Mac's Drive In: A Testament to Clemson Love

My father excited by the Mac's Drive In homecoming float

Clemson is not just a small town that hosts a wonderful college. Clemson is a feeling, a relationship, a lifestyle. Many will encounter the Clemson experience, but few will be able to fully indulge in the experience. Even some of the college students do not embrace all aspects of Clemson life, instead choosing to complain about the small town atmosphere. Few see beauty in the packed parking lots on a Clemson football game day. Few can talk about the sports teams as if the whole team is a member of the family. Few can find solace and peace on Bowman field with a frisbee in their hand.

Some students become so enamored with Clemson that they never leave. They are no longer a student, but they grow and fit another role in the unique balance of town and college that exists in Clemson. Harold McKeown, or "Mac," was one such student who graduated as an engineer, who could not give up his love of Clemson. Instead, he opened Mac's Drive In. When he opened his doors in 1956, he did not know that he was living Clemson history. When Mac passed away in December 2009, townies and out-of-state alumni mourned together. (To understand the essence of Mac's read the article from Anderson Independent done several years ago.)

To learn more about this wonderful place, watch this video

Driving past the brick shack, with an American flag at half-mast, my father recounted walking to Mac's on the weekends and how the milkshakes are still the best in town. Almost every alumni has a story of sitting at the worn stools and looking at all the hodgepodge of Clemson memorabilia. Time lines collided as faded photos of athletes and coaches long gone gather next to glossy new photos of names such as Dabo and Spiller.

The menu has been prepared by the same skilled hands for years. Many of the ladies are past the age of retirement, but a love of the place, the costumers, and the memory of a man keeps them flipping burger after burger, a smile as each burger hits and sizzles on the flat top. Burgers are served on tiny plain paper plates and fries in the classic red-checkered paper containers. No fancy plates are found at Mac's. Instead, simple American food will be served in an honest manner: cooked on an old flat top with the buns steamed to perfection. Nothing fancy added: no relish or sauteed mushrooms. The fanciest Mac's gets is their grilled cheese burger, a unique marriage of a grilled cheese sandwich and burger patty. Milkshakes come in two flavors: vanilla and chocolate. Home-made sweet tea is served by the gallons. The menu has not changed in years, and the grease now holds the letters onto the old-timey marquee menu board.

When I went into Mac's, I was greeted loudly by Jimmy Howard, the son of the great coach Frank Howard. Jimmy is a regular, and before he gets out of his old Chevy truck, with more rust than paint, the ladies have already started on his order and his to-go order for his son, Lil' Frank. I had just driven into town from our new home, and I was waiting for my husband to meet me at Mac's. Seeing Jimmy sitting on a faded orange stool, leaning on the well-used counter top, made me realize that while I wasn't lucky enough to stay in the area, I was lucky enough to live the Clemson experience to its fullest. I had done the transition from student to townie. Once townie status is achieved, it can never be taken away. I won't even open a restaurant like Mac or stay in the area forever, but with Mac's at Clemson attracting all forms of Clemson lovers, I know that I can always come home again and have a burger.

Pasta and Palm

Trae took me on a date a while back in May when I was up to my neck in boxes and feeling guilty that the 50 dollars I had spent on the Central Rec. Center membership that was not getting used. I did start off working out and swimming the first two weeks of the membership, but then my workouts became building boxes and hauling stuff into those boxes.

The date was to Paesono's Italian Grill in Seneca. I had been there twice before, but Trae never had. Driving to Seneca to eat always makes me think of Mum's Italia Ristorante, which was located where Copper River Grill now resides. Mum's was the default and delicious choice for roomies' night out. My two roommates and I from junior year use to get dressed up and drive to Seneca in Mel's trusty brown Volvo just to eat at Mum's. Mum's was classy but not overly pricey like the nicer restaurants in Clemson. The decor was unique and large Venetian-looking glass vases decorated the beams in the entrance and bar area.  Other Italian influenced decorations graced the main dining area.

Each meal was delicious and flavored with laughs. My favorite dish was a chicken pasta with toasted pine nuts and goat cheese. The pasta had a light olive oil sauce that mixed with the melting goat cheese. Each bite consisted of strings melted cheese that stuck to your lips and fork. The pine nuts added a nice crunch to the gooey dish.

We also always split dessert.

Now my old roomies are living in different states, Mum's has closed, and  it is my husband and I dressing up to eat Italian in Seneca. Paesono's is tucked away from the main drag of Seneca, which makes it hard to find but also more appealing. By being away from the main drag, diners can imagine they have driven to bigger cities like Greenville for dinner.  

