Greek Cuisine in Roanoke Virginia

East Tennessee lacks quality ethnic cuisine so any time that Laurie and I have a chance to step outside our ‘home area limitations’, we jump at the chance.  Ethnic food is one of the few things that we miss about our former home in the Chicago metropolitan area… 

Greek food is hard to find in the Knoxville area and it just doesn’t measure up to what we’d grown accustomed to in our previous life up north.  On Trip Advisor, Athens Corner Grill is a very highly rated restaurant in Roanoke Virginia…coming in at #14 out of 366 restaurants.  There is a small parking lot but it was full and like most customers, we ended up parking on the street.

Athens Corner Grill is not a huge restaurant but it is popular.  For a Monday night, it was quite busy.  The décor is simple, the restaurant was very clean and our server was helpful and attentive. 

We started out with one of our favorite Greek appetizers…Saganaki.  This traditional Greek cheese appetizer is prepared by dredging Mediterranean style firm yellow cheese in seasoned flour, then pan-searing it until its golden on the outside and bubbly inside.  The cheese is flamed at the table and it’s served with toasted pita bread. (Pita bread is not shown in the photo)

The Saganaki was very nice although the price of Greek cheese must have spiked on the world market since we last sampled it.  This little wedge of flamed cheese cost $10.95…

As one of our sides we both ordered a cup of Avgolemono, which is Greek Chicken Soup.  It’s a blend of chicken, lemon and rice in a broth.  Laurie liked it but I thought that it was just OK.  I prefer a thicker consistency and a stronger lemon accent. 

The base for Avgolemono soup is made with egg yolk and lemon juice mixed with chicken broth, then heated until it thickens.  In reality, despite my preferences, this version is just on the other end of the spectrum for the soup, as traditionally its consistency varies from near-stew to near-broth.

Laurie and I were really excited about finally being able to order a Gyros Platter with Gyros that are actually carved off the spit.  A restaurateur in Knoxville told us that we will never see gyros on a spit here in East Tennessee as it’s against the law as established by the local uninformed government ‘food gods’.  Broiling or roasting gyros, traditionally a blend of lamb and beef in a giant loaf on a vertical spit, gives this meat a lot of flavor and texture.  As a matter of fact, the term ‘gyro’ is from Greek, meaning ‘turn’.

Our Gyros Platters, ($12.95), were served with tzatziki and pita on the side, and a choice of French fries, lemon potatoes, or rice, plus the cup of soup or a side salad.  The gyros were very nice, roasted perfectly and well-seasoned.  The potatoes were a disappointment to me…a little soft and they lacked much flavor.  Laurie thought the same and didn't finish hers.  

 

Our biggest disappointment came when we asked the waitress if there was any garlic in the tzatziki sauce.  She said that there might be a little…and indeed, there was very little.  In Chicago after a gyros/tzatziki meal, you can taste the garlic for at least a day after finishing the meal.  Fortunately, Laurie had one of my little bottles of Tabasco in her purse, so I could spice things up a bit… Still, despite any downsides as noted above, we did enjoy a pile of gyros cooked on a spit as they should be! (Thanks Bev for the little bottles of Tabasco!)

Laurie and I were both full…but we couldn’t resist sharing a bowl of creamy Rizogalo, (Greek Rice Pudding), topped with fresh ground cinnamon. ($3.95) It was a great way to top off our meal!

Although I can’t favorably compare Athens Corner Grill with our favorite Greek restaurants in Chicago, it is better than anything that we’ve had in East Tennessee…or in Nashville for that matter. 

Athens Corner Grill is located at 1003 South Jefferson Street in Roanoke Virginia.  They are open Monday – Saturday.  Phone: 540-206-2210.  Website: www.athenscornergrill.com.

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

National Register of Historic Places – SW Virginia

As we continued our drive along toward Roanoke and staying off the Interstate Highway System, we managed to find a few locations that were listed on the National Register of Historic Places…

We were passing through Rocky Mount Virginia and I had a couple of addresses of local federally designated historic places so we put them in our ‘not always the most accurate’ GPS system and began our search. 

