Something Special! Foothills Milling Cafe...

Recently we learned about a 'spin off' appendage from perhaps the best restaurant and dining experience in East Tennessee.  Foothills Milling Company in Maryville Tennessee is our favorite food extravaganza...excellent food and service!  However, such quality does come at a price.

So, when we heard that the parent, Foothills Milling Company, had spun off a separate casual operation that is called Foothills Milling Cafe, we had to give it a try.

Located behind Foothills Milling Company, the Cafe is located on a dead end street.  It isn't visible from any major street in the area.  You have to know its there or someone has to tell you about it.

Yes, the Cafe is very casual.  Customers order their meals at the counter after checking out the menu as well as any specials on a chalk board.  The display counter is full of baked goods...cookies, torts, muffins, bars and even some of Foothills Milling Company's sourdough bread.

When your meal is ready, you pick up your food at this counter.  Napkins, silverware, water, ice, cups and boxes for leftovers are on the counter to fulfill diner's needs.

This is the dining area, plain and simple...concrete block construction.  As you can see, there is a patio dining area off the end of this room.

We've dined at Foothills Milling Cafe twice now.  It is only open for lunch, from 11 AM until 2 PM Tuesday through Saturday.  The menu offers a selection of 4 or 5 soups, as many as 9 salads, 28 different sandwiches along with 5 'specialty sandwiches'.

One our first visit, I ordered the White Cheddar Roast Beef Panini.  Sandwiches come with a pickle spear plus a choice of Creamy Pesto Pasta Salad, Loaded Potato Salad, Sweet Dijon Slaw or Thai Chili Chickpea Salad.  My sandwich with the Sweet Dijon Slaw side was $15.50.  Laurie took the half sandwich photo to show that the beef was medium rare, shaved and plentiful.  It was an excellent sandwich!  

Laurie went 'off menu', instead selecting one of the Cafe's "Signature Specials".  This was her Heirloom Caprese Chicken Salad. ($16.00) Homemade chicken salad on a bed of fresh greens along with sliced Grainger County heirloom tomatoes and sliced Mozzarella cheese...topped with olive oil and a rich balsamic glaze.  It was almost too beautiful to eat, but consume it she did...and it was excellent!

Onto our second visit, this time on the occasion of my 'old-timer's birthday.  What better way to celebrate than to enjoy good food!  We arrived at Foothills Milling Cafe just after they opened for business for the day.  I wanted to eat early enough that I could enjoy dinner much later in the day. 

On this occasion Laurie ordered the Pesto Grilled Cheese Panini. ($12.50) This panini features Sharp White Cheddar, Mozzarella, Provolone, Roasted Divina Tomatoes and Basil Pesto on a pressed Sourdough Roll.  For her side, she ordered the Creamy Pesto Pasta Salad.  She loved her luncheon and she ended up bringing home half of her sandwich for another meal.

OK...it was my birthday so I looked for something special...and the "HBC" Sandwich covered all the food groups. ($14.50) This creation included Shaved Black Forest Ham, a plentiful amount of Benton's Bacon, White Cheddar Cheese, Arugula, a Farm Egg Over Easy (breakfast), Poblano Cream Sauce and Mayonnaise on a Grilled Kaiser Bun...plus the pickle spear.  For a side, I just opted for salt and vinegar potato chips.   

There was no way I could pick up this creation and devour it in sandwich form.  First of all, it was too big.  Secondly, if I had tried I would have had to go straight home and change into a new shirt.  I ended up not eating the top of the bun and using a knife and fork to consume the rest of this luscious luncheon treat.  The mix of flavors and textures made this a memorable meal.  I was a very happy camper indeed.

On this second 'special' dining occasion, we did order desserts to take home for after dinner treats.  Laurie ordered the Mini Key Lime Pie ($4.00) which she loved.  I ordered a Chess Bar. ($5.00) It was very nice but too large and I spread it over a 2 day period.

FYI, two other sides are available.  They included Truffle Mac & Cheese ($6.00) and Pimento Mac & Cheese. ($4.00) Foothills Milling Cafe is located at 612 Sevierville Road in Maryville Tennessee.  Online ordering is at www.FoothillsMillingCafe.com.  Phone: 865-315-3402.

Laurie and I would highly recommend Foothills Milling Cafe and this special dining experience.  Their regular menu can be perused at https://foothillsmillingcafe.com/food-menu.

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave & Laurie

More Ready-to-Eat Entrees + Beauty

We are continuing to explore easy to prepare meal items.  In this edition, there were no losers among our selections, although we do have favorites.  Goal = meals with little, zero or minimal preparation... Snacks count too!

