August 30, 2012 - Rivers End Restaurant, Nantahala Gorge, Bryson City, NC 

It seems like several months since we have blogged, but we changed our plans for several weeks and Rivers End was put off time and time again. But tonite we finally made it.. although without Pam or Lisa who backed out at the last minute. It seemed more like a date instead of the ASC without our two sidekicks along. 

Our designation tonite was the Rivers End Restaurant located in the Nantahala Gorge on the west end of Bryson City on the way to Andrews. The gorge connects Bryson City - or more properly, Almond and Andrews. The drive through the gorge is beautiful at any time of the year, but during the summer you have to also deal with the tourist traffic. It can be quite horrendous at times, which means you have to pay close attention to the traffic and cannot admire the gorgeous scenery. 

If you travel the gorge during the summer, be prepared for wall to wall cars, folks darting out in front of you trying to cross the road, and hundreds of rafters, kayakers and even just as many gawkers. 

The Nantahala Gorge was the location for the summer Olympics in 2008 kayaking event. It drew quite a crowd in the gorge and in nearby Bryson City. It was quite a coup for Bryson and the Smoky Mtns in general. 

Entrance to the restaurant

The Nantahala  Outdoor Center was started by Payson and Aurelia Kennedy and their good friend back in the 1970's. It has turned into a very successful venture and the original rafting business now includes cabins, a cafe, Aurelia's Garden restaurant, Rivers End Restaurant, a store selling outdoor equipment and conference center. It still maintains that small town local feel and has been recently enhanced by beautiful stone walls (some can be seen in the photos), walkways and bridges.

( It all started on the Nantahala in 1972, with three friends who knew there was something special about this place, and something magical about the time spent in the river, in the hills and on the trails. In the decades since then, the river has seen it all: millions of visitors and millions of smiles. Every year since its founding, NOC has strived to share the wonders of this place, and all the places we raft, hike, pedal and paddle.) http://www.noc.com/noccom/about-us/the-noc-story/ Take the time and read all about  the NOC and their fantastic, build it and they will come dream. A wonderful story of Americana. I was in school with one of the Kennedy's and we were quite good friends. My brother was in school with one of the Kennedy daughters. They were all extremely smart and artistically talented.

View down the river. Note kayak gates

There are now several other rafting companies strewn throughout the gorge, and now when you travel this two lane road, the river looks like an amusement ride with a colorful chain of rubber rafts strung the length of the river. There is a dam located up a side road in the middle of the gorge. It is where the Nantahala school is located. The dam is "turned on" in the morning and "turned off" in the evening. This means the level in the river  changes depending on the time of day. It also means the water is frigid (and I mean frigid) in the morning as it is coming straight from the bottom of the lake caused by the dam. You can see the steam or fog created by the cold water hitting the warm air. It is very ethereal and beautifully misty. Or it can look like a booger fog straight out of a Hitchcock film.. depending on how you look at it.

 The Smoky Mtn  Railroad also goes through the gorge on one of their trip choices. They used to go almost to the end of the gorge, switch engines and head back. They stopped at the NOC for lunch. It was a short stop, so you were really better off bringing you a sandwich than trying to purchase something from the little cafe, as you might get hung up in line and miss  the train. I don't know if they still offer that trip, but it was my favorite. 

Usually the Rivers End is crowded with tourists, summer residents at NOC, locals looking for a place to eat and those just passing through. The restaurant has changed a bit over the years, but in a good way. They have expanded the building, added a porch where you can eat, added a small bar, and tried to expand parking. Every seat has a window where you can watch the activity on the river, including, during slack times, the ducks. 

Rivers End on the back side

When we arrived, we were able to find a parking place pretty easily. It didn't appear the place was too busy. Plus the equipment shop was closed, so that freed up spaces. The restaurant was not too busy either. Fast seating right next to a window. We had a very pleasant,  friendly waitress. I always have a hard time selecting what I want to eat here. They have basic fare, sandwiches, good burgers, pizza and some dinner plates. They also have some uncommon selections such as Sherpa dishes. What is Sherpa, you ask? Well, it is lentils, barley, basmati rice with vegetables stir fried with cheddar cheese. They have it in a variety of  combinations. They also now offer beer and have a small bar you can sit at complete with - my favorite!- a TV. But it is not intrusive into the rest of the restaurant. Keep in mind that this area caters to hundreds of outdoors enthusiasts that are biking, hiking the Appalachian Trail, or on the water, so you will see lots.. and I mean lots of outdoorsy, hippie types. Don't be alarmed, they are great fun and offer some interesting conversation. 

Inside of the length of the restaurant

Greg and I wanted to try something different than what we had eaten in the past. Since it was only the two of us, we decided to get a salad and split a sandwich. Greg got The Greek Salad. It was ginormous! It had mixed greens, feta, black olives, pepperoncini,  tomatoes, red onions, artichoke hearts tossed with Greek Dressing.

Greek Salad

I ordered the Raven's Fork salad which had mixed greens, feta, dried cranberries, mandarin oranges sunflower seeds, red onions, with a honey citrus dressing, which I got on the side. I don't know if you can tell from the photos, but these salads were huge! I was not expecting them to be that big. But! there they were.. in big ole' red bowls. They were very yummy. The citrus dressing was great. The salads look as good as they taste.

Raven's Fork salad

Nantahala Gorge sandwich with homemade potato chips. 

We also ordered the Nantahala Gorge Sandwich, which we had planned on splitting. The Nantahala Gorge is Turkey, Ham, Bacon, Cheddar, Swiss, Lettuce, Tomato on toasted organic wheat bread. I told Greg they should have named it the Cardiac Special with all that meat.  We figured a salad and half a sandwich should make  fine supper. I had ordered the sandwich before, but due to my age, I must be getting senile. I do not remember that sandwich being the size of a stop sign. We should have ordered a half of a half. Neither of us could eat our sandwich halves, so we got a box to bring them home. We did manage to chore our way through the salads and finish them off. Afterwards, I felt like I had eaten a third of a produce stand. My salad was very, very good. Greg's must have been too, cause he didn't say much during his concentrated eating.Our waitress did comment when we asked for a box, that she wondered about our ordering that sandwich. She thought we had just come "off the trail" and were just really, really hungry. The "trail" being the Appalachian Trail. Yeah right. We were a  tad embarrassed.

A close up of one half of the sandwich. 

The homemade chips were fabulous! Thick,crispy and lots of flavor. They were worth ordering just by themselves. I just love, love homemade chips. 

The river at dusk.

We did not order dessert as we could not have eaten it. They do offer a nice selection of desserts, not a huge selection but quality, which included cobblers during the season. 

The evening was nice, but we missed Pam and Lisa.   We didn't have a question or find out what those two wild women had been up to this past week.
We would recommend the Rivers End for a nice, relaxed meal. They do offer breakfast and lunch as well as supper. So, if you are in the area, stop in and try a nice sandwich, burger, pizza or try something a little less mainstream. Their menu is online, so check it out then go check them out. Tell them the ASC sent you. 

Next week, September 6th , we will be back in Bryson proper at the historic Hemlock Inn on Galbreaths' Creek. Come join us! Reservations are required at Hemlock Inn so let me know if you plan on attending. They make the food that day and it is served family style around huge Lazy Susan tables,so they have to know how many to cook for.