C.F. Penn Hamburgers is an institution in North Alabama. Not as widely lauded as Big Bob Gibson's Bar-B-Que, the national champion Bar-B-Que winners several times, but none the less, a solid institution.
Today, I just had to have a Penn's burger. Brown, off the stack, all the way is how I like mine.
The Penn burger is mostly meat. The Penn burger is deep fried. "All the Way" includes onion and mustard. At the Counter in the Penn's establishment, you could be sitting beside one of the most successful attorneys in town, or the crazy guy who rides his three wheeled bike around town with the umbrella and pinwheels.
One fine day my father and I walked over to have a Penn Burger. We sat next to a Coca Cola delivery woman, who was also feeling the call of the Penn Burger. I don't remember how it got started, but somehow we started talking to her.
About 5 years ago, it developed, she won a trip for 2 to Europe from CocaCola. Now, if you had passed this woman on the street, you probably would not have sussed her up as a jet setter/world traveler. She looked like any other redneck from Alabama: satin cocacola jacket, acid washed jeans, most of her teeth.
She couldn't get anyone in her family to go with her on the trip, so the Coca-cola CEO (She told me his name, but I don't remember) and his wife went with her. I mean, can you believe that? I think that was so kind and good of them to go with this woman and take her everywhere she wanted to go. She couldn't stop talking about how nice they were to her. She told them she really wanted to see things she couldn't see in America-- small towns and ancient churches. They took her everywhere! She took over 80 rolls of film.
So now, every time I go to CF Penn's I remember that real class is taking someone you don't know, from a completely different socioeconmic class, and treating them the way you would want to be treated. And Penn Burgers Rock.
1 comment:
Haven't had a C.F.Penn's burger since I left Decatur 30 years ago.
You're right, they do indeed rock.
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