Have it your way

It wasn't Burger King, but she had it her way. Today a co-worker named Sonya and I, along with our friend Brad, drove down to the Four Winds restaurant in Cusseta. Just south of Fort Benning, its moniker is "Home of the Ranger Burger." With Rangers and other Army personnel based very nearby, you can imagine the appetites that walk in the door. A Ranger Burger is two slabs of beef weighing 1 lb. You can get most anything on it--even fried pickles as Brad did. Or you can get a Junior Ranger Burger, which is half that and which is what yours truly ordered. (Such high standards, you know, with this blog, haha.) Actor Mel Gibson has even eaten there, when he was in town several years ago filming "We Were Soldiers Once ... And Young." Anyway Sonya, who easily consumed a Ranger on two previous visits, went for something not even on the menu. "They don't even list it," Brad said, evoking fear. (And also they probably don't want the Rangers to know there's something heftier than their namesake.) It's called a Marine Burger: THREE slabs of beef. 1.5 pounds. The grease drips liberally onto the plate on the first bite. Sonya ate it all. (And have I mentioned there are fries with that? And a quart of sweet tea?) Brad and I ate our meals more quickly--go figure--while Sonya kept saying, "OK, will you guys wait on me?"
Like we were going to leave her in the middle of nowhere, 45 minutes from the office. Brad took pictures, one of which you see here. Waitresses kept coming by the table, watching Sonya's meal disappear (and, by the way, she's about a size 2). And some Army guys kept staring at what turned out to be history in the making: The servers said other women have ordered the Marine but none have finished one, to their knowledge. All were stunned and stupefied. Feel free to post your own Four Winds tales of triumph. Or defeat.
PS We learned that tonight is fried catfish night at the Four Winds. Needless to say, we're abstaining.