Inquiring minds want to know what happens to the missed rolls? Me, a lover of homemade bread and daughter of Great Depression parents, would consider it sacrilege if a yeast roll hit the floor.
I never knew Jaime went to culinary school, more grounds for that cookbook.
Sometimes I laugh, sometimes I cry, and sometimes I chuckle out loud with each humorous phrase you write. Thank you so much for the chuckles today and the weird looks I received from my husband with each one.
For over 20 years I looked forward each Saturday morning to my husband bringing the Tupelo Daily Journal to me and saying, “ Here’s your Rheta”, meaning here is your favorite weekly column by your favorite columnist Rheta Grimsley Johnson. Rheta took over Lewis Grizzard’s column after he passed away, and graced the pages of about 90 newspapers. I felt a kindred spirit with her because she wrote of life experiences ( and other stuff) that I related to. And she and I are about the same age. After she retired a few years ago I discovered you, and now enjoy your column each day. I also feel a kindred spirit with you even though I’m old enough to be your mom. I’m just glad to see you have an old soul.
Blessings,
Debbie Walker
PS…If you have never heard of Rheta Grimsley Johnson, please google her. You won’t be sorry.
Rheta Grimsley Johnson wrote a column that was in my local Indiana newspaper on April 2, 1997, about Norma Vandiver's restaurant. I have her book, "America's Faces." Rheta sent it to me after I wrote to her to tell her I'd visited Norma's Country Cupboard in Iuka, Mississippi!
Oh wow, what a small world. I live in Iuka, and Norma’s was an iconic restaurant for many years. Rheta has a home in Iuka, and when I introduced myself as her number one fan, she and I became fast friends. The gesture you just mentioned is not surprising. She is one of the kindest women I have ever known, and I truly believe she and Sean Dietrich would get along just fine.
I agree, and she and Jimmy remain good friends. She opened a very unique gallery in Iuka, and invited Jimmy to speak and promote a book a few years ago. My favorite books of hers are Poor Man’s Provence and The Dogs Buried Over the Bridge. She’s a huge Hank Williams fan and wrote a play titled How Hiram Became Hank which premiered in Monroeville, AL , birthplace of Harper Lee. Rheta’s ability to highlight culture and life in the south reminds me of Sean Dietrich’s, and I hope they will someday meet. Also, it makes me so happy to see other Rheta fans respond to my comments.
Being the big baseball guy you are you should never go there without your fielders glove. You could catch rolls for your whole table as well as for the booths on either side of you. You'd be a hero in your section & I just bet you might pick up a story or two.
C'mon now. You know this is a great idea. I can't wait to hear the results of this.
I LOVE THIS!! We love this place too, and although we are Texans - we love Alabama & travel to Orange Beach every year. Lambert's is always a treat we enjoy. You are an incredibly talented writer.
We love Lamberts. Correction the boys and I love Lamberts. My wife would go but not until several sighs and rolling of the eyes later. The boys have their own families and live out of state now but they still talk about the place. When I go thru Foley later this year I may get some folks together and go again. Thanks for the reminder. Peace
There is a Lambert's restaurant near Springfield, MO. It is a delicious, busy place & we like to stop there on our way to visit family. I once took a roll to my eye. It was glorious!
Dear Sean, We’ve eaten at Lambert’s in Foley many times!! Many years ago, sad to say. My husband loves that place and does EVERYTHING in his power to catch throwed rolls. He eats that up, literally! Actually it’s kind of embarrassing for me to watch him. He stands, twists, dives and catches that silly roll 9 times out of 10. We used to live in Loxley. I wish I’d known about you back then. Hoping I’ll get to meet you and Jamie one of these days.
Luckily, Sean, I married a former college baseball player and have three boys who also played at the college level. So if I accidentally made eye contact with the roll thrower I’d just duck down and know one of my boys had my back! And I cannot count how many freaking ginormous insulated Lamberts cups we have had to purchase throughout the years!
I thought I would give the backstory as to why they began “throwing rolls” at Lamberts. It began in Sikeston, Missouri, my home town. The original Lambert’s Cafe was a very small restaurant with tables close together and hardly room to walk. Coach Lambert (football coach) was the owner’s son. When he would come to help out his dad at the restaurant, he would “throw the rolls” in your direction, which was much easier than trying to bring the rolls to your table. It was a fun atmosphere with Coach Lambert having you sit beside folks you didn’t know because there was an empty seat at their table and so little room in the restaurant. All those years ago, we never dreamed Lamberts would expand and grow to become the favorite restaurant for so many people. We just thought it was “our favorite” place to eat. I am thankful for the Lambert family and the tradition that continues of great food, warm atmosphere, all folks welcomed and of course the “throwed rolls.”
