Genuine Appalachian Cuisine Is Found At Forbus General Store

 

Genuine Appalachian Cuisine Is Found At Forbus General Store, so for a unique Appalachian experience you should visit here. Appalachian cuisine is not only simple but rustic and comes from hard working people that farm their land. Traditionally, each house grows all of their food, including meat. You shouldn’t expect Appalachian cooking to be fancy, by any means, and here it’s no different. With this in mind, come see what Appalachian food is all about.

 

This is a two part series about Forbus General Store, but I (Tom) have to include some background information about me. First, I like to call Wisconsin home. In fact, I love everything about Wisconsin but I am originally from the South. I am from the Western North Carolina Mountains in a small town south of Asheville, and I also lived a few years in Asheville. Even though all of my family is from rural small towns in North Carolina I am the only one that moved away from the South. However, I have taken my family to live in many places around America including sixteen years in East Tennessee. However, we have lived in the same county I am writing about so we know it well. This is based on my true Southern insight and experience.

 

Let’s Start At The Lunch Counter

 

After you enter the front door and begin to sort through all the stuff a lunch counter appears on the left. I almost missed it because it was hidden among shelves of antiques and surrounded by so many things to buy.

 

However, on the lunch counter menu you will find familiar sandwich choices like ham and turkey along with local favorites that are much more popular. Some of these include bologna, pickle loaf, ham and cheese loaf, liver loaf, and fried chuck wagon. Not to mention, the most popular sandwich, a Southern tradition made of fried bologna with mayonnaise thickly slathered on basic white bread.

 

In fact, the most low-cost white bread is what is eaten here so if you want different bread choices you’re out of luck.  

 

Along with your sandwich, you can choose traditional sides like fries, onion rings, and tater tots. However, local favorites are fried okra, fried corn nuggets, fried pickles, and pickled items like whole eggs in the shell and sausages.

 

In addition to the lunch counter, they also have a restaurant serving breakfast and dinner. Look for tables scattered throughout the back of the store for seating but don’t expect anything fancy. Staying true to its simple country store theme you will find white plastic fold-up tables covered with blue and white checked tablecloths as well as white fold-up chairs. There’s a screen door leading to the kitchen area in between store shelves with jars of food products. The shelves have antique items like lard cans, Coke memorabilia, baskets, and a chainsaw on top. Not sure if the chainsaw is an antique though.  

 

Breakfast Is Big Here

 

Traditional breakfast items served are eggs, toast, and hash browns along with bacon and sausage for the meat choices. Look a little closer and you will see what the local favorites eat. Here, most people order something on a homemade biscuit. Choices are sausage or bacon with or without an egg and cheese but most popular are the country ham, fried bologna, and fried pork tenderloin biscuits. It is also common to see someone eating their biscuit with a slice of tomato added, especially in the summer months with fresh ones picked from gardens.  

 

Country ham is very unique to Southern culture and you can read more about it here.

 

INSIDER TIP: You won’t find pancakes on the menu, but they will gladly make them for you if they’re not busy. But only regular pancakes though. I was disappointed that buckwheat pancakes weren’t available. Hearty buckwheat has a distinctive flavor and is common in the Appalachian Mountain region since it withstands cold snaps. You should try it. 

 

You should also pay attention to what locals order because white milk gravy is served with practically everything. This is just about the only gravy that most people know here. The most popular breakfast menu item is biscuits and gravy. You take two biscuits then cut them in half and lay each piece on a plate with the soft inside facing up. Then scoop gravy over the tops and pour more on. So much that biscuits disappear under a plate of thick white peppered gravy. That’s the proper way.  

 

But that’s not the only way to eat gravy. You eat it with everything, on everything, and even dip everything in it. 

 

More To Do While Here

 

Even though Fentress County, Tennessee lies on a quiet section of the Cumberland Plateau, some events make it fun to visit. We think you will also enjoy these articles we have written from Fentress County.

