MAY 24TH, 2012 - THE STATION, BRYSON CITY, NC

I guess you all are wondering what happened to the Hemlock Inn. Well, when we tried to make a reservation today for tonight, we were informed we needed to make them 24 hours in advance. When I informed the young man the website did not require supper reservations, he told me it did. When he looked at the website, he agreed, it did not state reservations were needed, but indeed they were. So, we were not able to go this week, but someone will draw it again. Next time, we will know 24 hours in advance to make reservations.

Well, Greg and I were late to dinner as we "had a clear case of miscommunication".  But not to worry.. Lisa was having a beer and we hadn't missed a thing. The Station is a fairly new restaurant in Bryson, located across from the train depot in the renovated Copes Chevrolet two story building. I am not sure what is upstairs. There are a little string of  boutiques and The Station in the lower level. The restaurant has been operating for a few years.

BRYSON CITY DEPOT

The restaurant does have an outdoor dinning area with a few tables and umbrellas. The outside was very crowded and at first I had a hard time finding the door. I have only eaten at The Station once before. That was about a year or so ago. I do not know who owned it or if they are the same owners as now.I have to admit, my going into the restaurant tonight was colored by my first and only experience a year or so ago. What I distinctly remember is being served on Styrofoam plates with plastic cutlery, which did not last the entire meal. We did not receive any explanation for the serving pieces and left wondering if that was a permanent thing. I also remember the food not being that good. In fact, it was pretty unmemorable.
But! this was a new day and we were here to see how our experience would be this time.

The restaurant is not very big and is like a long rectangle. It is very crowded with tables and chairs. It is also decorated in some sort of cheap looking flea market items sitting on shelves that (I think) are supposed to give it a vintage feel. There are also floor to ceiling, wall to wall framed photographs which we were informed by our wait person, were taken by a friend of the owners. They apparently are not for sale. They make the room feel very claustrophobic and cluttered  with a cheap motel decor feel. There is also a large TV at one end of the room. I hate, hate, hate TV's in a restaurant. I think they are appropriate for sports bars. If I wanted to watch TV while I ate supper, I would just do that at home and eat off my folding tray. But, when I go out to supper, I like to talk to my company, visit and even possibly make new friends out of the people at the next table. I like to enjoy my supper in peace and relaxation without a TV blaring behind, beside or in front of me. For some reason, everyone's eyes gravitate towards the TV.. kinda like having a huge IPhone in front of you.
We sat for awhile before anyone came to ask our drink order. The wait person seemed very distracted and discombobulated. As a result there were several mishaps with our drinks and exactly what was available on the menu. Seems there were several things they were out of, which we were not informed of up front. After finding out the several items I was going to choose were unavailable (after the previous ones were not available), I had to step back and punt. In order to just order something I just ordered a Bacon Cheddar Cheeseburger.
Lisa and Pam had ordered the Fried Green Tomatoes before we arrived. Something I have learned about Pam.. she do love her some Fried Green Tomatoes.

FRIED GREEN TOMATOES

 These were not too thick, but did have a thick breading on them. They were served with a horseradish sauce which was tasty. The FGT were in fact green and were OK.

After we placed our order.. we endured a VERY long wait. To the tune of about an hour... yes an hour before our food arrived. There were two other tables in the restaurant besides us and table of 8 outside on  the porch. Everyone had their food, had eaten and some had even left before ours came.

Lisa ordered the Sizzling  Blackened Chicken.  Lisa's came with a sweet baked potato and a salad

LISA'S SALAD

SIZZLING BLACKENED CHICKEN

BAKED SWEET POTATO

Pam ordered the Chicken Quesadilla. Hers looked good. Cant speak to taste.

