I bought a new “ultra wide” camera lens and got it today, and when Barbara Ann and I went to Cracker Barrel, the lens was on my camera: Boys and their toys. The lens is not quite as wide angle in scope as what is often called a “fisheye” lens but, at 11-18mm, it is the fisheye’s next-door neighbor and pretty all-encompassing, though tricky to use. Ultra wide lenses are typically used for scenic vistas and real estate interiors, landscape shots and stuff like that. They are not really suited for photographing faces, because facial features are easily distorted. But, as the old saying goes, “When all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.” Waiting for our meal, Barbara and I played with the lens, both of us shooting some photos. Actually, my 18-205mm “walk-around zoom” lens would have been a better choice of a lens in this restaurant setting, but I was determined to test out my new ultra wide angle “heavy chunk of glass.” We were told that the “kitchen is backed up,” but our dinners came out after a short delay. I was tinkering with my lens, anyway, commenting how just the slightest tilt up or down made parallel lines so askew. The food came out. Barbara Ann had “her usual,” lemon pepper grilled rainbow trout. I tried something new. As many meatloaf dinners as I have had, I don’t think I’ve tried meatloaf at Cracker Barrel before, but I kept noticing so many people on Facebook write comments to the effect, “We always get the meatloaf!” So, I decided to try it out. Surveying our table spread, Barbara Ann and I both noticed that my meatloaf serving was huge. No, it’s not a trick of the lens. In fact, the wide angle lens would tend to diminish the relative size of the serving. “That’s the biggest serving of meatloaf I’ve ever seen,” Barbara Ann remarked as I, nodded agreement, then dug in to see if it tasted as good as it looked. Wow! It was yummy, too. I think I have the new top-of-the-class nominee for the “meatloaf hall of fame,” of course, in the category of restaurant-prepared, not home-cooked. It was a pleasant surprise, even though I should have tried it based on so many Facebook recommendations. Cracker Barrel now has sweet potato casserole, Barbara Ann told me. She’s “up” on things like non-menu items, so I tried that, too: delectable. We both had the tasty pinto beans, corn muffins and other sides. Having gobbled my food quickly so I could play more with my new lens, I finished eating first and remarked to Barbara that I was much too full for dessert, but then I saw this table card promoting “Baked Apple Dumplin’ covered with Pecan Streusel and Premium Vanilla Ice Cream ‘n’ Apple topping.” I put in an order we could share. I’m an easy sell. When the dessert came out, I played with my camera while Barbara Ann finished packing our nine — count ’em — carryout containers of various sizes. And, we would need two more containers for the greater portion of the delicious dessert. Yep, we left with 11 carryout containers. I am quite sure that’s a new record for us. Great food in “truck stop portions,” and a spot by the window with a beautiful lady on a perfect Thursday evening; what more can you ask? (As I often remind my friends, click on the photo to see a better version displayed, and then click on the little arrow in upper right corner of that version to see it full screen.)
Posted on: Fri, 15 Aug 2014 07:12:41 +0000
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