Experience Living History In Tennessee

The Highway 127 World’s Longest Yard Sale

The Allardt Pumpkin Festival

 

About Tomatoes

 

You see, everyone here has a garden, and I mean everyone. There’s probably not a single garden around here that doesn’t grow tomatoes, and a lot of customers bring extra into the store for them to serve.  

Now, this is important. Don’t order by saying tomato. If you don’t want funny looks and stand out as an out of towner you have to pronounce it right. You should say “mater” with a long A and it rhymes with “later”, like see you later. You will hear potatoes pronounced this way too, like taters. To point out, maters and taters are basic food staples that show up at meals just about everyday.

 

Come For Dinner Too

 

People come in droves for Dinner and their most popular night when hamburger steak shows up on the menu. It comes with peppers and onions, mashed potatoes with gravy, and green beans. Other specials are pork chops, chicken strips, fried shrimp, taco salad, pot roast, and country fried steak with gravy.

 

Fried catfish, salmon patties, chicken and dumplings, and fried bologna with tater tots make some of the favorite specials. You can also order a bowl of pinto beans and cornbread as a meal. This consists of dried pinto beans cooked with salted pork fat, a lot of water to make soup, and seasoned with a large amount of salt. Scoop it into a bowl, add fresh chopped onion then crumble your cornbread in it for a simple meal.

 

Side Dishes Or “Fixins”

 

Side dishes, also known as “fixins” are fried okra, broccoli casserole, hushpuppies, coleslaw, yams, mashed potatoes, mustard greens, turnip greens, cornbread, corn, green beans, fries, and macaroni and cheese. Along with these sides, you will find several types of beans like butter beans, white beans, lima beans, and canned pork with beans. Genuine Appalachian cuisine is found at Forbus General Store and by trying these side dishes you get an authentic experience.

 

The Secret Cornbread

 

By the way, true southern cornbread is made in an iron skillet. This is how my grandmother taught me how to make it, but she kept the ingredients a secret since everyone always wanted her recipe. In fact, she submitted a cornbread recipe to our family cookbook, even though it wasn’t her secret one she didn’t tell anyone. However, it’s very important to use fresh stone-ground cornmeal instead of store-bought. I remember going to a small town close to the Smoky Mountains with an old-fashioned grinding mill just to stock up from this special place.

 

You start by getting the iron skillet super hot in a 450-degree oven. Next, add enough oil to generously coat the bottom, and then put back into the oven. You know the skillet is ready when the oil starts to smoke. This is when you pour the batter in and bake at 400 degrees. The smoking hot oil gives the cornbread a crispy crust but leaves the inside soft and moist. After you take it out of the oven flip it upside down on a plate and cut it into pieces like a pie. Next, slice it in half separating top from bottom, add butter then put the top back on to finish melting the butter.

 

Beware! When you see cornbread baked in a cake pan or cut into squares like a cake then you have seen an imposter. Some people make it this way around the country, and that’s ok, it’s just not the southern way to make it and shouldn’t be referred to this way.

 

Desserts

 

Here, the menu displays southern desserts every night. These include banana pudding, pineapple upside-down cake, pecan pie, peanut butter pie, strawberry cake, and peach cobbler with ice cream. Even though fried apples are on the menu I’m not sure if it’s a side dish or dessert.  

 

Of course, you can order ice cream, sundaes, milkshakes, root beer floats, banana splits, and hot fudge cake. Or, just order homemade fudge from the antique front counter. 

 

To sum up, Forbes General Store is a fun place to go for an authentic Appalachian experience.   Even though I found so many traditional foods here I have one regret. Unfortunately, one crucial Southern item is missing from the menu. Grits happen to be one of my favorite breakfast foods and it goes with almost everything.

 

As always, thanks for reading Genuine Appalachian Cuisine Is Found At Forbus General Store. Don’t forget to follow us on social media for even more!

 

Tom and Kristi