Veteran's Day review

Greetings readers,
I am overwhelmed by the wave of patriotism that becomes evident at this time of year.  Businesses, and esp. restaurants make very gracious gestures toward the large community of veterans.  In years past, I usually have just avoided these places due to the large number of veterans taking advantage of the offerings.  This year I was determined to enjoy at least one such meal.

We visited Applebee's in Whitehall Oh about 1 PM on Veteran's Day.  They had set up a canopy outside and were seating groups of veterans there.  Pushing in to the hostess station and placing my name on the waiting list returned a period of about 30 minutes, tempered with "It could be less, people are leaving....".  Sure enough, about ten minutes later, came our call.  My lady friend and I were seated inside the restaurant quickly and introduced to our server.  He was affable and attentive (two very good qualities for any server to have) despite having several full tables to care for that afternoon.  We placed our orders from the limited (but very inclusive) menu and in the appropriate amount of time, they were delivered with a flourish from our server.  Good Job Applebee's! 

Many restaurants that are as busy would take a much longer time to cook the meal.  The food items were both up to the usual Applebee's standards.  My lady friend's pasta dish served as an appropriate delivery system for the sauce and my Cheddar Bacon Burger with fries was both tasty and correctly cooked.  Delicious!

It so happened that we stopped at Rooster's in Whitehall later that evening with friends.  The wait staff was wearing Veteran's Day tshirts and we were greeted with an inquiry if anyone was a veteran.  After identifying myself as one, she asked if I had ID.  Not able to find my photo-copy of my DD214, I pulled my original copy from my wallet.  Many folds and creases have dramatically aged this document (it is almost thirty years old now) and upon the sight of this carefully kept piece of paper was rewarded with a $10 coupon for our dinner.  We didn't even know they were doing this!  Very good Roosters!

Our foursome ordered a varied selection from their menu - the chicken wings, salad with chicken and my pizza were delicious and up to the usual Roosters standard that keeps up coming back for more.

Looking forward to a wonderful Thanksgiving season .