Y'all Come On In The Door's Open: Foglight Foodhouse

It was précisely 3:30 in the afternoon when Stone and I pulled into the empty, graveled parking lot at Foglight Foodhouse and parked. Before we turned off the ignition, we were greeted by a gentlemen who redirected us to park my black Z4 into his personal upfront parking place. As we began chatting, he continued sweeping the gravel, smoothing the potholes. Who would have thought to do that. Funny thing is, it was working. The fire pit was going and I asked why, since it was ninety something degree’s outside. He said, “ambience.” He was right, when later in the evening as we were leaving, numerous folks sat on upended logs enjoying the evening. It was so inviting, I almost stopped and sat a spell, but it had been a long day and we had a two hour drive ahead of us. Now, the restaurant doesn’t open until 5 pm, but we had been to the Caverns for an afternoon concert and really wanted to have dinner here, even though it would be another hour and a half. We had visited this establishment before and knew it was worth the wait. The man sweeping the gravel introduced himself as Edward Philpot, the owner and Executive Chef. I explained to Edward that we had been at the Cumberland Cavern and were looking forward to having dinner at his fine establishment and then proceeded to ask if it would be ok for us to sit on the porch until it opened. He said, “why of course.” I made my way around back and found the perfect table that overlooked the Caney Fork River and took my seat, while Stone remained out front talking to Edward. Soon I was joined by not only Stone, but Edward in tow, as if he had nothing else to be doing. We chatted for some time while getting to know him. I asked how long has the Foglight Foodhouse been open, and how did you become a chef. I asked him what was the most important thing he has learned though out the process of owning and running his restaurant. His response was, “you learn what not to do.” I give numerous dinner parties and I’m very organized in the process for it to run smoothly. I asked him how can you feed over two hundred people and keep your sanity? His response, “organized chaos.” You can tell when talking to Edward about his career choice that he loves what he does. Cooking is a passion and not everyone is blessed with the talent. I, like Edward, have that passion. It was five o’clock and the doors had opened. Customers were already lined up waiting to be seated, while we were at our own special table on the back porch. Justin, our waiter, had already been in and out, bringing Stone beers to sample. At last, we chose an appetizer to begin our evening. We ordered the Darling Bread Billy, french bread, crisped, consumed with goat cheese, drizzled with honey, gentle scattering of sea salt and dressed with a fresh fruit salsa. YUM!!! We didn’t leave a crumb. Next up was our salad or as Edward has it on the menu, Rabbit Food. We order just a house salad with blue cheese on the side. The salad of fresh vegetables was the perfect size. That, like the appetizer, we cleaned our plates. While waiting for the next course, I over heard some folks sitting next to us talking. One lady said, so and so celebrates her birthday for an entire week. The other said she had heard of people doing that. I said,”excuse me, I don’t mean to eaves drop, but I over heard y'all talking about someone that celebrates her birthday for a week." I preceded to tell them that I, like my friend Kelly, celebrate for an entire month. I told them that my birthday was July 11, but I began celebrating it July 1st., and will continue until the end of the month. A man sitting with them informed me that his birthday was the month of July. He asked does that mean he can still be celebrating? I said, “Of Course”. He got a big ol' smile on his face and said that was precisely what he was going to do. Soon our main entrée arrived. We ordered the Smoked Lemon Trout that was grilled with fresh lemon and herbs and garnished with this out of this world Tomato Jam. With this, you get roasted asparagus and creamy herbed grits. And I love me some GRITS. After all, I am a Girl Raised In The South. Now, I must say that before we had ordered any of the above, I had asked Justin what the desert of the evening was going to be. My choices were, Maple Orange Bread Pudding, Cinnamon Crumble Bread Pudding, and a Triple Chocolate Pudding. Well, let me tell you that Cinnamon Crumble Bread Pudding caught my attention as it was served warm with whipping cream. I mean, seriously, if you didn’t like that, maybe you just don’t need to be ordering any dessert!!! Stone ordered the Orange Maple Bread Pudding, and like me, he devoured it. Like all the dishes that had been delivered to our table, we had scraped them clean. Even though it would be a complement to the chef, it’s kind of embarrassing when each plate is taken away without a crumb left. It looked like Lucy had been there and licked it clean. Speaking of Lucy, there was this adorable cat that would occasionally come stand at our table and just stare at us. Not wanting anything, he was just being curious. I asked the story about the cat. Justin said years ago he showed up and they named him Red Cat and he never left. I can understand that since the restaurant has a relaxing atmosphere, it’s cozy, laid back, just like its owner,and off the beaten path. That's why Red Cat remains. Our time was up and we needed to get on the road. I asked Justin if I could buy a jar of that heavenly TOMATO JAM. Quickly he arrived back at our table with a jar in tow. I can’t wait to have a dinner party and serve this atop the entrée, compliments of Edward. As we were leaving, the gentleman at the table next to us, who also has a July birthday, wished me Happy Birthday and said, “enjoy the rest of your birthday month.” I said, “thank you and like wise.” So to sum it up, if you haven't visited Foglight Foodhouse, you should!