Taste of Huntsville - Little Farm Grill

A few weeks ago I ventured with a couple of co-workers to the Little Farm Grill located at 2010 Whitesburg Drive.  We had checked out the menu at UrbanSpoon.com and as fans of good soul/country cooking we felt the Little Farm Grill would be right up our alley.

Sadly, we were sorely disappointed in our trip to this meat-and-three.  The "meat" choices were breaded steak with gravy, chicken and dressing and chicken fingers.  I opted for the "safe" choice and went with chicken fingers because I'm not a fan of chicken and dressing.  The veggie choices were yams, mashed potatoes, green beans and creamed corn.

Everything was extremely bland and tasteless.  Certainly not good soul/country cooking as we were all expecting.  The flavor must have all gone into the sweet tea because if you ran out of syrup, you could have poured it on your pancakes.  The highlight of the meal was the rolls and if I'm talking about the bread being the highlight of the meal, there's a problem.  All three of us agreed we would not return to this establishment.

Aside from the lack of flavor in the cooking, Little Farm Grill needs an undercover visit from the Madison Co. health inspectors.  I witnessed twice, the staff go back to the freezer and with their bare hands retrieve meats from the freezer to be cooked with their bare hands.  Those same bare hands later were seen smoking, making change and fixing drinks without any hand washing in between.  Yes I wrote smoking, apparently, the Little Farm Grill allows you to "light up" despite the Huntsville city ordinances prohibiting such.

Cost was fair at $8.29 including tea but for the quality of food, it seemed a bit high.

Out of a possible five stars, the Little Farm Grill gets one star.  The one saving grace for the trip was our trip down the block to GiGi's Cupcakes.  Let's just say the Caramel Sugar Mama cupcake gets a five-star rating.



Photo: Courtesy Flickr Aubie1716

Redhead Recommends - Outlive Your Life by Max Lucado

Outlive Your Life - Max Lucado

Christian Author Max Lucado's latest offering is a unique look at the book of Acts.  Lucado, as usual, gives the reader a fresh look at the text interweaving stories of life with the stories of the early church as only he can.  The theme of the book is that no matter how small we think we are in the scheme of life, we matter and can do great things and there are those who need us to help them.  They are calling out all around us, we just need to open our eyes and get to work. 

Lucado points out early in the book that “God doesn’t call the qualified. He qualifies the called.”  He offers to the reader that Satan’s going to do his best to make you believe that you are not worthy of such a calling.  Later on in the book an emphasis is placed on team work and not going it all alone.

You will find all of the major characters of the book of Acts in “Outlive Your Life” as the stories of Peter, Saul/Paul, Stephen, Cornelius, the Ethiopian Eunuch, and Ananias and Sapphira.  Lucado weaves those stories and texts into his writing along with modern-day stories to bring new light to the scripture.

Having started reading Lucado’s works over 15 years ago, this is one of his best offerings to date.  “Outlive Your Life” is very inspirational and motivational and really makes the reader desire to do something with his/her life.  The book would be an excellent study for a small group or in a class setting as there is a solid study guide by David Drury at the back of the book.

Disclosure: This book was provided to me by Thomas Nelson Publishing for review purposes only.  I was not required to give a positive review or compensated in any fashion.

In Concert - Dailey and Vincent

We got the chance to go see Dailey and Vincent this past Tuesday night in my hometown of Decatur.  The packed-house show was held at the historic Princess Theater in front of an energetic crowd.  For those that aren't familiar with Dailey and Vincent, they are the premier group in bluegrass music right now.  Amazingly, they've taken the genre by storm and have really taken the showmanship and entertainment to another level.


I don't care what your music tastes are, if you go to a D&V show you will come away entertained.  They are superbly talented vocalists, great musicians and solid comics at times.

I wish I'd been able to capture more of the night but this was my favorite song of the night.



As you can see, their tight-harmonies and blend are top notch.  I'm hoping they opt to put that selection on their next album.  Their set ranges from traditional bluegrass numbers, to gospel tunes like the one above and traditional country.  D&V's latest album is a tribute to the Statler Brothers and they staged a number of those songs throughout the night.  In my opinion, they sing the Statler's songs better than the Statlers did.  They also covered John Denver's "Country Roads" in a laid back tempo with their interwoven harmonies.

This was my second time to see D&V having seen them earlier in the year at the Ryman.  I can't wait to catch them again when they are near here.  They are turning heads in the bluegrass world and making new fans everywhere they go with such a great show.  If they are anywhere near you, make sure to go and catch them because they are not your grandparent's bluegrass I assure you.

Crossbridge Church and Come Awake

Beth and I went down to Birmingham on Sunday for an amazing time of praise and worship at the Crossbridge Church of Christ.  The entire standing-room only, 2+ hour event was led by the Hallal Music group.  It was an awesome experience from start to finish with amazing singing from those leading and those worshiping in the seats.  I know it was just a little taste of heaven here on earth.  There's something about harmony singing that moves the soul.  There's no other way to put it.  The event was centered around the cross and several pastors from around the state brought short pieces into the production.  


Really, my only complaint is that it didn't go longer with more singing.  It felt to me like we just got going good but rather too little than too much I guess.  Thanks to the Crossbridge team that put the event on and I hope they will do another in the future.


During the service, they featured the video below.  It really hits home and is a powerful work of art in my opinion.  I hope you'll watch it and reflect on it.