CHICKEN QUESADILLA

Greg ordered the Shrimp Scampi .Greg's pasta was literally floating in what was supposedly Alfredo sauce. There was a large pool of runny white sauce in his bowl, so that when he took a bite he had to shake the pasta off so he wouldn't slop the sauce all over him. His dish had large shrimp on it which was very good. I am not sure what this dish was, but it was not Shrimp Scampi. He was also supposed to get a salad which came with his meal. He also did not ask about it for fear of adding another hour or so to our experience there.

SHRIMP SCAMPI

 My burger came with fries, but since I have food issues surrounding fries, I wanted something else. It seems my options included mashed potatoes, or baked potatoes. I chose a baked potato. The potato was fairly OK. It was served with butter. I did not get asked if I wanted sour cream or anything else and I was afraid to ask for anything else for fear my potato would be cold as a wedge by the time I got it. The hamburger meat itself was OK. The bun was terribly dry and I ended up taking my burger off and just eating it by itself.

BACON CHEDDAR CHEESEBURGER

It continued to take a long time to get refills, dishes cleared, etc. Overall, the experience was not a pleasant one. The food was very overpriced, was not a consistent high quality and took three  lifetimes to arrive. The prices were all over $15.00 a plate. To be fair, I am not sure if this was the first waitressing job our person had had or she was just having an off day, but throughout the meal, she appeared distracted, flighty or something. If the food had of been really good and worth the price, we could have overlooked the terrible service and long wait. But to have bad  service, long wait, high prices, and terrible food does not make us happy campers.



Now that I am reflecting back on our conversation. it too appeared to have a disjointed pattern, with folks not following the conversation  flow and leaving off in mid sentence or mid conversation to do something else.. like watch TV. The night was a little weird.

ONE OF THE PHOTOS. THIS ONE WAS AT OUR TABLE. WE  WERE INFORMED AFTERWARDS  THAT TAKING PHOTOS OF THE PHOTOS WAS NOT ALLOWED. BUT HE WAS SUCH A CUTE LITTLE FELLA.

But we did get our fake porn names solidified. I found a site where you use two methods to develop your porn name. (1) Take your middle name and the name of your first pet. (2) Take your first pets name and the name of the street you grew up on. We used that as a basis, but we did exercise artistic license too. So here goes.... now introducing......

Lisa - Misty Tunnel, Greg - Casar Wetdreamcatcher, Susan - Kitty Beaver, Pam - Tinkerbell Peters.
Reckon we'll  make it to Hollywood with those names? Don't hold your breath!

And, we also finished sharing our turning points. I actually had two. The first was my decision to not attend Chowan College based on the location, first look at the college campus and the dorms. That meant I was not going into graphic arts as planned. I ended up attending Warren Wilson College instead. So not only did I end up at a totally different college than planned, I also ended up having to pick a major that I had not planned on either. WWC did not have a graphic arts major.
The second was my first marriage to a very abusive man. It changed who I was as a person and who I thought I was.
Lisa's was the decision to not attend college to pursue veterinary school based on the refusal of her guidance counselor to provide her with a reference letter. So Lisa also had to choose a college and career path that was not her first choice.
Pam... did Pam get out of telling us hers? How slick....I told you it was a weird evening.

Out next weeks question was to develop an alter ego name. We can't tell you the results of that as its confidential. If we told you,  then we would have to kill you.

We left that evening feeling less than satisfied on all accounts. Before we left, I did draw the next place and we are headed to Guayabitos Mexican in the shopping center. See you at 6:30.

May 17th - Pasqualinos - Bryson City

PASQUALINOA = BRYSON CITY DOWNTOWN

 This week we met at Pasqualinos in downtown Bryson City. I dont know the owners real name, I just call him Pasquali. His wife is Nancy Bright who is originally from Bryson City. They are both fabulous folks and Boy! can that Pasquali cook! The restaurant is located in the old two story Belk Building.
I used to love going to Belk. It was two story with fabrics, household items and notions downstairs. I loved going down the stairs into the basement. I remember feeling like really something when moma would take me to Belks. Since it was the biggest store in Bryson, it felt like going to the big city. The shoe department was very small and right inside the back door. The man would measure my feet with one of those metal sliding foot measuring things. Then if I could find a pair of shoes I liked and were available in my size, I would try them on and look at my feet in one of those floor model slanted mirrors. I used to love watching myself walking away as it always looked like I was walking uphill. It was the simple pleasures back then. Actually it still is. Sometimes I am like Charlene on Designing Women... I have "the ability to be completely and utterly fascinated with absolutely nothing."

