Work Hard and Then Play Hard

This past Saturday we worked our rear ends off.  After doing the normal milking and feeding and regular chores, we pitched in and butchered about half of our Cornish Cross Meat Birds.  Then we cleaned everything up and headed out across the road to pick more dewberries along the levee and ditch.  I guess we picked another gallon of berries to freeze.  Tricia made a fresh dewberry pie with homemade crust and it was sweet. We savored every forkful as we sat outside with a cup of coffee.

As we looked at the big blue tub of chicken carcasses chilling, we remarked about how hard we had worked.  The afternoon was perfect, with a nice breeze blowing. We had more work ahead of us later on as we had to re-sharpen our knives to cut up the chickens into our standard 8 piece cut-up - actually nine pieces if you count the neck/back/ribcage portion that we use to make delicious and healthy chicken stock with.  As I smacked my purple lips, dyed by the dewberries, I said, "C'mon ya'll - we work hard and we're gonna play hard."  "Time for a treat."

We loaded up in the car and drove into town to our favorite old Drive Inn - The Rocket.  The Rocket Drive Inn is a fixture in Jennings.  I wish I could have found out when it first opened, but I can't find it anywhere.  I do see that Mrs. JoAnn has owned it for 38 years, but I don't know if she is the original owner/operator. Jennings is big enough where it has most of the big-name fast food chains, but in my book, The Rocket outshines them all.  The chain places don't even come close.

The Rocket Drive Inn in Jennings, Louisiana

On this particular day since we just had homemade pie and coffee, we didn't order food.  Instead for a little treat, Russ and Tricia ordered milkshakes and Benjamin and I had Root Beer Floats.  We sat at one of the tables under the awning and enjoyed the ambiance of old school Drive Inns at its best.  It was a little like stepping back in time.  It's off the beaten path a little ways and most travelers getting off Interstate 10 for refreshments don't make it this far before being lured away by Popeye's, McDonalds, Burger King, Taco Bell, Sonic and Wendy's, to name a few.

That means its mostly locals who sidle up to the window and place their orders. The menu is expansive and varied.  There are items such as Tasso Sandwich, Egg Sandwich, Grilled Liver, etc. New additions such as Fried Pickles, Natchitoches Meat Pies, Sweet Potato Turnovers, etc. are painted on the windows.  The service is polite and friendly and you wait for your meal as it is made to order by friendly people with smiling faces.

The Rocket Drive Inn wouldn't be complete without a rocket out front.  It has a light on the very tip of the rocket.  A nest of birds had made a nest in the very bottom of the rocket, so the engines haven't fired off any time soon, but it is poised for take-off.  By the time I walked back to the table, our thick milkshakes and root beer floats were almost gone.

The namesake of our favorite Drive Inn

I haven't found anything on the menu that isn't delicious.  Their old fashioned Cheeseburger is goooood.  The bun is buttered and toasted on the griddle.  The meat is fresh and hand-formed - not the cookie-cutter frozen patty from a box in the freezer.  Fresh cut tomatoes and onions and lettuce and some pickles adorn this masterpiece.  Eat one of these and you'll never pull through the drive through of Mickey D's or BK for a burger again.  The old fashioned onion rings hit the spot.  

I really like the catfish sandwich.  This is a fried catfish fillet (not a frozen square cod patty).  Banana splits and ice cream in a bunch of different flavors are also delicious  options.

Image Credit

We generally like to grow and produce most of our food on our little farm, but sometimes the milkmaid (Tricia) needs a break from the kitchen.  On those occasions, The Rocket Drive Inn, with its nostalgia, good food and friendly service, is on the launch pad right there on Shankland Avenue, ready to blast off!  (Okay, I'm hungry for one of those burgers now!)