Fresh Perspective
Main Street Café, Coneburg Inn both tasty treats
Staff writer
Durham’s Main Street Café and Bakery was so busy during my first visit that the only place to sit was a six-top table.
Not wanting to waste that much space for a party of one, I asked if I instead could sit at a table that had not yet been cleaned. I received the go-ahead to sit down and was happy to wait.
A small-town café bustling that much on a Thursday was a good sign.
Talk in the restaurant seemed to be focused on the weather. Not surprisingly, no one liked the rain, snow, or drop in temps. Without cell service, I was happy to eavesdrop on conversations at other tables.
A woman at a table in front of me “argued” with her grandmother, saying it wasn’t necessary to buy her a cinnamon roll. Her grandma did anyway.
At the register, a group asked about ribs for sale. Other customers hemmed and hawed about what kind of pie to take home.
Sadly, I missed out on coconut cream pie that day — as did our office manager, who, when asked whether she wanted me to bring anything back for her, clued me in on what she thought was the café’s best pie. I couldn’t call or text her to ask whether she wanted a fruit pie, so I brought back chocolates from a dollar store as a poor substitute.
I settled on a cheeseburger and bumbleberry pie, which was a tasty combination of raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, apples, and rhubarb. I’m a big fan of berries and often have them as dinner during the summer — if my husband, the cook in our home, hasn’t spent time in the kitchen. Rhubarb pie is one of my favorites, so the selection seemed obvious — what with no coconut cream pie to be had and all.
Everyone was friendly, which reminded me that what I love most about Marion County isn’t this or that restaurant or attraction but its people.
I hear Main Street’s breakfast buffet the first Saturday of the month is worth the drive, so I likely will be back.
An empty building with a colorfully tiled roof just down the road from the café intrigued me. Can anyone tell me its history? It’d make a great coffee shop or some such.
My husband and I recently made two visits to Coneburg Grill and Pub in Peabody. Sometimes I’m able to convince him to tag along with me on weekend assignments.
Both times, we’ve ordered soft pretzel sticks with pub cheese, which I highly recommend. On our first visit, my husband had a prime rib sandwich with onion rings. He definitely was sold on both. I had my usual small-town fare — a cheeseburger — on that visit.
On our second stop, we switched things up. Josh had a burger, and I had blackened catfish, ordered “extra” spicy.
Coneburg was considerably more busy on our return visit, but service still was fast. I also enjoy the interesting signs and photos on the walls there.
I think my next excursion will be to Tampa. If you have any suggestions, please reach out, as always.