Quick Bites: A Fishy Friday Down by the Tracks

It was a Friday night during Lent, and I was munching on a Chicken Candied Pecan Salad. I was back in my hometown to celebrate my mom’s birthday! It was 6:30 pm and the door of The Tracks Bar & Grill frequently swung open and closed as groups came and went. My high school days are long behind me, so the chances of a surprise run-in with somebody that I used to know were slim. However, I kept an eye on the door regardless.

Slot machines stood proudly beside the door acting as if they were the bouncer. Scenes of basketball, a sports center, and a ping pong competition filled my sightline as several television screens vied for my attention in the crowded room.

We sat at a table in the bar area after placing our name on the waitlist for the restaurant space. Two friendly bartenders/servers introduced themselves to us as a team. Together they made sure we were well taken care of. Ultimately, we decided to remove our name from the waitlist and ordered to the bar. 

Part of my party had dreams of a fish fry Friday. Unfortunately, one of our servers informed the table that the power outages that had wracked the area as a result of some strong storms had taken out most of their fish and they had run out of what catch they had left earlier that night.

Cary had been hard hit earlier in the week. Wednesday in particular. With storms that took out most of the town’s, including the Tracks’, electricity. Some of the town still didn’t have power even on that Friday night. 

Luckily for our fish-seeking friends, there was a seafood option that had survived the spoilage. Shrimp!

For her birthday dinner, my mom ordered the Big Bang Shrimp. The ‘shrimpy’ shrimp dressed in a breaded coat brought the heat! She said the dish was delicious and that she would definitely order it again. 

My salad, meanwhile, presented a cornucopia of colors. Dark green lettuce was splashed with the color orange from the mandarins and dark red from the cranberries, The entire dish was protected by a circle of cherry tomatoes. It was a burst of fresh colors and flavors that brought the feel of a summer’s farmers market in the winter. 

The plate presentation of the salad was astounding for a bar, and really any restaurant. The dishes brought color to the dark wooded space.

Dinner ultimately ended without any run-ins with strangers that I once knew. As we trickled out the door our fishless fishy Friday down by the Tracks came to a close.