This house is old…you can tell that by architecture and the dual center chimneys.  However, Laurie insisted that this wasn’t the house we were looking for and of course, she was right!

Here was the home we were looking for...right next door.  It was sitting way back on an expansive 1 acre lot and I just didn’t see it at first.  This is the Dr. Thomas Bailey Greer House.  It’s located at 214 East Court Street in Rocky Mount.  This 2-story, three bay, frame dwelling is in the Greek Revival style.  The full width, 1-story porch topped by a balustrade provides plenty of curb appeal.  Construction on this home started in 1861. 

Dr. Thomas Bailey Greer (1826 - 1891), was a member of one of the most prominent families in Franklin County.  He was the third generation of Greer’s to live in the county.  Like his father, Thomas Bailey Greer, and grandfather, Moses Greer, Dr. Greer was active in county affairs. He was also a prominent physician and a member of the first Medical Examining Board of Virginia.

This imposing and massive structure is the Franklin County Courthouse located in Rocky Mount Virginia.  It was built in 1909 and it’s part of the Rocky Mount Historic District.  This expansive historic district encompasses 211 contributing buildings a park and a cemetery. 

This Beaux-arts Roman Revival Courthouse dominates "Uptown" Rocky Mount facing the southern end of Main Street.  The current courthouse replaced the previous 1786 log structure and the 1831 brick courthouses.

Note: Famous former residents of Rocky Mount and Franklin County include Booker T. Washington, Adam Clayton Powell Sr. and Confederate General Jubal A. Early. 

The handsome Trinity Episcopal Church is another building included in Rocky Mount’s National Historic District.  This is the earliest church still standing in Rocky Mount.  It was built in 1874.  The structure’s appearance has changed greatly.  Originally it was built with weatherboard siding but in 1906, the building was moved and extended in the rear, then encased in a layer of quarried stone.  Slate shingles were then installed over the gable roof.

 

Note: In the 20th century during Prohibition, Franklin County was called the "Moonshine Capital of the World", as moonshine production and bootlegging drove the economy.  Historians estimate that in the 1920s, 99 of every 100 Franklin County residents were in some way involved in the illegal liquor trade.  

The bootleggers became involved with gangsters from Chicago and other major cities, and some local law enforcement officials were part of the criminal activities which included killing competitors.  A lengthy federal investigation resulted in indictments and trials for 34 suspects in 1935 for what was called the "Great Moonshine Conspiracy”.

This is apparently the current rectory for the Episcopal Church.  I’m not sure if this is the original or not but according to the listing for Rocky Mount’s Historic District, the original rectory (home) still exists but from the description, it sounds like it isn’t adjacent to the church.  In any case, the church and its attached buildings flow nicely together…

FYI…Although we didn’t have time to visit it, the Booker T. Washington National Monument is located near Rocky Mount.  He was an American educator, author, orator, and advisor to presidents of the United States.  Between 1890 and 1915, Washington was the dominant leader in the African-American community.  He came from the last generation of black American leaders born into slavery and he became the leading voice of the former slaves and their descendants on into the twentieth century.

In October 1901 President Theodore Roosevelt invited Washington to dine with him and his family at the White House.  He was the first African American to be invited there by a president.  Upon learning of this event, the governor of Mississippi, James K. Vardaman wrote the following:

·       "so saturated with the odor of the nigger that the rats have taken refuge in the stable", and he declared "I am just as much opposed to Booker T. Washington as a voter as I am to the cocoanut-headed, chocolate-colored typical little coon who blacks my shoes every morning.  Neither is fit to perform the supreme function of citizenship."

A United States Senator from South Carolina, Benjamin Tillman, proclaimed:

·       “The action of President Roosevelt in entertaining that nigger will necessitate our killing a thousand niggers in the South before they will learn their place again."

Amazing!  To have been a prominent leader in the black community back in those days took both intelligence and a lot of courage!  To learn more about Booker T. Washington and the National Monument created in his honor, go to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Booker_T._Washington and https://www.nps.gov/bowa/index.htm.  

