Mount Airy NC and the Mayberry Days Festival

I had time for a quick dinner before heading over to the playhouse for the concert, so I decided to make a return visit to a local place that I had only visited once before, back in the 1980s...

Speedy Chef is located on S. Main St. ( old US 52 ) in the small neighboring community of Bannertown, which was mentioned in an episode of The Andy Griffith Show. The place has been there as long as I can remember, but I didn't get around to going there and trying their "Chef Burger" until sometime in the mid '80s. To say that I was unimpressed with the burger would be an understatement; it was just gawd-awful, and I swore that I'd never step foot in Speedy Chef again. However, being a reasonably forgiving sort, plus the fact that roughly twenty-five years had passed, I decided to give the ol' Chef another try.

I'm wondering since its still in business if the food has improved or peoples taste buds have died, cant wait to hear:-)

I realize now that I misspoke ( mistyped? ) earlier in this thread when I stated that my meal at Bojangle's was the worst of this trip. How I managed to forget about Speedy Chef I'll never know. Apparently the Chef is still employing the same less-than-skillful kitchen personnel as he did in the '80s, along with getting his hamburger meat from the same second-rate supplier. This was one bad burger. I was able to choke down less than half of it before deciding that life's too short for this nonsense and dumping it in the trash can. I'm really having trouble understanding how this place has managed to stay in business for so many decades ( must be the ice cream cones. )  

Dry?  Overcooked?  Too lean?  Too fatty?  Pieces of bone, gristle, or fingernail?

Brad

Flavor, Brad, flavor. I'm not quite sure just what the problem was with either burger, but the overall flavor of both of them was just plain lousy. I really hate to trash a restaurant like this, but people have a right to know if a place is a waste of their time and money. 

The only good thing to come out of my visit to Speedy Chef was getting to see this really nifty map of Mount Airy that I was unfamiliar with. Wonder if I can get a copy somewhere?

Since it was now about 6 PM, I decided to head over to the Andy Griffith Playhouse for the Dillards concert, as they started seating ticketholders at 6:30. For those not familiar with the Dillards, they are the bluegrass band that, in the '60s, played the four non-speaking sons of mountain man Briscoe Darling in several episodes of Andy's show. Their man-crazy sister Charlene was played by Maggie Peterson, who also was a scheduled guest at the Mayberry Days Festival.

I arrived at the playhouse a little after 6, and already a sizable crowd had gathered for the sold-out concert. Just as I started to get in line, I spotted a sign on one of the concession stands that grabbed my attention...

ALRUI

NC Cheesehead


NC, I'm in a hotel room in Gatlinburg TN as I am typing this.  Today, I did this route.  I highly suggest you do it but only if the brakes on your car are in good shape....

http://www.cherohala.com/location.html

Any good eateries in the area? I've driven a good amount of this several times but never had time to experiment:-)

ALRUI,

Along the parkway itself, we could not find much of anything.  It is so desolate and isolated.  You go about 50 miles on the parkway and not see hardly a single thing except exceptional views. Make sure you have a full tank, warmer clothes, good brakes and a fully charged cell phone.  Of course, we went off season so we saw very little in terms of traffic or people but as we wound around switchbacks in awe and glory of the beautiful sights as daylight started to dwindle, we worried a bit when the tank on the Jeep was at one fourth and we were just over half way done.  So needless to say, there was not much in the way of foods on the parkway.  Besides, they would have a hard time building places to eat on sheer cliff walls.

While in Gatlinburg, there really is no great roadfood places available as most are geared towards tourists and really overpriced.  We had BBQ at Bennet's in Pigeon Forge and found it below average.  The service was poor, the BBQ cold and even a side of chili had hardly a hint of meat in it.  Its right on the main drag so I guess I should not have been surprised.

For breakfast, we had pancakes here:

http://maps.google.com/ma...=2&ved=0CA4QnQIwAQ

Log Cabin Pancake house.

I had buckwheat "pigs in a blanket" (buckwheat pancakes wrapped around Tennessee sausage) and found it to be about average.  

The star of the show though was the Blueberry Pancakes.  They not only had the blueberries in the batter but sprinkled on top as well.  With home made blueberry syrup, they are worth a return trip.

This colorful sign advertises "Old Fashion Mayberry Hot Dogs", and it really piqued my curiosity, as I had never heard of these before. Just what is it that makes Mayberry's hot dogs so special? Let's see... hmmm, there's yellow mustard, neon-green relish, a dill pickle spear, chopped onions, a couple of tomato slices... oh yeah, sport peppers too. Why does this combination seem so oddly familiar?

Could it have been a misprint?  Instead of MayWOOD, they printed MayBERRY? 
 
(For those not familiar with it, Maywood is a suburb of Chicago.)

Before the concert started, the crowd was entertained by David Browning, who has performed in venues all over the country as "The Mayberry Deputy". This character is, of course, a tribute to the late Don Knotts and his portrayal of Barney Fife on TAGS.  

In this shot, the Deputy and Mayberry's own "Mayor Pike" are engaged in a Q&A session with the audience.  

What a blast! This looks like so much fun. I love shows and communities like this.

