Doctors and Diners

Weird title, right?  Doctors and Diners.  How are those two items possibly related?  Well, for us they were related last Thursday.

Johnny's been having a lot of problems with his neck/shoulders, etc.  Bad pain.  And he wasn't really certain why.  After a doctor visit to our PCP he had x-rays and then an MRI.  Things were starting to make more sense.  He has Stenosis.    The only solution is surgery.  Remove two or three bulging discs that are pushing on his spinal cord and replace them with cadaver bone.

Our first opinion doctor, well, not going to reveal names, but lets just say we weren't really sure we enjoyed the experience.  FOUR hours in the waiting room on chairs that were unbelievably uncomfortable may have had part to do with it.  A bit of pressure to decide surgery or expensive shot therapy right there and then may have had another part to do with it.  

It seemed obvious to both of us that surgery would be his answer, but the question really was whether or not this Corpus doctor was the guy to do it.  After thought and prayer, a 2nd opinion seemed to be a must.  

Johnny did his research and ended up deciding on a doctor in San Antonio.  So, off we went to visit this new guy and see what he had to say. 

It was an entirely different experience, from the moment we walked into the waiting room.  COMFORTABLE chairs, pleasant staff....and a humble Dr. to offer his opinion.  No pressure, just matter-of-fact.  Rest assured we both felt we were in the place we needed to be with the doctor we needed to see.   With this quality of service we didn't know what to expect at checkout.  We were pleasantly surprised to pay 1/2 as much as the Corpus doctor and even had x-rays done!

Planning still needs to be done, but Johnny will probably being having surgery sooner rather than later....

So, are you still wondering where Diners fits into this?  Well, let me tell you....we love to watch, "Diners, Drive-in's, and Dive's" on the Foodnetwork station.   All the food always looks so good --very fattening and SO bad for you-- but oh, so good.  Well, a few weeks ago they featured a diner in San Antonio.  I didn't see that particular program, but Johnny did and it was this place.

With the stress of seeing a new doctor, imminent surgery and all that jazz I thought it would be fun to go to a place that Guy Fieri had critiqued.   See if it was all it was cracked up to be.  It just so happened it was only 15 minutes from the doctor's office, so off we went.

We verified upon arrival that they were indeed the restaurant on triple D.  And she let us know the food that Guy loved wast the Hot Pork.  Hot as in temperature, not seasoning.  We were also told that only 6 slices of each pie were made at a time so if there was something we wanted we probably better let her save it for us.  Before she could rattle off the available flavors Johnny spouted "lemon meringue."      

And this is what she brought to the table....before our meal arrived.  By saving it, she meant we had to look at it until time for dessert!!

Honestly, this picture doesn't do it justice.  It was almost as tall as our forks!!

If we'd been smart we'd have ordered two different plates and shared them so we could try more than one thing, but Johnny and I both decided to try the Hot Pork.

For me?  It was everything it was cracked up to be.  And yes, it had way more carbs than I've eaten at one meal in a long time.  But, this was a treat and SO worth it!!  

I limited the carb intake and left behind some of it.  One slice of the bread and half the potatoes, and remnants of the pork were left behind. ......

And the pie?

Not much left from that.  Even Caleb was scarfing down the meringue.  I'm not a big meringue fan - I'll eat it, but this was by far the best meringue I had EVER eaten.  Sorry mom....This was out of this world!  (As Guy likes to say.)

One last thing...check out these old twirly seats for the counter seating.  Aren't they cool?  They've obviously been around a LONG time!!

De Wese's Tip Top Cafe was rated #5 in the 1980's (either 1984 or 1989...I can't remember) as one of the best old timey diners in San Antonio.  They had the newspaper to prove it framed on the wall next to our booth.

What a treat and a fun end to a busy day at the doctor!  

God bless,

Pam