Anyway.. back to the evening. What can I say? Fabulous as usual. Nancy wasn't there tonite, only Pasquali and the boys. When we arrived, there were only a couple of tables filled. After we had been there for just about 10 minutes or so, the place began to fill up quickly. Large groups of folks traipsed in and the place became noisier and busier. There were only two wait persons so we had to wait to times for refills, etc. But not to worry as we were too busy talking to be annoyed or put out.

Greg was able to join us tonite and he gave us the update on his weekend in Oklahoma and Kansas. There was no wedding due to the grooms stupid behavior and the intelligence of the bride to call it off. Anywho.. he also did not get to sing in Kansas as the drum was too little and there were too many singers around it. But he did get to visit with his family, so that always makes him happy. I have discovered that I am going to have to get my 411 from someone else in the  family, as Greg does not make a good gossip. I had several questions about the "goings on" back home, and he always responded "I didn't ask". " DIDN'T ASK!

??!!" What the hey? How does one expect to find out anything if they don't ask. More importantly, how does one expect to find out anything and report it back to the wife, if they don't ask? I am going to have to talk to one of the brothers... 

Back to Pasqualinos..... the inside of the restaurant, which is only on the top floor of the building is a great place for a romantic or private dinner. It has dim lighting, with Italian decor all around, but not too overdone. A nice bar runs the entire side of one wall, behind which are the cooks and the wine selection. So you get the experience of watching (somewhat) the cooks prepare your meal. Some of the cooks have been there since the restaurant opened. Pasquali is ALWAYS there, and will often come out onto the floor to meet and greet and inquire as to the satisfaction of your meal. When it is not busy, you can also often find him sitting outside on one of the benches. 

ITS NOT REALLY THIS DARK INSIDE.. JUST CAMERA WOULDNT TAKE A  GOOD  PIC. 

The tables are very tastefully done with white cloth tablecloths under burgandy ones. A small candle light, green cloth napkins, bread plates, and water glasses also adorn the tables. The chairs are ones you might find in a family's dinning room, wooden, wide seats with arms. Very comfortable. 

Each table is served a basket of homemade mini baguettes and a house special dipping sauce that has an olive oil base. I am not sure of all the ingredients, but it does have Worcestershire sauce, peppers, maybe vinegar and garlic. I am not sure what else it has but it is TASTY! The best I've had in any Italian restaurant. It has a little bite to it which is a great compliment to the bread. 

The sweet tea is very good, Southern sweet but not mid west syrup sweet. Greg and I ordered the Calamari. Calamari is one of my favorites and while the best is typically  found at the beach, Pasqualinos is very good too. Not heavily breaded and a flavorful marinara sauce for dipping. 

CALAMARI WITH MARINARA SAUCE

Lisa and Pam ordered the Artichoke with Prosciutto wraps. I had never had them, but they were quite cute. Looked like cocoons. They were also quite good. Nice, thick rolls or Prosciutto wrapped with generous sections of Artichoke leaves. The portion was very generous also.

ARTICHOKE & PROSCIUTTO WRAPS 

Each meal is served with a salad.Your choice, House or Caesar.  The House salad is basic, but with the bread, dipping sauce and generous portions of entree, any larger salad would require you get a doggie bag for your meal. Especially if you order an appetizer. (Or a baggie dog, if you are an exchange student and happen to be hosted by my brother who you rely on to help with these cultural nuances).  Also the dressings are homemade. Always a plus. 