The food is delicious. The garlic knots drip with garlic making kissing even your husband impossible. Calamari was crunchy with a light marina dipping sauce. Trae had a huge sampler platter while I had pasta primavera. The pasta was full of vegetables and the sauce wasn't too heavy. It was perfect for someone who was tired of packing, and gave me flash backs of wonderful Italian meals with roommates and friends over the years. (I felt sort of like Ego from Ratatouille, sucked back into better times that did not content tears brought on by  packing trauma.)

Ego's flashback from Ratatouille

The meal left us happy and relaxed, as well as a little sleepy with full pasta bellies. On the way back, we decided we needed dessert and stopped at the Palm Gas Station. While a gas station does not seem like a good balance for a fabulously cooked Italian meal, the Palm Gas Station slushies are high-classed.  These slushies are so good that bullies would not waste them for slushie facials.

The wall of slushies at Palm are a marvel to behold. At least ten flavors line the wall, but I only need two: Mocha and French Vanilla coffee. I fill my cup up mainly with Mocha flavor and then add a tiny bit of French Vanilla to the top (almost like adding a whip cream topper). The best part is that the extra-large slushie, which consists of 32 ozs of frozen heaven, is only two dollars. 

On the ride home while half asleep, I got to sip on my dessert knowing that packing would get done and that my husband would be there to help me. Or at least give me foot rubs when I needed them and that very soon I would be on the couch getting a foot rub while I finished my dessert. At that moment, while passing the old home of Mum's, things had come full circle.

State of Mind

“Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.” — Dr. Seuss

I am happy with those glorious years. I resided in Clemson for ten years, ever since I came there in 2001 as a scared and excited freshman, who hugged her parents goodbye and tried not to cry as they left. Now I am a married woman who tried not to cry as she left. 

The reason for my lack of blogging is that our moving timeline went nuts. We were suppose to move in July, but now, I am living in the new apartment in a new state while Trae is living in the old apartment (now a haven of packed boxes) with the cats. The community college we are working for in the fall called me and asked me if I wanted to tutor and teach for the summer. We also found an apartment we loved and it couldn't be held till the end of July. Therefore, five days after finding out I had a summer job, the car was packed with a blow up mattress, some basic kitchen essentials (the coffee pot), a Clemson fold out chair, and a tailgate table.  In the meantime, when I am in SC on the weekends, I go into packing overdrive.

Since the pots and pans are packed, we do eat out a lot, and are still working on the bucket list. In my free time, I will blog about the bucket list from the comfort of my fold out chair.

I never thought that my one-year wedding anniversary gift would be living with my husband in the same state for the first time in two months.  Yet, overall, I have enjoyed exploring and getting to know our new home. The people are wonderfully friendly, and I have already had many wonderful experiences of random acts of kindness. (A campus policeman saw I had a flat tire and kept checking the parking lot till I got there just so he could help, because he knew that from looking at the car I was a girl and an out-of-stater. He told me that he likes to think someone would help his daughter in the same situation.)

Also, our new kitchen is amazing. (I have already made cupcakes. I might not have a bed, but by golly I have baking supplies!) 
 
P.S. I will be adding pictures to my posts, but if it wasn't downloaded onto the computer already I can't get them off the camera. The picture-remover thingy is packed...oops.

Tony's Pizza

I come from a long line of Clemson graduates. When my cousin went to Clemson, the television show Saved by the Bell taught me through their college dream sequences that college was all about eating pizza and thinking of creative ways to get out of class. My first visit to her dorm room was disappointing because to my shock, not a single pizza box could be found in the room. I even asked where all the pizza boxes where and did she just throw them away since we were coming to visit.

Even though my cousin didn't have pizza boxes in her room, I know that my rooms at Clemson saw their fair share of pizza boxes. Saved by the Bell had one thing right...college kids love their pizza, and Clemson knows that. Clemson has a plethora of pizza places to choose from. The chain pizza joints thrive at Clemson, such as Pizza Hut and Papa Johns; however most students and townies alike get their pizza from the local joints.  Todaro's and Peppino's are downtown Clemson, and stay up late to accommodate student schedules. Tony's Pizza is located in an older shopping center that is a hodgepodge of things: Gold's Gym, bagel shop with very random hours, and a thrift store.

Tony's Pizza, when it opened, seemed to doomed from the start. Nothing survived in that shopping center. Even when Win Dixie was open, the shops or restaurants in the strip only managed to stay open for a few months. Yet, Tony's has endured. After months of driving by it to church or on the way home, Trae and I decided to order a Tony's pizza. No special occasion prompted us to try Tony's,  The pizzas are not beautiful and at first glance, we were not sure what we had just ordered. In all honest, they have a slight school cafeteria pizza look to them. We were surprised at the quality of taste due to the cheap price.

