Food & Music Blogging in Charlottesville

Sam’s Kitchen

There are few diners as anonymous as Sam’s Kitchen. You could drive by it for years, as we did, without noticing it. Finally, someone took pity on us and let us in on the secret. Sam’s Kitchen is a great place for country breakfasts!
(click on images to enlarge)Samskitchen

I still remember the first breakfast I had at Sam’s. I ordered bacon and eggs and a side of country gravy and biscuits. When the waitress brought me a huge plate with a two-inch high mound of gravy on it, I stared at it in disbelief. Finally, I looked around at neighboring tables and saw how the regulars handled this dish. They would saw away at this creation until they reduced it to bite-sized pieces and then would attack it with gusto. I followed suit even though I wasn’t able to get to the main dish.

Since then, I have been a little more considerate of my waistline. Gretchen and I tend to stick with the Steak and Eggs Breakfast or the Eggs Benedict. Both are delicious.
Sam
Sam is the cheerful host who always has a friendly word for his customers. He and his experienced staff make our breakfasts in town a uniformly pleasant experience. Sam’s is located at the intersection of Route 250 and Highway 29 at the Southwestern corner. Even with this information, you will probably find it hard to locate. Keep trying!

A Rock Group in Sam’s Kitchen?

You never know who you will find in Sam’s. This particular morning, I saw five members of  a hard rock group with an unidentified business associate. These musicians were quietly minding their own business, yet they were attracting attention from all over the restaurant. They created such an effect that I knew I had to capture the moment  for this weblog.

RedAs you can tell, these five guys look alert and confident. They are rugged, good-looking young men with an unmistakeable air of competence. In the few seconds I spoke with them, I was impressed by their ability to communicate easily and the sense that they are comfortable with themselves as individuals.

They have great presence as if they are used to owning the space they occupy. They have none of the snarky, alienated attitude I have seen in other rock musicians. They were extremely polite when I, a total stranger with a Hawaiian shirt and a camera, interrupted their breakfast and asked them questions.

Although I caught them off guard, they quickly rallied and gave me the information I needed. The group is "Red" and their web site is http://dropofred.com.  They seem to be out of Minnesota, by way of several other places, but are currently based in Nashville. I went to their web site which has several cuts from their soon-to-be-released CD. I was impressed with the music and with their logo.

Red_logo_blkbg


They have an uncommon sound for a hard rock group, a wide dynamic range of vocals backed by piano, strings, and heavy guitars. These guys have been doing their homework. I expect to hear more of them.

I think they have what it takes musically. I hope they have the marketing skills that will enable them to succeed.

Update: The biggest barrier I notice is that they have chosen a name that doesn’t search well on Google. It will be interesting to see how they plan to overcome that. RED is a great pre-internet name. How do you keep the significance and make it distinctive enough to show up on search engines?

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