The GYPSY KITCHEN – Week # 11

(Cherry Blossoms in bloom – Washington DC)

“I refuse to believe that trading recipes is silly.  Tuna fish casserole is at least as real as corporate stock.”  ~Barbara Grizzuti Harrison

 

The "GYPSY KITCHEN" is the traveling culinary adventure of John and Cindy Hughes who are cruising the backroads and forgotten highways of America in a 36–foot motorcoach searching for wonderful, interesting regional foods and delicious culinary treasures…Please come and join us!

For information and/or directions for any of the places we’ve visited, please visit our interactive “GYPSY KITCHEN Tour ‘09 Map.  Make sure to log onto www.the-gypsy-kitchen.com and subscribe to receive FREE  recipes and chance to win a 3–course dinner for 10 guests performed by the GYPSY KITCHEN in the comfort of your own home.

 

(Historical home – Natchez, MI)

Before Cindy and I headed out onto the Natchez Trace, we simply HAD to have lunch at the infamous “PIG OUT INN”, located on Canal Street in the historic part of Natchez.  This is your classic “hole-in-the-wall” BBQ joint but boy-o-boy – do they know how to BBQ.

(Pig Out Inn – Natchez, MI)

As one approaches this small storefront eatery the smell of smoldering oak, hickory and cedar fill the air – and it smells addictive!!!  The smoker is located out back on the side of the building, but you can smell the goodness all the way down the block.

(Lunch being prepared – Pig Out Inn, Natchez)

Both Cindy and I opted for the “Chopped BBQ Brisket Sandwich” and watched as the chef cut and chopped a heaping mound of smoked beef brisket that was so moist and tender that it practically didn’t need a knife to carve.

The sandwiches were delicious and accompanied by baked beans and a good potato salad.  I washed the meal down with a rather tasty “Lazy Magnolia Southern Pecan Nut Brown Ale” which did the trick.

The PIG OUT INN is definitely a “dress-down” joint…wear your old jeans and tee’s and enjoy the feast!  Save the classy threads for another meal.

The PIG OUT INN rates:

I would greatly recommend to anyone in the Natchez, MI area to give it a try.

 

So, after a great lunch, we started our journey North along the Natchez Trace, a beautiful roadway which extends for almost 450 miles.   The original trace was a nearly  500-mile 
footpath that ran through Choctaw and Chickasaw Indian (Native American) lands connecting Natchez, Mississippi, to Nashville, Tennessee.  Today it is managed and maintained by the US Department of the Interior’s National Park Service.  In my humble opinion, this is one of the prettiest roads that I have ever traveled…I would rank it right up there with Ireland’s “Ring of Kerry”; the mountainside roads up to the city of Ronda, in Andalucía, Spain; the “Les Routes du Champagne”near Reims, France or the road trip from Southern Maine up through the Green Mountains to the wineries of Niagara On The Lake.

(Natchez Trace Parkway – Mississippi)

This is not a “go-fast” road but rather a “lazy-days” kind of roadway with the maximum speed limit set at 50MPH but if you are not in a hurry and want to simply take in some lovely, historic countryside – make sure to consider the Natchez Trace. 

After a days worth of comfortable driving, we parked the motorcoach at Davis Lake in Chickasaw County, Mississippi.  A lovely rolling hill camping area rests on the shore of this 200-acres lake – and yes there was plenty of fishing (although non for me).

The next morning we headed back onto the Trace until we picked up Route 20 as we made our way into Chattanooga, TN where we stayed for two days.

While visiting Chattanooga, Cindy and I had the great pleasure of dining at 212 Market Restaurant.  This is Tennessee’s first Certified “Green Restaurants”, and actively work to minimize their carbon footprint by recycling glass, cardboard and metal; compost a large portion of food waste; use low voltage lighting, heating and cooling equipment and will be installing solar panels on the roof sometime this summer.

(212 Market Restaurant – Chattanooga, TN)

As good as all this sounds, it pails in comparison to the food quality and presentation.  Cindy tried the Fried Green Tomatoes with a Creole remoulade and a Cajun slaw which was a delightful dish.  The tomatoes fried to a light golden brown color, the remoulade had just the right amount of heat and the slaw was fresh and tangy.  I set my taste buds on the appetizers special of Pulled Pork Spring Rolls which were also excellent.  The rolls was crisp and light with a nice amount of pulled pork shoulder served with a pleasant Asian inspired BBQ sauce.

For dinner, Cindy had the Roasted Redfish Special but I had to have the Coffee Seared Duck with an Amaretto glaze and nicely roasted sweet potatoes.  Both dishes were wonderful treats and almost all conversation ended as we worked our way through the meal.  We paired these lovely meals with an excellent bottle of Foris Pinot Noir from Oregon which had a nice balance of blackberries and raspberries with a hint of chocolate and spice.

For dessert we sampled the Cheesecake and the Crème Brulee, both made by owner  Maggie Moses – mother of the other two female owners Suzie and Sally who also head up the kitchen.
(212 Market Restaurant – Chattanooga, TN)

212 MARKET RESTAURANT rates:

Would recommend this restaurant to anyone!

 

After our visit to Chattanooga, we packed up and made our way to Roanoke, VI where we stayed at the Riverside Campground only to awake the next morning with fresh falling snow!  Oh boy, that was a rude wake-up call that Spring is not in the air all over America!

As we left the snow covered roads on towards Washington, it was a lovely sight to see the Dogwoods coming into bloom.

We checked into Greenbelt National Park just outside DC and the next morning packed up the dogs and made our way into the Capital to partake in the Cherry Blossom Festival.  In a word – beautiful!!!

(That’s Marine # 1 bringing President Obama back to the White House)

 

Until next week,

Chef John
in the “Gypsy Kitchen”

www.the-gypsy-kitchen.com

john@cookwithjohn.com

 

Ratings Scale:

= Hopeless, Would Definitely Not Return

= Needs Work, Most Likely Would Not Return

 = Good Basic Find, Things Could Be Improved, Would Probably Try Again

 = As Expected, Good Choice, A Few Things Could Be Better, Almost Certainly Visit Again

 = Better Than Expected, Great Choice, Would Definitely Revisit

 = Totally Blown Away, Every Point Exceeded Expectation, Would Drive Out-Of-Way To Revisit

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