THE GOOD LIFE

THE MID-SEPTEMBER UPDATE ON AUTUMN TRAVEL

TRAVEL WITH THE FOOD GUYS

Every year your intrepid Food Guys go to Lake Junaluska for the Smoky Mountain Folk Festival. It is a fine annual tradition and is a festive way to begin the autumn social season. 

Lake Junaluska is owned by the Southeastern Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church and is a "resort" used for conferences and retreats. It is also the venue for several festivals including the Folk Festival. Don't worry--you do not have to be a Methodist to go to a festival there; they don't check credentials at the gate. Probably the most important reason for doing a festival at Junaluska is the beautiful auditorium next to the lake. The old Stuart Auditorium is a big (about 2,000 seats) wooden structure with tall windows opening out on the lake and the mountains. There is no air conditioning, but who needs it when there is the night breeze blowing in over the water? At Junaluska there are several places to stay but the Food Guys like the Lambuth Inn, a great early-twentieth-century building on the hill overlooking the lake. From its columned verandas with rocking chairs, we sat and looked at the mountains, the lake, the trees and the flowers. It is a beautiful place.

The Lambuth Inn from the lake and  from the bottom of the hill; the second floor veranda.

The program itself is always a hit, featuring local Carolina musicians skilled in singing old mountain tunes and accompanying them on indigenous instruments. One of the most exciting group is the Trantham Family--father, daughter and son, all playing instruments made by the family grandfather.

The father is a fine singer and "clawhammer" banjo player (we don't know what that means either, but Mr. Trantham is good at it), his teenage daughter has one of the greatest folk voices we have ever heard, and the little brother--barely a teen--plays an excellent dulcimer.

Also on the program is a variety of artists ranging from the wonderful Betty Smith, who sings old Irish, Scottish and English tunes, to cloggers accompanied by a live stage band. There is something totally un-slick and un-glitzy about this festival.  The only decorations are some old quilts hanging from a rod at the back of the stage (and the view from the windows out over the lake to the mountains). The audience is a wide mix of ages with everyone from little kids to great-grandparents and everything in between. Out on the lawn are tents for casual picking and singing and there you will find local teenagers playing along with old-timers, all joined together by a love of the music of our common heritage. This is a lively and fun weekend for those of us who love real folk music.

And then, one of the highlights of the trip home are a couple of stops for provisions. First stop is Granny's Chicken Palace on highway 23, next to Lake Junaluska. Take a word of advice! If you are going, be there early because when we got there at 11:15 for the doors to open at 11:30 on Sunday, the front yard was already full of people waiting for their chicken fix. Now, Granny's has several things on the menu other than chicken but why go to a place called a "chicken palace" and eat shrimp? I guess the shrimp and fish are good but I don't think I will ever know; I only order the "white meat dinner", two enormous breasts lightly breaded and crispy hot from the fryer. Tender and moist, the chicken is what fried chicken is supposed to be and usually isn't. One of the Food Guys ate the Cajun chicken this year and his lips are still burning two days later...so beware if you feel lured to that specialty. The iced tea is sweet, the rice and gravy filling and the beans OK. But the "nuggets" are great. We don't know what they are nuggets of, but they appear to be little fried blobs of sweet batter dusted with confectioners sugar. Talk about a fine pairing with the chicken! The only thing which would be better would be a pan of hot biscuits dripping with butter but I don't guess we can be too picky. The dining rooms, tacked onto each other and decorated with a rather eclectic collection of Marine memorabilia, plastic wisteria, Christmas lights, chicken dolls, and plaster statues of famous movie stars (on the mantel), fill up quickly with locals and Maggie Valley tourists. I love the locals who obviously went to early church or cut out before the service was over in order to get to the Palace in time to get a table. There will usually be tables of family and friends all with their belts let out as well as gangs of young people gnawing poulet bones.  This is a must-go for the Southern foodie.

We then whip by the Spring Ridge Creamery, just north of the Georgia line in Otto, North Carolina. This is also a requirement for the foodie on the road.  This is the center of its own little universe, one inhabited by knowledgeable people who know their dairy products. So closely aligned with nature is the creamery that they did not have cottage cheese this trip because the cows are calving and they are low on milk. How often does this happen at Kroger? The butter they make is beyond superior, tasting of the cream and sinful with butter fat. The cheeses are as good as any you will find. In little half-pound rectangular blocks the cheeses are too good to leave in the bag until you get home. The Colby and dill are excellent but this time we tried the new tomato and basil and--my goodness--it was fantastic. They make all of their own ice cream, too, so save some room for that. You can actually see the machines where they make the ice cream there in the back of the shop and you will agree that the finished product tastes artist-made.  We love their butter milk--for biscuits to go with the chicken we take home from Granny's-- and their whole milk. These creameryists are geniuses and know their business and the people who live around there are lucky to be so accessible.

Then, as we sailed down 441 we stopped at Nell's Produce in Lakemont, Georgia for some staples--apples, the-last-of-the-season peaches, Tupelo honey, and boiled peanuts.  They had a bushel of corn so we got some of that, too. It was a productive stop all the way around and when we left we were loaded down with a great assay of mountainous goodies. At home we converted all of the fruits of our trip into dinner--Granny's fried chicken, biscuits with creamery butter and honey,  Waldorf salad made with the apples we bought,  fried corn and a peach pie. What a way to end a pleasurable trip.

The MINI Cooper makes a great touring car and it actually held all of the groceries the Food Guys always buy as souvenirs.  It even held the sport coat we found on sale at the mall on the way home--but that is another story.  GB loved the trip and frequently sat in the window so that he could get a good view.  He is an admirable traveler and was excellent about critiquing our driving and making comments about the people with whom we shared the road.  His favorite part was the honey, of course, but he also found the chicken to be most agreeable.  Maybe GB will start writing his own column.

Until next month the Food Guys are leaving you now to go see if there might be a bit of left-over peach pie in the refrigerator.