   

We also located the former Norfolk and Western Freight Station, now known as the Rocky Mount Train Depot.  It has historical significance for its role in the development of Rocky Mount as an agricultural and manufacturing center.  Built in 1907 by Norfolk and Western, this elongated one-story rectangular wood frame building, (a typical example of standard-issue corporate design), served as part of the railroads Winston-Salem District as a combination station handling both freight shipments and passenger service.

The Depot has been refurbished and is now being used as the Community and Visitor’s Center.  The interior features display cases showcasing tools and related antiques, the original rollover scales used to weigh cargo, original safe that held passenger tickets, original exposed wood trusses, plank flooring stretching the entire length of the building, and sliding freight doors.

Of course there is a caboose on display as well… It’s a restored 41'9" long, Class C31P, 1970 Norfolk and Western Cupola or "standard"caboose.

As luck would have it, there was a train just down the track that appeared to be waiting to switch or for another train to pass by. 

Norfolk and Western is now called Norfolk Southern Railroad.  The headquarters for this railroad company is in Norfolk, Virginia.  Norfolk Southern operates over 22,000 route miles in 22 eastern states plus the District of Columbia. 

Our last stop was at Boones Mill Virginia.  We were looking for this old depot…which wasn’t in very good shape when this photo was taken.  I found this depot at www.depotmaps.com, which is a dynamic map of known existing railroad depots across the USA.  In the majority of instances, photos are shown by the listings…

Another site, http://www.rrshs.org/Struct.index/strucindex.htm included a note from 2014 regarding the depot stating that it was slated to be moved.  Then I found a Boones Mill Facebook site that was all about moving and restoring the depot.  Check it out at https://www.facebook.com/Restoring-the-Boones-Mill-NW-Railroad-Station-585187311533454/.

The good news for us was that we came across this beautiful old home in Boone’s Mill Virginia while looking unsuccessfully for the old railway depot.  As it turns out, this is the Boon-Angell-Ferguson House, a part of the Boons Mill National Historic District. 

This home at 300 Easy Street dates back to 1782!  (This was confirmed by the owner who we talked to when we stopped to take a picture) The earliest parts of the house consist of logs covered with board and batten and weatherboard siding.  The house is attributed to Jacob Boon who founded the town and who built a couple of gristmills that were the foundation for the settlement.

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for a short drive through a bit of Virginia history.

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave 

Sights Along the Road – SW Virginia

Continuing with our 3 day anniversary trip up to southwest Virginia…

Moving on from our lunch in Galax Virginia, we continued east on US Hwy. 58 to the town of Hillsville.

This is the Carroll County Courthouse in Hillsville.  FYI, this town was appropriately named, that’s for sure.  The old downtown area sits high on a hill… As a matter of fact, 80% of the county lies within the Appalachian Mountain range.

The courthouse was built between 1870 and 1875.  It’s a 2-story brick building with a gable roof that features a 2-story Doric portico.  Finally, the building is topped by an octagonal cupola.  The building is the home for the Carroll County Historic Society and Museum.  To learn more go to: http://carrollvamuseum.org/museum/.

In 1912, this courthouse was the scene of a sensational courthouse shootout that left a judge, prosecutor, sheriff, and two others dead, although the validity of the conviction has been source of debate within Carroll County for decades.

This courthouse was the scene of the infamous Hillsville massacre that took place on March 14, 1912.  A total of 5 persons, including the presiding judge, the Sheriff and the Commonwealth’s Attorney were killed in a courtroom battle as the judge attempted to sentence Floyd Allen, the patriarch of a prominent (and notorious) local family, to 1 year in prison.  This is one of the rare incidents in American history when a criminal defendant attempted to avoid justice by assassinating the trial judge.  It’s a wild story!  To learn more, just click on https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floyd_Allen.  

When we pulled up the street looking for the courthouse, we couldn’t see it at first.  The view was blocked by this very old, impressive and large structure.

