Nov 18, 2010

Can't Judge a Book . . .

by Joan Sowards

They say you can’t judge a book by its cover. But again, the cover is what lures the reader to pick it up. Most people will buy a product after it has being recommended by a trusted friend—or a perfect stranger in this case.

Recently, my husband and I went to Oregon. When a stranger heard we were staying in Lincoln City, he said, “Make sure you eat at Otis Café. It is a five star dining experience.”

“But I only brought blue jeans,” I told him.

“Doesn’t matter, it’s just a small place and very casual, but the food is to die for.” Then he went on to talk about its German potatoes and black molasses bread. I was convinced.

So, the next morning with mouth watering, my hubby and I set out for Otis, only three miles from our hotel on highway 18. We almost missed the town because I was navigating, and blinked. “Stop! There it is.” I pointed to a small, older building off the road.

“That can’t be it, it’s so small.”

“The sign says Otis Café,” I insisted. With effort, he turned the car around and pulled into the half-dirt parking lot with several other cars. “How can this be a famous café?” he said, looking doubtful.

We went inside—four booths and a four-person table—and were seated at the table with another couple. Awkward at first, we soon were enjoying a conversation with the couple and learned they lived in central Oregon and this also was their first Otis dining experience.

Soon breakfast was served. Mm! It was as good as the stranger had told us. Warm black molasses bread, hash browns, eggs cooked to perfection, bacon, and French toast made from cinnamon rolls—all yummy. Five stars, easy. Next time I’m in Oregon, I’ll visit Otis Café.

You can’t judge a book by its cover, but a recommendation goes a long way. And this also goes for cafés.

5 comments:

  1. I read ninety percent of books based on recommendations. The remaining ten percent on covers and I'm disappointed half the time. I don't think I even realized that until NOW.
    My brother lives not far from there and also, RAVES about the Otis cafe.

    ReplyDelete
  2. What a nice account! If I ever make it to Oregon, I'll have to find the Otis Cafe.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love this! Glad you had a positive experience. I'll have to ask some of my Oregon friends if they have ever been to Otis'!

    ReplyDelete
  4. You made my mouth water. I wish I could beam over and try the Otis' Cafe. I do judge books by covers and even fonts of titles and authors. In scanning shelves it is nice when a author's books have the same font on the cover and binding esp. books in a series. But you are right sove covers are very deceiving.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I'm checking that out next time I get to the Oregon Coast which I hope will be soon. (Hint to my husband.)

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for visiting. Feel free to comment on our blogger's posts.*

*We do not allow commercial links, however. If that's not clear, we mean "don't spam us with a link to your totally unrelated-to-writing site." We delete those comments.