If those two items don't ring

your chimes, there's something wrong with your clapper!

There is probably nothing I

like to eat more than fried green tomatoes, and oysters on the half shell.

I found these two wonderful items on the menu at the Crossroads Restaurant

at the intersection of Ga. Highway 85 and Ga. Highway 16 in Senoia,. You

talk about good down home food, you can certainly find it there.

A restaurant, of course, cannot

cook food by itself, but it happens by someone behind the scenes making

it all happen. In the case of the Crossroads Restaurant, this person is

none other than Jeffrey Bloomquist the chef and general manager.

One night we were conducting

our weekly Wednesday night Bible study at our home but, for some reason,

we had a very small group show up that night. It consisted of me and my

wife, Dee, my sister, Helen, my nephew Robert, and Fred Watson, our neighbor.

It was in the middle of the hot summer drought and so we all had a prayer

and decided to go out and see our new church sign on our land on Hwy.

85 south, just below the Crossroads Restaurant.

We all went out and saw the

sign and then decided to go have a Coke at the Crossroads Restaurant.

We all came in and sat down and I noticed that they had fried clams on

the lunch menu as an appetizer. I motioned the waitress over and asked

if possibly we could get an order of the clams. She said she would ask

Jeffrey, and in a few minutes a beautiful order of clams came to our table.

All of us said we were not

hungry but all sat and nibbled on the small order of clams. I looked up

and Jeffrey was watching all of us from the kitchen. I saw him scramble

around in the kitchen and in a couple of minutes, a large order of "fried

green tomatoes" showed up at our table. I looked up and he was standing

there grinning from ear to ear.

He walked over to our table

and said, "The tomatoes are on the house." I later talked to

Jeffrey and found out that he had worked at some of the finer restaurants

in the area like the Charlie Horse, Spondivits, and the Old Mill Steak

House in Fayetteville. I further discovered Jeffrey was born in Ridgewood,

N.J. and has been in the Atlanta area since 1981 and has been the chef

and general manager at the Crossroads Restaurant for a little over a year.

I know with our church being

so close and loving good food, we will spend some memorable fellowship

meals with Jeffrey and the friendly staff there. Jeffery reminds me of

a scripture that is one of my wife's favorites: Ecclesiastes 9:10 (A).

It states: "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might."

Jeffery does this every day.

He opens the restaurant and we are all the better because of it. Jeffery,

God bless you, your restaurant, and your fine staff.

The Rev. Dr. Knox Herndon is

the pastor of His House Community Church (SBC) and a substitute school

teacher in the Fayette County School System, and a former Army chaplain.

The church is currently meeting in the American Legion Log Cabin across

from the fountain on the Square in Fayetteville, and will move to a new

location near Senoia in October. Prayer line 770-719-2365; e-mail [email protected].