The Hale-Wilkinson-Carter Home was originally built as a 2-story, Flemish brick residence on a raised brick basement ca. 1857 for Captain Fielden L. Hale.  However it soon became a store and residence when Hale sold it to James Wilkinson in 1860.  Mr. Wilkinson operated the store out of the first floor facing Main Street adjacent to the courthouse.  Finally, this building is most associated with George L. Carter, a local businessman who was primarily responsible for the early economic prosperity of southwest Virginia and east Tennessee.

After the last of the Carter clan died in 1957, the building was used for a time as offices for county government.  The building is now under the protection of the Hale-Wilkinson-Carter Home Foundation Inc.  As such the first 3 floors have been rehabilitated with additional refurbishment yet to come.  The building hosts meetings and celebrations and there is a gift shop.  For more information go to http://halewilkinsoncarterhome.org/.  

From Hillsville, it was into the mountains and foothills along the Blue Ridge of Virginia.  At the higher elevations, there wasn’t much greenery yet but there was the promise of spring in the air…

After crossing the Blue Ridge and its Parkway, we turned north on VA Hwy. 8 toward Woolwine Virginia.  Along the way we noted the Jack’s Creek Covered Bridge just a bit down a side road.  This 48-foot covered bridge was constructed with oak and was built in 1914.

 

Virginia's Covered Bridges…also known as "kissing bridges"…numbered more than 100 back in the early 1900s.  That number dwindled down to about 50 in the mid-1930s.  Today, only 7 authentic timber-covered bridges survive.  Only 4 of them are on public land and all of them have been preserved as landmarks.

Wouldn’t you love to have this creek running through your property?!  This is Jack’s Creek in Patrick County Virginia.

We took a photo of this simple yet beautiful stone house just because it’s old, handsome and built to last!   Virginia is loaded with great looking old homes that aren’t listed as historic places…but they’re great eye candy.

I thought that I’d conclude this posting with the “pause that refreshes”.  This former Coca-Cola Bottling Plant is part of Rocky Mount Virginia’s expansive historic district.  This building was built sometime before 1928, the first year that it showed up on a map.   We have a particular attachment with Coca-Cola as my mother’s sister was married to a key executive and my mother’s late in life living expenses and medical costs were covered by her sister…thereby relieving us of a family need and enabling us to retire.

Did you know that by the beginning of the 1920’s, over more than 1,000 Coca-Cola bottlers were operating in the U.S.A.!  That number continued to grow over the decades.  Older readers will remember those old iconic glass bottles.  Until the early 1960s, the name of the town where Coke was bottled was imprinted or embossed on the bottoms of these bottles.  Many collectors are intent on getting every variant of those bottles.  A veteran from Georgia has accumulated bottles from 1,200 of the 1,450 different towns he has identified that bottled Coca-Cola!

That’s about it for now… Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them.

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

BBQ for Lunch – Galax Virginia

As we continued our drive along US Hwy. 58 in SW Virginia, lunch time approached…but I had a plan!

Since the best BBQ we’ve been able to find near where we live in East Tennessee is the mobile smoker that sets up in front of the Food City locations in our area, we’re always on the prowl seeking quality BBQ when were on the road…

This is Galax Smokehouse in Galax Virginia.  This restaurant is located in a nice looking building in the center of town. 

The interior of Galax Smokehouse is expansive, clean and decorated with photos and a collection of kitsch, especially in the pig format!  There is a full bar at the back of the restaurant and it was fairly busy given the fact that it was after 2 PM by the time we arrived.

I ordered the Boneless Rib Tips. ($13.50) This half-pound plus of meat was accompanied by a hunk of bread, some decent coleslaw, some very nice baked beans and 2 small but tasty hush puppies.

The rib tips were plentiful and they were better than average.  Our only issue was with the too runny (for us) vinegar based BBQ sauce.  We like sauce that adheres better to the meat and which provides more ‘heat’.  It’s just our personal preference.