The pizza is wonderful in its simplicity. The crust is not extremely thick, but does not qualify as a thin crust either.  The sauce is not overly sweet and no distinct cheeses stand out in the cheese blend. The sausage isn't huge hunks, but tiny crumbles that are spread evenly over the pizza. Yet, the basic ingredients come together to make a very satisfying pizza for under ten dollars. Does the pizza have the spice of Peppino's? No. Does the pizza have the greasy-goodness of Todaro's? Nope. But it is a simple, delicious, non mass-produced product that makes for a wonderful Monday night dinner while watching Top Gear with the husband.

356...Sushi Special

I don't like change. When I came to Clemson in 2001, I thought downtown was the picture of college perfection. A large sampling of Clemson products, a rustic coffee shop, a lovely bookstore, a fashion shack, and a variety of restaurants all coexisted in downtown. As a freshman, I didn't have a car, and spent hours downtown Clemson due to its proximity to my dorm room.

Slowly, and much to my begrudging, things begin to change. The coffee shop closed, and changed into a bar. Fashion shack closed and also became a bar. Local rumor mill claimed that the coffee shop owners got into a fight and broke off into two businesses. One reopened the coffee shop a year later in a corner of downtown (Moe Joe's). The other took over that downtown fashion shack after several failed attempts at a sushi place. (Mainly bad luck, like flooding, not bad food, kept the business from being a huge success). Finally, the right place gave the owner a chance to open one of the first unique eating experiences in Clemson. 356 is a nice mixture of an artsy, big-city bar with a few added college touches (pool tables in the back) and great food. With such a great place, I do have to admit, that even sometimes, change is good, and 356 is much better than a fashion shack!

I have always associated 356 with literary readings. I saw Ron Rash read for the first time at 356. Eventually the literature crowd moved over to the Blue Heron, but I was already hooked on the veggie sushi by that point. Therefore 356 evolved from literary highbrow to fancy date. Time passed, and honestly, 356 fell of my radar of places to go.

When I started dating Trae, we taught each other about food. I think one night he suggested sushi in an attempt to impress me with his food daring-ness. In truth, the idea of sushi didn't seem daring, but fish did! I hated fish, but with coaxing from Trae, I tried...and really liked...all the sushi 356 had to offer. We soon learned that 356 offered an all you can eat sushi special on Monday nights for 12 dollars a person as well as 2 dollar martinis. You do not get to pick the sushi, but you get three different kinds of sushi on each plate you are delivered.

Since we were broke when we started dating, 356 was a special treat. We only ate there maybe once every two to three months, but each time provided a cozy atmosphere with no blaring music to talk over. The bartenders and waitress have always been nice, and even remember us despite our spotty attendance at 356. Also, Trae is allergic to shell fish, and technically on all you can eat sushi night, you are not allowed to pick your sushi, but the staff has always been extremely accommodating on Trae's allergy, which also is another reason I love 356. (Last time, the waitress went as far to make sure that the sushi rollers didn't need to change knives to make sure not cross-contamination of shellfish and non-shellfish would occur.)

 Last Monday, Trae came in from work saying we needed to go to 356, with his reason being, "we have to enjoy it while we can!" That impromptu sushi craving and date is what gave birth to the bucket list. We decided over delicious rolls and rolls of sushi that we couldn't miss a single culinary creation that the area had to offer while we were still here to enjoy it. And 356 was a perfect way to start our bucket list culinary adventure!

A picture from 356 date night in 2009!

Food Bucket List

My husband and I are moving. I am truly scared, excited, and nervous about this. I came to this area in 2001 for college; two degrees and eleven years later, I am finally moving. Trae has pretty much grown up around this area, and this summer will be his first summer not spent at the near by lake. Instead, we will spending our one year anniversary trying to find plates to eat off amongst all the boxes. In order to give this move a little more buffoonery, we have come up with a Food Bucket List. We have listed all the places we can to eat in the last two months we have left at home. I am posting our huge list here by area, as well as including links that I could find for each place. After we eat there, I will cross if off the list and blog about it (what we ate there, why it is on the list, etc).

