FOR THE FREE LANCE-STAR

Spotsylvania Courthouse is seeing many changes these days, with new buildings and businesses, and the next phase of Lake Anna Parkway under construction.

One of the new businesses is Bobby K's Grill, with primarily outside dining and a few seats inside.

The small eatery focuses on breakfast and lunch, just as the owner, Bobby K, does at his other location, a concession at Dalghren.

His sister-in-law and wife were busy at the Courthouse venue when My Dining Partner and I, plus our cat in a carrying case, ventured by for lunch.

The cat was not pleased to have had her annual checkup, and the prospect of our stopping for lunch on the way home didn't improve her mood. It improved ours, however.

It was too hot to enjoy the picnic tables with umbrellas, so we sat at the counter inside. MDP, who had eaten lunch there before, ordered the Smoke House Steak & Cheese ($6.50) sub. This sub is more than a meal--it was huge and packed with filling, more meat than cheese.

The filling also included sauteed onion, barbecue sauce and bacon.

I was tempted by one of the 12 burger options (half were variations on a theme of chili burger), but decided to select something else when I was told that the burgers are only prepared well-done. I know it's a good food safety measure, but I still prefer mine medium-rare.

So I decided on a turkey club ($6) on rye toast. I had mistakenly thought that it would not be as mountainous as MDP's sub. Wrong! Even he remarked at the amount of turkey layered with the bacon, lettuce, tomato and Swiss cheese (my choice of cheeses).

The ingredients were fresh, and the sandwich was more than filling.

Each sandwich came with a bag of chips, and we could have added fries for just $1.

The menu board indicated that Bobby K's serves homemade cakes, so after looking at what appeared to be samples on the counter, I inquired. The "samples" were actually candles in the shape of coffee cakes and other treats, and unfortunately the edible homemade kind were not available on the day we were there.

The restaurant has take-out and will deliver for a minor charge in a limited area.

The sign on the front of the building reads: "Not fast food, but good food fast," and that's exactly what we discovered Bobby K's offers.

Linda Salisbury is the author of the Bailey Fish books, an award-winning adventure series for kids.