Notes:

·       Galax has a population of around 7,000.  The Appalachian Trail goes right down the middle of Main Street. (Now I can say that I’ve ‘hiked’ part of the Trail) The New River Trail State Park, a 57 mile long multi-use trail also goes right through town.  Galax is also the home of the annual “Old Fiddlers Convention”, a major annual event that started back in 1935!

Laurie ordered the Half Slab of Ribs. ($15.50) Her meal came with that hunk of bread, a couple of hush puppies and some corn nuggets.  For her sides she ordered the house fried potatoes (homemade potato chips) and green beans.

 

The ribs were nice and meaty and she had to ‘work’ the meat off the bones.  That’s our preference!  She really liked the potato chips, those corn nuggets and even the green beans!… It was too much food for her, so I ‘had’ to help her with the ribs and potato chips.  She even let me have one of those corn nuggets and the bread!  They can best be described as corn and cream sauce fried in batter… Yum!

Galax Smokehouse is well worth the stop if you’re anywhere in the vicinity.  This isn’t the best BBQ ever but it is better than average and its far better than what we can find in the Knoxville area.  Galax Virginia is only 10 miles west of I-77.  Address: 101 North Main Street.  Phone: 276-236-1000.  Website: www.thegalaxsmokehouse.com.  

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for a big lunch!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

Rolling Along the Road in SW Virginia

As we approached our 37^th wedding anniversary, we decided that we would ‘gift’ ourselves with a 3 day exploration of southwestern Virginia.  Most of our recent forays into that portion of the state had been right along I-81 to its interchange with I-77.  From there it was the super slab all the way to the Cleveland area where our son and his family used to live…

So I planned a route off the beaten path in Virginia wandering 2-lane highways for the most part, eventually arriving in Roanoke where we spent a couple of nights.

We jumped off of I-81 at Abingdon Virginia and took US Hwy. 58 east toward the Blue Ridge Parkway.  I wouldn’t recommend parts of this highway to anyone driving or pulling a big recreational vehicle… It winds and twists through the mountains in several areas.

The Green Cove Railroad Station serves as a U.S. Forest Service Visitor Center and trailhead for the Virginia Creeper Trail.  The Green Cove Station is the only original remaining depot building along the Virginia Creeper Trail.  The depot has also served as a post office, general store, and freight office.  Green Cove Station was built by the Norfolk and Western Railroad in 1914.   This rail line became known as the Virginia Creeper because of the train’s slow speed as they went up and over the mountains.

This photograph engraved in stone sits near the front of the Green Cove Station.  It is copied from an original photo by O. Winston Links who is famous for capturing the end of the ‘golden age’ of the railroads in the USA.

The last train that stopped here, an excursion train, was back in 1977.  In that year flooding severely damaged the line and it was never repaired. Today, the Virginia Creeper Trail is a 35-mile multi-purpose ‘rail trail’ that stretches from Abingdon to Whitetop Virginia…through National Forest and crossing numerous restored trestles as well as the Appalachian Trail.  There was a large group of bicyclists at the depot, (which wasn’t open), when we stopped by.

To learn more about the Virginia Creeper ‘rail trail’ just go to http://www.vacreepertrail.com/.

One sight of note as we drove along the flanks of the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area was the large number of Christmas tree farms!  It was unexpected, that’s for sure.  When I checked on the Internet, I was amazed at the number of members listed on the roster of the Virginia Christmas Tree Growers Association.  Check it out at http://www.virginiachristmastrees.org/farmlisting/.

One rarely sees a split rail fence like this in this day and age… They are sometimes also referred to as a zigzag fence, worm fence or snake fence.  These fences are very simple in their construction, and can be assembled with few tools even on hard or rocky ground.  They also can be built without using any nails or other hardware.  This hardware was often scarce and expensive in frontier areas.  They were particularly popular in very rocky areas where post hole digging is almost impossible.

The scenery along US Hwy. 58 is just beautiful!  As I mentioned above, the highway passes through the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area.  The highest point in this national recreation area and in the state of Virginia is, appropriately enough, Mt. Rogers at 5,729 feet. 

