Interesting dining experience today...

Morgan (of the "Maniacal Missives" blog linked to your right) and I found ourselves out roadtripping a little bit today, and decided to head to an interesting eaterie he'd heard about in Danville, Indiana. It's called the Mayberry Cafe, and it's exactly what the name suggests: It's an homage to a big part of television history, the classic Andy Griffith Show. Now, I was never a huge fan of the show myself, and I admit, going in I thought I might find it a little hokey. But, I have to say, I found it a pretty enjoyable experience.

Without giving too much of the experience away, it's a very nicely kept restaurant, very homey-looking, and although the theme of the restaurant is very prevalent, it's surprisingly not shoved down your throat at all, as one might expect with a place like this. There's lots of pictures from the show and news articles on the walls (it turns out it's a very well-known and popular place...kind of a tourist attraction, if you will), they have a little display case by the cash register in the front containing all sorts of show- and restaurant-related merchandise, all the characters of the show have dishes named after them on the menu, and the television-show-of-honor is shown on several TV's placed all over the restaurant. My guess is they've recently began purchasing the DVD box sets of the show...something seemingly made especially with this establishment in mind.

What kind of restaurant story/review would this be if I didn't mention the quality of the food and the service? Well, never fear, o you seekers of fine dining fare, this place is good to go. The food was brought out quickly and was absolutely delicious, and the service (complete with smiles) was performed with the attention of people who really were glad to see you. In fact, the waitress and one of the owners of the restaurant made it a point to stop by our table and show us something they had just received in the mail from Hawaii. It was a nice gesture, and really made us feel welcome.

So, if you're ever passing through central Indiana on US 36, and find yourself even a little bit hungry, I highly recommend stopping in Danville and paying these fine people a visit. They'll take good care of you by filling your bellies with great, small-town cooking, and you get to watch some good, wholesome television while you eat. How can you go wrong with that?

And...if you think you might need further directions...just look for the police car sitting out front.