Ok...on to the list:


Clemson:
Brioso
356 (Monday Night Sushi Special)
Blue Heron (Burger Night)
Nick's Bar
Daawat Indian Buffett
Backstreet Pub & Deli
Peppino's Pizza
Todaro's Pizza
Super Taco
Calhoun Corner's 
Tony's Pizza
House of Leung Chinese 




(Any loyal Clemson fan will notice the lack of certain staples, such as Tiger Town Tavern; however, we know we will get out fill those those delicious foods when we come into town for Clemson home games!)


Central:
Fiesta Mexican Grill
Sidetracked Cafe
Central Main Street Deli 
Monk's Coner


Pendleton: 
Smoking Pig BBQ
Waffle King
Islander
Mac's Drive In
Village Bakery

Seneca:
Palm Gas Station Slushie 
Paesano's Italian Restaurant


Anderson: 
BBQ on the Run
McGee's Irish Pub


Greenville: 
Coffee Underground
Sweet Basil Thai Cuisine
Rainer's Cafe
Melting Pot...Girl's Monday Night Out
O-cha Tea Bar
Barley's Tap Room


Total: 31 Places (four of which are pizza places...you know you are in a college town when....)

I can't promise we will get to all these places, because I sadly don't have a summer job and Dave Ramsey's budget is already frowning on our food map of the area. (We see fun...Dave sees dollars!) Yet, we are going to try, by nifty budgeting, selling of things on craigslist, and a yard sale. It is the summer of fine eats on a college kid budget!

That wasn't much of a kiss!

Dear William and Kate,

I am not a morning person, yet I still woke up for your glorious wedding on Friday. Being a Yank, as all you Brits call us, I couldn't feel more removed from the Royals; however, after watching your wedding from couch with a plate of British inspired 5 am breakfast, I truly feel connect with you two. Cliche? Cheesy? Yes, but true.

I feel connected to you because I too suffered from the first kiss jitters. My future husband and I talked, practiced, and debated the merits of length, passion, tongue. Pressure from parents dedicated that we keep it a simple, quick, yet loving kiss. Lucky for us, no one timed us, the press did not put up headlines, declaring the kiss too short and thank goodness there was a second one to satisfy the gluttonous crowd. No, none of that. There was just one kiss.....and his grandmother sitting on the front row of the small, aptly echoing chapel.

"Well, that wasn't much of a kiss!"
 

Now, Will and Kate, you don't have to read the newspapers; you can ignore the press, especially when regrading your day. However, I cannot avoid hearing an elderly Southern Belle nicknamed Peaches hotly and humorously  declaring her displeasure in the kiss. (FYI, you can even hear her say it on the wedding video. Press reports aren't heard on wedding videos!)

Therefore, I want you to know that I understand the pressure you felt on the balcony. Just be glad the Queen didn't give you a lecture on "how you are suppose to take her and SHOW you that you LOVE her! Suppose to have put some passion in it!"

(I promise to you both, that after the wedding, while waiting in a secluded area of the church, my husband swooped me up into his arms and SHOWED me that he loved me with a huge wonderful kiss...a caliber of kiss that I am sure you two shared away from the public eye on your wedding day!)

Sincerely,
Lack Luster Wedding Kisser

AND NOW....


A Letter to All My Non-Royal Readers

Dear Royally-awesome Readers,

Yes, you did read my letter to Will and Kate correctly; I was in fact up at 5 am watching the royal wedding. What that letter does not tell you is that I woke up at 3am, because I have BBC America, and they started their coverage of the wedding at 3am. Lucky for me, my husband was on a fishing trip with his father, so he wasn't around to call me psycho royal stalker between snores. I also had to finish my prep work for my royal wedding breakfast in case my mom felt well enough to come. (Sadly, she did not.) I even pulled out the wedding dishes, champagne glasses, and a table cloth! My wedding breakfast feast for one was:

• Fresh fruit (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries)
• British short bread (recipe to follow)
• Chocolate chip hot cross buns
• Eggy Cheesy Yummy casserole (recipe to follow) 
• Sparkling cider mocktail (description to follow) 

And please pardon me, but I am going to brag on my spread with the following photos:

As you can see, I had a princess tea party for myself! I do wish my mother had been well enough to join, but I did enjoy my one person party. I loved putting on a pretty nightgown and setting up a beautiful table. I felt like I was a VIP to a fancy party! Sometimes treating yourself at home is better to a wonderful meal is more uplifting than a bubble bath, new pair of shoes, or even a massage. Grant, dishes have to be cleaned afterward, but something special exists when you sit down in front of a snazzy meal knowing that it sits there to be consumed by you and you only...that you are the special recipient of such a meal.

Anyways, I would love to hear how you spent the Royal wedding day!!

Sincerely,
The Hopeless Romantic

Recipes coming ASAP!