On the way out of town we stopped at Demo's Steak House - home of the best chicken and rice soup in the world. It was a light lunch, since I planned for a decadent supper.
Yum...that soup is so good! They have the best steak in town, but that will be for another day. Our car cannot get from Murfreesboro to Monteagle without stopping at the Russell Stover store in Manchester. Free samples. Nuff said.
We arrived just at check in time. This, ladies and gents, is one of my favorite places on earth. The Monteagle Inn.
We were happy to stay in room number 1 for this adventure. Isn't it lovely? There was also a small sitting area and a large bathroom.
There are three places in the world where I have had holidays that were completely peaceful and blissfully calm: the Ntchisi rain forest, the Ark in Kenya, and the Monteagle Inn. One of the reasons Monteagle Inn makes this list is this room (see my hubby already tucked in with a book). Comfy couches...perfect lighting...time to do nothing but read and drink tea.
Of course, on our way to relax and read, we stopped by this lovely oasis of tea for a cuppa. We may have also stepped into the hospitality room where there are always fresh baked goods (like a macaroon wrapped in chocolate chocolate chip cookie).
After a few blissful hours of reading, we went to High Point for dinner.
For years, the locals knew that this house was not just any house. It belonged to a local doctor, but everyone said that it was actually built for the doctor's wife. By Al Capone. In fact, Al Capone was reported to have frequented the house and was seen playing cards with his cronies on the porch. No one outside of Monteagle paid much attention to these rumors until the state decided to build a highway through Monteagle. They discovered an underground passageway leading to High Point, which lead to the discovery of other underground passageways and escape hatches. All for the benefit of the local doctor? People think not.
Whatever you make of its history, it is now an amazing restaurant. They serve excellent bread, perfectly crusty on the outside and soft on the inside.
Stone then moved on to crab stuffed silver dollar mushrooms in lobster cream sauce. They were delightful - the sauce had just a hint of spice that brought out the flavors of the crab and lobster.
I chose the Savannah crab cake with remoulade sauce. It was the most delicious crab cake I have ever had - moist, sweet, and spicy.
Neither of us had enough room for an entree after that, so we moved on to dessert. Banana's foster - absolutely the best I have ever had. That sauce is so thick and rich and sweet that it borders on obscene.
After a restful night on what must be the softest sheets in the universe, we awoke to the sounds of church bells from the small Methodist church next to the Inn. It was time for a journey to this room.
Breakfast! Monteagle Inn breakfast is unforgettable. I started out with orange juice, a cup of coffee, and this lovely plate of food. In my head I said a small and selfish prayer asking that herb roasted potatoes would be on the main menu.
And they were. This beautiful bouquet of potatoes is served with whatever herbs looked best in the Monteagle Inn gardens that morning. They never disappoint. The cucumber was also from the garden and had the fresh taste of homegrown. The eggs Bearnaise were from heaven. Stone almost cried when he got to his last bite. (Always the best of hosts, they offered to fix another for him when I told them how much he enjoyed it, but he decided to stop since he was - after all -completely stuffed.)
After a couple of hours of relaxing (and of course reading) in the courtyard...
And snapping a pic of one of the super cool downstairs bathrooms (you know I have a thing about cool bathrooms)...
It was time to head home. We will be dreaming about Monteagle Inn until we are able to make another trip. Perhaps we will make our next trip on the weekend so we can try out their new wine lounge.
I am so glad I was able to pull off this little getaway for my much deserving husband. It may have been one of my best kept secrets of all time. Can you keep a secret?
