Local Lowdown
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Goodness. I have been putting this off only because there is so much to recap! I hope I can remember to include it all...not that it really matters, but I feel so compelled to do so :).
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This week consisted of more Broccolini- thank heavens: Plant of the gods ladies and gentlemen. We also had Quinoa (nature’s most whole source of protein) with sautéed veggies and a loaf of flax bread from Wildflower. We also cooked salmon with a home made butter infused with thyme, balsamic vinegar, egg, olive oil, and other herbs. I had a green bagel from Manna Bagel to celebrate St. Patty’s. On Thursday with BYL Alums, we were treated to a German feast by the Culinary School downtown. It was surprisingly tasty…two words: apple dumpling.
Oh. Yes.
There was a whole apple in that baby…and the school promised they used mostly all local ingredients for our meal. I‘ll take their word :). I was also treated to sandwiches from CJ and Co in downtown Bristol for supper. Probably some of the best chicken salad I have ever had…the ‘Scooter’ sandwich (their specialty) was phenomenal too…and don’t even start me on their famous brownies.
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Friday we were out (hooray!) and I spent the evening traipsing the town with Becky. This involved a Java J’s run and a Blackbird Bakery Cherry Pie eaten on the hood of her sister’s vehicle…yea.
~~
Ah glorious Saturday: the culmination of a week’s hopes and dreams. After an early morning jog, I went to Blackbird Bakery to pick up some tasty treats…one being a mammoth Strawberry brownie mouse tower…5 layers of delectable-ness!!! (good thing I jogged)
Later, after a fun day celebrating spring (and of course, an Earth Fare run), I embarked to Suba’s Restaurant in Mountain City. I was recommended this hideaway by a woman in Damascus (she said the plethora of desserts were absolutely out of this world.). The owner and her husband met in culinary school in Charleston, SC. Their upscale cuisine is certainly an anomaly in the Mountain City area. As I pull up to the restaurant, I start to feel nervous. It looks like one of those ‘meat and threes’ that usuall have names like “Mammas Fried Chick’n”. Boy was I in for a treat. The BEST grilled mushrooms I have ever tasted paired with asparagus and tomatoes with béarnaise sauce…melt-in-your-mouth-pecan encrusted salmon, a seafood bake bursting with veggies,shrimp,and scalops with home made peppercorn fettuccini noodles, a Greek inspired ribeye, and house made yeast rolls. Everything was made by hand with local Mountain City ingredients. They even make their own salad dressings. What was most shocking, however, was the sheer enormity of everything! The menu and portions were massive. So much variety for any restaurant much less one totally run by the two chefs…and OMYWORD THE DESSERTS! BEST.EVER. Huge and beautiful…I was too shocked and excited to snap a picture but I wish I had. Luanne Suba trained as a pastry chef and she is certainly a master. The Bailey’s Irish Cream brownie trifle with homemade irish cream infused whipped cream and the best sweet/salty roasted the pecans. The pecans really made it- the combination of a gooey sweet bite of cream and brownie with the salty crunch of pecans was euphoric. Hands-down the best bread pudding I have ever had too- almonds burst from it and it was the perfect consistency…not too bready or pudding-y…Melted in my mouth. I literally could not get enough. I would come every weekend if only it wasn’t an hour away and in the middle of nowhere.
A portion of that evening's desserts...obviously selection one was nearly impossible. I polled the serving staff for help :)
~~
This week consisted of more Broccolini- thank heavens: Plant of the gods ladies and gentlemen. We also had Quinoa (nature’s most whole source of protein) with sautéed veggies and a loaf of flax bread from Wildflower. We also cooked salmon with a home made butter infused with thyme, balsamic vinegar, egg, olive oil, and other herbs. I had a green bagel from Manna Bagel to celebrate St. Patty’s. On Thursday with BYL Alums, we were treated to a German feast by the Culinary School downtown. It was surprisingly tasty…two words: apple dumpling.
Oh. Yes.
There was a whole apple in that baby…and the school promised they used mostly all local ingredients for our meal. I‘ll take their word :). I was also treated to sandwiches from CJ and Co in downtown Bristol for supper. Probably some of the best chicken salad I have ever had…the ‘Scooter’ sandwich (their specialty) was phenomenal too…and don’t even start me on their famous brownies.
~~
Friday we were out (hooray!) and I spent the evening traipsing the town with Becky. This involved a Java J’s run and a Blackbird Bakery Cherry Pie eaten on the hood of her sister’s vehicle…yea.
~~
Ah glorious Saturday: the culmination of a week’s hopes and dreams. After an early morning jog, I went to Blackbird Bakery to pick up some tasty treats…one being a mammoth Strawberry brownie mouse tower…5 layers of delectable-ness!!! (good thing I jogged)
Later, after a fun day celebrating spring (and of course, an Earth Fare run), I embarked to Suba’s Restaurant in Mountain City. I was recommended this hideaway by a woman in Damascus (she said the plethora of desserts were absolutely out of this world.). The owner and her husband met in culinary school in Charleston, SC. Their upscale cuisine is certainly an anomaly in the Mountain City area. As I pull up to the restaurant, I start to feel nervous. It looks like one of those ‘meat and threes’ that usuall have names like “Mammas Fried Chick’n”. Boy was I in for a treat. The BEST grilled mushrooms I have ever tasted paired with asparagus and tomatoes with béarnaise sauce…melt-in-your-mouth-pecan encrusted salmon, a seafood bake bursting with veggies,shrimp,and scalops with home made peppercorn fettuccini noodles, a Greek inspired ribeye, and house made yeast rolls. Everything was made by hand with local Mountain City ingredients. They even make their own salad dressings. What was most shocking, however, was the sheer enormity of everything! The menu and portions were massive. So much variety for any restaurant much less one totally run by the two chefs…and OMYWORD THE DESSERTS! BEST.EVER. Huge and beautiful…I was too shocked and excited to snap a picture but I wish I had. Luanne Suba trained as a pastry chef and she is certainly a master. The Bailey’s Irish Cream brownie trifle with homemade irish cream infused whipped cream and the best sweet/salty roasted the pecans. The pecans really made it- the combination of a gooey sweet bite of cream and brownie with the salty crunch of pecans was euphoric. Hands-down the best bread pudding I have ever had too- almonds burst from it and it was the perfect consistency…not too bready or pudding-y…Melted in my mouth. I literally could not get enough. I would come every weekend if only it wasn’t an hour away and in the middle of nowhere.
A portion of that evening's desserts...obviously selection one was nearly impossible. I polled the serving staff for help :)
