We have had to change our plans for tonite. We were scheduled to go to Rivers End in Nantahala Gorge. But due to getting rained out of the drama on Tuesday, we decided to go to the drama tonite. Supposed to have good weather.
So, we will not have time to go all the way to the Gorge and then back to Cherokee. Instead we voted to to to Pauls Diner in Cherokee (it is in Swain County and on our list) and then on to the drama.

Rivers End has been postponed for next Thursday since Greg had drawn it on his turn. So, come join us tonite at Pauls or next Thursday August 23 at Rivers End in the Nantahala Gorge. Hope to see you there!

August 9,2012  Nabers Drive In


    Just the name Nabers sort of gives you an idea of what kind of place this is. The people are friendly, kind of like your neighbor. I was first introduced to this place in 1998 on my first trip out here, it wasn't the kind of memory that I would like to hold on to. Let me just say food and twisty roads don't mix, especially if you come from a place where the roads don't go anywhere but straight.
   Now over the years I have gotten to know some of the workers here. The main two was Dixie, who would always stop and tell us a joke or a short story. When she would leave us, we would always be laughing our heads off. That Dixie was full of jokes, I don't think she told the same joke twice. She had this way of keeping a straight face until she got to the punchline, then she would flash the biggest smile I have ever seen. Then there was Bayless, an older gentleman who was very pleasant. He would often stop and talk with Susan for a few brief moments. From what Susan told me through the years both of these fine people had been at Nabers for decades. The people working now are cordial but not as warm or down home like Dixie or Bayless.
   The food here is very good, where else but in the south could you get slaw on a hot dog or hamburger. I didn't know what to think when I first heard this ordered by Susan. Like I said earlier, I tried one of these burgers at the suggestion of Susan. It was weird at first, but the more I ate them, they started to grow on me. My favorite thing here is their chili slaw bun with mustard. They also serve bbq sandwiches,fried chicken, roasted corn, pies, ice cream, sundaes and a lot of other good food. If you ever find yourself in Bryson City, stop by for a sandwich, burger, hot dog, bbq, or some chicken. I believe that it will make your day just a little bit brighter.    

Going to Nabers is always a treat. It is the stuff of real Americana.  Bench tables with ketchup, salt and pepper, and a couple of pin ball machines.  Great burgers, bbq, hot dogs, sandwiches, fries, onion rings, and hot fudge sundaes. The menus is large enough to please almost anyone. It is one of the few places in NC you can order bbq BEEF, chopped or sliced.  It is a nostalgic dining experience. You can drive up and place an order from your car window, talk about whatever you want to in the privacy of your space and have your meal brought to you. It was always a pleasure and sense of continuity to see Dixie bring you your order and provide a sweet smile and quick conversation. As Susan wrote, Dixie is no longer there, a reminder that everything changes, and sometimes with no rhyme or good reason. What is comforting is that you can still get what folks now refer to as a Carolina Classic (burger, chili, slaw, onions, and mustard), or a chili-slaw bun,  and it will be the same good ol' drive in food.  The hot fudge sundae is still a good deal and is enough for at least two people.
You always see someone you know from Cherokee, Sylva, Whittier, or of course, Bryson City.  Generations have been going to Nabers and Susan has great photos from when her mom and dad worked and frequented there.  Don't look for fancy dining digs or romantic ambience.  Instead, this is one of those great local diners that make traveling off the interstate worthwhile.  It is where generations of locals have gone and continue to go to eat, visit, and see old friends.

August 9, 2012 - Nabers Drive In, Bryson City, NC

Hail, Hail the gangs all here! We are back together tonite for our weekly dining experience. And tonite.. one of my favorites. Nabers Drive  In. This place evokes good memories from my high school days of cruising Bryson, jumping back and forth into friends cars to go check out the parking scene, ride around or just sit and talk. Nabers was the quintessential meeting place for all teenagers in Bryson. It was an  unspoken routine that every Friday night you would be at Nabers. There you would find out who was dating who, who was broken up, who was drinking and who had something to drink, and who was too drunk for good sense. You also found out who had a new car they were showing off. If you wanted to be in the know.. you had to be at Nabers. The rule of meeting at Nabers was especially true during football season. There, we could meet and greet our players and relive highlights of the game. Of course, the opposing teams would also show up as this was before fast food joints. We knew we had to get there first because if you didn't the wait would be forever with a whole football team showing up in a bus. Not to mention the available parking space was just diminished tremendously. 

The food was just an added bonus.  The best onion rings, chili slaw buns, and hamburgers around. Fabulous "real" milkshakes, and their signature dessert.. hot fudge cake. And delivered right to your car.. can't get any better than that. 

