OLD-FASHIONED ROAD TRIP By going off the beaten path and exploring small towns in East Tennessee, culinary gems can be found
The tastes of Tennessee are much more than its iconic confectionary delights of Goo Goo Clusters and Moon Pies and the savory taste of Bush’s Baked Beans, all of which originated and are made in the Volunteer State.
A Southern meal is a special thing, and finding unique places with great plates and ingredients sometimes requires the effort of detouring off the beaten path and wandering the back roads to find authentic culinary gems.
Just west of the Smokies, clustered roughly in the corridor of rich, fertile lands paralleled by Interstate 75 and the southwestto-northeast state line boundary of North Carolina, lie the ancient hills and verdant valleys of East Tennessee.
Beginning in Chattanooga and then zigzagging northwestward toward Knoxville, in between the two cities is a patchwork quilt of back roads and small towns that beckon like a siren for an oldfashioned road trip, sort of a culinary ramble where you can find plenty of opportunities to sample Southern goodness of whiskey and wine, ham and honey, and chocolate and cheese. than a century and sure beats the moonshine, once the elixir of choice for imbibing Tennesseans.
Travel to Delano for some mighty fine sweet wine at Savannah Oaks Winery. But the showstopper of the winery isn’t just the wine but a cantilever barn, built by 40 men in a single day during 1861. This historical masterpiece of a barn is where Savannah Oaks has its tasting room and gift shop.
The winery offers free daily tastings of its muscadine and scuppernong wine, and the gift shop features Tennessee-made jewels of jams, jellies, butter and cheese. Vineyard and Tennessee Mountainview Winery in Charleston. The tasting room affords picturesque panoramas of the Cherokee National Forest and the Appalachians. The family-owned winery, gently rising and falling over 50 acres of hillside, grows more than two dozen varieties of muscadines along with aromatic blackberries, blueberries and raspberries to produce whites and reds, both sweet and crisp, floral and spicy.
To bees or not to bees? That is the question of Appalachian Bee, the bee’s knees with its 100% pure honey creations — lusciously sweet artisan honey products, handcrafted skin care and heavenly soaps — that are fashioned from wildflowers, spring blossoms and sourwood honey, the premium honey of the South.
Appalachian Bee’s “honey house,” where these wondrous products are made, is surrounded by mountains and the lush forests, so these bees have plenty of fragrant, fresh nectar to gather from native plants and flowers.
Next moo-ve over to Athens, the hometown and heartbeat of Mayfield Dairy that’s widely known for its flavorful milk and ice cream, for a behind-thescenes tour of ice cream-making. Enjoy a scoop of your favorite flavor in the dipping parlor and snag a Mayfield-inspired T-shirt from the extensive gift shop.
Take a drive to Madisonville and pop into Benton’s Smoky Mountain Country Ham. From this tiny corner of Tennessee, Allen Benton’s gourmet hams and hickory-smoked bacon are shipped to some of the finest restaurants from Atlanta to New York to California and all points in between.
This is some seriously smoky meat, and if you ask real nice Benton will give you a tour. Just don’t ask what type of wood he uses, as these hills have many secrets and are intended to stay that way.
The herds of Sweetwater Valley Farm cows number in the hundreds. The farm specializes in udderly delicious farmstead cheeses — think rich cheddar, gouda and colby — that puts their rivals to the test. The Harrison family has been farming this sweet spot of Tennessee land for generations and serves as tour guide for anyone who wants to learn the cheese-making process from cow to counter.
Knoxville is a fabulous town, clean and wonderful, and when it comes to restaurants, coffeehouses and bakeries, the choices are myriad. While great restaurants dot the city — the Western bistro of Lonesome Dove and Rebel Kitchen that specializes in local fare — I’ve always been drawn to the pedestrian mall of Market Square for not only its sheer number of things to do — among them a farmers market, outdoor concerts and Shakespeare on the Square — but its collection of eateries from casual to fine dining. The blackberry jam at Tupelo Honey Cafe is amazing, and so is the pizza at The Tomato Head. Try Emilia for authentic Italian and pasta made fresh daily.
Most of East Tennessee doesn’t try to refine its food, except for perhaps those trendy restaurants in Chattanooga and Knoxville. It relies on the traditional, the unique and the locally grown and harvested. In other words, it’s food to soothe the palate and soul.