I totally wish I would have known you were in Orange Beach. I definitely would have been there. I live in Bay Minette but I have driven much further than Foley to see you. And Lamberts is one of my favorites as well. I’m sorry I missed your show but happy that you came through our part of the world. I hope you and Jamie have a wonderful day.
Been there numerous times. As you know in addition to the throwed rolls, the servers roam the dining area with a variety of "fixins" for you to sample before your main course. One could easily just eat the "fixins" and skip the main course. My wife and I would go there for the fried chicken livers and fried gizzards!! So good and so many that "to go" boxes were necessary. Don't think we ever had dessert there. Just one last "throwed roll" was sufficient.
Sean, well I can’t believe you were that close to my house! I should’ve invited you to our house and fixed you lunch! Unlike you, I broke my record Thursday night at your show in Gulf Shores(not Orange Beach 😳…..I’m sure that offended some of that mostly church crowd😂)
I barely said hello to Jamie and I didn’t get my hug! I brought my husband for the first time and he loved you as much as I do! But he was on his walker and it was late for him. He wanted to sit in the front of the church. I hope you noticed us!
When my boys were in the sixth grade, the school took the whole class to St. Louis to see the Cardinals play. On the way home we stopped at the Lamberts in Sikeston Missouri. The guy with the rolls started throwing them at our table (all boys) and they had the same trouble as you. Next to us was the girls and almost all the rolls were caught. The girls were smart! They used their napkins to make a basket to catch the hot rolls.
Inquiring minds want to know what happens to the missed rolls? Me, a lover of homemade bread and daughter of Great Depression parents, would consider it sacrilege if a yeast roll hit the floor.
I never knew Jaime went to culinary school, more grounds for that cookbook.
Happy weekend.
They do hit the floor. It is a shame to be wasteful.
Sometimes I laugh, sometimes I cry, and sometimes I chuckle out loud with each humorous phrase you write. Thank you so much for the chuckles today and the weird looks I received from my husband with each one.
For over 20 years I looked forward each Saturday morning to my husband bringing the Tupelo Daily Journal to me and saying, “ Here’s your Rheta”, meaning here is your favorite weekly column by your favorite columnist Rheta Grimsley Johnson. Rheta took over Lewis Grizzard’s column after he passed away, and graced the pages of about 90 newspapers. I felt a kindred spirit with her because she wrote of life experiences ( and other stuff) that I related to. And she and I are about the same age. After she retired a few years ago I discovered you, and now enjoy your column each day. I also feel a kindred spirit with you even though I’m old enough to be your mom. I’m just glad to see you have an old soul.
Blessings,
Debbie Walker
PS…If you have never heard of Rheta Grimsley Johnson, please google her. You won’t be sorry.
Rheta Grimsley Johnson wrote a column that was in my local Indiana newspaper on April 2, 1997, about Norma Vandiver's restaurant. I have her book, "America's Faces." Rheta sent it to me after I wrote to her to tell her I'd visited Norma's Country Cupboard in Iuka, Mississippi!
Oh wow, what a small world. I live in Iuka, and Norma’s was an iconic restaurant for many years. Rheta has a home in Iuka, and when I introduced myself as her number one fan, she and I became fast friends. The gesture you just mentioned is not surprising. She is one of the kindest women I have ever known, and I truly believe she and Sean Dietrich would get along just fine.
Rheta is a wonderful writer and I'm sorry to hear that she is retired.
She was once married to Jimmy Johnson, artist of the "Arlo and Janis" cartoon strip. I suspect the 'toons were drawn from their life together.
I agree, and she and Jimmy remain good friends. She opened a very unique gallery in Iuka, and invited Jimmy to speak and promote a book a few years ago. My favorite books of hers are Poor Man’s Provence and The Dogs Buried Over the Bridge. She’s a huge Hank Williams fan and wrote a play titled How Hiram Became Hank which premiered in Monroeville, AL , birthplace of Harper Lee. Rheta’s ability to highlight culture and life in the south reminds me of Sean Dietrich’s, and I hope they will someday meet. Also, it makes me so happy to see other Rheta fans respond to my comments.