Nabers was originally built at the east end of Bryson on the way out of town. It was located at the end of the Governors Island Bridge where it stayed until it burnt down. My mother used to work at Nabers when she was in high school. I have a photo of the old Nabers in its original location. I also have a photo of my mom and dad  standing in the parking lot of the original Nabers. 

Beside Nabers, was a gas station my dad worked at and a little locally owned motel. The area has been vacant for awhile and the state built a little pull off area with picnic tables there recently. You have a view of the river and could watch rafters and tubers go past in the summer. The river was much fuller back then than now. At the bottom of the bank where Nabers was built, are old cars from the 40's and 50's. The county or state put them in the bank to curtail erosion. You can still see them sticking out of the bank. Little did they know those cars would be worth a mint now. 

Original Nabers. Governors Island 

Larry Dixon & Alyne Walker in front of Nabers

After Nabers burnt down, it was rebuilt in its present location. Still on the east side of Bryson, but closer to town. It has been in its present location for over 30  years. It has changed hands a few times in those years, but the food has stayed the same. And as far as the employees, there were always some mainstays at Nabors. You could count on seeing them working when you pulled up. It was a comforting sight and made you think.. that things had not changed and you were going to be young forever. One of those folks who worked at Nabers for decades was Bayless. He passed away several years ago, but it was like seeing an old friend you grew up with when you would pull into Nabers and see Bayless delivering food to cars. The other icon at Nabers was Dixie Kirkland. She worked alongside Bayless for decades. She always had a smile on her face and a greeting, like she had been waiting all day just for you to show up. And if you were lucky and she would slow down for two seconds, she would offer you a joke with your change. She and I often traded jokes. She had some doozies too. 

On a sadder note, Dixie is no longer there. A victim of the misbelief  that older folks are not valuable in the workplace. The new owners told her unexpectedly that it was time for her to go home and take it easy. TAKE IT EASY!! That is like telling the grass not to grow, or the rain to fall up instead of down. Dixie could no more take it easy than the sun could rise in the west. She was a dynamo and had the energy of  five... or make it 10 - 20 year olds. On a good note, the day she was fired, several local businesses called her and offered her a job. So, she is still working, which is what she wants to do. I do miss seeing her at Nabers though. Instead of Dixie and Bayless, there are several young Mexican girls.While they are pleasant, they often get your orders wrong due to the language barrier. And no jokes either... sigh. I dont even know their names. 

As far as I know, Nabers has always had a drive in and dine in section. It still offers curb service as it always has. The girls do not wear skates. You pull into a slot, push the button on the speaker box and place your order. In a bit, here comes someone with your food on a tray that hooks onto your window. 

When Jim Sneed owned Nabers, he had very large pens built beside the river. In them, he kept peacocks. Now, these were pretty exotic for back then. I used to love to to watch the peacocks strutting  back and forth. And to hear  them call! It would be almost as good as being in the jungle. Wild, primitive sounds that echoed up the river. I don't know what happened to those birds.. I suspect they died off. It was a great tourist attraction. 

Curb Service at the drive in

Nabers has been painted different color schemes over the years. Not as colorful as it used to be .

The menu is on the board at the side of each car slot. The prices and menu selections haven't changed much over the years.They still offer  hamburgers, hot dogs, corn dogs, onion rings, fries. They do offer plates now such as Fried Chicken, Corn on the Cob, as well as BBQ sandwiches and plates. The Fried Chicken is really good. It is basic drive in staples... but they still make milkshakes with real ice cream and in a variety of flavors. I remember peanut butter used to be favorite when I was in high school. They also will "spice" up your drink with cherry syrup, vanilla, etc. It is also the only place I know of where you can still get a "Pink Lady." I'll let you all figure that one out....can't tell everything I know. They also serve breakfast. I have never eaten breakfast at Nabers. 

One word of caution... we put slaw on our hamburgers down  here. If  you want lettuce, you have to ask for it. So if you want everything on your burger, ask for a hamburger (or cheeseburger) "all the way." That means ketchup, onion, pickle, tomato, mayo and slaw. You can get your burgers and dogs anyway you want but you gotta ask. 

 And   one more thing.. they do have  chili slaw buns.. For those uneducated folks out there... that is a hot dog bun, with chili and slaw. You can get mustard, onions and relish on it, but the locals ask for a chili slaw bun. My husband had never heard of one til he moved here. Now he loves them. I have to agree. 

Hot dog with mustard, chili and slaw & onion rings

Chili slaw bun with onion rings

Cheeseburger with chili

Hot Apple Pie with Ice Cream

One inside dining area

Same room with view of river

Order board with speaker box

The fries and onion rings are great. The pies are served hot with ice cream if you want.  And their signature dessert - Hot Fudge Cake is delish!! Brownie type cake with ice cream and hot fudge. Huge portions!  We did order a Hot Fudge Cake, but we ate it before we remembered to take a picture. You'll just have to go order one. 

