Tasting Thomasville: Sweet Grass Dairy and Fallin’s Barbeque

Nibbles

How about another peek into the local eatery options in our new hometown?

Cheese, Please!

One fall Friday night we walked downtown for dinner and found ourselves at Sweet Grass Dairy’s Cheese Shop. I’d purchased a Groupon for Blue Coop, their sister shop, but the coop had, er, flown by this point–first temporarily closed for renovations, then permanently as the Cheese Shop decided to relocate down Broad Street a bit for larger digs. The Cheese Shop was honoring the Coop’s offer, though, so we took advantage of some seats at the large central table and ordered up.

As the name implies, Sweet Grass Dairy is a local dairy creating delectable cheeses and sells cheese and charcuterie from their deli case as well as serving up sandwiches, salads, and tasting flights. (Check out their menu online.)

Sweet Grass Dairy | Taste of Thomasville

Sweet Grass Dairy | Taste of Thomasville

We started with the Taste of Thomasville cheese flight: 3 local cheeses (this time Lil’ Moo, Thomasville Tomme, and Asher Blue) paired with pecans, preserves, pickles, and crackers. Bonus points to Sweet Grass for having gluten-free crackers available. It was all delicious (I mean, really, it’s hard to go wrong with cheeses) but it’s hard to top the Lil’ Moo for a rich, creamy, spreadable cheese. If you enjoy Boursin, this would be right up your alley.

Sweet Grass Dairy | The Nola

Sweet Grass Dairy | The Nola

For dinner I ordered The Nola–Sweet Grass’s version of the classic New Orleans muffuletta–on a gluten free roll. Of the side options I chose the spinach, which came lightly dressed with olive oil and Parmesan cheese. It would certainly sate a craving for the original but in our informal game of who ordered better, I think Todd won this round.

Sweet Grass Dairy | The Pickled Pig

Sweet Grass Dairy | The Pickled Pig

Choosing the Pickled Pig was a bit of a surprise: it includes green tomato relish and Todd isn’t a big fan of anything pickled. Surprising both of us, the relish was sweet and went so well with the Tomme and Prosciutto! It’s a great combination and will be top of my list next time we stop in for a meal.

This was back at their older, smaller location and, while it was certainly charming, it tended to get very loud very fast, so I’m looking forward to seeing how the new space improves upon the ambiance of the shop.

Falling for Fallin’s 

It had been one of those days, a mid-week slump that led to a whole lotta ‘I’m-not-cooking’ setting in once we got home. A day where a bit of comfort food would not go amiss, and that’s how we ended up trying Fallin’s Barbeque for the first time. Their menu is fairly simple and straightforward, but it was a little lacking in combo plates or samplers. Call it a penchant for grazing or just the inability to make up my mind, but I like to try more than one offering, especially at a barbeque place.

Fallin's Barbeque | Baby Bear (the meats)

Fallin’s Barbeque | Baby Bear (the meats)

Fallin's Barbeque | Baby Bear (the sides)

Fallin’s Barbeque | Baby Bear (the sides)

So I ordered the Baby Bear (which is described as feeding 2-3) and asked for a to-go box immediately so I wouldn’t be tempted to eat too much. Because it was all so very good. The ribs were tender without being greasy, the chicken breast–frequently the driest of all the options on a bbq menu–was moist, practically succulent! The pulled pork is always a reliable option and when I say it was just okay, it’s not to say that it was lackluster in any way, just that it paled in comparison to the melt-in-your mouth beef brisket.

Fallin's Barbecue | THe Mama Bear

Fallin’s Barbecue | THe Mama Bear

Even though we got the next size up sampler (the Mama Bear) on our next visit (and had to convince the waitress that yes, we knew how much food it would be and that we were looking forward to bringing leftovers home), if I had to choose only one meat at Fallin’s it would be the brisket.

Fallin's Barbeque | The Big Joe with Brunswick Stew

Fallin’s Barbeque | The Big Joe with Brunswick Stew

Which brings us back to our first visit, where Todd ordered the Big Joe sandwich–that aforementioned amazing brisket topped with cheese and an onion ring. It looked fabulous, and Fallin’s seams to do a decent trade in a variety of sandwiches. And how can you not love a restaurant that list dog bones to go? And another plus for Fallin’s: you don’t smell like a bonfire when you leave, unlike the other place we tried a few months back.