Being the big baseball guy you are you should never go there without your fielders glove. You could catch rolls for your whole table as well as for the booths on either side of you. You'd be a hero in your section & I just bet you might pick up a story or two.
C'mon now. You know this is a great idea. I can't wait to hear the results of this.
I LOVE THIS!! We love this place too, and although we are Texans - we love Alabama & travel to Orange Beach every year. Lambert's is always a treat we enjoy. You are an incredibly talented writer.
We love Lamberts. Correction the boys and I love Lamberts. My wife would go but not until several sighs and rolling of the eyes later. The boys have their own families and live out of state now but they still talk about the place. When I go thru Foley later this year I may get some folks together and go again. Thanks for the reminder. Peace
There is a Lambert's restaurant near Springfield, MO. It is a delicious, busy place & we like to stop there on our way to visit family. I once took a roll to my eye. It was glorious!
🤣🤣🤣
Dear Sean, We’ve eaten at Lambert’s in Foley many times!! Many years ago, sad to say. My husband loves that place and does EVERYTHING in his power to catch throwed rolls. He eats that up, literally! Actually it’s kind of embarrassing for me to watch him. He stands, twists, dives and catches that silly roll 9 times out of 10. We used to live in Loxley. I wish I’d known about you back then. Hoping I’ll get to meet you and Jamie one of these days.
~~Judy
❤️💕❤️
Luckily, Sean, I married a former college baseball player and have three boys who also played at the college level. So if I accidentally made eye contact with the roll thrower I’d just duck down and know one of my boys had my back! And I cannot count how many freaking ginormous insulated Lamberts cups we have had to purchase throughout the years!
I thought I would give the backstory as to why they began “throwing rolls” at Lamberts. It began in Sikeston, Missouri, my home town. The original Lambert’s Cafe was a very small restaurant with tables close together and hardly room to walk. Coach Lambert (football coach) was the owner’s son. When he would come to help out his dad at the restaurant, he would “throw the rolls” in your direction, which was much easier than trying to bring the rolls to your table. It was a fun atmosphere with Coach Lambert having you sit beside folks you didn’t know because there was an empty seat at their table and so little room in the restaurant. All those years ago, we never dreamed Lamberts would expand and grow to become the favorite restaurant for so many people. We just thought it was “our favorite” place to eat. I am thankful for the Lambert family and the tradition that continues of great food, warm atmosphere, all folks welcomed and of course the “throwed rolls.”
I love the way you appreciate your wife !!!! What would life be like without women that loved us as much as we appreciate them !
Never heard of such a place of throwing perfectly good and tasty rolls. I would be just like you Sean and never get one if it wasn't handed to me.
I'm sure it's a fun place to get good food and meet happy people.
Like you I love happy folks and good food!
Hope you and wife have a great Saturday evening.
Would that more of us might be similarly "wayward, hopeless, and misguided . . ." Thanks for the smiles. ❤
I totally wish I would have known you were in Orange Beach. I definitely would have been there. I live in Bay Minette but I have driven much further than Foley to see you. And Lamberts is one of my favorites as well. I’m sorry I missed your show but happy that you came through our part of the world. I hope you and Jamie have a wonderful day.
Been there numerous times. As you know in addition to the throwed rolls, the servers roam the dining area with a variety of "fixins" for you to sample before your main course. One could easily just eat the "fixins" and skip the main course. My wife and I would go there for the fried chicken livers and fried gizzards!! So good and so many that "to go" boxes were necessary. Don't think we ever had dessert there. Just one last "throwed roll" was sufficient.
Sean, well I can’t believe you were that close to my house! I should’ve invited you to our house and fixed you lunch! Unlike you, I broke my record Thursday night at your show in Gulf Shores(not Orange Beach 😳…..I’m sure that offended some of that mostly church crowd😂)
I barely said hello to Jamie and I didn’t get my hug! I brought my husband for the first time and he loved you as much as I do! But he was on his walker and it was late for him. He wanted to sit in the front of the church. I hope you noticed us!
When my boys were in the sixth grade, the school took the whole class to St. Louis to see the Cardinals play. On the way home we stopped at the Lamberts in Sikeston Missouri. The guy with the rolls started throwing them at our table (all boys) and they had the same trouble as you. Next to us was the girls and almost all the rolls were caught. The girls were smart! They used their napkins to make a basket to catch the hot rolls.