HOUSE SALAD WITH RANCH

CAESAR SALAD

For the entrees, Lisa ordered the Filet Mignon. Pam ordered the Baked Tortellini with meat sauce. I ordered the Blackened Shrimp Pasta and Greg ordered the Ribeye. The Filet Mignon and Ribeye were specials that night. Pasqualinos has very good steaks, especially their Ribeyes which come plain or your choice of a homemade topping, which are different than what you would find in your chain restaurants. They are consistent in taste, size and flavor.

FILET MIGON WITH SIDE OF PASTA

BAKED TORTELLINI WITH MEAT SAUCE

BLACKENED SHRIMP PASTA

RIBEYE WITH PASTA SIDE

 The steaks come with a side of pasta, your choice of Marinara or Alfredo sauce. The portions are generous and the food is very very good., Loads of flavor, nicely presented, hot, right off the grill. 

CHEESECAKE WITH CARAMEL, CHOCOLATE, & RASPBERRY SAUCES

For dessert, Greg and Pam decided to split a cheescake. The cheesecake normally comes with your choice of Chocolate, Raspberry or Caramel sauce. Pam requested all three on the side. She liked the Caramel the best. The Chocolate tasted like Hersheys ( which I am not opposed to), and the Raspberry was Gregs favorite. The cheesecake was tall and very creamy and delicious. I do love a good cheesecake. Most tastes like it just came out of the freezer. You know.. I should have asked if they made theirs. 

Now to the good stuff. Our conversation this evening was very interesting. I told my story of my run in with the Duke Power sprayers this evening, who killed my Flowering Cherry tree by hacking it with a machete and then spraying it. By the end of the encounter, I had reimbursement for my tree, the tree cut down below the spray line to hopefully save it, and my invasive trumpet vine sprayed. I won't go into too many details of the conversation as it would be rated R. I think between me and my two dogs, Snuffle and Popi, we scared the two Mexican workers to death as they were "gitting it" down the driveway when they caught glace behind them of me, Snuffle and Popi hot on their heels.

The conversation then moved on to a show on TLC called "My Big, Fat American Gypsy Wedding." If you get a chance to see that...do. For some reason, I am completely fascinated (refere to previous comment above) with the Gypsys that are on that show. They feature a  different family or community every week. I just never knew there was such a large population of Gypsys living all over the US. They are treated many times, like the Native Americans were treated.. or mistreated I should say. I myself don't think I have ever encountered a Gypsy. Or if I did, I was not aware of their ethnicity. I must say.. they do spend a great deal of money on their wives and daughters. Every time I watch that show, I just have more and more questions, though.  Lisa shared her experience with Gypsy's while traveling in Rome. Pam, who had never watched the show, seemed to be intrigued. I know I am.
Lisa then informed us that one of the Swamp Men had died suddenly.MItchell Guist, one of the bearded brothers, fell overboard - dead. He would be turning 49 in a few days. The death was either heart attack or seizure. This man does not look 48. He looks more like 68. That is sad and I am sure his brother, Glenn who was on the show with him is very sad. 

Pam  then  posed the first of her many questions that night, by asking us what is our favorite movie.She started out by asking about our favorite of all time, but she eventually had to qualify that by our current favorite as all of our choices had changed over the years.
 Lisa's was Yentl (1983), starring Barbara Streisand. Greg's was Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954). This movice was based on the short story, "The Sobbin' Woman." Jane Powell was one of the Seven Brides as was Julie Newmar. What can you say about Julie Newmar? A lot, but you have to include that she was statuesque. She was the object of much adoration in "To Wong Foo, thanks for everything!, Julie Newmar" starring Patrick Swayze (Vide Boheme), Wesley Snipes ( Noxeema Jackson) and John Leguizamo (Chi-Chi Rodriguez). I LOVED that movie. That was freaking  hilarious. I love Sheriff Dollard, who Vida kept calling Sheriff Dullard.