We bought this pack of 18 Stonefire Mini Naan Originals at Costco... As described by Stonefire Authentic Flatbreads, these mini naans are "delicious, fluffy, versatile and downright unforgettable, it's made to upgrade every meal, from breakfast wraps to midnight snacks".  Laurie and I concur and we've already used them with breakfast eggs, garlic dip, Bar-B-Que and more

Instant pulled pork!  The downside is that there isn't any 'bark' from smoking the meat.  The upside is that you have 2.5 lbs. of pulled pork to do with as you'd like.

Del Real's carnitas/pulled pork is not strongly seasoned so the good news is that you have multiple options with the 'right' addition of seasoning or sauces.

For this meal, Laurie paired some of Del Rio's pulled pork with one of Stonefire's mini-naans, adding a simple salad as her side.  She used BBQ sauce with her pork and she liked it a lot! 

We've enjoyed a couple other meals using Del Real's carnitas/pulled pork.  No surprise that I toasted a bun, covered it with shredded cheddar cheese, nuked it in the microwave and then slapped a couple of over medium fried eggs on top!  Great breakfast!  This product was purchased at Costco.

I don't know if its any healthier or worse than the salty snacks that we usually go for, but lately we have kept some sliced stick salami and pepperoni in the fridge...along with sliced sticks of cheese.  Cabot Creamery's 3 year naturally aged cheddar is one of our 'go to' cheese options. It has a distinctive flavor and it holds up well when sliced in 'sticks' or strips.  Yet another Costco purchase.

We have never found a garlic dip that was worthy of the name...until now!  Most anything labeled as containing garlic here in East Tennessee barely qualifies as 'garlicy' in our estimation.  A bit of Toom Garlic Dip and we knew that we had a cure for those pesky vampires.  I'll bet you can guess where we bought it!

Yes, this bag of Daphne's Beef and Lamb Gyro Slices was indeed purchased at Costco.  It contains 2 packages of meat.  I chose to heat up the meat in my frying pan with a little butter and pepper.  We both like a little char on our gyros.

It is hard to find gyros, (lamb and beef combined), anywhere here in East Tennessee.  We were very happy with the way that Daphne's gyros turned out.  Laurie plated her gyros on another one of those mini naans with mixed greens and cherry tomatoes.  The tzatziki sauce was very nice but lacked the garlic hit that we were used to back in Chicago.  We'll add garlic to the sauce/dip the next time.  The brand was Hannah's Tzatziki - Greek Style Yogurt Dip.

I thought that I'd end this post with a non-food photo.  That very pretty and delicate looking flower above is from a Spotted Wintergreen...a native wildflower that some bird...or more likely the wind, probably planted for us.  This small perennial evergreen herb is native to eastern North America and Central America.  Lucky for us, this plant is very tolerant of acidic soil and shade...both of which describe much of our backyard everyday.  The Creek Indians called it "pipsisikweu", which translates to "breaks into small pieces".  This was because it allegedly had the ability to breakdown gallstones.  Another use by Native Americans was to use it's leaf tea to treat rheumatism and stomach problems.

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them...

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

Dinner...Overnight and Then What?

...continuing with our October 2024 road trip west through Tennessee and then continuing north to Pennsylvania and then back down through Virginia...

We overnighted at the Hampton Inn in Mansfield Pennsylvania for two nights.  End of the first day and it was time for dinner.

We decided on a local dining option on this occasion...and this is Papa V's Pizzeria and Restaurant at 12 North Main Street in Mansfield.  As you can see, the decor is the basic old time small town style.  Simple...but how was the food?

My entree came with a nice side salad with mixed greens, tomato, croutons and shredded mozzarella cheese...Italian dressing on the side.  I'm not supposed to eat many greens but I yielded to temptation in this case.

We are rarely able to resist Garlic Bread with Cheese...in this case accompanied with Homemade Marinara Sauce. ($7.50) There was plenty of it and, much to our liking, they weren't afraid of applying the garlic!  Very nice indeed...

Counting the Chicken Wings, there are 12 appetizers on the menu, many of them ones you might expect.  Ones that were a little different included the Breaded Fried Mushrooms, Mac 'n Cheese Bites and the Jalapeno Poppers.  Of special note was the truly unusual item...Pierogies - Cheesy potato dumplings with caramelized onions served with sour cream.

After all that Garlic Cheese Bread, Laurie decided to have a salad as her entree.  This was her Caesar Salad with Fried Chicken. ($11.00) She did enjoy it, with the chicken helping to satisfy her taste buds.  

