Happiest of Tuesdays to all! Man, that weekend flew by. They always do for us. Our weekends are typically filled with activities. This past one was a little slower as we had a funeral service for a very dear friend. She was our “another mother” and my momma’s best friend. It’s been tough but, it’s the circle of life and that story is for another day. We did, however, go to dinner on Saturday. That’s our typical “out to dinner day”.
We all know this typical conversation: Husband: “where do you want to go to eat?” Wife: “I don’t care. Whatever you are in the mood for.” And then you are back in forth for 15 minutes until your “date” is pretty much no longer a date lol. Yes, we do this sometimes but, my normal answer is usually just: “I don’t care, you pick”. If you aren’t a picky eater that typically solves it. There’s a little tip in case you are in the never-ending cycle of where to go. I can usually find something on the menu no matter where we go. I do however speak up and say if there are particular restaurants that I don’t like. He already knows most of them and won’t even make that suggestion. Oh, the joys of being in a relationship for a while and you know each other. One type of food that we can always agree on ……..Pizza. So much so that we sort of have made it a game to go to pizza joints that we have never tried or haven’t been to in a while and we’ve been rating them. It’s a fun little thing to do. I mean, who doesn’t love pizza. And, for the most part, you can mess a pizza up too badly. I did say for the most part, because there are a few that I just can’t.
Ranking pizza! Yes, its fun. You should try it. We rank on a scale of 1 – 10. 1 being the worst and 10 being the best of course. We have not eaten any pizza that has made it to a 10 lol. We try not to do the chain pizza restaurant as there are many family-owned pizza places in our driving are. We also dont mind to drive a little way for pizza. I do have to say that some of the “chains” are pretty good. For instance, we really do like Johnny Brusco’s and if I am ordering delivery for me, it’s Papa Johns all the way. They both rank pretty high up there in the “7’s” range for us. Buuuuuutttt, don’t get me started on the worst pizza on the planet in my opinion which is Little Ceasers. If I could give a negative rating, there I would. To me that is one pizza joint that has mastered the difficult are of messing up a pizza. It is surely a big “0” for me.
Saturday on our dinner date day, we decided it was time to rank another pizza. We wanted to tr somewhere new, and my husband had heard some reviews from friends about a pizza joint in Roan Mountain, TN. Roan Mountain is a beautiful place. It has a state park and each year they host several festivals including its most popular “The Rhododendron Festival”. It’s exactly what it says. It is a festival to celebrate the beauty of the blooming rhododendron in natural form. It is very well attended. Roan Mountain is a super small town. If you blink you will miss it. There are only a hand full of restaurants in the town and we have been to a few. They have all been pretty good. The area is about a 40-minute drive for us but, its mountainous and beautiful so it makes it worth the time. If you live close to the are then make this drive. You won’t regret it. Especially in the fall.
I got off subject a little lol. So back to the pizza. As I said we made the 40-minute drive and found the restaurant. Smokey Mountain Bakers. I was in love with the name from the start as they are not only a pizza parlor but, also a small bakery. They make fresh breads, cookies, cakes, cupcakes, scones, and turnovers daily. They open each day at 8am because they also serve breakfast using all of those bakery goodies. They have a wood fired brick oven and to me that says delicious all over it. I love things that have that charred, burned edge. Can I just say when we pulled up there was a tiny little voice in my head that said “maybe this wasn’t a good idea”!
Oh know you just read that are wanting to know why. Details….details please! Did your momma ever say to you “don’t judge a book by its cover”? Yeah mine did. And most of the time momma was right. We pulled into the parking lot which was pretty much a grass and muddy field with very few gravels. The lawn was unkept and I literally thought we were at the wrong place. Had there not been signs I would have probably left. It was strange as you almost turn in to someone’s driveway to get to the front door of the restaurant. And when I say restaurant I mean a half barn, half house that looks like in needs a good bath lol. There is however a beautiful sunflower garden in front of it that were absolutely gorgeous.
I sat in the car for a moment and looked at my husband and just said “this will either be horrible or a real gem. Let’s go see”. As soon as I opened my car door I was hit in the face with the smell of delicious yeasty bread and garlic. I was already feeling better. Let’s speak of the decor in this little hole in a wall first. Like I said, this is a wood fired pizza oven place. So its appearance was a little smoky. The floors were uneven and there is no air-conditioning. Yes, I know you are going to start turning your nose up at the thought of that and so did I. But only for a moment. The wire shelves were full of fresh bakery items that looked amazing. It’s a paper plate kind of place so don’t expect anything too fancy. The windows were open and there was a constant breeze as there always is on Roan Mountain. It was very pleasant. They have a deck that has seating as well. The place was very busy. (Tip: if you pull in and it’s that packed, it must be good).
All of the pizzas at Smokey Mountain Bakers are 12-inch pizzas. They have a selection of gourmet pizzas of you can pick your won toppings. We had already decided to order 2 pizzas and if there were leftovers we could bring them home. Is there really anything better that warmed up pizza? Nope! I ordered the “high on the hog” which was piled with pork toppings. Bacon, sausage and ham. My husband ordered a “BBQ Chicken”. He loves bbq chicken pizzas. I’m not the biggest fan but he loves them. It took them no more that 10 minutes to get our pizzas to us and they were super busy. Y’all!!!!!! This pizza! It was piping hot. The crust had those big air bubbles in it where it was put in that fire. The sauce was amazing, and the cheese was stringy and good. I even really liked the BBQ chicken one and I swear the bbq sauce had to be homemade. We couldn’t even talk to one another. I was cramming pizza in my mouth as fast as I could get it in there. I just was staring at this food like I had been on a starvation diet and my brain screaming “get in my belly”. I watched patrons around me doing the same. I was also being nosey and trying to see what their pizzas looked like lol. We purchased a blueberry scone, which we halved for dessert. My mouth literally is watering as I write this. We brought home a few pieces which were warmed up and eaten the same night. We also left with homemade granola bars which are made with pumpkin seeds instead of nuts (nut allergy here so that was amazing) and a lemon blueberry tea cake. Yea I bought a little cake even though I am a baker. And I’m so glad I did. It was all absolutely wonderful.
Friends, momma was right again. Don’t judge a book (or a restaurant in this case) by its cover. This place was fabulous! We will be making that drive again real soon. If you live withing driving distance, please do yourself a favor and go. You won’t regret it. Smoky Mountain Bakers, Roan Mountain, TN. My rating 8.8. My husband’s rating 8.2. It’s hard to get that from our pizza lovin palates. Go make the drive to support this local dive. P.S. the photos don’t do it justice!
Always……..Brooke
Uplifting, Encouraging, and Fun blogging. 