Oops! Rabbit trail.... 

My favorite movie is To Kill a Mockingbird. I love that move and is one I can watch over and over. This movie was based on the novel by Harper Lee, who was quite eccentric and a close friend of Truman Capote. That explains a lot.. if you have ever read Truman Capotes books. I happen to love them. 

To Kill a Mockingbird (book) was Harper Lees only book and won a Pulitzer Prize. The movie starred Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch. He won an Oscar for this role. The movie also was nominated for Best Supporting Actor Mary Badham, who played Scout. Most of you may not know that Robert Duvall was Boo Radley, the scary next door neighbor who was bigger than life in the  tales that were told of him around the neighborhood, especially by the children. Pam and I both always wanted to find a tree with treasure in it. And who could forget Dill, the visiting little silly boy, who continually told tall tales about his daddy to make up for the fact that he was always absent. 

Pam's favorite movie  was anything with Bette Davis in it. I happen to love Bette Davis movies too.  You can see them on TCM, which I watch a lot. Why is it that actors/actresses back in the 1950's and 60's always did everything? They acted, danced, sang... and did it with style and grace. They also did it without cussing like they were raised in the pits of hell, showing us in great detail who they were having sex with at the moment, or blowing up buildings, entire city blocks, or screwing over someone close to them. Movies today, are pretty much garbage and not worth watching. And now that the shock factor has pretty much reached its pinnacle, where is there to go? What happened to the basic movie with a story and funny real life moments along the way? Who decided that type of movie was no longer in style? Whoever it was.. is now the one making all the reality TV shows, and cartoons for adults. I, for one, do not care one whit about what a bunch of idiotic teenagers living in New Jersey are doing. From what little I have seen, they are doing a whole bunch of nothing. And now have reached celebrity status based on nothing more than sleeping til noon, having sex with anything that will stay still long enough, fighting amongst each other, people on the street, tanning til they look like a piece of baked cow hide, spending money on shoes, clothes, hair products,  music, and sitting around thinking up names to call themselves so they can sound cool.
Rabbit Trail..sorry.  

Pam also posed other questions to us ( I am not sure that's legal). But we elected to answer them next week as they were too difficult to answer tonite. She asked us "If we were porn stars, what would our stage name be?' (Where does she come up with this stuff?) The other question was "What was a turning point in our lives?" Greg went ahead an answered her immediately by identifying the night he met me!! NO....JUST KIDDING!! 

His was the night he got alcohol poisoning, died twice in the hospital and made a conscious decision to quit drinking. He just celebrated 19 years of sobriety May 2nd. Fantabulous!! That is certainly something to be proud of. 

We were so stuffed and stiff from sitting there for 2.5 hours, we had to leave. The town was closed up and the streets rolled up when we walked out of the restaurant. But we all agreed... it was a great evening complimented with fantastic food. 

It was Pam's time to draw and she drew The Filling Station. It does not serve dinner but if you ever have a hankering for a good sandwich.. check this place out. It is small., and there is no where to sit except 4 barstools in front of the window. I think the owner has plans to change that with the renovation of Pops Soda Shop next door. They have a whole host of great sandwiches, soups, cookies, and brownies. Good tea too. The diner has a gas station theme. 

Anyway.. back to the draw. Since The Filling Station does not serve dinner, Pam drew again. It looks like The Hemlock Inn next Thursday, May 24th at 6:30. The Hemlock Inn is close to my house. I have eaten there a couple of times. They serve big ole' family style dinners on a round table with a lazy susan middle. They do have a website. Check it out. 

See you next Thursday at 6"30 at The Hemlock Inn. 

