The Moose Cafe
Piedmont Triad Farmers Market
2914 Sandy Ridge Road
Colfax, NC 27235
Price Range $$ out of $$$$

Heaping Helpings and HospitalityThe Moose Cafe is located in the expansive complex of buildings that make up the Piedmont Triad Farmers Market. The large lodge-like establishment resembles a roadside chain-restaurant, catering to country-cooking enthusiasts. There is a strong tourist-trap, roadside-rest-stop feel to the restaurant, and a couple of red flags went up when I saw a huge banner out front announcing all you can eat fish and shrimp on Fridays.

The Moose is a large restaurant; presumably to accommodate the all-you-can-eat fish crowd. A friendly hostess led me to a booth under a massive faux-medieval tapestry of a moose. A large American flag dominates an entire wall of the dining room, and I expected to hear a Toby Keith CD start playing any minute. I noticed soft-drink-filled mason jars on neighboring tables – more red-flags.

My server greeted me perkily and took my order. Service was very good, and the place seemed well staffed with competent employees. The door to the kitchen was open and I could see that the back-of-the-house was bustling, and the cooks’ overly-loud enthusiasm often competed with the general hum of the diners.

I ordered the meatloaf with mashed potatoes and pinto-beans. The menu claims that all of the vegetables are purchased from the farmers market, which seemed a good selling point. The waitress delivered an appetizer of a rubbery biscuit with some sort of spread, possibly apple-butter. I ate about a quarter of it, but took a break from chewing so I could reposition my jaw.

Before I knew it the main course had arrived. It was huge. Close to a pound of meatloaf stared up from the plate, bordered by a heap of potatoes and a cereal-bowl full of pinto-beans. I knew that if I ate half of this plate I would have to rent a stroller to carry my stomach around for the rest of the day. Still, I dug in.

The meatloaf was hot and fresh, but aside from that it was flavorless. No discernable seasoning elevated the loaf above the status of a mashed jumble of ground beef. The potatoes, which were indeed from scratch, were identically under-seasoned, with viscous, starchy gravy giving the only flavor. The quart of pinto-beans provided a bright spot, but a nondescript chow-chow added nothing to them. I introduced the corn-muffin to the biscuit, thinking, “rubbery meet dry, dry meet rubbery.”

For all this the bill came to around eight dollars before tip. At least there is some value-for-money in the serving sizes. There was enough on my plate to feed a family of four.

There are plenty of country style diners that do a better job than The Moose Cafe, but if you are trying to eat yourself into a coma, or are a wrestler trying to jump into a new weight-class, The Moose is the place. Unfortunately, these are the only selling points I can find about it.