The Irondale Cafe Experience

Somehow, the Mister had never been to lunch at one of our hometown favorites before, so after church on Sunday, we loaded up for the Irondale Cafe.  The Irondale Cafe is more than just lunch...it's an experience.

 The Cafe sits by the railroad tracks, and was the inspiration for the Whistle Stop Cafe in the movie Fried Green Tomatoes.

The first thing you do, when visiting the Irondale Cafe, is place a handful of pennies on the railroad tracks.

Ordinarily, you'll find other people's pennies already lined up on the track.

So you have to find the perfect spot for yours, somewhere that you can find them later.

Then, you go wait in line and look at pictures of people communing with nature.

When you reach the front of the line, if you know how to order well, you order up a plate of fried chicken, fried okra, and of course, fried green tomatoes.  Plus an icy glass of sweet tea and a slice of lemon icebox pie.  You then mill through the dining area, where one-quarter of the folks are in Auburn gear, one-quarter in Alabama gear, and the remaing half in their Sunday finest.  Before finding a table, you run into varying numbers of cousins, neighbors, and friends.  While enjoying your meal, you listen out for the whistle of the trains.  Because if a train passes by, after lunch, you're likely to find a...

 Yaaaaaaaaaay!

There's just no place like the Irondale Cafe!