The Persimmon Grille - May 10, 2012

Just under the wire, here I am posting the day of our next culinary adventure. I'll do better next time. Anyway, I really enjoyed my steak at The Persimmon Grille last Thursday night. Often I'll order something I think sounds good, then taste a dinner companion's meal and wish I'd gotten that instead. This time, though, when I tasted the chicken marsala, I was glad I'd gotten the steak. The chicken was a bit dry. The steak, on the other hand, was moist, tender, and flavorful, and the horsereadish Bordelaise sauce with blue cheese was yummy.

Oh crap, I just looked up Bordelaise and here's what it said: Bordelaise sauce is a classic French sauce named after the Bordeaux region of France, which is famous for its wine. The sauce is made with dry red wine, bone marrow, butter, shallots, and sauce demi-glace. BONE MARROW! How do they come by that stuff and what does it look like? Do I want to know? I don't think so. Oh, the dangers of Google!

Like Susan, when I think country club, I think tres elegant, fancy-schmancy, but this place was small and very un-fancy, though clean and tidy. Two big wall-mounted TVs were tuned to the golf channel, so clearly the place caters to hungry golfers coming in after 18 holes. When I arrived and stood at the front door waiting for the others, four or five "women of a certain age" whizzed by in golf carts, one after the other like a little train. They zoomed over to their vehicles to unload their clubs, then zoomed off out of sight, presumably to return the carts before heading home for cocktails and dinner. A little glimpse of how the other half lives. Or might they be part of the one percent? Or just retirees enjoying their hard-earned rewards? Hard to tell in a little place like that.

When Mama was pregnant with me, she and Daddy were living in a duplex in Swannanoa and one day a snake got into the pantry at the same time Granny Duncan stopped by for a visit. She said, "Lord, don't let Patsy in here. They's a snake and it'll mark that baby!" Anybody else ever heard of that? I asked Susan and Leaf about it at supper but they didn't know. We talked about what the mark would look like if a snake did mark a baby. Or would it be an invisible kind of mark? I may need to put that in the novel I'm working on now.

As always, it didn't matter that much whether the food was good or not. The important thing is the fellowship with Susan, Greg, and Leaf. Very happy to be part of the club, and looking forward to Pasqualino's tonight!

FIrst meal - Conley's Creek, Whittier, NC

My experience at the Persimmon Grille was quite pleasant, but what's not to like about sharing a meal with friends? I had fried green tomatoes as an appetizer. They were fried, but they weren't green. Instead they were kind of a yellow-red, kind of like a "stripey" tomato. Regardless they were good, especially with horseradish sauce and large thick slices of 'mater. As we ate I ran into an old friend who was sitting at the bar which was small but looked inviting. The grill is set on the Smokey Mountain golf course, so the windows allow for great views. But, getting back to supper - I ordered the chicken marsala, a nice brown-mushroom sauce that complimented the grilled chicken breast along with those fancy french green beans was quite tasty! But what really made the meal was the laughter and stories of friends Susan and Pam. Susan's husband Greg wasn't with us, so we took liberties at his expense of course, to talk about him and a trip he was taking to his homeland in Oklahoma.  He thought he was heading for a wedding, but we found out he might instead be heading to a funeral.  We just knew he had a biiiigggg surprise coming his way! Aren't families great sources of amusement - and grief - and fun - and pain - and joy - and anger - and...well, you know?

May 10th, 2012 - Smoky Mountain Country Club - Persimmon Grill

This was our first week eating as the newly formed Appalachian Supper Club. We chose the Persimmon Grill as the  first place to start begin as I found coupons hanging on the Whittier Post Office wall. (Buy one dinner entree and get one free). Well you can't beat that any day of the week. Plus none of us had eaten there.

 Maybe I ought to back up and start at the beginning. 