The Dillards took the stage at 7 PM, and the show started with a bang; one of the first numbers that they performed was the bluegrass classic "Dooley". This song was written by the Dillards and they performed it in the 1986 reunion TV movie Return to Mayberry. The two gentlemen on the left are replacements ( don't know their names ) for the recently retired Mitch Jayne and Dean Webb, and the other two are brothers Rodney and Doug Dillard.

Halfway through the concert, the audience members got a wonderful surprise: Maggie "Charlene Darling" Peterson joined the Dillards on stage for "There is a Time" and "Salty Dog", two songs that they performed together on TAGS.    

At the close of the concert, everyone involved with the show joined the Dillards on stage for the big finale. A great performance and a wonderful evening!

as  a diehard  Tags fan, and fan of bluegrass, I really enjoyed
these pictures.


Sure is bizarre seeing that Chicago dog in Mayberry though.

Going back to the Speedy Chef, do you suppose that the proprietor also owns the local dog pound?  Sounds like it.

Louis


Going back to the Speedy Chef, do you suppose that the proprietor also owns the local dog pound?  Sounds like it.

Tasted like it too!

Here's the statue of Mayberry's sheriff and his son that stands next to the Andy Griffith Playhouse on Rockford Street.

The next morning ( Saturday the 26th ) started with breakfast at Hardee's. Yep, still another chain, but a good place to go for a tasty breakfast that's also quick and inexpensive. Their made-from-scratch biscuits are among my favorites, and the sausage gravy is quite good too.   

Since I had some time to kill before I was scheduled to meet fellow roadfooder Wabbit at Snappy Lunch at 11:00 AM, I headed over to the just-opened Andy Griffith Museum, which is right next to the playhouse on Rockford Street. Thanks to the sizable crowd, the closest parking space that I could find was on Spring St., down the hill from Rockford, and with my bad hip, walking uphill is a bit of a challenge. Then, to add to the fun, it started raining. Just a light drizzle so far, but still a bad sign. Walking up the hill, I spotted one of several 1960 Fords ( Fairlaines, I think ) that have been painted and lettered to match Sheriff Taylor's squad car.

Oops, I wuz wrong! As can be clearly seen in this close-up, this squad car is a Ford Galaxie.

Approaching the playhouse and the museum, I saw that the day's festivities were already getting started.

"Goober" says hey!...

I sampled the apple cider from this stand... pretty bad, I'm sorry to say.

That patrol car is so cool. I bet that festival was a lot of fun. How long have they been doing it for?

It was a lot of fun until Mother Nature stuck it to us in the early afternoon, then things went downhill rather quickly. This was the twentieth annual Mayberry Days Festival.

I doubt if this is Otis Campbell's favorite beverage...    

I took my place in the long line in front of the newly-opened Andy Griffith Museum ( admission $3.00 ), and when I finally got up to the ticket window I received an unwelcome surprise. The grinches who run the place have established a strict "no photos" policy that they enforce with security cameras. This was a big disappointment since I had figured on posting pictures of some of the very cool exhibits in the place ( Andy's desk from the courthouse set, Barney's salt-and-pepper suit that he wore on dates, and hundreds of others. ) Unfair policy aside, if you travel to Mount Airy to partake of one of the famous pork chop sandwiches, this museum is a must-see attraction.

NC,

Thank you so much for this trip report.  I am definitely going to put it in my calendar for next year.  The Mrs is a huge Andy Griffith fan.  I showed your thread to her and she is angry at me now because we missed it!

As I walked up Main St. to meet Wabbit ( Traci ) in front of Snappy Lunch, I passed "Otis" as he was addressing the crowd from in front of the Mayberry Country Store.

At 11AM, I was in front of Snappy Lunch to meet Wabbit, as we planned, but after ten minutes of waiting, there was no sign of her. Since parking was so limited, I figured that's what was holding her up, so I got in line with all of the hungry tourists waiting for a pork chop sandwich at Snappy ( it was a very long line. )  

Unfortunately, at this point things started going downhill. What had been a light drizzle suddenly turned into moderately heavy rain. On top of that, after almost an hour I finally got to the front of the line at Snappy Lunch and there still was no sign of Wabbit. At this point, I decided to get out of line and walk back to the museum where the guest celebrities were signing autographs; I figured that wouldn't take long and then I'd go back to Snappy and, if still no Wabbit, I'd go ahead and eat by myself.

At the playhouse, the first celebrity that I spoke to was actor James Best ( The Dukes of Hazzard ), who appeared in two first season episodes of TAGS as guitar-playing Jim Lindsay. Ordinarily I'm not into autographs, but I did want Mr. Best's as he starred in one of my favorite low-budget monster movies from the 1950s, The Killer Shrews. I did get his autograph, but I forgot to ask him to pose for a picture. Next, I met actress Jackie Joseph, who played Romeena, the girlfriend of Ernest T. Bass, in one episode of TAGS. She's probably best-known as one of the stars of the original version of Little Shop of Horrors in 1961. Ms. Joseph very kindly posed for a photo...

Next, I met Maggie Peterson, aka Charlene Darling, who appeared onstage with the Dillards the night before. Here she is posing with one of her very enthusiastic fans.

