In the last week or so I have made a couple of trips up into West Tennessee & of course while I was there I had to eat at some of the mom & pop places. A couple were ones i'd never tried before while others were ones that I had previously dned at.
The 1st one that I tried which I had never ate at before was Hagy's Catfish Hotel right next door to Shiloh National Park. This Place set overlooking the Tennessee River and had suprisingly good food, great service, a really nice decor, a great view of the river and reasonable prices. 2 of us had the all you could eat whole catfish which comes with small but great hushpuppies, slaw that you mix the dressing in yourself but which is suprisingly still really good, and a decent baked potato. One other person in my group had the fried shrimp and said they were really good. So if you are ever in or near Shiloh National Park and want some really good catfish then I suggest swinging by this well hidden treasure of the south.
The next place was Steak & Shake in Jackson, TN. which all I will say was typical franchise food and leave it at that.
Now my next stop was Barley's Brewhouse & Eatery on Hwy 45/ Highland Ave. in Jackson, TN. right beside Shoney's. I went there with a few old friends and enjoyed a real good pizza & a few good brews. The best part of this evening was just getting to hang out with old friends while the worst was just the music being so loud that it made it difficult to talk.
The next day I went to the old downtown area in Jackson, TN, to look for something new to try and a woman at the court hose suggested The Bakers Rack. Well I was very glad of this suggestion after getting there & seeing the menu. I had the ham, broccoli, & cheese quiche with a greek salad, house made beef-n-veggie soup which came with a really good roll & piece of cornbread with the soup. Everything about this place was good from service, decor, music, to most of all the food. My only regret from here was being to full to try one of the fresh baked pastries that they had.
When I was headed back home I swung through Henderson, TN. to see if a little place that I used to frequent called the Chow Wagon was still cooking. It was & is located right beside a convience store at the main 4 way stop in town and has been there for 30 plus years. This little place has one pic-nic table outside. They cook everything to order, so no need to be in a hurry but you can expect really good food no matter what you order. All I wanted was the fried mushrooms which were just as good now as they were 20 years ago when I was a regular at this little place. So if you are headed down Hwy 45 and find yourself in Henderson TN. well when you get to the redlight turn into town and give them a try, you won't be dissappointed.
After leaving Henderson I made a bee-line for Pat's Cafe' in downtown Selmer TN. This little place makes the best Slug / Cereal burgers you will ever eat & they do make them themselves with a recipe that has been passed down to them. While here I not only really enjoyed all of the burgers I ate but also the conversation with Ms. Pat, her staff & just the friendly locals setting at the bar around me. Everyone was so friendly that it seemed almost like a gathering of old friends. I am looking forward to trying breakfast there my next trip up. Now if you are ever in Selmer TN. and want a real taste of a local favorite the slug burger or a real fresh made beef burger or even just a hot dog, stop in here & be part of the family for a little while. I can't say enough about how much I liked this little place.
Well this covers all of the places I managed to try in recent days but am looking forward to my next road trip so I can try some more. If any of you have any suggestions for locally owned places in Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Louisana, or Arkansas please pass them along....
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