An unlikely 'veggie-food' haven in the Southern Appalachian mountains

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I should confess that when I got an opportunity to visit Gray, TN - a rural suburb of Johnson City, TN for three days for a business trip, I did not jump with excitement. While I knew driving through the mountains on small freeways from Alpharetta to Asheville was scenic and surreal, three days of stay in Barbecue country for a vegetarian was a bit of a turn-off. But, you know where I am going with this, right? Yes, my 'fears turned out to be liars'.

My first meal was a business lunch at a place called Cootie Brown's (yes, you read it right). My clients said the restaurant had a lot of options (which I thought meant you could get any kind of, or cut of meat) but I felt hopeful that I would be able to get a grilled cheese sandwich with fries. The restaurant menu was the size of a local newspaper (without promotions) and to my surprise, had an entire section (about half a page) for Veggie Sandwiches! This meant I had to spend a few minutes to pick my order. I didn't want to come across as the emotional type with my clients and tried to hide my tears of joy behind the newspaper-sized menu. The Black Bean burger with home-made salsa had a kick to it and the fries were good as well. I hear that their desserts and pizzas are very good too, but didn't get a chance to try them.

For dinner, I looked up Indian restaurants and found Sahib. (Side note: I try to eat at least one Indian meal during my business trips as a way to encourage Indian restaurants in small locations. This, as many of you know, can be a hit or miss. But, I dare to try anyways.) I was surprised to see quite a few guests at the restaurant, even though the place is hidden behind a Days Inn hotel and takes a few times around the parking lot to find it. They have a very good Salt Lassi - spiced up with jeera, pepper and salt (Trust me it is difficult to make a good Lassi). Their 'Malai Kofta' is one of the best I have tasted with fluffy naan.

I had a lot more confidence with my vegetarian options the previous day and was ready to venture out a bit - as in go to downtown for a change. The website of Mid City Grill was interesting, especially their claim that they have a killer vegetarian cuisine and that they fry their vegetables separately from other animal proteins. I have to say that the restaurant definitely deserves all the '5-stars' it has got on Yelp. It has a very unassuming ambiance but over delivers with taste and quality. The 'Grilled Tofu Sandwich' was delicious with the tofu grilled to a perfection. It might be a little bit too tangy but definitely blends well with the avocado and tomato-focaccia bun.

According to Yelp, there are other restaurants that are vegetarian-friendly and I look forward to trying a couple more of them during my next trip. In particular, Barbaritos and Scratch-Brick Oven Foodworks have piqued my interest.

'Madras Chettinad' moves closer to Madras...

Madras Chettinad is one of the better Indian restaurants in the Alpharetta area. They have been around for about 5 years and has managed to maintain decent-tasting and very-good-quality. 

When they started 5 years ago, ‘Madras’ and ‘Chettinad’ felt like misnomers as the menu was standard Indian fare as in standard Panneer & Tandoori entrees with appetizers and bread. Slowly, things started getting interesting. They added ‘Vegetable Chettinad’ - a spicy curry with the chilly and garlicky taste of Chettinad and started serving ‘Vadakari' - a very unique dish found only in few restaurants even in Tamil Nadu (mainly in and around Chennai).

While all these were steps in the right direction, the South Indian cuisine fundamentals like the coconut chutney and sambar could still use some authenticity (If you are from South India, especially Tamil Nadu, you’ll know what that means). So, last Sunday’s lunch buffet was a surprise with its very authentic coconut chutney and sambar as part of the menu. The Masala Vada was another feather on the buffet’s cap. We also noticed the now-closed Johns Creek’s Saravana Bhavan’s owner working there. Is that a coincidence?

Looking forward to a Madras Chettinad taste more to its name-sake!