The Mt. Rogers National Recreation Area is 1 of only 18 in the USA.  It covers almost 200,000 acres, contains 4 federally designated Wilderness Areas, has 11 camp sites, (4 of which are set up as horse camps), and over 500 miles of hiking trails.  For those of us who aren’t into hiking, there is also the Mt. Rogers Scenic Byway.  This federally protected area has over 1,000,000 visitors each year.    

We love waterfalls, even modest man-made versions.  This peaceful low rise dam is on a tributary of the New River near Independence Virginia.

The Grayson County Courthouse is located in Independence Virginia.  This ‘new’ courthouse was built in 1908 to replace an 1850 building.  To say that this structure is eclectic would be an understatement.  Note the Flemish gable flanked by turrets.

In 1979 the county opened a new courthouse.  This 1908 building now serves as an area art and cultural center.  It is operated by the Historic 1908 Courthouse Foundation, and houses the Grayson Crossroads Museum, Baldwin Auditorium, Treasury Gift Shop, and some business offices as well.

The population of Independence was only 947 at the 2010 census.  The town is home to a major town celebration on July 4 every year, which is held in front of the courthouse.  It features bluegrass and old-time music and dance, food, crafts and a wild pony sale.  The courthouse is also the location of the Mountain Foliage Festival.  That fall festival features a parade, crafts, arts and music, as well as a race in which contestants use outhouses…i.e., “The Grand Privy Race”.

That’s about it for now… Just click on the photos if you’d like to enlarge them.

Thanks for stopping by for a drive through the mountains!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

A Nice Lunch in downtown Loudon Tennessee

Recently we’d tried one restaurant in downtown Loudon Tennessee and we’d been greatly disappointed.  On this occasion Laurie and I decided to try the other dining option in the center of town…

This is Annabell’s Emporium.  They sell antiques and gifts but the building also houses Annabell’s Café.  It’s been there for quite a while now but we’d never got around to trying it out.  I sort of expected a ladies ‘tea room’ kind of place with matching food…

The décor is sort of a cross between the tea room look and that of a small town local café.  Tables are available all the way across the front of the store itself and they had a fair amount of business while we were there…even a couple of young guys having lunch.

Laurie ordered the “Cranky Yankee”. ($7.69) This creation included sweet ham, roasted turkey, provolone cheese, thin sliced apple and cranberry sauce.  All panini’s (hot sandwiches) come with a few potato chips and a side dish.  Laurie ordered the Pesto Pasta Salad.  She loved her lunch!  She told me that she would definitely order this panini again…

I went for the “PEYTON”, another panini, this one made up with roast beef, sweet ham, smoked turkey, bacon, cheddar cheese and raspberry mustard. ($7.89) I asked for the fruit cup as my side…mainly because I’m not into the other 2 choices…the pasta salad or the potato salad. 

The sandwich was very good and I’d order it again although I’d substitute Dijon mustard instead of the sweet raspberry version.  I am not into sweet with my meat…a personal preference.  

Annabell’s has a number of dessert items on the menu including cake, pie cheesecake, cookies and scones.  Our host brought us the tray and offered us each one after our lunch…a very nice touch indeed.  Laurie had one of the …. Cookies and I had a Russian tea cookie, as shown on the right with the powdered sugar.  Both cookies were very nice.

Of course, we couldn’t leave the scones untouched!  We love scones and we bought a couple of Annabell’s cranberry scones for breakfast the following day.  Laurie thought that they were more traditional than the ones that we normally buy and rated them as being very good.  To me they were good but I prefer a lighter and sweeter version…

We’ll be back for another lunch at Annabell’s Café!  In addition to panini’s, they serve cold sandwiches, salads, wraps, soup, a quiche of the day, combination offerings, daily specials and all sorts of coffee drinks for there or to go.   Annabell’s is open from 11 AM until 5 PM daily.  They are located at 304 Wharf Street in Loudon.  Phone: 865-657-9846.  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Annabells-Emporium-and-Cafe-133823313337139/.

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for lunch!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave