Foothill Flavors 673 words

Here for the Ladies Who Lunch

By Antoinette May Herndon

We were a small group of writers who’d been reading aloud to each other all morning. We call it workshopping, but forget the hammer and nails. Our skill lie in the ability to listen carefully and critically.

Writing is fun (most of the time) but then there’s that other part —getting paid for what you write. And even if money didn’t matter (who believes that?), writers write to be read. The larger the audience, the better. What’s the point of stringing those pretty words and catchy sentences, together if no one ever sees them?

We write to sell our work— first to an agent, then an editor and finally to a reader who will hopefully like the book so much that they look for another by the same author.

So on this particular Saturday in July we’d been reading chapters from our novels in progress to each other since early morning. The day was going well, but now we were hungry. Where to go?

Kathy Fellure had been raving about a restaurant called Caddy’s for some time. “You should try it,” she’d urged. “I know that once you have, you’ll want to write a column about it.” Some how or other more than a year had passed since that first suggestion without it ever coming together.

So there we were in Kathy’s home in Ione less than a mile from the famous Caddy’s. The choice was at last a no-brainer.

Sometimes those coincidences are too good to be true. Happily, that afternoon was not one of those times.

The five of us—Kathy, Pam Mundale, Lucy Sanna, Sally Henry and I—squished into Lucy’s car and headed out to Caddy’s.

The restaurant was a pleasant surprise, a spacious bistro that’s part of the Castle Oaks Golf Course complex.

Our waitress, Alisha Nelson, showed

us to a round table by the window with non stop views of rolling greenery. It was lush and lovely.

Of course, we took our plots and protagonists with us to lunch, talking animatedly about them throughout. Kathy is at mid point in a trilogy centered around Lake Tahoe. Her characters are facing economic woes. (Lots of readers will indentify with that!)

Sally is writing a novel about a social worker and her troubled charge. (Plenty of drama there) Pam’s narrative has a back to the future theme with a little witchcraft thrown in.

“The Cherry Orchard,” Lucy’s novel, involves German prisoners of war quartered on a farm in Wisconsin. Some of them are good, some not so good. Their effect on a farm wife and her teenage daughter is devastating.

I’m writing about Mary Godwin, the precocious 17-year-old who created “Frankenstein,” and her lover, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and their notorious pal, Lord Byron. Talk about a fast track crowd.

Naturally our table conversation revolved around story lines, twists, dialogue and points of view—that’s when we weren’t studying the menu. The culinary offerings at Caddy’s are many and varied.

We started out with beer battered onion rings, large ale battered rings served with chipotle sauce for $6.99. For an entrée, Pam chose the Castle Cobb, a salad of tossed greens with turkey, ham, cheese, bacon, egg, tomato, cucumber, blue cheese and fresh house made croutons. ($8.95)

I wasn’t a bit surprised when Kathy, author of the children’s’ favourite, “When the Birdies Came for Tea,” chose the Birdie Chicken Sandwich, though I think Caddy’s— located on a golf course—had a different kind of birdie in mind. This one involves chicken breast with pepper jack cheese, lettuce, tomato and chipotle sauce. ($8.95.)

The rest of us decided

to go with the day’s special, which happened to be pulled pork. This, too, was livened with the ubiquitous chipotle sauce. Have you noticed how popular chipotle has become? They even offer it at Subway.

The pulled pork sandwich ($8.95) also came garnished with cucumber, tomato and onion. Best of all, it had a side of absolutely fabulous cauliflower soup—rich, spicy and delicious.

Caddy’s is large; tables are well spaced allowing for easy conversation. There’s a well stocked bar at one end, but we serious writers—knowing that a long afternoon of more critiquing awaited us—ignored it. We drank half and halfs instead. Caddy’s ice tea combined with lemonade was perfect for a summer day.

Alisha Nelson is easy to look at and most efficient. The service was almost too good. We were in and out in no time. Then it was back to character arcs, edits and climaxes.

Kathy was right about Caddy’s. It’s definitively a destination restaurant, high on my A-list. I’ll be going back soon. Maybe I’ll see you there.

VITALS: Caddy’s Restaurant is located at 1000 Castle Oaks Dr., Ione. Phone: 274-0167. Breakfast is served from 8 a.m. to 11, lunch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Closed Tuesday. Cash, Visa or Master Card accepted—no checks. Reservations advised.

Pictures:

Alisha Nelson is an asset to Caddy’s Restaurant in Ione.

The entrance to Caddy’s Restaurant in Ione is both elegant and inviting. (2 shots)

Caddy’s is part of the Castle Oak Golf Course complex.

Photos by Kathy Fellure

The ladies who lunched, left to right: Pam Mundale, Kathy Fellure, Lucy Sanna, Antoinette May and Sally Henry.

PHOTO BY ALISHA NELSON