We did not have a Pam question tonite. We basically caught up and talked about our various projects. We did talk about people's need to post every move they make on FB. What is that about? As if anyone is interested in what they had for breakfast or their hourly on again, off again relationship. I am of the generation that you don't air your dirty laundry in public and there is still a thing called decorum. Some of these younger folks need to look that one up. 

We have been getting lots of compliments on the ASC and we do appreciate the support and comments we get. Keep reading us.... our adventure continues. Maybe we'll get out of Swain County one of these days. 

Next week we will be at the Rivers End restaurant in the Nantahala Gorge. See you there at 6:30. Come join us if  you want. 

Newfound Lodge

    Newfound Lodge  August 2,2012

Hello everybody, I want to share with you about our trip to Newfound Lodge.It was just Susan and myself this week, Lisa wasn't there to share in this adventure we were on. Pam was still at her writers conference this week and missed out on all the fun. We arrived there around 6:45 and were taken to our seats which were in the side room next to the road. After looking at the menu I decided to just get the buffet bar. The fare for the night was Indian Dinners, as Susan explained in her blog, these dinners consist of fried chicken, fried potatoes, boiled cabbage, bean bread, chestnut bread or lye dumplings, fat back, greens and fat back grease. If properly prepared this is usually a very fine meal to partake of, on this night that wasn't the case! The only thing that was done right was the fried chicken and the lye dumplings.
   The rest of the food looked like it was cooked to death, there was a tremendous amount of grease on the potatoes, as I said in my last blog we grew up eating potatoes. What they had on the buffet was not appealing in the least bit. They also had pork chops on the buffet, in the past their chops were real good, so I was expecting a treat. What I got instead was a pork chop that had an odd flavor. I cannot put into words that will describe the flavor, so I won't try. Another thing is , I think the chops were boiled, this might be the cause of the taste. There was fry bread on the buffet also, now being from a western state, we know what fry bread is supposed to look like. what they had was like a piece of hardtack or a thick stale cracker. My sisters and nieces who make very good bread would hang their heads in shame and disbelief.
   Susan didn't fare any better, I think she might have taken at least 1 bite from her plate. What she had ordered was a big disappointment for her. All in all the night was a total bust for us, in my opinion it would be a very good idea to steer clear from eating here. Our next adventure takes us to Nabers Drive In, should make up this night. See y'all next week.

August 2, 2012 The Newfound Lodge, Cherokee, NC

As  you all might have noticed, we have been a little slack in blogging. Well, not all of us have. As you have read, Greg and Lisa went to the Cork & Bean. I was at the beach and didn't get to go. I did eat some good seafood while there. And listened to some good music.
We didn't go anywhere the next week as Lisa wanted to skip The Newfound Lodge (TNL). So we did. And! this week she  wanted to skip again. And did!! That slacker!!  But I am all for getting the bad stuff out of the way so you don't dread it anymore and can get on with the good stuff. So, Greg and I decided to brave it alone and off we went.
 Pam is still at a writers conference. Good for her... I hope she's working on that next book.

The Newfound Lodge has been around for quite a while. From the statement on their sign, since the 1940's. However, it has not been The Newfound Lodge that long or under the same owners or managers since the 1940's. It used to be a Shoney's chain and just recently changed to TNL. The building has also undergone several renovations and is quite a nice looking building now. It fits in with the mountain stone and timber frame buildings often associated with the mountains. 

On Thursdays, TNL offers Indian dinners on the buffet. They offer a buffet for each meal, with different items on each. I have not eaten at this restaurant in several years. It has not ever been one of my favorites, but as Shoney's you could count on getting a decent sandwich for lunch. The buffets were also fairly OK. 

For those of you who do not know what an Indian dinner is, it consists of Bean or Chestnut Bread, Fried Chicken, Cabbage, Pinto Beans & Hominy, Fat back, Greens,  Fried Potatoes and grease. Yes.... grease. Liquefied fatback grease. Folks put this on their bead bread. I personally do not eat the grease cause I can't quit picturing it solidifying in my arteries. The grease in the food is bad enough. 

Anyway, that is what was on the buffet tonite. Plus the salad bar, for those of you who feel they need to counterbalance the grease and fried foods with some veggies to ease your conscience. Or for hardcore Indian dinner eaters.. so you could see what veggies actually look like before they're fried. 

I had no plans of ordering the buffet, I just wanted to see what it looked like. On TNL buffets, they also added Fry Bread ( at least I think that  is what it was supposed to be), Lye Dumplings, and Pork Chops. 

They also did not have Chestnut Bread (my favorite) or Beans & Hominy. Greg ordered the buffet. 

