Foothill Flavors

Lunch and Beyond at Grounds

By Antoinette May Herndon

Our briefcases may have looked more like tote bags but make no mistake this was a power lunch.

Ginger Griffin, Kathie Isaac-Luke and I had a job to do and we wanted to do it better than right. We were planning the 5th Annual Gold Rush Writers Conference, an event dear to our hearts, and we were determined that on this anniversary year, it would be the best event ever.

For the second time we chose Murphys as a lunch destination because of its central location, but took care to avoid last year’s debacle at another restaurant that shall remain nameless.

We wanted a quiet area where the three of us could spread out with our notebooks, lists, graphs, etc. We needed room to write notes as well as to eat lunch.

Happily, we found exactly what we were looking for and more at Grounds. This time I called ahead and carefully explained what we would be doing and exactly what our needs were.

Debbie Benton, the waitress I spoke with, understood perfectly what I had in mind. “We don’t take reservations for breakfast and lunch,” she explained, “but come early, say 11:30 or so and I’ll see to it that you get the perfect booth where you’ll have room for everything.” Debbie came through for us too.

Our booth was roomy, quiet, set back but with a great view of all the bustling activity

going on around us. Grounds is a happening place, a popular venue for breakfast, lunch and, most recently, dinner.

I liked the sleek, state-of- the-art décor. Lots of chrome highlighting glossy black furniture. Mirrors reflecting the action. The back wall—all of it—is a floor to ceiling wine rack. Just the right touch of au couraunt.

Of course, as women with a mission, we stuck to ice tea—very good too with a faint gingery flavor. ($2.50)

The platters of tantalizing food passing back and forth around us were just too tempting to be ignored. We were unanimous in deciding to postpone our business meeting until after lunch.

Ginger’s choice was a quesadilla—two flour tortillas with ranchero beans, roasted chicken, cheddar and freshly ground cheese topped with sour cream, and fresh tomato salsa. ($9.95) She was well pleased.

I went for the eggplant sandwich. It was a tender grilled vegetable with smoked mozzarella cheese and pesto served with a fresh green salad laced with feta cheese. This dish was also $9.95. Very nice, eggplant is such a fun vegetable and this adaptation had some jazzy trimmings.

Kathie opted for the chicken tostada grande. ($10.95) This colorful dish consisted of tossed shredded lettuce and roast chicken with a special cumin dressing served with ranchero beams, cheddar cheese and chopped black olives. Very nice.

With

all those goodies of the way we ordered another round of ice tea, rolled up our sleeves and went at it. The wait staff was courteous and efficient; they left us alone, well fed, unhurried. It’s amazing how much creative work you can get done under those conditions.

Our conference is complex, with both presenters and attendees flying in from all over the place. There’s lots to plan for and around. And, with 11 different presenters putting on 16 workshops, there was a lot of juggling to get the scheduling to come out just right. (It took us three hours to pull it together.)

Ours, we’re pleased to say, will be one of those truly rare Gollilocks type writers conferences—not too big and not too small—everything just right with plenty of attention and special care paid to individual needs and desires. There’ll be a few jazzy surprise touches tucked in, too. Wait and see.

And that’s exactly my take on Grounds. A state- of -he art place with an emphasis on special care and doing everything just right. Go see for yourselves.

VITALS: Grounds is located at 402 Main St. Murphys. Phone: 728-8663. Open daily for breakfast and lunch from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Closed Mondays for dinner. Open Tuesday through Saturday for dinner from 5:30 p.m. to 9, Sundays from 5 to 8. Reservations highly recommended in the evenings. Credit cards accepted.

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