Mrs. Fortenberry and I just returned from a little getaway celebrating our 31st wedding anniversary. It was good to step away from daily life for a few days.
I'm not usually one to criticize or to review my vacation experiences in a public forum, but I did make some discoveries this week I thought might be good to share, not all of them vacation related.
I really like cabin vacations. This isn't so much a discovery as it is a confirmation. Mountain cabins, especially in the fall, are nostalgic, quiet and tucked away from the rest of the world. That's what I call a vacation at this age.
The Sweet Shoppe of the South in Blue Ridge, Georgia deserves their Food Network and USA Today recognition. I'm a big fan of dessert (believe or not, there are people in this world who are not such fans of sweets). I've been a weekly regular at Honeymoon Bakery in Rome (which also has Food Network recognition) for as long as they've been open. So, when I saw this little confectionary had its own claim to fame, I had to try.
The Sweet Shoppe won one of the network's cupcake competitions back in 2012. I know why.
Their triple chocolate cupcake may be the best cupcake I've ever put in my mouth (and my mouth has tasted A LOT of cupcakes). Their blondie cupcake and Miss Scarlett (red velvet) cupcakes were equally good. I discovered that tons of icing isn't required to have a great cupcake.
The Sweet Shoppe also earned recognition for their chocolate chip cookie from USA Today. Naturally, I had to try one. Ummmm, USA Today knows chocolate chip cookies. This beautiful mixture of sugar, butter and chocolate chips is worth the calories. I'm a fan.
Verdict: The Sweet Shoppe is a can't miss in Blue Ridge.
While I'm on the topic of eats, we ate at three different restaurants in Blue Ridge. I discovered some restaurants have great food, some restaurants have great service and some restaurants have great atmosphere, but to have all three is dang close to a miracle.
BEST FOOD: Southern Charm. Y'all, they understand how to fry chicken and how to make sure you're getting what you pay for. The waitress was friendly and pleasant. The peach cobbler at the end was dang good. But I kinda feel like they need to embrace the "we're a Southern restaurant in a Southern town in a Southern house vibe" a little better. It's a little bright in there, and I expected to see more magnolia and less trains built from clock parts on the walls.
UNEXPECTED FIND: Chester Brunnenmeyers Bar and Grill. Service was quick. Burgers were good. The homemade potato chips were tasty. The kid at the front desk said it was the best food in Blue Ridge. I hate to tell him that it's not, but it was really tasty and worth the tab. What I didn't like: I didn't like sitting at a table for two in a corner by the front door near where the front-of-house staff gathered. Our waitress was efficient, but disinterested. It may have been an off day for her, but she would have gotten a better tip if she had maybe attempted a smile or seemed the least bit interested in us as people rather than a tab.
BEST ATMOSPHERE AND BEST SERVICE, WORST FOOD: Harvest on Main is beautiful. There's always a wait for a table, and it occupies a great spot on Main Street in Blue Ridge. They've done a great job with atmosphere and marketing, but I think somebody forgot to tell them that people come to restaurants to eat. The Brussels sprouts appetizer was the best thing we had there, but it can't hold a candle to the maple bourbon bacon Brussels sprouts we had in Vermont last year. Lisa ordered the black bean chili -- and here's a hint that you might need to talk to the chef -- when he brought it to our table, our waiter said, "I didn't want to influence your decision, but if you don't like this, I'll take it back and take it off your bill." Y'all if the waiter knows to say that, you have a problem in the kitchen.
I ordered one of their locally famous recommendations -- meatloaf sandwich with a sweet jam on top. Okay, if you know me, you know I'm not the biggest fan of meatloaf. It's not that it's bad, it just reminds me of all the years we ate meatloaf as something special for dinner because we didn't have enough money to afford anything else. But, they RECOMMEND this. Uh, no. It was okay at best.
So the food is a no go, but the waiter was the best dang waiter we had in Blue Ridge. He was attentative, fast and checked on us without being intrusive. He has a difficult job, being asked to recommend food he knows isn't good. Chester Brunnenmeyers should hire them to train their wait staff. We tipped him big, but I really should have told him it was because of him and not because of the food. If they have to share with the back-of-house, I'm gonna be mad.
My favorite apple is Pink Lady. After a taste test at Mercier Orchards, I confirmed my suspicion that Pink Lady is the best. I know she's not for everybody, probably too sweet for some and probably a little soft for baking, but for an apple you can sink your teeth into right off the tree, it's Pink Lady for me.
Helen in October is a big NO. We spent a day taking scenic routes to see the autumnn leaves like the rest of the peepers, stopping at Brasstown Bald (the tallest mountain in Georgia). From there, we drove over to Helen and promptly left. It's like every beer drinker in North America decided they'd come to Helen since they couldn't go to Germany for Oktoberfest. Waaaaay too many people for me. I do think the architectural theme is pretty neat in Helen, but not in October.
The panoramic views from atop Brasstown Bald were nice, but the BEST views are from the pull offs along Russell Scenic Highway (Ga. 348). The leaves were stunning. The glimpse of Mount Yonah was intriguing. It wasn't crowded. The people we met were incredibly nice. I definitely recommend at peak leaf change.
Unrelated to our vacation, but certainly a discovery: Y'all I was flipping channels when I got back home and saw that ESPN was broadcasting the World Roof Ball Championships. I stopped to watch, since I'd never heard of this "sport" before. The best way I can describe it is a bunch of dads, drinking beer in the driveway trying to knock loose a ball that one of their kids had gotten stuck in the eaves of one of the neighbors' houses. I've been hard on myself my whole life for my lack of athleticism. Now, at 61, I think all the trauma I have felt from being the last one picked or the boy who'd never even held a football, is just because the sports options were limited in Lindale. If there had been roofball, I might have won a scholarship. By the way, ESPN also broadcasts the national jigsaw puzzle championships. If Pepperell High School had had a jigsaw puzzle team, I might have lettered.
I remember back in college one of my friends commenting that another friend would watch basketweaving if ESPN called it a sport and put it on TV. After seeing clips of the break dancing competition at the Olympics, I'm beginning to question the definition of sport and athleticism.
THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME. It was nice to get away, but my final discovery isn't a discovery at all. It's just a fact. I like getting away, but there's nothing better than coming home to a clean house where your pets are happy to see you and your own bed is waiting on you. Home may be where the heart is, but my heart is definitely at home.
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