Flash Market: The Best "Fish and Chips"

It feels like the middle of nowhere, but the people living near this Flash Market in Fairview, Tennessee, are fortunate folk, for this gas station carries the best potato wedges I have ever tasted in my life.

It was a random purchase on a trip to Henderson, Tennessee, to see my grandparents. My dad loves a good potato wedge, but little did he know what he was discovering. It's become a bit of a tradition for my family to stop in for this starchy, fried treat on our way to or from my grandparents'.

Once I requested a stop. The driver didn't stop. "I thought you were joking," I was told. "I don't joke about potato wedges," I replied. Now I am always offered a quick run into the store on the way through town.

I normally don't like a large wedge; I prefer less potato and more fried batter, but this huge wedge...I cannot even explain what the magic is. You really need to set your TomTom and make a trip yourself. It's at the corner of the Hwy 96 and I40 interchange.

As we celebrated Christmas with my cousins at this wonderful place (No, I didn't pick the spot; it was on route for the moving cousins on their way to Arkansas.), my dad made a new discovery: their catfish.

The catfish and the wedges are nearly polar opposites in that the wedge is fat, and the fish is thin, giving plenty of crisp batter on the outside. Just pass the ketchup, please.

Often a trip to my grandparents' is a one day event: two-ish hours there, a lunch visit, and two-ish hours back: all within about eight or nine hours. This trip means a cranky toddler calling "stuck, stuck" as he desires freedom from his car seat, and my answer, "I'm stuck too, baby." It also means priceless time with the Henderson side of the Hilliards.

And it also means a potato wedge. Or two. Or two and a half.

Worth it.

Wild Plum Tea Room: Girls Just Want to Have Tea

I must admit: I love a good, girly tea room. On our first anniversary trip to Gatlinburg in 2005, Jay and I drove out to the Wild Plum Tea Room. I took one look at the menu, which they change often (maybe daily) and post outside, and told Jay we could go somewhere else. I knew he wouldn't like anything they offered.

After seven years of marriage, I decided to force this feminine experience upon him. Besides, Jay is now used to eating only 1.5 meals a day, and he'd had a huge breakfast, so I knew he'd be fine with eating a muffin and drinking tea if that's all he found desirable to consume.

 We both drank the Wild Plum fruit tea. (I think I had about 4 cups.) I usually don't drink hot tea that has sugar, but this was a vacation-exception. We also both enjoyed two tiny Wild Plum tea muffins each. These were gone too quickly to photograph.

For my meal I ordered the strata, filled with tomatoes, cheese, and spinach. I prefer an actual quiche with a crust to this version, which had bready layers throughout the egg, but it was quite good. My side was a pasta salad, wet with a balsamic vinaigrette. I used "wet" with purpose. It was a little moist for me, but the flavor was delish.

Jay had fruit (which I got to share) and a turkey sandwich with a lemon spread. As I ate some of his leftovers for dinner, I can attest to the tastiness of his lunch as well. He also said his sandwich was a little "wet" for him. He's not used to a spread of any kind on his bread, and I was impressed he ate as much as he did and enjoyed it.

It was an adorable experience, and I learned a lesson: Jay doesn't hate tea rooms as much as I thought he did. So I will be seeking out similar places in our area and pulling him along for the taste-ride.

Buckhorn Inn: Breakfast Worth Getting Up For

Morning 1 of our 7th anniversary Gatlinburg vacation at Buckhorn Inn = French toast with strawberries and cream, bacon, fresh fruit, blueberry muffin, cranberry juice, and hot cocoa with whipped cream on top

I finally took more than one night away from Jack (with minimal crying spells, on my part). It rained the Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of our vacation; the sun finally popped out of the sky Thursday: the day of our departure. It didn't matter, though. When you are spending your first vacation away from your 19-month-old, you pretty much just want to relax and sleep as much as possible.

Problem: the Buckhorn Inn serves breakfast from 8-9:30.

I can remember when we went to the Buckhorn for our first anniversary. This time seemed quite early. Everything is about perspective. Now sleeping until 8:45 is a luxury. And, I had no embarrassment about throwing on clothes and going to breakfast without having had my shower. It was vacation, and these were strangers. Who cared? I decided not to.

We stayed in a cottage instead of the inn itself, which meant a little jaunt each morning before we made it to breakfast. I'd say this was a good idea, not just because of the beautiful view and privacy of the cottage, but because the morning jaunt to the meal woke up my tummy, and the morning jaunt back burned off a few of those calories.

This breakfast is worth getting up for, and filling enough that all you want to do after is go back to bed. Which we did.

Morning 2 = lemon souffle pancakes with raspberry sauce, bacon, fresh fruit cup, mint tea, cranberry juice, and croissant.

The breakfast is spectacular, a fabulous "good morning" to your mouth. I don't really like raspberry sauces (because of the seeds, mostly), but I love fruit rather than syrup. I didn't get to engorge myself as much with this meal because I didn't feel so well. But this lack of over-eating helped me enjoy our tea room lunch. (Update on this coming later.)