From the playhouse, I walked next door to the museum, where actress Betty Lynn, who played Barney's girlfriend Thelma Lou for five seasons, was signing autographs. Ms. Lynn, who is retired, left southern California and moved to Mount Airy about three or four years ago. Up until the end of summer, she and my aunt lived in the same apartment complex ( my aunt moved just down the street ), and have become friends. Here I am posing with "Thelma Lou"; this was quite a thrill... 

Walking back to Snappy Lunch, where I still hoped to run into Wabbit, I encountered "Floyd the barber", who commented on my recent haircut ( not that there's much left to cut. ) 

nocarolina


The only good thing to come out of my visit to Speedy Chef was getting to see this really nifty map of Mount Airy that I was unfamiliar with. Wonder if I can get a copy somewhere?

Your best bet would be to contact one of the businesses on the map as I tried to Google the name on our map (its the same as on the bottom of your pic) Townsquare Graphics 678-297-3838 & all I came up with was some bad reviews on Merchant Circle & a website that was defunct., I have one of Murphy, NC that is the same (just for the Murphy area) & it was paid for by the companies that wanted to be shown on the map, ours has a date of 2003.

NC Cheesehead

ALRUI

NC Cheesehead


NC, I'm in a hotel room in Gatlinburg TN as I am typing this.  Today, I did this route.  I highly suggest you do it but only if the brakes on your car are in good shape....

http://www.cherohala.com/location.html

Any good eateries in the area? I've driven a good amount of this several times but never had time to experiment:-)

ALRUI,

Along the parkway itself, we could not find much of anything.  It is so desolate and isolated.  You go about 50 miles on the parkway and not see hardly a single thing except exceptional views. Make sure you have a full tank, warmer clothes, good brakes and a fully charged cell phone.  Of course, we went off season so we saw very little in terms of traffic or people but as we wound around switchbacks in awe and glory of the beautiful sights as daylight started to dwindle, we worried a bit when the tank on the Jeep was at one fourth and we were just over half way done.  So needless to say, there was not much in the way of foods on the parkway.  Besides, they would have a hard time building places to eat on sheer cliff walls.

While in Gatlinburg, there really is no great roadfood places available as most are geared towards tourists and really overpriced.  We had BBQ at Bennet's in Pigeon Forge and found it below average.  The service was poor, the BBQ cold and even a side of chili had hardly a hint of meat in it.  Its right on the main drag so I guess I should not have been surprised.

For breakfast, we had pancakes here:

http://maps.google.com/ma...=2&ved=0CA4QnQIwAQ

Log Cabin Pancake house.

I had buckwheat "pigs in a blanket" (buckwheat pancakes wrapped around Tennessee sausage) and found it to be about average.  

The star of the show though was the Blueberry Pancakes.  They not only had the blueberries in the batter but sprinkled on top as well.  With home made blueberry syrup, they are worth a return trip.

Cool - Thats why I asked as I know the parts I've driven on were sparse, also drive a small car or ride a motorcycle as driving a 4 door F150 is a good way to get sea sick:-)

I returned to Snappy Lunch and still no Wabbit, so I got in the now-shorter line at Snappy Lunch and finally got inside to have lunch. Later on, I found out that poor Wabbit never even got out of Kernersville thanks to an irresponsible jerk who rear-ended her parked car and took off without leaving an info-note. Sometimes there's just no winning...

Since I didn't take a photo of my delicious pork chop sandwich on this trip, I'll have to borrow one from last May's trip report.

For those who've never been there ( and those who have ), here's a few shots of Snappy Lunch's interior...

What an outstanding report!  I'm in awe of your travels and reporting.

Thank you so much.  I now have more places I want to see!

Thanks, Marlene. I really enjoy all the travel, but I sure am killing my poor little car. My 2001 Nissan had 45,000 miles when I bought it five years ago, and currently it has about 162,000 on it. And I'm the only one who drives it!    

Here's long-time Snappy Lunch owner Charles Dowell, creator of the world-famous pork chop sandwich...

By the time that I finished lunch, the rain had pretty much put an end to any outdoor festivities, so I drove back to my motel and laid down for what was supposed to be a short nap. Didn't work out that way, though; when I finally woke up it was mid-evening, and since it was late and I was feeling kinda lousy, I decided to just skip dinner and went back to sleep. 

Sunday morning's breakfast was at the local Waffle House, which, while it's a chain, turns out excellent country ham and hashbrowns. In fact, I've eaten at a number of mom n' pop restaurants down south were the breakfasts weren't as good as those at Waffle House. That probably sounds like heresy to some roadfooders, but hey, it is what it is. My affection for WH is limited to breakfast, as I've had some rather disappointing lunches and dinners there over the years.

Another thing that I like about Waffle House is the open kitchen, where you can watch your meal being prepared. No secrets from the customers here.

I enjoyed my breakfast here very much, despite the fact that it came from a multi-state franchised operation. IMHO, good food is where you find it. I probably should mention that I got well into the meal before I remembered to get out my camera; don't want you to think that WH serves measly portions.