I travel half the state of Virginia for my job helping people who are visually impaired or blind…read moreget a job or keep their job when sudden vision loss becomes a part of their lives. Because I'm on the road so much, I've noticed what happens to my health if I eat at fast food restaurants while I travel.
So, I'm always on the lookout for quality food and food made from people who love other people. I had a client at McDonalds tell me don't ever eat here, my coworkers are so angry at customers or their bosses that they do all sorts of things to the food, including urinating on the hamburgers. That was the last time I ordered anything at McDonalds.
Then I read an article about an organization called something like Mom's for Food, where they had the food from the top 30 fast food restaurants analyzed by a company for chemicals and it was horrible. The only two companies that came out with positive scores were Subway and Chipotle, with Chipotle being the most positive.
So, as I've travelled to Wytheville, Bristol, Christiansburg, Blacksburg, Danville, Roanoke, Salem, Lynchburg, Staunton, etc. I've noticed something. At the Chipotle's where the staff is the most friendly and positive, the food tastes so much better. Chipotle has become my main stay for eating out as I travel.
I looked up studies on food prepared by someone who is angry or unsatisfied versus someone who cares about the person who will be eating that food, and the findings are amazing. I've started to thank those servers and preparers at Chipotle where I've seen the difference so as to encourage them towards excellence in serving people.
I said all that, to say, Taste of Home Café and Catering's first order of operation is to love and care about people through preparing them food. This used to be an obvious way of thinking, from Mom's to Grandma's in the home, always wanting you to have more, to dress up the dish just so, and anticipate the family or company coming down to a meal through the experience, the cleanliness, the decorations, the loving attention to each person.
I've also had chefs come out to our table at a nice restaurant to ask how everything was, and on some occasions, I've asked to go back to the kitchen to thank the chef and their staff for an amazing dining experience. That's what this restaurant is all about.
For you football lovers out there, this is where the pundits talk about a particular team's culture, like the 49ers or Seahawks and others, while problems might arise at times, the overall culture is one that believes and aspires to something so much higher than that immediate struggle. This place has an amazing culture that holds up the standards of the love of good quality food, hospitality, and a happy, beautiful environment to dine in.
I'm so glad to see the smiling faces when I come into Taste of Home Café, and as I look upon this home-made food, made with love, I'm thankful that my job sent me somewhere in the vicinity of the restaurant. I feel thankful for the home made food, I feel thankful for the other patrons who I'm sharing the experience with and who get it too, and I'm thankful for the hard work of their staff, and I'm thankful for the yummy goodness of what I'm about to eat :)
Today I had a client in Tazewell, so I was so excited to get a breakfast sandwich. It was an amazingly delicious chicken biscuit, all homemade, and for only $5.00. I don't know how they serve it for that price, so I imagine it will eventually go up.
But to give you a comparison in the last two weeks, I went North through Daleville Va and wanted a healthy breakfast sandwich so I stopped at Donnie D's Bagels and Deli. My egg and cheese sandwich on a bagel was $14, and it wasn't very good. Another day, I went to the Java Blend Café in rural retreat va and got an egg, cheese, avocado sandwich for $9.50. It was pretty good, but nowhere near as good as my breakfast sandwich at Taste of Home, and I found myself longing for one of theirs.
Then, I was given permission to work from home for the second half of my today which brought me back through bland just about noon. I, thought, I'm going to surprise my wife and kids with an awesome lunch. So, I got four bowls of chicken dumpling soup, mashed potatoes from scratch, homemade biscuits, and green bean casserole. It was awesome!
So, all that to say, I hope you'll go out of your way to experience all the goodness that is waiting for you at this beautiful little restaurant in Bland :)
