Smokehouse

I am so sad! I returned to the Smokehouse down in Berea to try out their buffet.  I was severely disappointed.  The buffet consists of a salad bar, dinner items, desserts, and a bread selection.

The salad was limp and tasteless.  The pea salad was different than what I expected.  It had raw peas in it.  Tasty but not what I am accustomed to.  I sampled the potatoes and gravy, macaroni and cheese, baked beans, fried chicken, and corn.  Everything except the baked beans required some added flavoring, salt and pepper helped a little, but not enough to make me want to return for more.

I will go back to the smokehouse again as I loved their bbq ribs and fried green tomatoes, but I know next time to avoid the buffet.

Stella Jane's Bakery

Stella Jane's is a wonderful little bakery!  It isn't well know apparently (possibly due to their working hours 7 - 1) as everyone I questioned kept telling me "that place is never open".  Well I have managed to go there when they are open and trust me they are well worth getting up early for.

The doughnuts are made in Berea and sold out of their store there and then some of them are transported over to Richmond to share with the lucky residence there.  The amazing staff that I have had the honor of purchasing from are so friendly and polite.  Yes POLITE....I know that is hard to believe in this society but guess what.....they truly are. 

Having consumed a variety of doughnuts (no I am not telling the exact amount and neither will you when you go) including a cinnamon roll, apple fritter, coconut, blueberry, and a number of others I can honestly say - YUM! This bakery has got to be making the best doughnuts I have ever tasted! They are so light and flaky it makes my mouth water to just think about them. 

For those of you who jones for a morning cup of coffee this place has a great coffee bar.  They have a variety of flavor shots and several flavored creamers that you can mix and match to your hearts content.  Just beware - the large is LARGE.

Dinner Bell Restaurant

The Dinner Bell Restaurant is one of my favorite places to eat in Berea, Kentucky.  They are similar to the franchise Cracker Barrel, but have a much more homey feel.  They sell locally made crafts and advertise for local productions and events.  I feel like I am stopping by a friends for dinner when I dine here.

The last time I "stopped in for a bite" we had a wonderful waitress by the name of Kim.  She was very upfront and honest and gave us some delicious suggestions on what to enjoy for dinner.  She also made sure that our glasses never got empty and checked up on how we were doing frequently enough that we felt like we were very important to her.

I decided on the chicken fried steak with a baked sweet potato smothered in butter, a tossed salad with, of course, ranch dressing, and a hot dinner roll.  My companion selected the liver and onions as suggested by our waitress.  My salad was brought out first as usual and was very simple but delicious.  The ranch was not overly sweet and I gobbled it all down without a single complaint.  The rest of our food arrived promptly and we dug in.

I immediately cut into my steak and discovered it was perfectly cooked and tender as could be.  Unfortuantely, the gravy was a little bit bland but with a little salt and pepper added we were off and running.  The sweet potato was baked to the point it melted in my mouth.  It was divine.  The dinner roll was soft and had just a hint of sweetness to it.  I did sample my companions liver and discovered it hadn't been cooked like most of us would do it.  They had grilled it.  It was lightly seasoned and had an appealing flavor.

Now on to the good stuff.  DESSERT!  We sampled three different desserts and we were pleased with two of them.  We had lemon meringue pie, chocolate meringue pie, and a peach cobbler.  We began with the lemon meringue and the peach cobbler.  The lemon meringue was so light and fluffy.  Not overly sweet with just the perfect hint of a tang.  It was like eating a cloud it was so delicate.  The peach cobbler on the other hand was a horrible disappointment.  The dough was under cooked and the peaches were crunchy.  Pretty sure peaches are not supposed to be crunchy even when they aren't put in a cobbler.  We sent it back and selected a piece of chocolate meringue pie to replace it.  Now the chocolate meringue was a surprise.  It wasn't that typical smooth and creamy texture that one becomes accustomed to when you think of chocolate pie.  This had a slightly thicker texture, not crunchy but it felt....I honestly don't know how to describe it!  The meringue was once again cooked perfectly and then you dive into the deep chocolate layer underneath.  It startled my tongue as I was expecting that creamy feeling, but it was a delight to discover something different.  I guess this is one item you will just have to try for yourself and come to your own conclusion as to how it tastes.

Home Brew Cafe

Home Brew Cafe is a wonderful little restaurant in Berea, Kentucky.  My partner in crime and I happen to enjoy going to Berea and decided to grab a bite to eat while there.  This quaint cafe is set just off the Interstate and slightly camouflaged by a gas station.  We received wonderful service and had a delightful meal there.

 I ordered a Chef's Salad and a bowl of their Vegetable Soup.  The Chef's Salad was amazing!  They provide you with such a large serving for the price I was honestly surprised.  It came out in a simple bowl that was filled to the brim with delightful toppings such as ham, turkey, cheese, cucumber, egg, and tomato.  I chose to have it served with Ranch Dressing.  Now if you are a person who eats a lot of Ranch Dressing (which I know a ton of people in a certain state that do) you know that not all Ranch Dressing is created equal.  Some that I have tasted have been so bad that I chose to eat the salad without dressing on it at all!  However, this Ranch Dressing was perfect.  It was creamy and delicious.  I was even more amazed to discover that there were enough toppings to actually blend in with the lettuce.  I didn't end up with just lettuce!  That in itself is worth praising this establishment over.  But just wait there is more to come.

The Vegetable Soup turned out to be more of a stoup.  That would be thicker than a soup, but thinner than a stew.  I know unusual, but it is actually the thickness I prefer.  I was so happy.  The soup contained the typical Vegetable Soup ingredients but had cabbage thrown in as well.  For those of you who love meat, there was an abundance of ground beef in the soup as well, so much as a matter of fact, I don't recall a single bite that didn't have some in it.  Wonderful on a cold day for certain.

Now for the best part of the meal - the dessert!  We shared a heavenly Hot Fudge Cake.  Now I know most of us enjoy chocolate, but you know how you usually get a piece of chocolate cake and it is so sweet that you can't eat it all?  This is not that kind of cake!  The first bite that I took burst with pleasure in my mouth.  It was perfect!  The warm chocolate cake was paired with vanilla ice cream between the layers.  My mouth almost had a mini heart attack trying to figure out what the heck just happened!  The mixture of the warm cake and the cold ice cream created such a state of confusion and joy that I had to savor the moment and couldn't say anything for a full minute!  As my companion and I continued to savor each mouthful it became evident that, even though we were both mostly full, this dessert wasn't going to last very long.  We were able to eat the entire thing without ever having that "oh my goodness, this is cavity central" reaction.  It was decadent in just the right way and so heavenly for the taste buds.  As we drew closer to the last morsel, the thought of fighting for it crossed my mind.  (Thankfully that didn't have to occur as she relinquished any claim to it.)  I dug out every single crumb of that delightful cake and wished that there had been more.  As you can tell this cake has a special place in my heart and I know that another trip down to the Home Brew Cafe is definitely in the near future!  I wonder if they would think I was weird if I ordered dessert first and last?