Description: Right smack dab in the middle of downtown, there is the fantastic Bell Buckle Café. We went to the town for the sole purpose of eating here, on a recommendation from our B&B. Immediately, we knew we had made the right decision because of the vast number of people waiting outside the restaurant. There are benches all down the main street and they were all crowded with talkative, hungry people. We put our name on the list (it was about a 30 minute wait) and I wandered off to look at the shops.
When we were seated, the hostess took us back to our seats and I was shocked at the size of the place. It seems like a tiny little building from the façade, but once you go in, it just keeps going and going. There are multiple rooms and crammed full with tables. We were seated at a big table and we shared it with another family. I’m normally not a big fan of that sort of thing, but there were seats in between us, and once the food was served, I hardly even noticed them!
I really loved the way the place was decorated. There are exposed brick walls and it almost has a warehouse feel to it. The walls are decorated with old tin signs, handmade birdhouses, and pictures drawn by local kids. The tables all have gingham red and white tablecloths on them. It just has the most charming, down home feel to it.
The food fits in with the décor well. They specialize in Southern cooking (you know, fried chicken, meatloaf, chicken and dumplings, etc.), the kind that stays with you for hours after you eat. I was extremely impressed with the amount of sides they have. There must have been 15 choices on the list. Since sides are my favorite, I chose to get the "vegetable" plate which let me pick four. I got fried okra, red beans and rice, macaroni and cheese, and watermelon (I know, random! But it looked so good!). Mom had fried clams and Dad had catfish. The amount of food was staggering. The servings were huge- my watermelon took up an entire dinner plate. And it was good. And I mean better-than-your-grandma-can-make good.
The food was also surprisingly cheap. It was only about $7 a person for our food and drinks. Oh, and make sure you try the hand squeezed lemonade. I don’t even like lemonade, and it was wonderful. They may have a different menu for dinner, but I doubt it can be much more. If you are thinking of going for dinner, on Friday and Saturday nights they have live bluegrass, and while we were there, they had a guy playing the autoharp and singing old-timey music. It was just wonderful. Go there!
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