For our last dinner at Blackberry Mountain we headed to the topmost hill of the resort and the Firetower Restaurant which sits at the base of a fire watch tower, which you can climb for even more awesome views. The dining room is part outside and part inside with floor to ceiling windows overlooking the Great Smoky Mountains on one side and the huge valley to the north; it is truly stunning(check out the FB fotos). There are some secluded accommodations up here as well and the dining is a bit more laid back, but still fabulous food.
Our servers Darien and Kaleigh explained that there are only3 courses here(as opposed to 4), but we decided to start with an extra course and share the Charred Shishito Peppers which here come with Avocado Yogurt, Lime and oodles of gooey melted Pecorino cheese on top(we asked to have the mint garnish left off). I make these at home simply broiled with some rock salt and EVOO and adore them, but this dish was heaven.
Halee, our sommelieuse from Three Sisters, had moved up here and we immediately chose the Vieille Julienne from Clavin 2017 Cotes du Rhone, a great Grenache Blanc/Marsanne/Rousane blend. We had some leftover Fery Meunier from the night before and that went with Will's burger.
The flatbread arrived (more like pizza bread) with olive oil and was salty but yummy. I noticed the music was a bit loud, but luckily not overpowering.
Three of us started with the excellent Plancha Seared Octopus with potatoes, smashed olives, smoked tomato sauce and fresh herb salad of celery leaves and fennel fronds.
Sam chose the Shaved Cauliflower with spring onion, Calabrian chilis, Marcona almonds, Colatura and fennel fronds as well. He followed this with Potato Agnelotti with a very rich and creamy tomato sauce, pecorino, escarole, fennel and Aleppo pepper.
I went for the superb North Carolina Trout with a Sweet Corn(quasi-creamed) with Green tomato and Shishito & Jalapeno peppers & Basil. Madeleine opted for the Roasted Mushroom Bolognese(it was veggie, but they quickly agreed to pop in some sausage) with Rosemary Pappardelle, Toasted Walnuts, Fennel, Ricotta and Crushed Red Pepper.
Will had the Firetower Smash Burger which was two beef patties with Sweetwater Cheddar, Firetower special sauce & Lettuce on a huge Flatbread roll served with a side salad with Pine Bud Vinaigrette. After a forkful of salad he almost choked as it was way overdressed and salty. The manager, Chelsea Edwards, immediately replaced the salad with another and offered him a complimentary after dinner drink.
We all decided to split two of the same dessert, Warm Chocolate Brownie with Vanilla Ice Cream, Ginger Beer Macerated Blackberries and Garden Spearmint. I took the mint off mine and loved the simplicity and local berries; what a treat.
Will(for free) and I both ordered an after dinner drink special called Rising Smoke(video on FB) which has torched sasafrass branch forced into the glass which is topped and brought tableside where the drink is poured in. The ingredients are Vida Mezcal, Yzaguirre Reserva Vermouth, Averna Orange Bitters and Lemon and the drink was fun, warm, smoky, toasty and the perfect last meal farewell to the Great Smoky Mountains that were now enveloped in the evening clouds that come in after the sun sets.
