A Weekend Road Trip
A weekend trip is nothing without food, and where I live, a weekend is exactly that: a trip. I live in an area that has four states right by each other. I have the bridge to Tennessee right out my back door. 40 minutes up the road is a ferry to Kentucky, and Illinois is not even more than an hour drive, and the state of Missouri is truly beautiful. With such access to so much around me, I can see a vast, amazing, and changing world, and now I can show my Granddaughter a world that is just as vast, amazing, and changing. However, no trip is complete without the world of food around us. Yet the world of food is even more diverse than we can imagine, but it really isn’t, and I hope these two completely different, but amazing experiences will open a door to food that anyone can understand.
We started off the weekend by going to a small diner in Dyersburg, TN called Mel’s Diner. The coffee was delicious. Now I understand the coffee is exactly what it was supposed to be, a greasy spoon diner coffee—perfect. The wait staff was polite and attentive to the whole surroundings; they were noticing the whole restaurant, the parking lot, and the flow of traffic. The place was truly a work of art from the heart of the place. The sounds, the smells, and even the accents of the people—it truly was a perfect little start. The smell of fried bologna made the place exactly what you need to start a weekend of exploration.
I ate the, loaded hash browns, perfection! The potatoes were crispy and moist, like hash browns should be. The flavors of the ham and cheese melted together so it was gooey and salty without being too much salt or slime of cheesy. The back hint of flavor of peppers and onions plus the seasonings, the whole was an experience worth the trip over the bridge to Tennessee and through the streets by GPS to find this amazing experience. If you go, please be respectful; these people have a nice, clean place. If you can’t add to the harmony, just don’t go.
Detour to Sandy Ridge Smoke House
We did some other things throughout the weekend; some panned out and others did not, but that is the fun of a trip. Alternate plans are just that—made up on the spot and worth it. I mean, a detour is the course of life, and that is what we have to deal with someday so it would make sense that a detour on a trip would be a problem, but we live in a new age, so tech helped us out and we found a lovely little place that I have to make another trip back to because the list of stuff they had, it is a must go back spot.
It was a beautiful little place called Sandy Ridge Smoke House. The place was amazing. I just can’t find the words—welcoming, beautiful. Just go see it, and buy some flowers or pumpkins from next door. But anyway, it was a Sunday brunch buffet, and the buzz when we walked in was about the cheese grits. That will not be discussed, sorry, guys. You'll have to find that out for yourself.
The Apple Cobbler Experience
My favorite thing on the buffet, and I am sure this comes as no surprise to you, was the apple cobbler. It was beautiful to taste. Have you ever tasted something that makes your tongue just feel the food? Yes, it was that good. Now no, it was not an adult pleasurable experience, come on guys, that kind of food is not for a table in a dining area so please do not be crass, but it was a damn good cobbler.
Note this place sells locally distilled whiskey and I do believe it had a taste—not too much and not an alcohol burn, but the wood flavor of the barrels in the bread of the cobbler. It set my palate for an amazing brunch. I tasted almost everything, and they had some amazing finds. I will not spoil those for anyone; however, I will say, try the cobbler. Although I do not eat banana pudding, theirs was so pretty, I would say if you like bananas, show up for that as well.
The world is hard enough, and I think we all have a beautiful world around us. I would like the people at both these places to know I appreciate the dedication and hard work. They made a weekend trip lovely for me and my granddaughter. Thank you for taking the time to read about my weekend experience.
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