Waldorf Chicken Salad

1 cans (6 ounces) light water-packed chicken, drained and flaked
1 large red apple, chopped
1/4 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup dates
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/8 cup chopped walnuts
1/8 cup Dukes mayonnaise
1/8 cup sour cream
2 lettuce leaves

Originally I was going to make a Waldorf Tuna Salad. I like a good tuna salad, but at some point, I said to myself, “Maybe I won’t like tuna with a Waldorf Salad, chicken would probably be a good substitute.” I do like a Waldorf Salad. I use dried cranberries and coconut.

I was planning to make a multi-bean salad including green, kidney, and cannellini beans but I know from past experience that 3-15 oz. cans of beans makes far too much bean salad for me to eat, even refrigerating or freezing it, so I was going to use half a can of green beans, and use the rest of the green beans with some white potatoes & seasoning meat for another side dish. I took out a can of green beans and a can of pinto beans, and then I saw the can of READ 4 Bean Salad.

In the past, I’ve also used wax & pinto beans, and even added assorted other sweet pickled items, like peppers and curried cauliflower. Fresh Market has a delicious curried cauliflower on their olive bar. I see on the can that this salad also includes turmeric. I just opened the can and the liquid is a sweet vinegar. I like it! So no need to make my own bean salad.

NOTE [ 11/12/23 ]: I ate some of the 4 Bean Salad. It was okay, but I found that I had no desire for a second helping in the near future. The problem is that I can make a multi-bean salad that is delicious, but opening a can each of the different beans I might use, means that I end up with way too much homemade bean salad. I would use green, yellow wax, pinto, and kidney beans. I’ve also put in sweet pickles, sweet onion & some of the roquito (little red pearl shaped) peppers. I think it was an episode of Guy Fieri, at home in which he made suggestions of other items to add to his bean salad. I had already tried some of these extra items. I think it was Ryan’s Buffet that had a multi-bean salad that I liked.

Ryans was over about where the current Cracker Barrell Restaurant is located, off of Skibo Road and next to the Walmart. There had been another Ryan’s Restaurant across town, next to where All American & Raeford Roads cross.

Ryans had a good buffet, although I recall chipping a tooth filling one lunch. I think I was trying to eat a pork cracklin (the hard fried skin). But, my dentist, Dr. Lewis was good about getting me in, maybe the next day, and re-filling the missing filling.

At some point, I had not been visiting Ryans every week. Seems I might have been out of town one week on a business conference, and had missed a couple of other weeks going elsewhere for lunch. So, I decide to go to Ryans for lunch that day. I turn in to the Ryan’s parking lot and then I notice there is only one car in the whole lot, and it is parked oddly, up close to the building, not in a parking space and running along the side of the building. I get out of my car and walk up to the front door. There was a sheet of paper pasted on the glass door and it said something about a group that was scheduled to meet at Ryans. They would need to go elsewhere because Ryans was now closed. Closed for good!

I talked to one of the waitresses I knew sometime later. She said that management had said nothing to the waitresses or staff, and just closed the doors one day. I later found an article online that said many Ryans had closed, but that not all had gone out of business. I’m thinking it was one of those towns over near Charlotte that still had a Ryans in business.

*I just found the Facebook site for the Fayetteville, NC Ryans from 2012. A post on the site says, “Located 1470 skibo rd Between Logan’s and Sam’s club.” Looks like the chain closed several locations in January 2012, and a later note says the remaining locations closed due to COVID.