We are just a small group of friends who developed the habit of meeting every Thursday at a very special Mexican restaurant in Cullowhee, NC to eat and catch up on our week and what craziness or good news we had to share. There is Lisa, who is a Medical Anthropologist. She keeps us on our toes regarding any environmental, cultural or eco news, especially when it concerns air, water or the continuing destruction of our mountains by ignorant folks who; for some reason, want to doze all of them down in the pursuit of a better view from their 2nd or 3rd home, which happens to be sitting on top of one the mountains. Then there is Pam who is just funny as hell and always has an unexpected question to pose to us. I think these questions are sly attempts to develop characters for her latest book, but who knows. Maybe her mind does just go in fourteen directions at once. Then there is Greg who is originally from Oklahoma, and is the only male in the group. Kudos to him for staying in his seat during conversations about past relationships, menopause, baby daddy's, domestic violence, crazy people, other peoples children, facial hair, gays and lesbians, medical conditions (some specific to women) and a myriad of  other topics that most men would run screaming away from. Especially while they are eating. He does offer us a different perspective and even (strangely) can follow our often disjointed conversation. Then there is me.. a buyer and seller of sentiment and memories. The Supper club was my idea and I often have such. However, most times whenever I say "I have an idea," people close to me react by rolling their eyes, visibly holding their breath as if waiting for bad news, or verbally reacting with "Oh no!"  Especially my husband and carpenter friend as they know that statement from me usually involves work from them.

BUT! everyone seemed to like this idea. I suggested we form a Supper Club. Being from WNC, the proper term is "supper," unlike dinner which is the noon meal often referred to as lunch. Only outsiders call the noon meal lunch and the evening meal dinner. Since we are all from the south and from WNC (Greg excluded but excepted), we named our group the Supper Club. Anyway, I suggested we start meeting at different restaurants each week and write a blog about our experiences. I had never written a blog and really did not know what that was. I only had the movie "Julie and Julia" to go by. This suggestion was formed when we were trying to find local restaurants that were participating in the "Dinning out for Life" event in WNC. What we found was that only one restaurant in our area was participating. While looking over the extensive list in Asheville, I realized there were many, many restaurants I had not eaten at, and there were many, many more I had not even heard of. I wondered if there were restaurants closer to home in the same category. Sure enough.. there were.

So the next Thursday, I rolled out my idea to our group.. with the typical first reactions as mentioned above. But everyone seemed to like it after I had explained it a bit. We decided to start in Swain County and not go any further west.. for reasons undetermined. I think none of us wanted to drive that far really. We also decided each Thursday to draw a name to determine where we would go the following week. Since I found coupons for the Smoky Mountain Country Club Persimmon Grill, we all thought that was an easy starting place and a good bargain for us too. During this process, we felt bad about abandoning our favorite haunt and decided we would return there every first Thursday of the month. This is subject to change as needed., really based on if anyone of us need a Mexican fix. We also agreed that we would exclude fast food and chain restaurants from our list. After all.. we were really after good homemade, fresh food. It could prove to be a very fascinating adventure for us all.

During the following week, I googled for a listing of restaurants in Swain county and cut them out. I folded them so the person drawing would not see the name and be able to pick  or avoid specific places. I laid out my camera, the baggie of restaurant listings and I was ready for Thursday.

 And of course I was late!! I was trying to print the list and for some reason my computer and printer quit talking. I contacted my favorite computer fixer - my neighbor - and he came over after work. He never could figure out what the problem was but was able to rig me up something so I could print the list. I had not heard from Lisa or Pam at this point and decided to call to see if  they had forgotten. But of course they were waiting for me at Persimmon Grill. I raced to the restaurant and was surprised to see the Grill was not in the location of the old restaurant. It was located in what used to be the clubhouse.

The old restaurant was post and beam construction and quite impressive in size. It had a large deck that afforded the patron a nice "up in the air" feel. The whole back was glass and provided a fabulous view of the valley and part of the golf course. This restaurant burnt down a few years ago and I just assumed the Persimmon Grill was built back in its place.

