22 NOV 05: WITH THE INN CROWD

The Historic District has an unofficial "dividing line" between Sixth and Seventh Streets. North of that line, you tend to find the law offices and nice businesses. South of the line, you tend to find halfway houses and Little Joe's party shop - although I suppose Bludau's restaurant could get its wines from there.

The Historic District doesn't have many restaurants, but a nice new one is quietly gaining visitors at Seventh Street and Third Avenue. It's called "Café 222," and if you don't look carefully you'll miss it. If you look for a parking lot nearby, you'll definitely miss it -- because it has none.

Café 222 is the "breakfast" part of the Rothschild-Pound House bed and breakfast on Seventh Street -- or as the signs say, "Inn and Cottages." There's a Muscogee Cottage and a Springer Cottage. But if you stop at Judge Bobby Peters's cottage, you've made a wrong turn.

I walked to Café 222 for breakfast on a recent morning. As I stepped inside, the server asked: "Are you an inn guest?"

"No, I'm not. I guess that makes me an out guest."

I was seated at a table near the front window - but not just any table. Café 222 has tables made from old recessed front doors, with a glass surface on top. It never occurred to me to knock on the table, to get a server's attention.

The breakfast menu at Café 222 fits on one page. I chose a plate of pancakes, since all the meat items were pork. It was too nice a morning to raise a beef about this....

I brought a magazine to read (not to mention use to take notes on the visit) while I waited for breakfast. But there's plenty of reading matter inside Café 222, as the walls are lined with historic books. Of course, if you tried to pull one out, you might risk ripping a hole in the wall.

The plate of three pancakes came after a few minutes, and they were more than enough for one person's morning appetite. They were big, thick, and tasted to me a bit like lemon pound cake. Well, maybe it was Rothschild-Pound cake....

With a beverage, I started my day at Café 222 for less than ten dollars. While I didn't ask, guests at the Rothschild-Pound House may get breakfast as part of their package. I also didn't ask if the lunch menu fittingly includes "Cottages Cheese."

Café 222 is open for breakfast and lunch most days - and it represents what the Historic District ought to be. But this restaurant is a bit of a walk away from the Government Center. It's actually closer to the Greyhound bus station - and that clientele is more likely to go to KFC instead.

So the Historic District dining lineup looks like this: there's the popular Minnie's on Eighth Street. Café 222 is on Seventh Street, Chester's Barbecue is at Sixth and Veterans Parkway, Bludau's is at Fourth and Broadway -- so when does Fourth Street Baptist Church plan to open a diner on Fifth Street?

Now that we've had breakfast, let's wash it down with events from a rainy and chilly Monday:

+ Fort Benning police reported 35 protesters were arrested during SOA Watch weekend. The protest group reported 41 arrests Sunday -- so while these college students may know their politics, they might need remedial math instruction.

+ The Muscogee County School Board voted to give teenage mothers the option of attending their neighborhood school, or the Teen Age Parenting Center. So from now on, young women can choose to "tap out" at any time.

+ Former President Jimmy Carter told NBC's "Tonight Show" his Thanksgiving dinner will be a wild turkey he harvested last year -- hunted by making a noise "like a sexy hen." Wouldn't you expect former President Clinton to do this, instead?

+ A man complained to me he had to wait three hours on Saturday at the Columbus Department of Motor Vehicles office, to get a license plate. There's a way to obtain one much faster, of course - and what felony crime would you like to commit to start making some?

+ A "Business Week" report found the average price of a home in Columbus is about $111,500. The magazine calls that a sign the local housing market is "undervalued." With anything else, we'd be praised for promoting discount pricing.

+ WXTX "News at Ten" talked with a local married couple which met through a dating web site. I've always been skeptical about finding romance this way. Will your digital date be the "1" - or a zero?

+ WLGA TV-66 switched to its new tower in Chattahoochee County - and WOW! For Columbus viewers who don't have cable or satellite, the difference was clear right away. For instance, for the first time in months you can actually WATCH the station....

+ The giant new Georgia Aquarium opened for season pass holders in downtown Atlanta. It's tempting to take the Atlanta Hawks there - since at 0-9, their season is going into the tank already.

(This new aquarium opens only days after the Flint "Riverquarium" in Albany announced layoffs, due to a lack of visitors. What if people don't go to Atlanta's complex? The downtown beggars might not like sharing street corners with sharks.)

+ Instant Message to Majestic Carpet Care: About your coupon in the latest Super Saver Value Book, offering "free deodorizerizing" - is that the same thing as deodorizing? Or does your deodorizer need special deodorizing of its own?

(If it will make you feel better: this same book has an ad for Bill Heard Chevrolet which proclaims: "We support our TROUPS." Hopefully they support people in the surrounding counties as well.)

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