Boathouse Rotisserie & Raw Bar

Daniel and I are in a season of life where date nights are hard to come by... our last official date was in March, which is a far cry from the year we intentionally went on more than 52 dates. This is partially because we have not committed to finding a reliable babysitter, and partially due to Daniel's work schedule. 

I know there will come a time when we will date more consistently again, but for now we will continue to make due with family date nights and be grateful for the evenings we can slip away, just the two of us.

Thanks to Daniel's dad and his wife, Friday night we had the opportunity to go on an actual date. While our boys enjoyed pizza with grandparents we went to the Rock Creek Outlet to shop without distractions, and then grabbed a bite to eat across the street at the Boathouse Rotisserie & Raw Bar.

We arrived around 6:30 and had a 20-minute wait. The first available table was on the porch overlooking the water. which was perfect for us. 

Porch fans and misters kept us cool even though it was a hot summer evening. We had a view of the Bluff District and North Shore with the sun dipping behind Signal Mountain in the background. 

Daniel tried the Trout Almandine while I had the Extra Large Grilled Shrimp (they were really huge!). Both were served with a side of olive fries (fried in olive oil) and a cabbage slaw in sesame oil. 

We finished up by sharing a slice of decadent Key Lime Pie. It was all delicious. 

With good food and a lovely view we didn't want to leave, but we had two little boys waiting at home.

We love our boys, but every once in awhile it's nice to enjoy a meal without having to discuss things like Paw Patrol...

 

Birthday Dinner: Public House

I am woefully behind on my blogging. So many happenings in the last two months of the year!

So my 35th birthday was last month. On the day of, a good friend asked if I was doing anything special. The truth of the matter is that a Wednesday birthday (at any age) is tough. But especially when you are a grown-up with a spouse who is at the very end of a very long (two-year) project and you have littles at home. I'm not complaining, but that is how the dice fell this year.

I literally spent my birthday "dinner" in the drive through at Starbucks while my boys napped in the back before church.

My mom is the master at assigning different dates for different events (her birthday and anniversary are on the same day, so she has always chosen a separate day to celebrate), so this year we did the same... It just took over a month to find a date we had a sitter available AND that Daniel didn't have to work.

So a week ago (or two, I don't even know the days any more), Daniel's mom was in town for Isaac's baby dedication and we took the opportunity to sneak off for a dinner date.

During Thanksgiving, Daniel had met his sisters for a Collective Soul concert at Track 29 and before the concert they ate at Public House. It was so good, he knew he had to take me back.

Since it was a Saturday, we called ahead to make a reservation. When we arrived we were surprised that the place wasn't overly crowded. They started to seat us at a tiny table right by the door, but we requested a booth further in the restaurant (thankfully they granted our request).

We enjoyed a solid two hours of talking, just the two of us. And I don't think we talked about kids (if we did, it was minimal). It was such a nice, and much needed, change of pace.

The food was glorious. My youngest sister-in-law said it best when she said the Peanut Butter Pie was like a high five in your mouth. All of the food was truly a high five your mouth, in the best possible way.

We started our meal with an appetizer of fried pickles and pimento cheese with crostini. Daniel would not typically eat (much less try pimento cheese), but he really liked it. The crostini was charred perfectly and had an amazing smoky flavor.

For our main dishes, Daniel chose the salmon with rice pilaf while I had the fried chicken with mac-n-cheese. All of it was amazing. The salmon had a smoky flavor that I don't think I could copy at home and the fried chicken is probably the best that I have had.

To top the meal off we chose the Peanut Butter Pie with coffee for me (decaf). A serious high five in the mouth! The food was so good and the restaurant didn't feel pretentious, a plus in our books. We would give it 5/5 stars.

 

The Smoke House

On our way home from Nashville on Sunday, we decided to check out The Smoke House in Monteagle, Tennessee. We always see the signs and I believe Daniel's dad had even recommended it once.

On the way up the mountain, Daniel got in an argument with Siri that went something like this:

Daniel: I need directions to the Smoke House Restaurant in Monteagle.

Siri: I do not have information about Belaruse.

Daniel: The Smoke House Restaurant in MONT.EA.GLE. Tennessee.

Siri: There are 23 restaurants in Tennessee.

Daniel: The SMOKE.HOUSE. You sorry piece of crap!!!

Siri: I would blush if I could Daniel.

Daniel: You're not very smart.
Siri: I'm sorry you feel that way, Daniel.
Daniel: What's my name?

Siri: Daniel.

Cheree: What's my name? {for reference, it is my phone}

Siri: Daniel. ?!?!?

Daniel: Where were you made?

Siri: That is confidential.

Daniel: You are a useless technology.

Siri: I am sorry you feel that way.

Daniel: Who made you?

Siri: I was developed by Apple. In California.

Daniel: Were you manufactured by under aged children in deplorable working conditions?

Siri: I cannot answer that question.

They went on and on. The good news is that Siri kept us entertained and we were still able to find the Smoke House.

Thoughts on the restaurant... it was like a really big Cracker Barrel. But more rustic. 

The best part was that we were able to sit outside and it wasn't busy since it was a Sunday, early evening. On the Fridays and Saturdays they have live music and draw quite the crowd.

The food wasn't that good. We split a breakfast platter. The meats were really salty. The eggs were so so. The pancakes and biscuits were pretty good though.

Since we were splitting, I ordered a deep-fried pie with ice cream for dessert. We were hoping for the Chocolate pie, but they ended up being out :( I settled for the Apple Caramel. It was pretty good. But gave me a stomach ache {too much sugar??}.

I think Daniel and I need to stick with not going to touristy places. We do better finding local dives with really great food. In this case, I would have rather have just stopped at Cracker Barrel... maybe we would have felt differently if we went when there was music, but then we would have to deal with the crowds.

Wildcat Grill

{image via}

Last Friday night we ventured out with Jack to meet up with friends at the Wildcat Grill. It is a fairly new eating establishment in the Scottsboro community and it did not disappoint. Cheap burgers, fast service AND they removed an item from our friend's bill just because she wasn't a huge fan of her chicken fries.

I would say the burgers are on par with Five Guys {aka cooked to order} and there isn't barbeque on the menu {a rarity in this area}. Also, our friends ordered fried pickles {to share} and it was a huge basket, more than enough for four of us. Wildcat reminded me a lot of the Burger Barn {back in the day} in Searcy, AR – basically a smalltown place with lots of high school students, but oh-so-good. Especially for ~$5 for a good burger and fries.

We will be back.

Jack slept through the whole meal.

50 Taters

After living in north-east Alabama for the past year, I finally ate at 50 Taters. Don't get me wrong, I have tried many times to go to this local eatery but was always deterred {mostly by odd hours of operation... open on the third Sunday after the 5th Monday of the month or some such nonsense as that}.

They recently moved their location from the court square in Scottsboro, AL to the Walmart shopping center. I am a bit sad that I never made it to the location on the square as I am sure it felt more authentic, but I bet their business is increasing ten-fold now that they are located on Hwy 72.

We actually tried to go there about a week ago and were turned away because they were out of everything except cheeseburgers. How can a place known for its spuds run out of potatoes???

Anyway, today Jack and I ventured into town to meet Daniel and his co-workers for lunch and it did not disappoint. Daniel and I split a Loaded Tater with Pork and it cost less than $9 {including the tip}. I would definitely recommend that you check out 50 Taters {just know that they are closed on Monday and have some odd hours on weekends}. Also, if you go to late in the evening you might run into a situation where they are out of everything!