If you have been keeping up with my blog you may remember I set myself a bit of a goal when I first arrived in America.  I complied a list (which I called my ‘must-do-reading-list’) of what I considered American classics.  Calling a book a classic is no doubt a hotly debated topic.  What may well be a classic to me may not be considered a classic to another.  A classic to me is a book that has not only stood the test of time but is a work that I love.  A book which impacts me, rattles me, transports me, sparks my imagination, has me yearning because of the beauty with which it was written or that has me thinking about it long after I have read the very last page.  I remember a quote I read years ago – a reader lives a thousand lives before he dies and the man that does not read lives but one……. and I believe that to be so very true.

Anyway, I can very happily report that I am still working my way through my ‘must-do-reading-list’ and from time to time, I seem to add a couple of extra books here and there.  Only this past week did I add ‘The Scarlett Letter’ by Nathaniel Hawthorn, ‘The Call Of The Wild’ by Jack London, ‘Walden’ by Henry David Thoreau and ‘Cannery Row’ by Steinbeck.  I am heading up to Boston this weekend and as it happens, The Scarlett Letter is set in Boston so I am taking that book to read during the flight……and while I am there.

So, back to this blog post.  I read a book from my list – ‘Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café’.  I enjoyed the book.  It was set in the south (which is also where I live) and as some of you may know, a movie (good old Hollywood) was made based on that very book.  As it happens, the town of Juliette where the movie was filmed, is only 38 miles from my home.  Although the movie was filmed in Georgia, the true Whistle Stop Café was located in Irondale Alabama near where the author Fanny Flagg grew up.

It was fun to venture onto the original film lot and into the café.  Of course once there, you must have the fried green tomatoes as they are actually very, very good.  The rest of the food they serve in the café (including the coffee and the service) is less than average however my thought would be that you really only go there for the fried green toms.

Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café…..

            The Whistle Stop Café and  its menu.  The menu lists items such as ‘country root fries’, a ‘yard bird salad ‘and ‘rooster strips’ plus they offer a daily specials board

So, its onto Boston for the long weekend which commemorates the birthday of Martin Luther King Jnr.  With book, ‘The Scarlett Letter’ nestled in hand, my snow boots and snow coat on, my camera and some money tucked about my person I will walk the cold streets of Boston looking for the ‘Cheers’ bar.  I am guessing that now you have that annoying yet catchy theme tune running through your head.  Enjoy………and your welcome 😉  xx