The
Oasis is my Johnny’s away from home. The eerie tingle that moved quickly up and
down my spine when I walked in the front door to the old rugged building
brought an unexpected shot of warmth to my body. I got this same feeling as I
always had as child when went to Johnny’s Diner with my dad, as I had when I
stepped foot through the door of The Oasis. But instead of the warm welcoming
good afternoons that my father and I would receive from Johnny himself and our
favorite waitress Wendy, I felt as though I was being inspected by the
regulars. The Oasis is clearly somewhere that locals find as an escape from the
world outside not just the run down brown building that I saw it as. The menu
seemed almost bare but in a way that was not intimidating and left little to
the imagination, or so I thought it had. I skimmed over every category that was
offered and it seemed almost identical to Johnny’s menu. The typical
cheeseburger with french fries, chicken fingers, and side salads consumed most
of the options. As we started with our appetizer, the mountain of fried onion
rings filled my nose with the thought of greatness. Each bite I took slowly
returned me to the booth that I sat at with my father every Saturday afternoon
as a child, as we would share a small plate of french fries. Even though I was
not in the same comfort I had always felt at Johnny’s something about the dark
atmosphere that surrounded me and my classmates that day made me feel like we
could relax and enjoy our time that we had. As I looked around at the walls
that enclosed us I took my time and tried to take everything in. The pictures
that hung above my right shoulder, that depicted the drunken nights of karaoke
by the brave souls that attempted the act brought laughter to my mind. But not
only did these photos bring my joy and amusement they reminded me of the family
pictures that were hung about the silver ware trays in Johnny’s. These photos
gave Johnny’s that family kind of atmosphere could make you feel comfortable
without even knowing them. The correlation of the pictures showed me that The
Oasis was something more than just your home town spot where you could go to
receive a great meal but also enjoy memories with people that you knew.
As I continued to be amazed with the
similarities between The Oasis and Johnny’s I could see my food coming around
the corner from the waitress who looked like she had been there for some time.
She knew what she was talking about when people asked what something was on the
menu, and she knew the local middle aged men that had staked out their spots at
the bar already. I looked at her as The Oasis’ Wendy. Wendy was everyone’s
favorite waitress. She knew everyone by their first names and would finish her
coworkers’ sentences for them. Wendy had worked at Johnny’s since I was a
little girl and brought me my chocolate milk before I even had to ask her. This
moment of my childhood stuck out in my mind as I watched the blonde haired
waitress bring the older man at the bar with the mullet another round of beers
before he could even open his mouth to order another. She seemed as though she
knew what made the customers happy and her goal was to please them.
She
handed me my plate filled with the typical crinkle cut french fries, alongside
with my chicken finger sandwich that was doused in mayo and stuck between two
pieces of white toast. I looked around at my classmates to see what else
everyone had ordered and it seemed like the classical food you could find at a
diner. With a few exceptions like the Bear Burger, and the bacon chili fries,
everything looked like something I had seen before. But as I picked up my sandwich to put it to
my lips the feeling of grease and the smell of fried chicken was something different.
It finally came to my mind that The Oasis was my “southern” version of
Johnny’s. With the same aspects of the family oriented type of place but with a
little bit more batter and roughness around the edges. I tried to listen to all
of the different conversations that were taking place but the background noise
from the Divorce Court that was playing on the TVs kept interrupting my
concentration. Seeing as it was the middle of the afternoon and clearly many good options for great
entertainment were not apparent this is what would happen at Johnny’s as well.
The TV would play on the same channel everyday even if no one cared as to what
was on the screen. You could tell that the people don’t come to The Oasis for
their mid-day TV selection but they came for more. The Oasis was not just about
the juicy hamburger the guy at the bar would order every day or the refill of
beer that the waitress would keep bringing him. The Oasis consisted of more
than what was apparent to the public eye.
Being
able to digest my thoughts as well as the last few fries that were on my plate,
I realized that having a restaurant to go to where you feel like you are
welcomed with open arms every time you walk through the door is something that
is more appealing than the taste of good food. Yes, I enjoyed the greasy feeling
that the chicken finger sandwich was able to leave in my stomach, but I was
more pleased with the idea of a place that was not your typical chain
restaurant. The Oasis fulfills the notion of being that classic so called
“local” place in Tuscaloosa. From the view of the road it does not seem that
welcoming but the feeling you get when you walk inside gives you so much more
than that. Johnny’s Diner and The Oasis are from two totally different worlds
but have so many of the same characteristics that make them the unique home
town hot spots that they are.
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