Denny's

Denny's
1446 W. Int'l. Speedway Blvd.
Daytona Beach, FL 32114
(386)258-5460
www.dennys.com

So Scott and I leave Daisy Dukes and as we are in the parking lot, Scott looks at me and asks, "You wanna go eat something?" I reply, "Did I just watch six girls go at it in a winner take all chocolate pudding battle royale? You're damn right I want to go eat!" There is no way I want this evening to end at that point. Plus, I knew if Scott and I went to get something to eat, I would come out of the evening with some great blog fodder from him. And as always, he didn't disappoint.

We jumped in the car and asked the question, "Denny's or IHOP?" My most memorable Denny's experience is when Scott and I went to Las Vegas with our buddy BK. We went out each night to party and I would always leave early to head back to the hotel. These guys are much younger than I and just couldn't do the 4:00 party thing each night. There was a Denny's along the way back to the hotel and I wore it out each night for the three nights we were there.

We chose Denny's, but in hindsight I realized that my old age is getting to me as we didn't even consider the late night staples of Waffle House or Krystal. With the terrible economy we are now dealing with, many of the area Waffle House locations have been closing down, but in true fashion, Daytona Beach has been able to hold on. I cannot tell you the last time I was in a Waffle House. If that suggestion would have come up, I definitely would have been down like a Tampa Bay Buccaneers fan on a Sunday afternoon.

Now would be the time where I should share with you a little something about Scott and his stomach. He has what I would have to call a sensitive stomach. To be quite honest, I was surprised that he suggested we go get something to eat this late at night, but since we hadn't had any dinner I figured he must be hungry. When Scott and I worked together at ISC, a bunch of us used to always go out to lunch. The problem was that we could hardly find a place that Scott felt comfortable eating. I would say to Scott, "You down with us for a little Chinese?" He would say, "What the hell. I haven't had fried monkey butt in over a month. I'm in." Scott cannot just eat anything and it is funny to watch him eat junk. All through the meal all he is talking about is how upset his stomach is going to be later in the day. This was always one of the best moments of the day when Scott joined us for lunch.

We get to Denny's and as they are seating us, it dawns on me that this is the location that some dude fired about 10 shots through the window back in the spring. I know I cannot tell this to Scott as he would have been a nervous wreck. Seems the dude hadn't gotten into an argument at a party earlier in the evening and the folks he had a beef with left the party and went to Denny's. See, people know where you need to head to get it done late at night.

Our waiter comes to the table to take our drink orders and we start to review the menu. I already know what I am going to have as I get just about the same thing any time I go there. Scott, however, is trying to find something that is not going to jack him up too much. Our waiter brings our drinks back and we place our orders. Scott orders the Denny's Slamburger and I order biscuits and gravy as an appetizer and the All American Slam. Let me breakdown what this order entails.

Denny's Slamburger:
A burger topped with crispy hash browns, an egg cooked to order, then covered with cheese sauce. Also comes with an order of hash browns on the side.

Biscuits and Gravy:
Two fluffy biscuits with a bowl of creamy sausage gravy.

All American Slam:
Three scrambled eggs with Cheddar cheese, two bacon strips, two sausage links, hash browns and wheat toast.

Immediately, I am worried about Scott eating a fried egg and hash browns on a burger. He seems undaunted and is ready to take it on. My biscuits and gravy comes out first. The biscuits are fluffy and warm, but the gravy is luke warm at best and does not have that much sausage in it. Given that it is close to two in the morning, I suck it up and power my way through it. The rest of our food arrives and Scott is already thinking he is going to die. I am laughing as I watch him start to eat his burger and hash browns. My All American Slam is fine. There isn't really much you can mess up here, so I get through it with no problem. We finish our meal and are both quite stuffed. Scott cannot believe I was able to eat the biscuits and gravy along with my Slam, but there is no way I was going to waste this night.

One of the funniest things about this eating event was what happened the next morning. Scott slept in and came out of his room sometime around 9:00 or 9:20 rubbing his stomach. All he had to say to me was, "Dude!" He was feeling the late night meal, but surprisingly, I felt fine. I was actually glad we ate before coming home, but not all that happy about how much I had eaten. Overall, we had a pretty good meal and it served its purpose for two guys that had consumed a few beers.

I don't know that I will be getting back to Denny's late night anytime soon, but this visit served me well. For the visit during Biketoberfest, I have to give Denny's three Stiffy's.

Eat, drink and be merry!

Harry