Upon pulling into the Old Place’s rustic parking lot, you are immediately transported to the set of an old Clint Eastwood film. I felt like a cowgirl passing through town and making a stop at the local tavern for a hearty meal. The clientele include the eclectic Harley Davidson bikers as well as the stereotypical Jones family. Similar to the exterior, the indoor decor consists of reclaimed wooden booths that fit up to 10 people and a 20 foot long antique bar down the center of the restaurant that serves as a community table. Seating at the bar is on a first-come-first-serve basis. So if you are not arriving when the restaurant opens at 9 a.m., you may want to call ahead to make reservations (Yes, they do take reservations). If you do have to wait, Cornell Winery and Tasting room is next door and offers a fantastic display of emerging vintages from local growers and wineries. And if you want to shop, mosey a few more steps to an Italian oasis of fine European antiques.
Entering the front door, the wait staff escorted my group of friends to the first available booth. Once seated, a nostalgic flashback to the time of pioneers embarking on the Western expansion came over me. The aura of cowboys and Indians is well and alive in this restaurant.
The wait staff also plays up the setting and is happy to share the colorful history of the restaurant along with the best items on the menu. The Old Place originally served as a country store to the community and was transformed into a restaurant 42 years ago. The menu ranges from steaks cooked over a Red Oak fire to game, like venison, wild boar and elk. The Old Place offers a modernized gourmet pioneer’s diet for the modern dinner.
After skimming the select brunch menu, the happy waitress greeted the booth and took our drink orders. After asking for a latte, the waitress kindly replied, “Honey, this is the Old Place, we only have coffee.” Full of laughter, we ordered the aromatic coffee served in playful camping tin mugs along with a smorgasbord. The first dish to arrive was the piping hot cinnamon rolls. Three grapefruit sized rolls came swimming in warm homemade cream cheese icing in a hot cast iron skillet, stuffed with cinnamon, cashews and walnuts. Be careful not to burn your tongue as you lick every last drop of icing from the skillet.
After scarfing down the cinnamon rolls, we almost forgot about the other dishes: blue corn meal flap jacks, sausage frittata and biscuits with a sausage and cream gravy. The star of brunch was the flapjack, perfectly fluffy on the inside and lightly crisped around the edges. Paired with the 100 percent pure maple syrup, it is the quintessential balance of salty and sweet. The frittata was also served in a hot cast iron skillet, filled with a base of sliced crispy potato and your choice of an egg combination topped with grated Parmesan cheese and breadcrumbs. It is a hearty dish that will hold your stomach over until dinnertime for sure. Unlike traditional southern cooking, the biscuits and gravy are more dense cakes with ladlefuls of savory sausage gravy drooling down the biscuits.
No doubt, your taste buds will send you back in time every Sunday, craving all of this traditional western cuisine on the menu.
