You
ever just drive by a place and wonder. Wonder just
isn’t established with a single question or
two – wonder implies there is a story to be
learned
,
experienced I dare say. That wonder led me to choose
the Cup of Comfort & more! When I say this is
a stand-alone restaurant – I mean stand-alone.
I am tempted to return after hours to measure the
exact dimensions and square footage of the building.
Comfort is positioned in the middle of the black
top parking lot on the corner of Sycamore and Elm
across from a car wash and within a stones throw
of the Candle Wick Store
(another stand-alone icon). Comfort looks as if
the establishment was just dropped from heaven above
and planted roots where it stands. There are two
small tables for two outside of the building, which
I thought would be great for this cool spring weather.
We
had no problem finding a parking
place and upon entering we were greeted with
soft music and pleasant smells. The interior was
tiny. There were two tables for three on
the inside and a small counter to place an order.
We all just kind of stood in one place and slowly
spun around in place taking in the room which was
smaller than a 15’ x 10’ student room
back in McConnell. A brief
menu was written on the chalkboard behind the
counter and it listed sandwiches, salads and a few
other items. Dumbfounded by the size of the place,
we were stunned into soft whispers and non-verbal
language cues. After the uncomfortable silence,
we were greeted by a voice from behind the wall
that announced – “there is a menu over
there”. Kevin and I share “the”
menu while Henry photographed and Gloria took
in the miniature dining area. The menu had more
details of what was on the chalkboard and those
details got the three boys interested in choosing.
Gloria had worked up an appetite for a bagel which
did not have the presentation flare of normal entrees
but that is what she ordered. The proprietor offered
to clear his studies from the interior tables but
I had my heart set on sitting out doors. We eased
two additional chairs around one of the existing
outdoor table and chair combos. The out door table
and chair combos were of hobbit size and we did
have an umbrella we unfurled to complete the look.
Besides
talking about TAMS issues there was some lively
discussion on monkeys. We discussed the latest debacle
at the Dallas Zoo and whether it was better for
the zoo to admit the monkey knocked down a secure
door or that the monkey was able to jump over and
out of a secure area. Gloria did her best imitation
of a monkey holding a small child in its mouth and
we all wondered about a mom who would be willing
to take on a 350
lb. gorilla. It was decided by Henry
that monkeys are indeed funny and Kevin chimed in
that they are tricky as well.
Henry
and I ordered the same item and our basket sandwiches
did not disappoint. Included with each sandwich
is a small sweet pickle sliced
in two, a mountain of BBQ
chips (which Kevin was hoping he would also
receive), two candied mints AND two
small round brownies. The actual sandwich
was a basic club but in addition to several layers
of meat and cheese and normal items there was some
spinach spread! The brownies were a definite bonus
and the candied mints were hidden so well I almost
forgot to retrieve them. Gloria’s bagel
arrived next and she was even given 1 small brownie.
As stated earlier her bagel was not delivered in
a basket and this impacted her evaluation. I asked
Gloria if she was not hungry or needed some money
and she said it was a vegan day. {Vegan day = only
a lame bagel for lunch?} Four bottles of water were
delivered after Gloria’s round bread and Kevin
seemed to be getting more anxious as time passed.
A young lady then appeared with four cups of ice
for our waters and asked if everything was OK [Kevin
nods but was on the edge of his seat as Henry and
Russ dove into the piled
high sandwiches and Gloria gleefully picked
at her boiled dough lunch].
Conversation
rambled through a few other topics and it becomes
quite obvious that because Comfort
is just stuck in the middle of the parking lot and
we are outside sitting next to it – we are
also just stuck out in the middle of the parking
lot. As each car passed, drivers would gawk out
their windows in an attempt to figure out what we
were doing under the umbrella in the middle of the
parking lot. We could feel the random drivers peer
our direction, longing to be like us lounging outside
in the beautiful weather, lunches in our laps, huddled
underneath the umbrella around a hobbit size table
outside the hobbit size hut.
Kevin’s
lunch finally arrived in a basket with the coveted
mountain of BBQ chips, sliced pickle, brownies and
mints. Kevin’s sandwich was on a special bagel
that was only native to bagelwich eaters in Ohio
and Kevin insisted the proprietor put his sandwich
on it – which explained the delay. Kevin seemed
to enjoy his bagelwich [you could see the anticipatory
tension leave his brow with each bite]. The bonus
highlight of eating outdoors in the middle of the
parking lot is that any thing or anyone can just
walk or park right next to your table. We were fortunate
to experience both phenomena. The cars were just
visitors to the Comfort while the walk up guests
were salesmen on foot. Two gentlemen dressed in
suits that appeared out of nowhere entered Comfort
and then approached our table. After apologizing
for interrupting our lunch, they pitched us a bargain
involving paintball. Men in suits, one talking the
other mute, immediately caught Kevin’s attention
as Kevin longs to be a paintball warrior. Kevin
attentively listened and dismissed the salesman
and his mute after realizing his glories of paintball
warrior would have to be accomplished in Sanger.
After the two left, table speculation ensued and
we declared that this was a version of the Apprentice
only Denton style. The challenge obviously being
to sell random paintball deals while the Trump designee
(the mute) observed interactions. As soon as the
two appeared they had left – as if characters
out of middle earth.
The
proprietor came out several times to politely check
on us and make sure everything was OK. It was during
one of these interactions we discovered his pile
of books inside on the table were there for him
to prepare for an upcoming sermon. He mentioned
the church that was in Denton but none of us understood
well enough to comment. He also mentioned that Comfort
had plans to expand.
He showed us what other portions of the parking
lot he would soon be king over in his quest to be
Lord of the black top. Not only additional tables
but larger tables for four were coming and he beckon
us back for another visit. The Comfort sandwiches
were tasty, chips were filling and the brownies
a very nice bonus. Was my curiosity satiated –
not completely? We left questioning the rationale
for a restaurant in a place such as it is and the
relationship between the owner and his purpose.
These mysteries could only be solved with another
visit. How bad can it be to wonder into Comfort?.
