Eat Well Food Tour: Lunch at Dawg's (Shickley, NE)

[Kirstin Vander Giessen-Reitsma]

With a population of 360, Shickley is one of many tiny towns dotting the Nebraska prairie. As Rob and I were driving in on Wednesday evening, we could see a storm approaching for over an hour across the vastness of the plains. We arrived at the home of our friends Matt and Elizabeth just after dark as they were about to walk the dog. Only two blocks from downtown, their house is at what would be considered the northeast edge of town.

The next morning, we walked to visit Elizabeth at the small grocery store where she works. One of her co-workers informed us that the best place to grab lunch would be a few doors down at Dawg's, a classic small town breakfast-and-lunch diner. He recommended the daily special.

Though we arrived just after noon, the lunch special of fried chicken, hash brown casserole and creamed peas was already sold out to the number of sun-tanned farmers who filled the tables, drinking glass after glass of lemonade and iced tea to replenish their energy for a 90-degree-plus afternoon in the fields. In fact, the tables were so full, that it took the only waitress in the place about a half hour to even come over and take our order. We were hungry, but otherwise not in a hurry, so it was pleasant to sit and see the local culture unfold. We watched with curiosity as a woman who had apparently come in for lunch realized how backed up the service was and started clearing tables.

On sharing this detail later with Matt and Elizabeth, Matt informed us that it's part of the character of Dawg's that people pitch in to help. In fact, most mornings, people take turns grabbing the coffee pot and re-filling mugs around the restaurant. And typically, it's the white collar folks in the room who pour for the farmers.