could always drive the short distance to BHM to Leonardo's. It is the best in the state by far and reasonably priced. Most of us patrons are of an acceptible weight and would probably not ruin your dining experience.
1. The town is Oxford, AL. It's about 20 miles from 'dega. I live in an unincorporated part of Calhoun county.
2. Successful independent restaurants in the area serve barbeque. I've seen a lot of independents open and close in 4 years, in part because the owners didn't understand the market. The only way I can demonstrate that I'm any smarter than those guys is by not opening an independent restaurant that doesn't sell barbeque.
3. I can cook good italian food at home. I share it with a few friends. I travel to places where I can get a decent Italian restaurant meal. I even enjoy an occasional lunch at the nearest Olive Garden in Douglasville, GA. I'm satisfied. My fellow Calhounians are much more deprived and are clamoring much louder than I for their OG.
4. I already drive to BHM once a month to shop at a decent grocery store. I enjoy a glass or 2 of Chianti with my italian food. So does Mrs BamaVol. That is incompatible with the drive home from BHM.
5. I love my neighbors but, for whatever reason, the average weight here is well above the US norm. It is a statewide phenomenon, but seems to be less widespread (pun intended) in BHM than the more rural parts of the state. What I do notice in BHM, as I wander around the Summit, are all the thin middle aged blondes with their noses in the air and a pinched look on their faces as if they perpetually smell something bad. I'd rather dine with the chubbies in Oxford.