Morning 3 = cream cheese filled croissant in a strawberry sauce with strawberries and cream on top, bacon (always), fresh fruit (always), mint tea, cranberry juice, and blueberry-amaretto coffee cake

Our final morning's breakfast could be categorized in one word: decedent. As if a croissant isn't bad enough for you, this one was filled with cream cheese and then cooked french-toast-style. I ate half of it and felt as though my teeth might (gladly) fall right out of my mouth from the sugar-stimulation. Divine. What a way to end our trip.

www.buckhorninn.com

Riff Burgers: Taste that Tune

"Hey look, there's a burger joint there. When did that happen? Are they open?"

I feel like the first day I noticed Riff Burgers, on the corner of Main and 1st, they already had a crowd. Since it was right before spring break, and right before family travel time, we didn't get a chance to try it out until tonight.

"I hope it's like Five Guys where I can name the toppings I want," I told Jay.

Success #1 = You build your own burger.

And the building has never had so many options. You pick your meat, your bun, and your toppings. Though the meat selections range from beef and chicken to lamb and salmon, we played it simple for this first visit. Jay had a beef burger with a Kaiser bun, American cheese, BBQ sauce, and hickory bacon.

As we were filling out the small menu-type sheets provided, checking off what we wanted in order to build our dream burgers, I noticed a kid's (okay, it's called a baby) burger.

"I wonder what toppings I can get on that?" I asked Jay. Then I asked the lady at the register.

"Whatever," she replied.

Success #2 = You can put any toppings you want on your baby burger.

I handed her the form I had filled out for a regular burger and told her to make it the kid's version. There was a rejoicing of my small appetite paired with my hatred of throwing away food mingled with my bad habit of leaving leftovers in the fridge to rot.

On my baby burger I had lettuce, mustard, pickles, and mushrooms. Jay said his burger tasted a little bland, and that he might mix into the meat some different items next time (which is another options Riff Burgers offers). I didn't notice the meat being bland, but perhaps my mustard was giving me flavor enough.

The skinny fries weren't quite delectable, but several other sides are available, including fried okra. And guess what crept its way onto Jay's plate, hiding covertly under his fries--one tiny okra. I'll be ordering that next time, thank you.

The only problem I can foresee with Riff Burgers is this: this burger establishment is far too close to my home. Let the temptation begin.

My baby burger: I apologize for the poor photograph. I shouldn't always rely on the camera on my phone for these outings; the food looked much taster than this.

Sweet CeCe's with a cherry (or three) on top

Have you seen those mixing bowls that come together like nesting dolls? You know the largest one? My family would jokingly hand it to my Granddaddy Jones or my brother when we were scooping out ice cream. They shared the same intense fondness for this frozen treat.

I always enjoyed ice cream, but during my last two months of pregnancy with my now-seventeen-month Jack, this dessert became an obsession. If it weren't for Sweet CeCe's, I'd probably be about three dress sizes bigger. 

That's a slight exaggeration.

But since the frozen yogurt (better for you than ice cream) shoppe is within walking (exercise!) distance from my home, it is a much healthier alternative for my sweet tooth's latest desire.

A wall of various frozen yogurt options, spouts and a small buffet full of topping possibilities: the potential flavor options seem endless. And until today my favorite was cake batter topped with a sprinkle of white yogurt chips, a dash of ground graham crackers, almond slivers, and three cherries. I would branch out some on the yogurt base, but usually kept the same toppings. 

But this afternoon, at approximately 1:50pm, as I stood with my student worker, celebrating her victorious triumph over Thoreau's Walden, I got a little wild. 

"What's the Original Tart taste like?"

She tried to describe it, and then suggested I try a sample. Not one to cause a fuss or make a special request, I would have greatly missed out if a worker (who was off duty, in a sweatshirt and athletic shorts, and probably trying to move us along in the line so she could make her own favorite concoction) asked if we'd like to try anything. 

One taste. That's all it took. I'm still talking / writing about it, eight hours later. I ended up swirling an orange sorbet with the Original Tart. Unsure of perfect topping pairings with my new base, I tried only coconut and strawberries (and far more than three of this fruit).

If that weren't lovely enough--it was two-punch Tuesday.

This is a picture of a previous Sweet CeCe's experience: Red Velvet base with white yogurt chips, ground graham crackers, and the three (though one is hiding in the corner) cherries. I ate today's with too much passion to remember to photograph it.

Franklin Foodies: A Love of Food Local and Beyond

This year I started a group called the Franklin Foodies. Our mission (which we hungrily chose to accept) was to try the eating establishments of Franklin, beginning in the downtown area and working our way out. Admittedly, Franklin Foodies became my excuse to eat out.

"Oh my goodness, I forgot to take a picture of my lil' spinach salad at Mellow Mushroom. I guess we have to go back again next week."

Then, Franklin Foodies became less of a specific group of people, and more of a hodgepodge of whomever I may ask out to share in local culinary wonders at any given date.

"You've never eaten at McCreary's? We'll have to go soon."

And with this blog I ask you to join in on my taste-journey. Mostly I will focus on the food of Franklin, but I shall also offer some of the meals I experience as I travel. I don't claim to be a culinary expert, and my perspectives will not be written as such. I am just a lover of food, from a long line of lovers of food, and I would like to share that love with you.