Jimmy Mac's - June 14, 2012 - Pam's 2 Cents

It was great to be with the ASC gang again after my week at Emerald Isle. When Susan asked what we did at the beach and I said, "Absolutely nothing," she seemed surprised. I shouldn't have been surprised that she was surprised. Susan has the energy of three people, at least, and accomplishes more in an hour than I can get done in a week. I think it made her feel better when I said we did laugh a lot and make fun of our neighbors behind their backs. We also sat out on the deck at night enjoying choc-tails and watching for shooting stars.

For nearly 30 years I've been going on vacation to Emerald Isle with my friends the Merfoxes ("Mer" for mermaids because we love the ocean, and "foxes" because, well, we are foxy! ["foxy" being 70s slang for "incredibly attractive"]). Penelope, Honey, and Ace (not their real names) live near Chapel Hill, five hours away, and I've really missed them since I moved here four years ago. But we get together when we can, and one day when one of us wins the lottery, we're going to buy a beach house and go whenever we feel like it instead of having to save up for only a week. You hear that, lottery gods? We need a winner here!

You may wonder how four peri/post-menopausal women can get along so well for a week in the same house. Well, it's because long ago we created a set of beach rules that we follow to the letter. I highly recommend them for any women who get together for an extended period in a limited space. Here they are:

The Beach Rules

1. No men
2. No kids
3. No pets
4. No diets
5. And everybody takes their medication

Anyway, the food at Jimmy Mac's was delicious, especially the corn on the cob. Or maybe it's just that time of year when you crave corn on the cob. I eat mine longways, one end to the other then return, like a typewriter. Some people eat all the way around in a sort of spiral. I've always wondered how people choose, or maybe you don't choose, maybe it's just some ancient corn-eating instinct.

Susan was hesitant to get the fried scallops since she'd never had them before, but I assured her they'd be good and I think she enjoyed them. The Merfoxes always go out to eat at The Crab Shack in Salter Path our first (and third, and fifth...) night at the beach, and I always get fried shrimp and scallops. I love those fried scallops dipped in tartar sauce. Yummy! And the hush puppies - we founder ourselves on those before the main course even comes. It's funny to watch how everybody at the table eats their hush puppies a different way. Penelope and Ace put cocktail sauce on theirs, Honey eats hers plain, and I put butter on mine. I'm detecting a theme here - eating idiosyncrasies.

And speaking of eating idiosyncrasies, I thought Greg was having a heart attack about halfway through his Hot Hot Hot Elk Burger. His face turned red and he started sweating and beating on the table. When he could finally breathe again, he just kept on eating, said it was really good. I prefer the kind of heat you get with wasabi, which feels like it's lifting the top of your head off but doesn't burn the inside of your mouth to the point you can't taste the food. Which reminds me, if you've never tried cocktail sauce made with regular horseradish AND wasabi, you should. It's incredible.

Little did I know when we sat down to eat in Jimmy Mac's that we'd be treated to an after-dinner show. The couple at the next table decided to perform a lengthy love scene as we sat digesting and discussing what animal we would choose to be if we could be one. Their exhibition wasn't quite as graphic as the duck love scene Susan described, but still too much PDA for a family restaurant.

By the way, Jimmy Mac's was featured in Our State magazine last year: http://www.ourstate.com/jimmy-macs/

Looking forward to the Bar-B-Que Wagon tomorrow night. Y'all come join us!