Leopold's Ice Cream: I would say a majority of ice cream places are nothing special, minus the fact that everybody loves them some ice cream. Every once in a while though I find a gem out there that makes me believe there is in fact extraordinary ice cream to be had. I wouldn't say this is one of those places necessarily. It's good, delicious in fact, but nothing crazy special and perhaps a bit overpriced. What did it for Jon and I were the flavors they offered. He loved the Strawberry Shortcake that had real chunks of cake in it. But my absolute favorite, and the thing that made me love this shop, was the Lemon Custard Ice Cream. It was amazing and I would go there just for that.
We also had sandwiches there for dinner as people said they were good. I wasn't impressed and would only go there for ice cream.
Mrs. Wilkes' Dining Room: This restaurant is a family style restaurant that was opened up in 1943. When the original owner died in 2002 her family took over. You are basically seated at a huge table with a bunch of other strangers and they place bowl after bowl of southern food on the table for the guests to pass around. You can eat as much as you like and everybody pays the same price. Some of the items we ate were fried chicken, black eyed peas, cornbread, collard greens, potato salad, and mashed potatoes. Really this list could go on and on - there was so much food. The hubby enjoyed it but more for the experience than the food. I loved both the experience and the food. I thought the food was delicious, especially all the different vegetables. What was not so fun was standing in the rain waiting to get in. Typically there can be long lines to get in as the Dining Room is only open for a few hours Monday - Friday so we got there early so we could be seated first. It wasn't really necessary as the rain kept a lot of people away. But it was a fun experience nonetheless. If you want the ultimate southern dining experience, I would hit this place up. It's roughly $20 per person.
Just look at all that food!
The current owners of Mrs. Wilkes' Dining Room
The Olde Pink House's Restaurant: Although I had been thinking about making this restaurant a part of our itinerary, by the day of I had decided against it because we didn't pack anything nice to wear and we were a bit soaked from the rain. But after trying to decide where to eat for dinner and not feeling too excited about the other options, I randomly called the restaurant to see if we could get in last minute and if it was okay that we were dressed down. They said dress was no problem and we would be able to get in without a reservation. So we sucked it up and went for it. And boy are we glad. Not only was our waiter amazing, this was one of the best meals we have ever had.
We enjoyed the following:
BLT salad: I ordered this salad because it is what they are known for. Jon thought it was weird that they were known for a salad, let alone a BLT salad, but he decided, without really consulting with me, that we would split this salad. I claim he owes me big time for letting him have some as this really was as amazing as they say it is. He was even blown away and he doesn't ever enjoy salads. It was basically a bit of lettuce, with sweet bacon, fried green tomatoes, and buttermilk dressing which sounds simple but I promise is worth a try.
Sauteed Shrimp in Parmesan Cream Sauce over Fettuccine: I am not a huge fettuccine alfredo fan but I ordered it because it was one of the few items I felt comfortable ordering while pregnant. I don't like overcooked meat so I didn't want to order a fancy meat dish and then have to have them overcook it for me. But for fettuccini alfredo, this was actually really really delicious and perfectly done.
Filet Mignon with Green Peppercorn Demi Glaze, mashed potatoes, and asparagus: The husband was in love, and based on the few bites I had, I understand why. The meat was so fresh, perfectly cooked, and really delicious. This dish comes highly recommend by us.
Blueberry Sorbet: The husband ordered this even though he had originally planned not to get dessert. I think he did it just because he could see how interested in it I was. I love sorbets and had never ran into a blueberry sorbet before. We absolutely loved it. So glad we gave it a try. By the way, their sorbets are all made in house and are seasonal.
Praline Fruit Basket: I had seen a picture of this online and knew I had to try it. It was an edible basket with house made vanilla ice cream, topped with mango sauce and seasonal fruit which in February was berries. The fruit was very fresh and went perfectly with the rest of the dish. They also wrote congratulations in chocolate because they had found out we were having our first child. It was a nice touch and the chocolate just happened to go perfectly with the rest of the dish. Yummy!
Needless to say, we ate like royalty and really enjoyed our experience. It was quite pricey but I knew this going in and we ended up just using this as our Valentines Day celebration. This isn't the type of restaurant you hit up everyday but it is certainly worth going for a special occasion or if you don't get to visit the area often.