How Many Ways Do You Grill Your Cheese?

Nibbles
150 Best Grilled Cheese Sandwiches by Alison Lewis

image via amazon.com

A grilled cheese sandwich is pretty far up there in my book as a great comfort food. Toasty, butter bread; gooey, molten cheese; with maybe some brown mustard or a slice of ham tucked inside for variation.

Perfect for a quick supper, an accompaniment to soup, or a warming snack on a cold winter day.

You can change up your bread (white, wheat, rye, potato), you can change up your cheese (provolone, cheddar, gouda, swiss) but I’ll bet that’s as far as many of go as far as rethinking the humble grilled cheese sandwich.

So when I heard about 150 Best Grilled Cheese Sandwiches by Alison Lewis, I was intrigued.

Lewis expands upon the idea of, at it’s simplest, 2* slices of bread and a slice of cheese. Bread is not limited to sliced–tortillas, pitas, and bagels are all fair game–and cheeses are ranked primarily by meltability, though flavor does come into play, of course. and it’s not just for lunch or dinner, anymore! The grilled cheeses in this book will take you from breakfast to dessert, offer flavor combinations with meat, fish, seafood, and poultry, as well as more veggie-centric ones. Just take a look as some of these recipe names and tell me you don’t start to salivate:

  • Grilled Goat Cheese and Figs (p.20)
  • Strawberry and Marscapone Sandwich (p.26)
  • Grilled Cheese Sliders with Carmalized Balsamic Onions (p.55)
  • Open-Faced Spinach and Havarti (p.67)
  • Grilled Swiss, Artichokes, and Olives (p.88)
  • Pastrami and White Cheddar Grilled Cheese (p.108)
  • Grilled Turkey and Brie with Apricot (p.127)
  • Grilled Spinach, Pepper Jack and Bacon (p.141)
  • Muffuletta Grilled Cheese (p.150)
  • Crab Mushroom Melts (p.172)
  • Tiramisu Grilled Cheese (p.202)
  • Dark Chocolate and Banana Grilled Cheese ( p.208)

We decided to try out a few different sandwiches the week surrounding Thanksgiving. Incidentally, many of these grilled cheeses would be perfect for using up leftovers and a great way to stretch your budget!

jwalker_150gc_grilledhuevosrancheros

We started out with the Grilled Huevos Rancheros (p.32). In this case the bread was a flour tortilla and the cheese shredded cheddar, joined by eggs, black beans, olives, and other savory companions. Grilling was done quesadilla-style in a frying pan and, really, what more can you say about a flavorful breakfast burrito. Since it was so obviously a breakfast-inspired dish, we paired it with hash brown potatoes.

jwalker_150gc_broccoliheesepitas

The next recipe we tried ventured a little further afield. The Broccoli Cheese Pitas (p. 73) are part of the Light and Healthy chapter, using whole wheat pitas pockets and a mixture of ricotta and feta cheeses along with the titular broccoli. It made for a very filling supper along with quinoa cooked in chicken stock.

jwalker_150gc_grilledturkeyandbriewithapricot

Finally, in a fitting  tribute to Thanksgiving leftovers, we used some of our delicious turkey for a Grilled Turkey and Brie with Apricot (p.127) sandwich. I adore brie in pretty much any situation, but the combination of the brie with apples, apricot preserves, and turkey on a hearty sourdough bread felt like an indulgence rather than mere leftovers. Definitely our favorite, among the three, it was also the messiest to eat as the apples tend to slide around a bit and not meld with the creamy brie.

At least once a week we have a night where a quick supper is called for and a grilled cheese is definitely a great alternative to take-out. I have a feeling we’ll be delving back into 150 Best Grilled Cheese Sandwiches for inspiration on a regular basis.

*The earliest grilled cheese sandwiches were open-faced, almost more like cheese toast than what we’d commonly call a sandwich. The second slice of bread became the rule rather than the exception sometime in the 1960s

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I was provided a copy of 150 Best Grilled Cheese Sandwiches by Alison Lewis for purposes of review. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.