Editorial
Front Page - Friday, October 9, 2009
Weekly Indulgence
Samara Litvack
After visiting the Monteagle Winery on the second day of my weekend vacation, I headed a few miles up the road to Tracy City. Several locals had told me that if I wanted to get a true taste for Monteagle Mountain, I had to visit the Dutch Maid Bakery.
Right off the main road, less than a block to the right, sits the local staple, which is also the oldest family-owned bakery in Tennessee. I parked on the street, and as I eased through the wooden doorway I was greeted with warm smiles from two ladies inside. Cases of baked goods lined both sides of the room, filled with cookies, brownies, pastries and more. From a table in the center of the room, I sampled a Jack Daniels pound cake and an old fashioned fruitcake. They were both amazing.
I finally settled on what I thought was an awesome assortment of goodies – a mini loaf of pesto Parmesan bread, a small loaf of Cinnamon Stix, and a peanut butter and chocolate fudge square.
I headed back to Monteagle (the entire drive takes 10 minutes or less) and met up with my roommates at Jim Oliver’s Smoke House. We had lunch – smoked ribs for me, country ham for Meg and kid’s chicken strips for Maiya – and headed back to our cabin.
Maiya set her sights immediately on the hot tub, as I’m sure any 8-year-old on a “girls weekend” would. So, at 2:00 in the afternoon, I filled up the tub, we changed into our swimsuits and I relaxed with my fourth-grader roommate for nearly an hour. It was, by far, one of the most memorable moments of the weekend.
After our soak, the three of us gathered our things and set off on foot for what Maiya and I like to call a “photo hike.” As we explored the grounds, we snapped pictures of everything – the squirrels, the pond, each other playing on the jungle gym and what seemed to be an old moonshine still.
As we passed the hotel, we came upon the Mountain Breeze Café. Owner Mark Studturann greeted us as we walked in, headed straight for the ice creams.
Immediately, the Espresso Chocolate Chunk caught my eye. After Mark gave me a sample, I was sold. The chocolate is ordered from Germany, he said, and the ice cream wasn’t nearly as coffee-flavored as I’d imagined. It was a fantastic blend, and I ordered a single scoop in a cup. Meghan followed suit, but got hers in a waffle cone and Maiya, as usual, got the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough.
As we enjoyed our desserts, Mark told us he and wife Helen had owned the café for several years, down the road in Sewanee. They moved out of the college town earlier this year, down into Monteagle, and have enjoyed a new clientele of tourists ever since.
As he spoke, Mark prepared ingredients for the next day’s squash soup. Mountain Breeze Café offers daily homemade soups; his most popular, he said, is the tomato bleu cheese, which is available on Fridays, but usually sells out by lunch.
Next, we made our way down to B. True, a boutique store that felt oddly familiar. We browsed the racks of unique ladies’ wear and after the owner finished with a customer, she introduced herself as Betty, as in the namesake of Backstreet Betty’s in downtown Chattanooga.
Meghan (the luckiest shopper I know) scored two awesome dresses from the clearance room (yes, there’s an entire room of clearance merchandise, which is about the size of the entire Backstreet Betty’s store) and we left B. True, headed back toward the cabin.
I cooked dinner (my famous veggie quesadillas) and we settled in for a night of college football and NASCAR. After a glass of Monteagle Winery wine, I crashed on the couch and Meghan and Maiya stretched out in the king-sized bed.
The next morning, we purchased fudge on the way out. (FYI – when you buy a pound, you get a half-pound for free.) The lady at the checkout desk gave us directions to two local staples – the “local” and the “tourist” flea markets.
We located the local one first, which, I must admit, wasn’t what we were looking for. After passing multiple cages of birds and tables filled with antique treasures, fresh veggies and several things I couldn’t identify, we asked for specific directions to the tourist flea market. (For your reference, it’s right off Exit 144. Turn right past the “new pharmacy” – that’s the CVS – and you’ll run right into it, on the right.)
When we pulled into that gravel lot, I knew this was quite possibly the best flea market I’ve ever visited. At the very first booth, the lady said, “Just give me an offer on anything. I don’t want to take any of it home.” I’m still kicking myself for not offering her $5 for the two wall hangings she had priced at $10. They were gone by the time we headed out.
We found a fantastic beaded jewelry vendor who sold us bracelets and necklaces for $1 each and, after Maiya befriended her caged piglet, she gave my young roommate a bracelet for free.
We walked up and down the many rows of vendors, picking up fantastically random “got-to-haves” along the way. By the time we finished shopping, we were starving, so we hit up Mountain Breeze Café for lunch on our way out.
I enjoyed a salad, made freshly upon order, and a cup of the squash soup Mark had made the night before. Meg opted for the chicken salad, also made fresh to order, which came with a small scoop of strawberry sorbet (perhaps my favorite thing at Mountain Breeze). Maiya had a hot dog, which she gave the “thumbs up.”
As we headed home from our Monteagle weekend, the three of us talked about what a fantastic time we’d had. I had no idea there was so much to do on Monteagle Mountain, and I am gracious for the opportunity to learn (and tell others) about it. I highly recommend a trip up I-24 to visit Jim Oliver’s Smoke House and Lodge, High Point Restaurant, the Monteagle Winery, Dutch Maid Bakery, Mountain Breeze Café, B. True and either of the Monteagle flea markets.
Contact Samara at samara@hamiltoncountyherald.
com.
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