Buffet -Fried Chicken, Pork Chops, Cabbage, Beans, Greens 

Fried Potatoes, Fatback and Grease

Bean Bread & Lye  Dumplings

Not sure you can tell from the pictures, but the entire buffet, excluding the salad bar was pretty unappetizing looking. The Bean Bread and Lye Dumplings looked pretty dry. Greg said the dumplings were pretty good however. He did not eat the Bean Bread. The fatback was cooked to perfection. (I tried a little piece). Not greasy, or cooked to death. The potatoes on the other hand, were floating in grease and the ones on top had a  thick, sheen on them, almost like they had been shellacked. They looked quite nasty. Greg did not try them either due to the appearance. 

The other items on the buffet didn't look any more appealing except the Chicken. 

Greg got little portions of some of the items as you can see. I will let him tell you about his meal. I can tell you.. it is not positive. He did let me have several bites of his Fried Chicken, and it was really good. 

However..one thing to note in the picture is the piece of  Fry Bread? It is wafer thin, thinner, if you can believe it;  than a water cracker. It snapped in two when he bent it and it was extremely crunchy. I am not sure who was making the Fry Bread back in the kitchen, but they just need to quit it. All those non Indians are going to think that is what Fry Bread looks and tastes like and it will be bad for Fry Bread vendors business. 

I ordered something that I thought would be fairly light, not too heavy and easy to fix. I was not feeling my best anyway. So, I ordered the chop steak or hamburger steak with gravy, and a baked potato. 

What I got was a pre- formed pressed meat? slab of  frozen something that had a shiny, translucent, glob of something on top. It was one of the nastiest things I have seen on a plate in a long time.  The baked potato was hard.. but not under cooked hard. More like old or cooked to death hard. It could not be mashed up into a nice fluffy potato but stayed hard and lumpy. The veggies as you can see, were cooked into oblivion. The carrots and broccoli (yes that is broccoli) were faded to pastel colors with the broccoli (yes, that is broccoli) being almost translucent. I think someone had boiled them for about 45 minutes to an hour. 

I took one bite of the meat? and asked for a to go box. I was not venturing any further into that meal hell. 

Quite frankly, I would have been ashamed to serve it and ask for payment. 

Both Greg and I got salads.. mine came with the meal. Since we fixed them ourselves, they were decent. Not a large selection of items on the salad bar. In fact, not even a medium number of items on the bar. But, at least they were fairly fresh. 

We got out of there without eating a lot.. and I went straight to Arby's and got myself a kids meal. It was late and that was all that was open. I fed my TNL meal to the dogs.. they enjoyed it... but they eat dead stuff.. so what do they know? Maybe it tasted familiar. 

I did meet a couple in the parking lot who asked me if the food was good. I told them 'No!", it was the worst meal I've had in years and I recommended them to go somewhere else. Anywhere else. 

It was my turn to pick.. since Pam was not here.. and Na-bers is our next venue. See you there on August 9th at 6:30. We have to eat and visit quick as they close at 8!! What's up with that??? !! 

Cork & Bean

  July 19th, 2012  CORK AND BEAN

This is Greg, The one whom y'all have heard about but not from. I am not the type who really does this sort of stuff, but given all the hell that I have been taking lately, I thought it wise to finally take the big leap and do this. Please be patient, this blog is about the Cork & Bean Wine Bar & Coffee House. It is located next to the square in Bryson City, actually it is across from Pasqualinos Restaurant. It is a small place with wooden floors, big windows and several small tables. When we arrived, that would be Lisa and myself, there weren't but a couple of other folks in the place. Susan took some time off to go to the beach to visit with her friend from Oregon. Pam had a family emergency to tend to, so she wasn't able to be there that evening either.

   Before Lisa arrived, I had ordered a Mocha Latte, it was very good and very hot!! When Lisa showed up it took some time to decide what to order.The menu consisted mainly of crepes, there were a few desserts, appetizers and one soup, Lobster Bisque. Lisa ordered the veggie crepe and an unsweet tea.I had a cup of the lobster bisque, which was very rich of course. I also ordered the albacore crepe, which I didn't know what to expect. This was only the second time for me eat a crepe, ever, like most folks our age, I grew up with the standard meat, beans and taters. I have to admit that it did taste good, guess that tuna salad does go with everything! I washed this down with a mint tea that was very pleasant. The mint flavor wasn't overpowering and it wasn't too sweet either.

Veggie Crepe

Albacore Crepe

 

The atmosphere was sort of relaxed until more people showed up, it got kinda loud for a few moments. I am the type of person who can't handle too much racket, first of all you almost have to shout to be heard and then having to hear what the other people are saying is next to impossible. BUT, we made it through the madness alright. All in all, the food is good but a bit pricey. The coffee is good and so is the different teas that they serve. There is a large parking area behind the building where the old jail used to be, so there is no problem with finding a place to park.  

Inside


Lisa drew and the next on the list is Newfound Lodge in Cherokee. See you there!