There are 9 salads on the Menu at Papa V's.  These include an Antipasto Salad, the Fiery Chicken Salad and the New York Strip Steak Salad. (I was surprised that Laurie didn't order the Antipasto Salad) The most unusual salad on the menu was the Pittsburgh Steak Salad.  It consists of mixed greens, chopped steak, tomato, grilled onions, banana pepper, green pepper, sweet pepper, black olives, pickles, mushrooms, mozzarella cheese and...wait for it...beer battered French fries.  Rolaids needed for sure!

For my dinner, I ordered the Cajun Alfredo Pasta. ($21.00 side salad included) There were a generous number of shrimp with the pasta and the homemade Alfredo sauce was very tasty. 

As for the rest of the menu, there were 9 other pasta dishes offered.  Plus there are burgers, subs, cheesesteaks, sandwiches/wraps, paninis, pizzas, calzones, strombolis plus sides and desserts.  It was a much more extensive menu than we would have expected. 

Papa V's Pizzeria and Restaurant in Mansfield Pennsylvania is open daily for lunch and dinner.  Phone: 570-662-2651.  Their website is found at https://www.papavpizzeria.com/. 

While in Mansfield we also stopped for coffee and a pastry at Conspiracy Coffee, Cafe and Bakery at 11 West Wellsboro Street.  We had a couple of house brews, a scone, a biscotti and Laurie bought a bag of their coffee to take home.  Good coffee!  They are on Facebook at  https://www.facebook.com/ConspiracyCoffeeCo/.

A lack of thorough research and a lack of interesting shops led to the realization on our second day that we didn't have a plan... So, as I am wont to do, I picked up the road map and, after a quick look and a check of the Internet, we headed north from Mansfield on US Hwy 15...destination Corning New York! 

Many years ago, Laurie and I had visited Corning New York and we had toured the Corning Museum of Glass.  It was a great museum and I'm sure it's been enhanced since our last visit.  Website: https://home.cmog.org/.

But we had never visited The Rockwell Museum, an affiliate of the Smithsonian.  The museum, which is shown above, is housed in Corning's former City Hall.  It was built in 1893 in the Richardson Romanesque style, which combines both Gothic and Romanesque influences.  In 1893 the building was home to a fire station (until 1974), the city clerk, police department, city court and the jail.  It housed the city council chambers, public health department and dentist offices until 1972.  In addition the third floor included a public library and youth center.  The building was renovated and reopened as The Rockwell Museum in 1982.  

As you can see, at least one segment of the facade has been 'slightly' modified with the addition of that Bison sculpture.  In keeping with the museum's original benefactor's collections, it was created by artist Tom Gardner in 1999 and it's titled "Artemus the Bison".

Now onto some of the artwork presented at the Rockwell Museum...

This painting is by Newell Convers (N.C.) Wyeth, an American painter and illustrator. (1882 - 1945) He became one of America's best known illustrators, providing images for 112 books and creating more than 3,000 paintings.  His career took off in 1911 with the illustrations he created for Robert Lewis Stevenson's novel, "Treasure Island".  N.C. Wyeth was also the father of artist Andrew Wyeth and the grandfather of artist Jamie Wyeth.

This particular painting was completed in 1921 and rather than providing a title per se, Wyeth wrote the following: "If the woman in the wagon was scared to death at the sight of the prairie, I surely had cause to be afraid, but I was not.  I was uplifted".

Simply titled, "Landscape with Cows", this painting was completed in the late 1800s by Susan C. Waters. (1823 - 1900) Waters' early career in New York and Pennsylvania focused on portraits...the family 'photos' of the time.  Her husband was sickly and she became the primary breadwinner.  After moving to Bordentown New Jersey in 1866, and having earned the funds to allow variation in her work, she specialized in paintings of animals and an occasional still life.

A little history regarding The Rockwell Museum.  The 'foundational' works of the collection were gifted by Bob and Hertha Rockwell who operated a popular department store in Corning.  The Rockwell's amassed a significant collection of fine American art.  They honed their taste for fine art through study, travel and collecting...primarily in the American West.  Initially they displayed their collection in their department store.  They wanted to share their passion with the community and, with the assistance of executives from Corning Glass Works, the Rockwell's collection was transformed into a public museum.

This bronze sculpture was created in 1914 by Cyrus Edwin Dallin. (1861 - 1944) It is titled "On the Warpath".  Dallin was a sculptor best known for his depictions of Native Americans.  However, among his 260 works, he also completed the "Equestrian Statue of Paul Revere" in Boston and the "Angel Moroni" atop the Mormon Salt Lake Temple in Salt Lake City Utah.  Interestingly, Dallin had left the Mormon Church many years earlier but he still got the commission.  His most famous statues...or given their size...monuments, include "Appeal to the Great Spirit" in Boston and "A Signal of Peace" in Chicago.

