Warm, Savory and Cooked with Passion
The months of November and December remind me of the times my family gets together for the holidays. I think of my granny’s home cooked meals, the smell of food engulfing me as soon as I walk in the door and the joy radiating from everyone as we gather together to eat the delicious meal that was prepared. There is something about comfort food that makes your heart happy. It’s warm, savory and cooked with passion. If food could give you a big hug, homemade fried chicken, warm cornbread, crispy fried catfish and creamy mac ‘n’ cheese would do the trick.
Farmview Market in Madison and Ms. Stella’s in Eatonton are two places you must go to this holiday season. The food is cooked fresh and full of flavor. Farmview Market prides itself on locally sourced produce. The Chef ‘s Farm Table serves traditional, southern, comfort foods, using recipes from his classical training.
Ms. Stella’s is a local, family owned restaurant located in Milledgeville and Eatonton, Georgia. Lucious and Jeri Trawick own the business and named the restaurant after Lucious’ grandmother, Stella Cartwright. She was known for feeding the people in the Milledgeville community authentic soul food. Everything is made from Ms. Stella’s family recipes with a few added secret ingredients from Lucious. The Chef’s Farm Table at Farmview Market and Ms. Stella’s menus change daily, which give the customers a variety of meals to choose from. There will always be something different to try, and you are guaranteed traditional southern food that will remind you of your grandmother’s cooking.
The local ingredients from Farmview Market and family recipes from Ms. Stella’s keep the customers coming back and wanting more delicious comfort food. This holiday season may be different since COVID-19 is around, but even if you can’t visit your family, that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy comfort food that will remind you of family and bring joy not only in your heart but also your stomach.
The fried catfish at Ms. Stella’s is the best you will ever have. It is served steaming hot and is perfectly seasoned with Lucious’ famous secret seasoning. Just the aroma makes your mouth start to water, and once you take that first crispy bite, there is no going back. Personally, I like to dip my fried fish in ketchup and hot sauce, but at Ms. Stella’s, don’t even bother. The salty crunchy outside and warm fresh inside need no assistance from sauces. This fried catfish is the best in town. The old-fashioned mac ‘n’ cheese is creamy and moist with the perfect amount of baked cheese on top. They mix milk, eggs and cheese for the perfect blend of creamy goodness. The homemade hoecake is made with Lucious’ seasoning, flour and cornmeal. It is a classic savory fried cornbread patty.
Farmview Market’s fried chicken is cooked perfectly, where the skin is crispy but the meat is still tender and juicy inside. The chicken is from Springer Mountain, Georgia, and the dairy products are from Rock House Creamery in Newborn, Georgia. Everything on this plate is made with local ingredients. The sweet cornbread is made from their freshly ground cornmeal, and the mac ‘n’ cheese is made using their fresh dairy products. From start to finish, a lot of the food served at Farmview Market is uniquely theirs. The beans are fresh, salty and savory. The combination of seasonings create a satisfying flavor that stands out from other vegetable seasoning.
Photo Credit: Katie Marie