Nostalgia, memory and $12 milkshakes

What's the most expensive meal you've ever had?

Apr 05, 2025

Hey friends! I’ve got a TV show and (soon) a book out in the world, and I’d love for you to check them out. Watch “Home Turn,” my show with NASCAR Studios, right here. And prepare for the arrival of IRON IN THE BLOOD, the story of the Alabama-Auburn rivalry, dropping Aug. 26. More details here, pre-order below.

Pre-order IRON IN THE BLOOD here

Whenever I hit the road, I track down the local joints, the restaurants and bookstores and bars that have been around for decades. There’s something enduring about these kinds of places, something that keeps them in business year after year, generation after generation. As I can happily attest, it isn’t necessarily that the food is any good at these institutions … it’s that they’ve survived.

Earlier this year, I was in the poverty-stricken, downtrodden community of Palm Beach to cover the TGL indoor golf league, and along the way, I found out about Green’s Pharmacy. Open since 1938, it’s a throwback to another era, a lunch counter and an actual pharmacy right there in the heart of Palm Beach.

A wee John F. Kennedy goofed around at the counter after attending services at St. Edward’s across the street, and when he was president, JFK would duck in for a milkshake. Frank Sinatra, Jimmy Buffett and Rod Stewart have all bellied up to the grill, according to local lore. So yes, I had to check this place out.

I sat at the counter and went right down the middle with my order — burger, fries, Coke, chocolate-and-vanilla shake. It all arrived quickly before me, the grease on the burger still sizzling, the condensation sweating down the sides of the Coke cup.

As you can see, that was a damn good burger, a solid meal and a fine way to spend lunch at the beach … hey, wait a second.

Look at that menu.

Look closer.

Computer! enhance!

Whoa. Nineteen bucks for a burger and fries? Twelve dollars for a milkshake? Six bucks for a Coke? That’s one pricey visit back in time.

Whenever I see a milkshake that costs as much as a movie ticket or a trade paperback, I’m reminded of that scene in Pulp Fiction where Vincent Vega can’t wrap his mind around the idea of a $5 milkshake:

Aw, that’s quaint. Five bucks might not even get you a McDonald’s shake these days. (The machine would be broken, even so.) Of course, when you adjust for inflation, Tarantino’s five-dollar milkshake in 1993 would be the equivalent of … eleven dollars now. So maybe he was underestimating.

Anyway, yes, the cost of a burger and fries at Green’s is flat-out outrageous … to me. But then I didn’t grow up at that counter, visiting with my parents or grandparents as a child, bringing my kids as an adult. The weight of nostalgia is a powerful one — and a costly one, too, if the purveyors of such nostalgia are so inclined. (Green’s is located in one of the wealthiest zip codes in the entire country, right up the road from Mar-a-Lago, so I’m not feeling too sorry for the regulars there.)

This got me to thinking — what would I pay to get one more taste of my own favorite foods from days gone by? I’d drop a good $30 for a sandwich from my favorite barbecue joint in Memphis … $40 for a basic Italian sub from the long-gone sandwich shop I used to hit in college … $50 for, yes, a muscadine milkshake I’d get in the summers at the beach with my family. (Damn, I really want a milkshake now.)

Eating out is costly, and getting more expensive every day because of … well, you know. But there’s still something special about returning again and again to a cherished spot, sitting on a spinning stool, placing your elbows onto the countertop and looking over a laminated menu, even though you already know what you’re going to get. Because sometimes, just for a moment, you can solve the problems of the world with a burger and fries … no matter how much they cost.

What’s the most expensive meal you’ve ever eaten? And was it worth it?

Song of the Week: “Sweet Southern Sounds,” Samantha Fish

You name a song “Sweet Southern Sounds,” you’re setting a pretty high bar for yourself. Credit Samantha Fish, then, for both having the guts to attempt this leap, and then pulling it off. This tune, off her forthcoming album Paper Doll, blends North Mississippi blues-guitar rumble, good ol’ Muscle Shoals keening organ and a hint of gospel choir with Fish’s own confident vocals. Damn good stuff, a throwback in the best possible way.

Check out “Sweet Southern Sounds” and all the other music we recommend around here on the official Flashlight & A Biscuit Spotify playlist, accept no cheap knockoffs:

Stunt Food of the Week: Land of 10,000 Calories

God bless baseball season, because every spring brings renewal, rebirth and a glorious array of stunt food. This one here is from the St. Paul (Minn.) Saints, and it’s called “Land of 10,000 Calories.” What you have here is a massive, six-foot-long beef hot dog, topped with pulled pork, cheddar mac and cheese, jalapeños and a “fried onion topping.” Costs $130, and it’s recommended for 10-12 people. Or, if you’re an absolute lunatic, two:

This seems suicidal, but in a delicious way. Poll time!

Words I have written elsewhere this week

I’m covering the Masters next week, so there’s been a lot of prep for that … look for stories on the hurricane that devastated Augusta and the Masters’ secret 19th hole next week. For now, here’s what I did over at Yahoo Sports this past week …

That’ll do it for this run. I’m off to Augusta. If you can squeeze into a backpack, you can come along. Enjoy the week!

—Jay
Land Cat, Georgia