Tuesday, October 28, 2014
Brevard III: Season of the Leaf
Ah, nothing like visiting Transylvania during Hallowe'en. Bat country. Gotta love it.
This is our third attempt at visiting Brevard, NC to see the autumn colors. Our first attempt was about two weeks early. The second attempt was about a week late. Hopefully, this time we've timed it right.
The problem with the autumn colors is that they are very dependent upon the weather leading up to Peak Leaf Season. It also depends on how north you are and how high up you are. But I picked this week, and hopefully, it'll be just right.
We left early this morning for the twelve hour drive to Brevard. The only downside to the entire trip was lunch at the Western Sizzler just outside Savannah, Georgia. I ordered a cheeseburger medium rare, not steak tartare au fromage on a bun. Bunny's food was seriously underseasoned. Even the salt was underseasoned. Not a pleasant experience.
We finally arrived at our destination, The Red House Inn. Previously, we've stayed at The Inn at Brevard (on the opposite side of town) but this time I felt it was time to shake things up and try a new place. The Inn At Brevard gives off a definite 1900 period vibe, which is not a bad thing, but The Red House Inn (built in 1851) is a bit more modern. The owners welcomed us and when we told them the reason for our visit, they did say they felt that Brevard was just breaking Peak Leaf Season. Perfect timing! Woot!
![[Our suite at The Red House Inn.]](/2014/10/28/suite.jpg "Our suite at The Red House Inn.")
We were then shown to our suite I rented. It's about half the second floor, with its own hallway, bedroom, bathroom, living room and private porch. It is certainly worth its price. We dumped our bags, and headed out for dinner.
A little bluegrass, a lot of food
The Red House Inn is just a few blocks from downtown Brevard, so Bunny and I decided to walk to dinnner. Our first choice of venue was The Square Root, as it has become a tradition to eat there for our first dinner. Unfortunately, they now close on Tuesdays. The owners of the Red House Inn then recommended Jamie's, a new Creole restaurant that opened a little over a week ago in downtown Brevard.
So Bunny and I walk. Along the way we pass Celestrial Mountain Music, a music and musical instrument store where there were a dozen musicians sitting in a circle playing bluegrass music.
![[Even with an artificial arm he can still play a mean fiddle.]](/2014/10/28/bluegrass.jpg "Even with an artificial arm he can still play a mean fiddle.")
They saw us peering in the window; the bass player leapt across the store and into the street, welcoming us to just listen in as they played. Despite wanting to get to dinner before the sidewalks were rolled up at 9:00 PM we did stay for one musical number before bidding adéu to continue our journey to Jamie's.
It's a popular restaurant and we had to wait a few minutes for a table to open up.
![[It's a popular spot for just being a week old.]](/2014/10/28/Jamies.jpg "It's a popular spot for just being a week old.")
Bunny ordered a shrimp and corn chowder that was quite good. The lump crab salad appetizer was okay (but then again, it's hard to match the crab from Capp's Place). I had the rib-eye steak (an overly generous portion) with mushrooms and grilled corn, which was one of the better rib-eyes I've had. Bunny ordered the French cut chicken with tabouleh and winter vegetables. While her chicken was one of the moistest pieces of white meat (it was expertly cooked) the taste was … there. It wasn't much to write home about. The winter vegetables were a bit underdone but the tabouleh was delicious.
![[A salt cellar? In a restaurant? For patrons? Unheard of!]](/2014/10/28/saltcellar.jpg "A salt cellar? In a restaurant? For patrons? Unheard of!")
For desert, we ordered the beignnets. While I found them quite good (very light, not overly sweet) Bunny found they didn't quite quench her desire for fried dough.
Over all, we were glad to try the restaurant, but I don't think we'll be making it a regular destination.
