Tuckasegee Tavern, November 8, 2012 

It took us several weeks to get here. Sorry to our fans for the long delay. The Tuckasgee Tavern is located next to the RR depot at the end of Bryson as you go to the high school. It is a newer place, but is located in one of the oldest buildings in Bryson. It is in a renovated Quonset hut that has been there since I was a small young'un.. and before that. I think we were all expecting a dive, since TT is really a bar that serves food. It does stay open late and is locally owned, so it was on our list. 

Greg and I got there before everyone else, and Lisa and Rosemary straggled in after a bit. Pam was quite a bit late and confessed she got lost. Got lost??? As many times as she has been in Bryson over the past year? It seems she took the Hyatt Creek exit and couldn't find her way in the dark. LOL. She is such a card. 

The waitress was very nice and kept checking with us on ordering. There were only a few other folks n the place, including a couple with a baby. It was very chilly in there with only one portable kerosene heater for heat. I did not wear a coat and was cold the entire meal. The place is very open with a bar on one side and a   few scattered tables. There was also a stage at one end, but no band that night. There was music playing, via  Sirius channel on the TV. Pam asked if it could be changed to the Lawrence Welk channel, but no success on that. Oh well.. no bubble music for us. 

The menu was a basic, bar food with sandwiches, appetizers, and a couple of dinners. 

While we waited for Pam we talked and ordered some chips and salsa. The salsa was from a jar and the chips from a bag. They were the round, corn ones. Lisa ordered the Onion Rings while we waited. The O-rings were fair. No Nabers, but OK. 

Lisa ordered the Grilled Cheese and Darrell's Tomato Soup, which was a special that night. She concluded the soup was pretty good and the sandwich was OK. It looked a little skimpy on the cheese to me. She also had a beer from the Nantahala Brewery next door. It was the Nantahala Blonde, which she deemed very good.  Rosemary had the Philly Cheese Steak with pasta salad. Pam had the Chicken Sandwich with fries. Greg had the hamburger with fries and I had the Philly Cheese with no side. You all should know by this time  how I am with fries, and I guess I just wasn't in the mood to pick through fries that night. So, I just ordered the sandwich only. Everyone deemed the food adequate. It was basic fare, with no frills, but no complaints. 

The waitress was very nice and kept regular check on us. Course we were the only table ordering food in there, so we got extra special treatment. 

We had loads of laughs that night. Especially over the story Pam was telling us about her uncle who when he would get gas, he would go walking around shaking his leg while saying "Gas Bubble!" We all looked at her in disbelief and then just busted out laughing. I wasn't clear what the leg shaking was supposed to do, and asked.. was he trying to prime the pump? 

We kept playing on that story and just could not quit laughing. That gas bubble thing has now become a regular part of our repartee. I guess you could say that just shows our maturity level, or you could say we must have been in some kinda mood, or you could just join us and add your own two cents. Either road you choose is probably not going to  change how we react to things. We certainly do get right goofy at times, but if we didn't we wouldn't like our selves very much nor have near as much fun as we do.

We ended up spending a great deal of time in there.. longer than the meal required. But we were having so much fun, no one made any moves to leave.

We did agree that that for our next stop, we really needed to hit the Fryemont Inn as we didn't know when it closed for the season. I agreed to call and make a reservation and  check on hours. So we reluctantly got up to head out into the cold.

 On a side note.. you may be wondering where are the pictures? Well.. I forgot the camera. So I promise to get back with a photo or two. No food pics,,.but I can get the building.
Fryemont Inn it is.... come join us.

The Iron Skillet, October 18, 2012

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The Iron Skillet is located in down town Bryson City, in what used to be Papa's Pizza. There is now a Bike shop next door and the Hallmark Shop on the other side. Greg and I have eaten at TIS a couple of times. We both thought it was just OK, and have never been back. We were all a bit apprehensive about going. I was late and the others were already there. I had eaten a late lunch, and was not hungry, so only ordered dessert. The restaurant was crowded and there were a lot of local folks, including some from Greg's drum group. The initial service to place our order was a bit slow, but the waitress was very friendly and explained they had a very large church party.

The menu was quite extensive, and there were also specials posted on the board in front. 

4

TIS closes for lunch and opens back up for supper. They close early for supper so we met early. The close at 7 pm. Kinda early even for around here.  That maybe accounted for the chill in there. We were sat in the back, which was a bit dark, but overall it is seemed clean, well organized, and with a large buffet section. Maybe the buffet was for lunch. There was a salad bar at supper. There seemed to be a fair amount of folks taking advantage of that. There is a large amount of seating with booths and a large area for parties with tables that will separate. 