The Persimmon Grill is very small. Even the tables felt small. There was only one waitress and the place really only needs one, and she was quite busy that night. Pam and Lisa had already ordered an appetizer, which I made them put back together so I could take a photo of it. Fried Green Tomatoes! One of my favorites.
The best ones I have ever found were Pickens, SC at a little country diner called The Family Restaurant or something like that. I used to eat there after I would leave the Wednesday flea market in Pickens. Really good homemade country food. And bar none...the BEST fried green tomatoes found. The last time I went to  Pickens, I pulled in the parking lot and to my great dismay the place was closed. I asked around town, but no one could tell me what happened. (I digress.. which I do often). The Persimmon Grill Fried Green Tomatoes were not green, but reddish yellow. Because they were not green, they were not firm like green tomatoes. They were presented well ( as you can see from, the  photo), but were a bit mushy. They were also served with a horseradish sauce, which was mediocre. It could of had a bit more flavor.





FRIED GREEN (BUT NOT GREEN) TOMATOES





 I ordered half sweet and half unsweet tea. The tea was very good. Pam order the special which was a NY strip with melted blue cheese and horseradish Bordelaise sauce, baked potato and french green beans. She gave me a bite of her steak and I have to say, it was quite tasty. But how can you go wrong with horseradish?

NY STRIP WITH HORSERADISH AND BLUE CHEESE BORDELAISE. 

Lisa and I ordered the Chicken Marsala. I love Chicken Marsala, and have had it prepared a dozen different ways. The meal came with either a Caesar or house salad. I chose the House since Lisa ordered the Caesar. I requested Ranch dressing. I meant to ask the waitress if  the dressings were homemade, but forgot. My Ranch was tasty, but extremely salty. Almost choke you salty. The flavor did taste like homemade, as it had lots of dill in it. The House salad was good too. Nice variety of veggies on the salad. The accompanying corn muffin was very dry and tasted like Jiffy Mix that had been watered down.

CAESAR SALAD WITH CORN MUFFIN

HOUSE SALAD WITH CORN MUFFIN

The Chicken Marsala was a bit on the skimpy side. The chicken was about the size of a playing card. The sauce was OK as far as taste; not one of the best nor one of the worst I've had. It was a bit skimpy on mushrooms as I only had 3.  My baked potato was not quite done, but done enough to eat and not bother sending back. The French Green Beans were also mediocre. The whole meal ,was not to the level I expected for a country club. But maybe I just have some sort of vision in my mind of affluence and prestige when thinking about a country club. While the experience was not an entirely negative one, it was also certainly not one that would entice me to return for a meal.

CHICKEN MARSALA WITH BAKED POTATO & FRENCH GREEN BEANS

The company on the other hand was exceptional. Being that Greg was not present, but in Oklahoma for a wedding that was not going to happen due to a sudden and, I am sure, unexpected protection order, we took advantage of his absence and had girl talk that night. Pam in her usual manner asked us some question regarding our history of  wives tales" involving pregnant women dreaming or seeing snakes and as a consequence the baby being marked. We also discussed our current progress on our books as we are all three in the process of writing a book. Lisa thinks I need an agent and I think I am not anywhere close to needing an agent and really would not even know how to go about finding one. Overall, we talked and laughed and hee hawed a few times. It was good conversation with great friends, while eating mediocre food.

We decided to draw the next place we would eat by alphabetical order. Since Greg was absent, Lisa drew.  We will convene at Pasqualinos in Bryson City Thursday, May 17th at 6:30 pm.
I have eaten at Pasqualinos many times and love the food. The owners are sweethearts and I have known Nancy and her family since high school. She is my brothers age and her sisters were in school with me. She comes from a very hard working family and they are fantastic folks.
See you Thursday!! 

Not being a "blogger" (something that folks a generation ago would have thought indecent - too much like booger) this adventure with friends should be fun and challenging. We hope to eat our way through western North Carolina in search of  - well, food that's fit to eat. So you'll hear it from us if it ain't and if it is. May the force be with us all.