One of my favorite things about traveling is trying local food, it’s an amazing way to experience a culture. I also love when a city or town has variety – where you can go out for Indian one night and pick up German pastries the following morning. Well fortunately Clarksville has just that! A few weeks ago, I made a quick weekend trip up to Clarksville and went on a food tour sponsored by Visit Clarksville! It was a wonderful, incredibly filling two days…Here’s a recap of the Clarksville food trail!
Day one:
I arrived in Clarksville Saturday morning and headed straight to The Looking Glass Restaurant & Bakery for breakfast! My favorite thing to try at a new breakfast or brunch spot is the Eggs Benedict, so here was no different. The portion was perfect and it didn’t come with any sides. Personally I think sides with Eggs Benny is usually too much food!
From there, we visited Silke’s Old World Breads, a German bakery in a cool old warehouse building. They have the bakery and deli and a separate cafe space where you can dine, eat and enjoy local art and events. I wasn’t hungry yet so I took a Christmas gift basket home with me to try over the next week. I’d never tried German cookies and sweet treats but they were delicious! Not something I’d crave, because I’m more of a chocolate person, but really very good. I can recommend their gluten free bread – it’s delicious!
The next stop was a local spot I already knew I like, Plumb Line Coffee. It’s definitely a place to meet and work or just chat, frequented by folks from Downtown and the nearby Austin Peay State University. I’ve had the Iced Dirty Chai, the plain iced coffee and their gluten free pumpkin muffin…all quite tasty! If I had to stop in to Clarksville to do computer work, you’d find me there.
Next stop was lunch at Smokin’ Chikin, where we tried a rotisserie chicken with all seven of their signature sauces and the tabouli salad. One of the owners, Roger, was there and shared his love of travel and discovering new cuisines. The menu is constantly changing because he is constantly trying new things and being influenced by different places. The chicken tasted like Peruvian grilled chicken, delicious on its own. The tabouli had chick peas, which I haven’t seen before. The sauces are each from a different place, my favorites (obviously) being the chipotle and chimichurri. Smokin’ Chikin reminded me of a Peruvian/Mediterranean, more upscale Pollo Tropical….admittedly it felt very home-y to me!
Full on food, we moved on to what tends to be my favorite part of these kinds of trips: drinks! I love visiting distilleries and wineries and learning about their unique processes and stories, and Old Glory Distilling Co. and Beachaven Vineyards & Winery were no different. Both created by locals and both create and bottle onsite.
We visited Old Glory first, where we took a private tour and learned all about the spirits they are currently making and selling, and the whiskey they’re making but not selling yet. My favorite part of the distillery was the stunning copper tank they distill in and my favorite part of the tour was getting to bottle my own rum! I went from empty glass bottle to corked, labeled, sealed and signed. Yes…each bottle is signed by the person who bottled it, so I have a one-of-a-kind bottle of white rum now! Looks like I’ll be drinking mojitos next summer. I should also mention they have a venue space and adorable gift shop and bar….admittedly I could’ve been there a while!
[Click each photo to see it full size.]
Conveniently, Beachaven is right down the road. Located right off the interstate, they have a small amount of acreage of grapes on the main property, where they ferment, bottle and sell the wine. Beachaven also hosts a a music on the lawn series during the summer and has a nice outdoor venue space. They create wines from both local and national grapes, so there is something for every taste bud, unlike many other Tennessee wineries, who focus on sweet TN grapes. I did a tasting of both sweet and drier wines and I have to say they were all really tasty! I’m not crazy about the super sweet and super dry, so I tasted the not-too-sweet and not-too-dry wines. My favorite: the Governor’s White, named after the Austin Peay University mascot.
Next stop was probably dinner, right? Nope! We went dessert first and headed to the brand new Roll’d Creamery. You know the cool trend of ice cream sheets rolled into a cup? Well an Army Vet (Kevin) wanted to open a business, saw there was an opportunity and went for it. Kevin was there and I was incredibly impressed by him and the space in general. He called it “the hibachi of ice cream” because customers can stand and watch as their order is being crafted, even interacting with the server to make any modifications. I know I’m a little late to the game but this was so cool y’all.
Dinner was the local restaurant on the marina, Liberty Park Grill. Think American food, I would say mid-scale? The restaurant has a gorgeous view to the water and would make for an excellent small party venue, especially in the spring when sitting outside still feels nice! We ended up splitting the fried pickles (cravings, I can’t help it) and the Buffalo Shrimp Wedge Salad. Both were delicious but I only got a picture of the salad. Sadly, my phone camera is not made for the nighttime/dimly-lit restaurant yellow lighting.
Day two:
Sunday morning started off with me feeling slightly swollen from the craziness of day one, but still hungry for more. No hunger, however, could be a match for Dana, co-owner, at North Meets South. They are a restaurant that also bakes homemade donuts and cinnamon rolls, so I was kind of doomed from the start. I decided I needed an actual breakfast with protein, but had to try the famed cinnamon roll pancake, so yes, I ordered both. While we waited, we perused the donuts to see what was fresh that morning. Because she has got to be one of the most hospitable people ever, Dana gave us donuts and a cinnamon roll as an appetizer for our breakfast. GUYS. I generally avoid gluten unless I’m somewhere new eating breakfast. It’s really the only thing I usually splurge on. Let’s just say 1/4 cinnamon roll, 1/2 cinnamon roll pancake, 1 omelette and three cups of coffee later, someone could have rolled me out of there. My body went into sleep mode immediately. Not one hour later. Right after eating. It was intense. Probably the best tasting breakfast I’ve had in a long while, but far more than I’d recommend. Clearly I’m a fan and you should go if you’re ever in town. Beware though, this is a hole-in-the-wall, homey place, made for your stomach, not Instagramming. Oh! The name comes from the fact that the restaurant is co-owned by a Northerner and Southerner, hence the cute Mason Dixon line that wraps around the restaurant.
Believe it or not, we went to another restaurant after that. We had committed so we went to Blackhorse Brewery to try options there. I ended up ordering the Mapati flatbread, a local favorite and something I knew would keep to eat later, when I eventually got my hunger back. We tried that and the cheddar pimento cheese dip, which was really different and scrumptious. I got to chat with the owner, Jeff, about how they recently opened a second location in Knoxville. It’s on my list for when I visit there next time!
We walked around downtown for a bit, mostly because we were so full and it was a gorgeous day. Clarksville has a new park downtown, which will be a really cool family space when it’s complete! After our walk, we drove down to Miss Lucille’s Marketplace, a giant space with over 52,000 feet of vendors, furniture showroom, a cafe and coffee bar. The food other people were eating at the cafe looked delicious, but even after walking the whole space all I wanted was some coffee. I browsed for about an hour, exercising extreme self-control to not buy anything, and finished out with an Iced Coffee.
Looking back on this weekend in Clarksville, I’m realizing that while I did eat a lot of food, there were so many other restaurants and cuisines to try. It surprised me how multi-cultural the city is and how diverse its population is. Definitely a refreshing sight to see. I also really enjoyed chatting with the business owners we met, hearing their stories and talking about food in general. Just another great thing about Clarksville: everyone is so friendly!
As usual, thank you to Michelle from Visit Clarksville for being my tour guide and fountain of knowledge!
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**Please note this trip was sponsored by Visit Clarksville. As always, all opinions are 100% honest and my own.