Chef Going ‘90 Miles’ For Good Eats

Chef Garrett Scanlan is taking his show on the road 90 miles at a time.
He’s blown into Bristol and made a stop at the Blackbird Bakery on Piedmont Avenue. Scanlan has also gone to the Harvest Table Restaurant in Meadowview, Va., and made a meal out of some jerk salmon at Gage’s in Abingdon, Va.
The concept is fun.
Scanlan, who owns a couple of Knoxville restaurants, is launching a show, “90 Miles With Chef Garrett,” on the Knoxville PBS affiliate, WKOP-TV, later this summer.
What a road-trip: The chef picks a spot for breakfast then travels 90 miles in one direction, looking for lunch and dinner – maybe more.
On the episode that visits Bristol, the chef also made a stop at a place I have heard about all my life: Linton’s Cafe.
That eatery has been on Depot Street in Greeneville, Tenn., since 1942.
And it was named for its original proprietor, Linton Boswell, my grandfather.
Papaw – that’s what I called him – sold the cafe in the late 1960s, even before I was born.
Today, it’s called Tipton’s Cafe.
And, surprisingly, it remains not only in business, it thrives.
“It was an old greasy spoon cafe. It’s an original,” Scanlan said. “Tipton’s was such a neighborhood joint kind of thing.”
The customers – the same folks, each day – line stools at the counter, Scanlan said. “And you’re just overwhelmed by the fellowship of the people sitting on those stools.”
Everybody had a story to tell, Scanlan added.
But the chef also had one – on how orders were taken.
“People would walk in and the gal cooking, she would look at them,” Scanlan said. “And, for the most part, they would never order anything ... The people walk in, they nod and there’s the food – everyone has the usual every day.”
Scanlan ordered the Tipton’s special – biscuits, gravy, sausage, eggs and sliced tomatoes.
Then, rolling north to Bristol, he munched on a donut at Blackbird Bakery.
“That is a work of passion – and it really shines through,” Scanlan said. “I will tell you, honestly, it is about the best donut I’ve ever tasted.”
Carla Perkins, who owns Blackbird, fondly remembered Scanlan’s recent visit, saying, “He stayed with us for quite a while. He sampled our food. I’ll bet he was here at least an hour or more.”
The first installments of “90 Miles With Chef Garrett” will likely air in August, said the show’s producer, Matt Mullins.
Each show ends with a cooking segment featuring Scanlan, and other episodes find Garrett going east to North Carolina and west to Rugby, Tenn.
“Once we have all the bells and whistles in place, this show will exist online as well,” Mullins said. “We’ll create a map online and then you can click on the location and find that restaurant’s segment.”
Want more? Visit http://www.garrettsdeli.com.