The Sampler
Nashville General Store and Bakery
As the balmy breezes of Indian Summer give way to the sharp, biting winds of late autumn, the experience of visiting Nashville turns away from strolling around looking into shop windows and more toward finding a cozy spot to sit and look out of the windows.
There’ s a snug little spot down on the south end of town, tucked away just off the beaten track, where one can find a nice snack, lunch, or a savory sweetie to devour, and which features a nearly endless supply of visual stimulation, both inside and out.
It’ s called the Nashville General Store and Bakery, and it’ s located in a sort of alley by a creek on the north side of the east end of Washington Street. It’ s the yellow building with a big sign.
You’ ll know it when you find it because of the plethora of antique-y decorations on the outside of the old frame wooden building: flower boxes, fountains, rusted ornaments, bird feeders, old-fashion signs promoting old-fashioned businesses( We give S & H Green Stamps!), along with various seasonal banners and other ornamental gee-gaws.
There’ s actually a nice row of little tables outside, and if the weather permits, you can bring your tasty treats out there and hang out with the concrete pig, the wooden Indian and the giant working traffic light.
But, as the season wears on, you’ re probably going to be more inclined to go inside, to one of the most chock-full-of items shops you’ ll ever find.
The Nashville General Store features a huge selection of spices, cooking utensils, doo-dads; jars and bottles of all kinds of sauces, relishes, spreads, jellies, and jams.
When you first enter the store, you are confronted with a huge display of fresh breads of every variety— cinnamon
bread, cinnamon bread with raisins( or cherries, apple, raspberries, strawberries, blueberries), sourdough bread, pumpkin bread, banana bread, veggie bread, whole wheat whole grain, and white.
There’ s a little deli counter in the back, featuring all kinds of sandwiches— chicken salad, a BLT, and the“ famous” tuna salad sandwich“ made with our very own onion relish!” Most of the sandwiches can also be had as wraps. There’ s a smoked turkey sandwich with cranberry mustard, pulled pork barbecue marinated in the house Vidalia BBQ sauce, or Mamma Marie’ s meatloaf.
Sandwiches can be expanded with some tasty cole slaw, potato salad, or chips.
There are always a couple of soups— usually something hearty like the ham and bean with corn bread— especially gratifying in a chilly fall day.
There are lots of other selections, even fried biscuits.
The desserts are not to be missed. There is tall case filled with pies of every description, apple dumplings, muffins, cinnamon rolls, persimmon pudding— nearly every kind of sweet and delicious treat imaginable.
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48 Our Brown County • Nov./ Dec. 2014