Social hour with sunshine and Celebrations

Thanks to the great variety of options available at Aldi, I have continued to try new things from the comfort of my own home. In fact, I wondered if I should share some of my favorite finds with you, such as street corn chips, dill pickle popcorn and chocolate-covered espresso beans. I decided against it for selfish reasons: I don't want all of my favorite items to disappear from the store shelves.

As I neared the lunch hour last week and began to consider the available options in my kitchen, all I could think was "blah." This was a strange response considering my last grocery trip resulted in me fighting the urge to try everything at once. Feeling a bit stuck, I did what I normally do: I turned to the internet for inspiration. A few clicks of the mouse, and something caught my eye: A picture of a s'mores cake at Celebrations Restaurant and Bar. It looked like an ooey-gooey masterpiece. Unfortunately, I didn't get to indulge my desire because I was a day late and a dollar short, but I noticed the restaurant was offering a $10 boxed lunch which included a smoked pork gyro, broccoli salad, and a mystery dessert. Having recently experienced their food, which is made with fresh local ingredients, it sounded like a great option. I placed my order by phone and was on my way for curbside pick up. Around this time, a Starbucks-loving friend shared a photo of a whipped coffee drink she had concocted at home and invited me to stop by and try it (following social distancing guidelines, of course). While en route to Celebrations, I thought about my sweet neighbor who had recently surprised me with a four-pack of Big Red soda from Cracker Barrel and how good it felt to know someone was thinking about me. I was inspired to pay the kindness forward and immediately decided to treat my friend to lunch as well.

A few minutes later I was in my friend's driveway with our separately bagged orders. She welcomed me by handing me coffee, a perfect way to make me feel welcomed, and I handed her a boxed lunch. It was a gorgeous sunny day, and so we enjoyed lunch on her porch while maintaining the appropriate distance. Birds were chirping and bees were buzzing all around.

I opened my box to find a pretty large wrap/sandwich accompanied by a container of broccoli salad and a piece of chocolate cake. I'm used to gyros being wrapped in a thicker softer pita bread, so this was a change of pace. The wrap was golden, toasty and generously filled with juicy home made pulled pork along with Brie, cherry tomato, radish, cilantro and a homemade BBQ sauce. Each bite was full of fresh flavor and extremely filling. I quickly finished every last spoonful of broccoli salad followed by the chocolate cake while enjoying great company, conversation, and sipping on the creamy coffee.

Before long it was time to return home and get back to work, but I was infused with a renewed sense of vigor after taking a few minutes out of my day to stop and smell the roses.

Submitted by Mary Ann Castillo

You can't order my friend's delicious whipped coffee, but you do still have some time to try Celebrations lunch or family specials by taking advantage of curbside pick up while it lasts, at 615 Bellevue St. in Cape Girardeau. Lunch is available from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday through Friday. Dinner is available from 4:30 to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. More information is on their Facebook page or by calling (573) 334-8330.