As creative and prolific as Dallin was, he was also an Olympian.  In the 1904 Olympics staged in St. Louis Missouri, Dallin won a Bronze Metal in Archery.

This massive action packed painting measures 6.5 feet tall and 10.5 feet wide.  Titled "The Buffalo Hunt", it was painted by William Robinson Leigh. (1866 - 1955) Leigh was known for his paintings  of western scenes and he created illustrations for Scribner's and Collier's magazines among others.  The Santa Fe Railroad sent him west where he painted the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone Park.  When he died, his widow gave his New York studio to the Gilcrease Museum in Tulsa Oklahoma.  

The Gilcrease Museum is home to the world's largest, most comprehensive collection of art of the American West. (Another road trip destination!) Note: The Gilcrease Museum owns 18 of the 22 bronze sculptures that were created by Frederic Remington.

In a future posting, I'll feature more of the art objects on display at The Rockwell Museum in Corning New York.  In the meantime, here is the museum's website: https://rockwellmuseum.org/.  Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them...

Thanks for stopping by to follow along on our 2024 road trip!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

Sunday Afternoon in Marietta Ohio and Dinner in West Virginia

Once we finished our tour of "The Castle" in Marietta Ohio, we still had some time that allowed us to drive around town and take in the sights.  We focused on historic homes and churches...before we decided that it was time to find somewhere to have a Sunday dinner.

This is the First Presbyterian Church of Marietta.  It was first organized in 1865 as the Fourth Street Presbyterian Church...with a total of 53 members.  The congregation's first church home was a one-room brick building that was completed in just 3 months in 1866.  A 23 foot extension with 3 more rooms and a tower was added in 1886.  

As the church continued to grow, the congregation purchased an adjoining lot.  Construction of the current sanctuary began in 1896 and it was completed in 1897.  At that point the church was renamed as the First Presbyterian.  Addition construction over the years have continued to expand the church.

This is the Rufus R. Dawes house.  It was built in 1869 by former Civil War Brigadier General Rufus Dawes and his wife Mary (Gates) Dawes.  Rufus had led the 6th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, a regiment in the famed "Iron Brigade" in more that 20 major battles in the War.  These battles included Second Bull Run, South Mountain, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, the Wilderness, Spotsylvania Courthouse, Petersburg and others.  Later in his life Rufus served as a member of Congress from Ohio.

One of Rufus and Mary's sons, Bemen Gates Dawes served as a Member of Congress in the early 1900s.  This was also the boyhood home of another son, Charles G. Dawes.  Charles was a Trustee of Marietta College, an Ambassador to England, the author of the WWI German reparations plan, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize and served as Vice President of the United States under President Calvin Coolidge.

This Greek Revival brick home on Fifth Street in Marietta was built by Dr. Josiah Dexter Cotton in 1853.  It was built with gallery porches on each side to give it a palatial southern feeling and in my opinion it is a warm and eye-catching structure.  A graduate of Marietta College in 1842, Cotton studied medicine with his father and he practiced medicine in the city for many years.  Dr. Josiah Cotton also served 3 years as a surgeon with the 92nd Ohio Volunteer Infantry in the American Civil War.  His brother John Jr. had married into a family that was sympathetic with the Confederate cause...bringing familial conflict to the fore.

Dr. Josiah Cotton and his wife had 8 children.  The family supported abolition and equal education for women.  Family life in the household was reported to be very happy indeed.  Dr. Cotton is reputed to continue to have a difficult time leaving the house.  When new owners moved in and began renovations, a man knocked on the door and asked to see the place.  They offered to escort him through the house...but he declined, stating "No thank you, I am very familiar with this house".  He then is alleged to have disappeared.

This is St. Paul's Evangelical Church in Marietta. It began as the German Religious Society in 1838, with its purpose being to serve new German Protestant immigrants that has that were arriving in the area in increasing numbers. In 1839 - 1840, the congregation was organized and it was chartered as the First German Evangelical Church. The group built this sanctuary at the corner of Fifth and Scammel Streets in 1849.
This German Evangelical "Kirche" is Marietta's second oldest church. It was renamed St. Paul's Evangelical Church in 1872. Sermons...and the official church language...was changed to English in 1909.