Greg ordered the Chicken Fried Steak sandwich with fries. Lisa ordered the Philly Cheese Steak with fries and Pam ordered the Rib eye  Sandwich with fries. I ordered the Cheesecake  with chocolate. 

CHICKEN FRIED STEAK SANDWICH WITH FRIES

PHILLY CHEESE STEAK WITH FRIES

RIB EYE STEAK SANDWICH WITH FRIES

CHEESECAKE WITH CHOCOLATE


I don't remember anything significant about the meal. The food was  good, not great, not outstanding.. not memorable, but not horrible either. Just middle of the road. Plain, solid, good old American food. The Cheesecake came with lots of chocolate, and how can you go wrong with that?

Naturally we had good conversation with loads of laughs. The night seemed short, but it might have been due to the long wait we had for our food, refills, the check,etc. It was all due to the very large party
and probably wasn't typical.

Almost finished in Swain County. Next. Tuckasegee Tavern. 

THE CHESTNUT TREE, CHEROKEE, NC

The Chestnut Tree is in the Holiday Inn, located on Hwy 19 just on the Bryson side of Cherokee. It has changed names a couple of times and menus, but the owners are the same. They have advertised specials for meals, that are open to the public, not just their guests. They now serve a Breakfast buffet, Friday night Seafood Buffet, and Prime Rib on Saturday. 

The dinning room is very nicely decorated in Native American decor, with many of the items being handmade by local artists. There are carvings, baskets, painting, prints, etc. There are also many, many pieces for sale in the display cases outside in the lobby and the small giftshop. 

Many of the waitresses have been working at the Holiday Inn for decades. Its comforting to see familiar faces when you go there. Especially when they know you and greet you like an old friend. 

Tonite we had the pleasure of John and Rosemary's company. Its is always good to have new blood around the table to keep us on our toes, and make sure Lisa doesn't get to far out of line. 

Instead of going to The Chestnut Tree on Thursday for our usual night, we decided to go on Friday for the Seafood buffet. Greg and I had been many times and found the food plentiful, fresh, and varied. I was especially fond of the crab legs. I will travel many a mile for good, fresh crab legs. 

PART OF DINING ROOM. GLASSED ON TWO SIDES.

This night I think we were all disappointed. John was the only one who didn't eat from the buffet. He ordered the Prime Rib, which came with choice of two sides. He chose Mac & Cheese and Mashed Potatoes. According to John, his meal was pretty good. His Prime Rib was moist, and tender. He was as satisfied customer.

PRIME RIB DINNER WITH MAC & CHEESE AND MASHED POTATOES

While the buffet initially looked appetizing, upon closer examination and tasting.. it left a lot to be desired. There was a wide variety of offerings, in both seafood, veggies and desserts. There was even a nice salad bar and soup. The soup that night, appropriately enough,  was Clam Chowder. Greg and I  were the only ones who ate the soup. It was just OK. Nothing special and certainly not homemade. Wasn't bad.. but nothing memorable either. The salad bar looked pretty fresh, with several options. Nothing fancy, just basic salad bar fare.

OYSTERS, BOILED SHRIMP 

There were cold appetizers on the bar such as Oysters on the half shell and Boiled Shrimp. I didn't eat either, but the others did. I am very wary of uncooked food that has been sitting out for long periods of time.
Also on the buffet were peas, mixed veggies, rice, broccoli, pasta with a Red sauce and Alfredo sauce,  green beans,  mashed potatoes. All looked very unappetizing as if they had been sitting out for a very long time. 

As far as seafood, there was fried shrimp, fried fish (cod I think), frog legs, shrimp scampi, fried oysters, fried trout and boiled fish ( cod, I think). No roast beef as before and no crab legs.

 For dessert, there was berry cobbler and cherry cobbler. It looked OK, but again, was just OK. It was dried and looked like it has been sitting in the pan for quite awhile.

The company was spectacular that evening, which made up for a dismal meal.  We were so glad to have Rosemary and hope we didn't make her lose a couple of stitches that night. She and John were both welcome company. We laughed and talked and didn't go back for seconds. The seafood buffet used to be pretty fabulous, and I am not sure what has changed, but  it is definitely not worth the price nor the trip. You can get a better meal at Long John Silvers or Red Lobster. This buffet has seen its' better days. So.. no recommendation for The Chestnut Tree.
We are a bit off track for one reason or another, but onward.. We only have Anthonys, The Fryemont Inn, The Iron Skillet, and Tuckasegee Tavern left. The light at the end of the Swain County tunnel.

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!