Eating | The Recovering Legalist

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by Anthony Baker | July 24, 2012 · 10:10 am

Anthony’s Appetite #8 (Café on the Corner)

It has been over a year since I did a food or restaurant review. But after my wife and I went to lunch yesterday, I figured it was a good time to revive a favorite series…

Anthony’s Appetite! Woo Hoo!

Not long ago my wife started a new job (praise the Lord) on Lookout Mountain (where you go to See Rock City). At the suggestion of one of her co-workers, we visited a little place called Café on the Corner.

Hidden Treasures

It is amazing how there are so many places that we drive by everyday without ever taking notice. I had seen this little cafe many times, but never stopped to check it out. Let this be a lesson to be more attentive.

The front of Café on the Corner is not very audacious. It blends into the surrounding area pretty well. It is very classy, as a matter of fact, with a nice little sitting area outside.The outside, however, did not prepare me for the upscale atmosphere that welcomed us inside.

As Valerie and I walked in, we were greeted by Brittany, who not only seated us, but served us. The Café opens as 11 a.m., so when we got there we were about the first to be seated. That gave me a great opportunity to photograph the interior without offending any patrons.

Money and Time

We were on a budget, so Valerie and I passed on any appetizers. We ordered our usual drinks (Coke for her, coffee for me), placed our orders, and then took a few minutes to enjoy some conversation over white table cloths. Some of the conversation included, “Can we afford this today?…Should we split something?…How long is this going to take?…That lady’s dress looks expensive… I like bare brick…this is going to be a long lunch…etc.”

Café on the Corner is not the place to eat if you are on a McDonald’s budget. It is also not the place to eat if you are in a hurry and you arrive when the place is just opening. On the other hand, it IS the place to eat if you enjoy laid back fine dining with an aristocratic Southern flair.

For my main course I ordered the special of the day (which only cost around $8). It was a Philly Wrap with pasta salad. My wife got a hamburger (she’s not the adventurous type).

Oh, the Food!

Let me tell you, the Philly wrap was wonderful. Inside the wrap was extremely tender pork tenderloin, grilled onions, a few peppers and mushrooms, and the most delicious smoked Gouda cheese sauce. My first bite simultaneously brought chills and feelings of cuddly warmth. I nearly shed a tear of taste bud joy.

If you have read this blog for very long, you know I love my coffee and tea. When it comes to eating dessert, nothing compliments it better than a good cup of black coffee. In this case I was able to have the best of both worlds.

Valerie and I selected (to share) the Cafe’s signature caramel cake with vanilla ice cream. Oh my gosh it was good! But what’s more, Brittany told me that their coffee was especially blended to pair with their desserts. Amazing!

Overall, I highly recommend the Café on the Corner. My only suggestions would be don’t eat the cake if you are a diabetic; don’t dress like a Wal-Martian when you visit; and bring a little extra cash if you’re not used to sharing.

For further information, Click HERE to go to their website.

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Filed under Food

Tagged as critic, Eating, faith, Food, Gouda, Lookout Mountain

by Anthony Baker | April 4, 2011 · 12:26 pm

Anthony’s Appetite #6 (Marinated Herring)

The Place

It has been a while since my last “Appetite” post. I have eaten since then, but the problem has been finding food worthy of comment. Fortunately, the search came to an end when I went to the Epicurean Restaurant in East Ridge, Tennessee.

The last time I went to the Epicurean was back in the 80’s. Trying to impress a girlfriend, I took her to a place that had a reputation for quality food and excellent service (Frankly, I also heard it was expensive, and girlfriends like expensive). This time we went for a birthday dinner, and the prices were not as bad as I remembered.

The Clientele

They say that one mark of a good restaurant is how many cars are in the parking lot. If that is true, the Epicurean is a GREAT place to eat. When my family and I got there at 2pm on Sunday, the parking lot and dining area were packed……with seniors…..the aged….walkers & canes. How does that factor in, I wonder?

Isn’t it true that the older one gets, the fewer active taste buds? Hmmm.

The Menu

A quick look at the menu revealed that most of the food was “home-cooking” dishes typical in the South. For example, one of the Sunday specials was turkey and dressing served with two vegetables. That type of food, from what I saw on other people’s plates, looked pretty decent, but was not what I would expect from a place with such a local reputation for being above average. The home-cooking-type food I saw was no better than food at Cracker Barrel, and probably not as tasty (can I get an “amen” for Cracker Barrel turnip greens?). However, a deeper look into the menu options promised something new…something I felt obligated to try…

Marinated Herring

Every once in a while I feel the urge to try something TOTALLY new. I have even found myself eating things that were hard to identify. This dish, however, was something that was new to me on every level.

According to the experts in the culinary arts, marinated herring (aka, pickled herring, etc.) is a delicacy in Europe, and the Epicurean Restaurant IS a Greek-family-owned establishment. I figured it was time to taste the delicacy the Europeans raved about. Did I ever say that I was NOT European?

Aside from cottage cheese, there are not many things that will cause my gag reflexes to act up.

Add to that list, “marinated herring.”

I don’t do raw fish, for the first thing. I can’t even stomach fake sushi. What on earth made me think I could eat this stuff? Well, for one thing I didn’t really understand how it was made. You see, I thought they took a fish, marinated it in some “stuff,” then cooked it. WRONG! The herring is actually rinsed, then marinated for a couple of days, then sliced up for easier human consumption. It is served cold over a bed of lettuce, with chopped onion, lemon, and dill-flavored sour cream on the side.

Let me brag about this – I ate four bites, maybe five. The last one, however, was the hardest to get down. The strong fish taste, coupled with the flavors of dill, white wine, and onion was too much. I brought home the rest in a take-home container for the neighborhood cat that seems to have made our front porch one of his stops. That must have been the first time I saw a cat gag.

Define scary:

A large, gray cat looking at you with suspicion and contempt, his vertical pupils turning horizontal to line up with the evil squint he is giving.

Well, after a few hours went by, the lingering taste of cold, raw, meaty, oily herring finally dissipated. Some foods are definitely an aquired taste. On the other hand, some might be better left alone, especially if you don’t want your leftovers creating a Stephen King / Pet Cemetery moment right in your own yard.