By Doc Lawrence – Two villages in rural middle Tennessee showcase much of America’s grass-roots mosaic. If you suffer from the dreaded Big City Blues, but have no yearning for roughing it, then destination gems Bell Buckle and Lynchburg will welcome you with friendly arms. For years I have meandered along twisting, two-lane roads into …
Gourmet Highway: Tennessee’s Magic – Whiskey, Bell Buckle and Barbecue Read More »
By Doc Lawrence – For lowlanders the steep winding road up to Cataloochee Ranch is daunting, While the highway to heaven isn’t easy, bountiful rewards await those who reach the pinnacle: welcoming smiles and open arms, clean air and pure water, blue skies and lush landscapes. There’s the bonus of laughing children, sighting a red …
By Doc Lawrence – As summer winds down, my journeys over the years regularly take me back to Tennessee. Kinship is a lure with family near Nashville. But, increasingly the draw includes the taste adventures of Tennessee whiskey, the delightful food served in country restaurants and the taste thrills from the remarkably ascendant Tennessee wine …
By Doc Lawrence – Julia Child advised those seeking fulfillment to “find something you’re passionate about and keep tremendously interested in it.” Entrepreneur Robert Rankin has a passion for his Snowbird Mountain Lodge and his interest in hospitality qualifies him as much more than one of the South’s top innkeepers. His philosophy is to “get …
By Doc Lawrence – “Thomas Jefferson would be very proud,” David Hazelwood declared at the conclusion of a highly successful wine dinner. Southern Thymes Shared, (Pelican Publishing, 2014) the cookbook with wine pairings that follows Jefferson’s dining tradition of serving fresh Southern food with Old and New World wines, inspired the gourmet event. Hazelwood, who …
By Doc Lawrence – Perhaps the longest soliloquy about biscuits in the history of theater is in the middle of “The Dixie Swim Club,” a delightfully tender comedy somewhere between “Steel Magnolia’s” and “Designing Women.” During their annual retreat on North Carolina’s Outer Banks, a showdown prompted by a New York Times account of unhealthy …