Coatney's Call - Aug. 17

 

Posted Monday, Aug. 17, 2009 - 12:15 p.m.

By Matt Coatney, Husker Sports Network Radio Play-by-Play

 

Greetings to everyone!   I have seen parts of Husker Nation the past few weeks I’ve never been to before. 

 

My full-time job for the Nebraska DMV has allowed me to tour this great state helping install the new driver license system.  I started in suburban Omaha in Papilliion and ended up in Bridgeport out in the Panhandle.  I made my way through the heart of Husker Nation in such places as Fairbury, David City, Ogallala, Trenton, Imperial, Grant, McCook and Chappell.  

 

Everywhere I went, I encountered a number of Husker Women’s Basketball fans.  Because I’ve been on the road so much, I haven’t had a chance to respond to some questions from fans I received on message boards and e-mails, so I’ll try to address some of those in this blog entry.

 

First, though, it wouldn’t do justice to the story of my sojourn without making note of some of the fine dining establishments I chanced upon the last three weeks. I definitely would recommend Meadowlark’s in Bridgeport. It’s just north of town, over the bridge.  The chef is from Louisiana and the fried chicken is unbelievably tasty.  The Copper Mill in McCook had an unbelievable special on Alaskan Salmon and the wait staff was top notch.   

But the culinary highlight of my three-week “Coatman’s Summer DMV Tour ?09” was in Benkelman.  I don’t get out to the extreme southwest corner of the state that often, but I DO know where to eat when I’m there.  Dub Drive In is at the extreme north edge of town.  I had been there once before, but I didn’t think Tammy, the owner, would remember me.  I was wrong. 

As soon as I hopped out of the van, Jeff Griesch’s sister ran out and wondered what I was doing there.   The only other time I had dined at Dub’s was early in the last basketball season. After winning a road game at the University of Denver, Jeff told me we were driving back through Benkelman to visit his sister. On that day, she served me homemade potato soup, which is my all-time favorite food.  It was delicious.  This time she suggested the homemade chicken salad her husband had made.  It was great.  I had nacho cheese tater tots on the side. I have to wonder what happened to Jeff, as his sister clearly has quite the culinary touch, while I’m not sure her brother could boil water without spoiling it.  Seriously, if you’re out in the southwest part of Husker Nation, stop in at Dub Drive In and say hi to Jeff’s sister, Tammy.  You won’t leave hungry.

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