Today started as most normal days do: with a donut, a piece of cake, and almost getting stuck in an elevator. The donuts were left over from yesterday; the cake was left over from Thursday; the elevator escapade happened to Dad when the power repeatedly flickered on and off in our hotel this morning. I guess the best part is that we lived to tell about all three.
We ate our breakfast desserts and hung around the room for the first part of the morning, watching SportsCenter and resting up for the big game. Around 10, we headed down Atlanta Boulevard towards downtown, with a quick interruption to stop by a Shell station and again by Walgreens to get [nasty] Airborne tablets. We parked downtown close to the riverfront and the Montgomery Biscuits baseball stadium, and went to lunch at the same place we ate pre-game last year, Wentzell’s Oyster House. We had a coupon for a free appetizer that we got at the pep rally last night, so we used that coupon to split two crab cakes to start our meal.
Wentzell's Oyster House
Dad and I split an oyster sampler platter, which had four types of oysters on it: Oysters Rockefeller, with spinach and parmesan cheese; Oysters Bienville, covered with shrimp, crab meat, a white sauce, and parmesan; Oysters Monterey, covered with sharp cheddar cheese and bacon (we had them hold the jalapeños); and Chargrilled Oysters, smothered in butter, cheese, and peppered seasoning. Of course, Wentzell’s served them with lemons, saltine crackers, horseradish, tarter sauce, and hot sauce.
The oysters and the crab cakes were both outstanding. We were very impressed, especially with the chargrilled oysters.
Wentzell's Oyster House
Montgomery, AL
Amazing charbroiled oysters and other seafood.
* – Would definitely visit again
** – Exceptional, must visit if you’re in the area
*** – Worth making a special trip to eat there
Pre-Game
After lunch, we parked at Lot E and enjoyed the pep rallies, tailgates, and other pre-game festivities until it was time to head into the Cramton Bowl for the game. On our way in, Dad and I split a Philly Cheese Steak from a food truck parked outside the stadium. It was very small, but satisfying. Neither of us are a big fan of cheese whiz though…
Camellia Bowl 2016
I’ll spare you the details of the game (if you didn’t watch it, you probably don’t care enough to read it here, and if you did watch it, there’s no need for me to be redundant), but in summary, the weather was great, the game was evenly matched, and App won 31-28! It was thus a great day overall. With this victory, the Mountaineers became the first team ever to win bowl games in the first two seasons they were bowl eligible.
Dinner - Jim 'n' Nick's BBQ
After the game, we decided to go back to Jim ‘n’ Nick’s BBQ since it was so good last night, and because it was far away from the stadium and thus away from the crowds. Dad got a loaded baked potato with brisket and a bunch of other stuff on it (I wasn’t paying attention and he’s asleep now so I can’t ask him), and I got a salad with toasted almonds, sharp cheddar cheese, cherry tomatoes, thick-cut bacon, pulled pork, and homemade barbecue ranch dressing. I will also give a well-deserved honorable mention to the cheesy cornbread muffin things they serve you as a warm-up. Everything was delicious, and we both left happy and full.
Conclusion
We got back to our hotel room around 9:30pm. Dad hit the shower while I went down to the workout room to work off some of my meat-laden salad. Tomorrow morning we’re waking up extremely early to start our drive home.
I suppose this will be the end of this series of blogs. It’s been a fun trip with great food, great football, and great memories.
Until next time,
ITC