Lake Martin Voice Realty
Pizza by Boat: Hard to beat Chuck’s Marina on Lake Martin
The website for Chuck’s Marina on Lake Martin says it best, so let me quote:
“The Marina beckons boaters like a Key West dream, with brightly colored buildings ranging from deep turquoise to lime green. It’s a perfect place to dock and enjoy the lake view.”
(The restaurant also serves a great pizza!)
If you haven’t been to Chuck’s yet, it’s a must-do on your next Lake Martin adventure!
Another Reason To Love Green Valley Market & Deli
empty plate = good food
Last Friday I ate lunch at one of my favorite Lake Martin lunch spots – Green Valley Market and Deli.
To me it is a joy to experience any business or effort that sincerely tries to give great service, every time. This time they did not disappoint. I was craving their Reuben but feeling guilty about my cholesterol count from my diet of the day before (below) . So I asked the waitress (she must be new, I didn’t recognize her) if they can fix me a turkey Reuben – off the menu. She said, “let me ask.” The answer came back, “sure.”
The result was I was happy and with a few less grams of fat flowing through my bloodstream.
“Big deal, John,” you say. “Anyone who can make a Reuben should be able to turkey-ize it.”
Not so fast. I have been in plenty of places that don’t make even the slightest concession on their menu. Those places are either really good (think the original Dreamland) or really closed. Further, I celebrate the culture of a place where the employees are obviously trained to Look For Yes, not only when they are feeling in a good mood, but every time.
It makes me think about my real estate business. Am I doing enough for my sellers? Am I asking the right questions to help my buyers whittle down the list? Am I giving the same pat answers to Lake Martin real estate questions, or am I taking the time to listen to each person‘s wants and needs, every time?
Essentially Green Valley, Catherine’s Market, Oskar’s, and ME, we are all in the same business. People don’t come to Lake Martin looking for a restaurant, they come looking for a good dining experience. They also don’t come looking for a realtor or a team or company, they are looking for a waterfront home or lot. I try to continually remind myself to get out of the way and help them get their turkey Reuben.
PS - I also have to give out some props to Catherine’s Market at Russell Crossroads. I was there last Thursday. The tea was better. The burger was excellent. It was hand patted and served with fresh fixings. By the way, it was better than the burger I had that night at home. I fired up my grill and cooked some patties from a very high end, fancy Dan steak place in Montgomery. Catherine’s beat mine, no questions asked. That’s hard for me to admit as a prideful griller. Plus, I ran into Scott Goslin at Catherine’s. He is doing a great job there and was extremely hospitable. Scott knows me and my family and how cheap we are, so he will appreciate it when I say that I now realize that Catherine’s can make a better burger, for less money, than I can for myself.
Inside Catherine’s Market At Russell Crossroads
Lake Martin’s newest deli and grocery – Catherine’s Market at Russell Crossroads – officially opened on Tuesday, December 16, 2008. I went by there today for lunch to check out the inside of the store and deli. It was really nice, a first class operation.
 |
As advertised, the market section had lots of cool, higher end grocery items. The wine shop was well stocked. I even found my favorite Rioja. I didn’t scrutinize the meat counter very closely, but I am sure that it is nice.
 |
The deli was rippin and roarin. It was covered up with Russell Lands sales agents and employees. I also saw 2 or 3 tables worth of people that drove down from Alex City, including Mr. Ben himself, one of my fourth grade teachers, and a lady we’ve gone to church with for decades. That’s one thing I like about Lake Martin, I always bump into friends wherever I am eating lunch.
I played it pretty safe and selected the stacked ham sandwich on wheat with pasta salad. It was good. A friend got the 1/2 and 1/2 – the soup of the day was some sort of seafood bisque, which he really liked. You order at the deli counter and then go and sit down, they bring you the food. It took about 15 minutes for them to serve it, which I guess wasn’t bad for their first week. With a sweet tea, I was in and out of there for about $11.00, which is comparable to another one of my Lake Martin favorites, Green Valley Market & Cafe.
My only criticism is that I detected some sort of flavor to the sweet tea, like a peach or fruit or some sort of whang. It definitely has some sort of fancy angle to it, to which I am morally opposed. Just give me some straight up tea, please. If you want to get fruity on me, please put it in a separate dispenser and let me know ahead of time. Admittedly, I am a purist, a stickler for good sweet tea, so maybe I am on the fringes of opinion here. But this is a relatively tiny complaint when put against the entire experience. It really was nice, clean, well run, and tasted good. I expected all kinds of problems as this is their third day in biz. None such. Very professional.
Meat Counter:
 |
Fresh veggie aisle:
 |
Lunch menu:
 |
I wish them the best. I think they are a great addition to the Lake Martin area, I am sure to be back in the future.
Click here for the Catherine’s Market menu
And here for the back of Catherine’s Market menu
Also see:
All of the pics I took of Catherine’s Market, and my entire collection of web photo albums on Picassa, including waterfront property on Lake Martin that I have for sale.