Now the home of Marietta College's Alpha Xi Delta sorority, this home was built for W.P. Skinner in 1855. Despite having been built by Skinner, today it is known at the George White House. White, an 'oilman', was apparently successful with his oil related investments and he purchased this home in 1908. He was a graduate of Princeton University and he'd mined for gold in the Yukon before coming to Marietta to drill for oil.
White served in the Ohio House of Representatives from 1905 to 1908, then the United States House of Representatives from 1911 to 1915, then again from 1917 to 1919. He served as Chairman of the Democratic National Committee for 2 years beginning in 1920. In 1931 he was elected as the 52nd Governor of Ohio, serving until 1935.
You may have noted that Marietta Ohio is laden with much history and many historical personages. Its partially due to the fact that back in the early days, rivers were the highways, the best way to get from one area to another. Secondly, due to its location the city was founded in 1788. It was the first permanent American settlement in the USA's newly established Northwest Territory...which was created in 1787.
Time for dinner!!!

As I searched for a likely venue for our evening repast, I noted that one of the most popular and well rated restaurants in the area was just across the Ohio River bridge in downtown Williamstown West Virginia.

As luck would have it, the restaurant was located almost right next to an railway depot.  It was built in 1889 by the old Ohio River Company Railway, which became part of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad system.  An active rail line is still in operation right down 2nd Street behind the depot...

In 1906 the railroad moved the entire depot to its current location right at the Williamstown end of the bridge over the river to Marietta.  As of 1957, the depot saw the last of its passenger service but it was still used for freight.  Eventually even the freight activity stopped and the depot sat unused for a time.  The Williamstown Area Development Corporation bought the depot in 1990 and spent $362,000 in renovations.  Since then the structure has served as a visitors center and an ice cream parlor. (Hence that pink paint?) Other than the one end of the building apparently being occupied by the Williamstown Area Historical Society, the building appeared to be vacant.

This was what the railyard at Williamstown looked like back in the days of steam locomotives and when coal was king in this area of the USA.  To view a video of a modern day coal train passing down Williamstown's Second Street behind the depot, you can go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FphchOti3tc.  Also shown in the video...that old depot, sporting much a more appealing maroon/burgundy and yellow coat of paint.

This is da Vinci's...for Fine Italian Dining...and it is next to the old depot.  In 1978, Jim and Marilyn Pettit bought an old gas station and turned it into a pizza shop.  They opened for business in 1980, with 13 tables, serving pizza and subs.  Today this restaurant has grown to the point where it can seat 650 guests and it includes a covered patio.  

From the outside appearance of de Vinci's, we would have never expected the old-time decor exhibited throughout the interior of the restaurant!  We waited for our table in the room shown in the second photo.  There was plenty of eye candy for us to check out...

This dining area is one of many at da Vinci's and it's similar to the one we ate our dinner in.  The Pettit's had started out with one small dining room and a salad bar and in 2024 there are many dining rooms or dining areas in this restaurant.

I will admit that we didn't thoroughly sample da Vinci's menu.  If it were an hour from our home I'd have many more food items to tell you about because we would have been back for seconds and thirds by now.  This was Laurie's 'entree', a big bowl of French Onion Soup. ($8.00) I'm not into onions or onion soup but Laurie is and she raved about just how good her soup was!

I did note a couple of rather unusual and imaginative appetizers on the menu...items that I'd never seen before.  The first one was the Spinach Artichoke Wontons...wontons with a creamy filling of spinach, served with homemade ranch dressing for dipping.  The second unusual option almost blew my mind.  It was the Mini German Pizza...fresh baked pizza crust topped with da Vinci's signature horseradish sauce, tender corned beef, sauerkraut and mozzarella cheese.

This was my entree...although I did share a slice with Laurie.  Is this a great looking Sausage and Pepperoni Pizza or not... It was only excellent!  The best pizza I've had in a long time...

If one were to fully explore da Vinci's menu, it would take quite a few visits.  They offer 6 different salads, subs and sandwiches, steaks, 16 pasta dishes, the pizza plus calzones and a number of sides or 'add-ons' plus no less than 12 dessert options!

The current owner of da Vinci's Restaurant, Chris Bender, had been with the restaurant almost from its beginning.  She started as a server, rose to manager...and then she eventually purchased the restaurant from the Pettit family.  Chris had initially taken the job as server just to help pay her way through college...a nice story with a happy ending indeed.

da Vinci's Restaurant is located at 215 Highland Avenue in Williamstown West Virginia.  The restaurant is closed Monday and Tuesday but its open for lunch and dinner Wednesday through Sunday.  Phone: 304-375-3633.  Website: https://www.villadavinci.com/.

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them...

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!  

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave