Sassy Sunflowers
 Cherokee, North Carolina         Date of Visit: 05/21/12  
 https://www.facebook.com/sassysunflowers

Yes, I wrecked my motorcycle last year on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Yes, my wife let me go back again. Yes, on a motorcycle. I came home in one piece but the one flaw I have been unable to correct is the way I attract poor riding weather. I think I might not be invited along again. Regardless, after a pristine day in the mountains, my presence again conjured dark clouds and precipitation that chased us out of the mountains and into the town of Cherokee. If you remember where we stayed before our breakfast run to Flapjacks in Gatlinburg last year, is more like a movie set than reality. It also sits in the notch between the Blue Ridge and Great Smokey Mountain ranges.
 

The Sunflower Does Look Sassy
 

We arrived one week before the season really gets underway while the climbing wall is laying on its side in the parking lot and the mechanical bull sits idle alongside. The leather, herb, and jewelry shops are closed awaiting the influx of people promised by Memorial Day weekend. To give you some idea we checked into our hotel and within the next couple of hours the staff checked out. They turned off the lights and left a note on the door that said something akin to “Thanks for coming; Please don’t die in our room.” Great comfort to the two of us and the other pair occupying the only other room out of the hundred available.

Lucky for us, the woman working the hotel desk suggested a place to grab a bite which was right across the street before abdicating her post, locking the doors and scurrying away into the evening.

Unique Croissant Shape for Me...
 

But Seriously Buttery and Loaded With Intensely Sweet Pulled Pork Q
 

The menu is pretty interesting with some different takes on typical sandwiches. We tried a chicken tortilla soup, a chicken salad sandwich (recommended) and the weekly special BBQ sandwich. I added a couple of cookies for good measure since they are touted as a restaurant/bakery. Now I hope that I am not telling tales out of school. I was wondering how I was going to write this while protecting the guilty but he has already confessed so I suppose I am alright. I didn’t order the chicken salad, my riding partner did. By his own admission he has railed on about chicken salad for some time now. You know, what do they use, all the chicken no one wants to eat, kinda stuff. Theirs by report was really good and came interestingly enough on cranberry walnut bread. To give you an idea of how good it must have been, he said he would order it again tomorrow if we were stuck in town. It came with a salad that looked crisp and fresh. Well done, over all. I think they have two converts and I didn’t even try it.
 

The soup was wonderful, nice spice balance, loads of chicken, black beans, and corn in a rich thickened broth, it worked very well. The BBQ sandwich came on a unique looking croissant with some lettuce and was again very well done. At first bite the butteryness of the pastry and the sweetness of the pulled pork was a bit much but if you like hugely sweet and rich you would love this thing. It was then that I saw the little cup of slaw. It was unique looking. Shards of purple cabbage with a jolt of vinegar. I put it on top of the pork and the peppery acidity took the edge off the sweetness with charm. The cookies were passable, tasty but dry but did little to diminish the whole experience. The White Chocolate Cherry edged out the Heath Bar Crunch but neither is winning significant contests. We were going to try them for breakfast but the fog cleared for a few minutes before they opened and in the mountains you may only get one shot so we scrambled into the Smokies and made it home. All I know is if they are still there on our next journey we will surely be back, even if our hotel is closed before we get there.
 

aka Why Ride The Parkway...A Feeble Attempt in Pictures