I left some for y’all. I always have.
I’m talking about some good ole down home Southern cooking.
I’m always looking for a great meal. You know the kind cooked with fatback. The kind of meal that leaves you wanting a nap afterwards. I’m usually successful and my waistline shows I’m qualified at finding good food.
My first introduction to Larry Melvin’s Restaurant in East Tallassee on Highway 14 came a few years ago when Tallapoosa Publishers Inc. sent me to Tallassee to work. It's a metal building set among pecan trees.
The sign quickly lets you know you are there. It also hints at a past.
“Food once thought lost,” it says.
Sure ‘nough. I thought it was food once lost. Walking through the door I quickly noticed a few photos that piqued my interest — Hotel Talisi.
I remember many a family meal at the famed downtown Tallassee hotel. We would all be belly up to the table until the silverware could no longer clean the plate. I quickly learned using my tongue to remove the last bits of gravy was not appropriate. It required a roll.
The selection of meats and vegetables was always memorable. The quality left its mark. A mark all other meat and threes have been measured against for more than four decades.
With my mind flooded with memories, I asked what happened to the recipes from the famed Hotel Talisi restaurant.
Much to my amazement, many are at Larry Melvin’s. Three of the staff brought the secrets of the Hotel Talisi restaurant across the river. It’s as if they escaped with gold.
Fried chicken, pork chops, sweet potatoes, chicken and dumplings, desserts and more have been resurrected.
As a child Hotel Talisi’s ‘nana pudding was the one above all others. It’s at Larry Melvin’s from time to time.
Today I tried to keep my waistline in mind. I went for the baked chicken, peas and splurged with the ooey gooey goodness of chicken and dumplin’s.
The chicken was moist and went well with the peas and roll. It was just like you grandma’s
The dumplin’s were plentiful. They were full of starchy goodness.
I walked in hoping to have ‘nana pudding to finish my meal. The waitress said strawberry cobbler was all they had left of dessert options for the day.
The strawberry cobbler was a first for me — at least a first for me at Larry Melvin’s.
It had that crust all great cobbler has. It’s a little gooey on the underside with a bit of crunch on top.
Then there is the fruit. It was great. It had that jam flavor and texture. A few large pieces of strawberry.
Now I’m home on the couch holding my eyes open with toothpicks as I write this fighting off the food induced want to nap.
My waistline will grow some.
