Knife & Fork, Spruce Pine, NC
/For years I couldn't wait to get to Spruce Pine. And being a lover of all things food, I wanted to see what Spruce Pine offered as far as restaurants. Nothing appeals to me more than a hole-in-the-wall barbeque joint or off road diner, and I hoped Spruce Pine offered something like that. But I had no idea they offered a restaurant like Knife & Fork, opened and operated by Chef Nathan Allen and his wife, Wendy. Trained at Johnson & Wales University, Nathan moved to the western mountains of North Carolina to "pursue a closer relationship with the people that grow vegetables and raise animals, and to be more connected to the earth and the seasons." I coveted everything on the menu for several years without being able to taste it, and I made a point of it in May 2012. If you are in this area, you must, must, MUST get to the Knife & Fork. And if you don't: lie to me. This establishment is a true gem.
Knife & Fork, 61 Locust Street (lower street), Spruce Pine, NC 28777, 828.765.1511
Honey chevre pancake with candied hog jowl and kimchi
Braised chicken leg & thigh with lacinato kale and mashed potatoes
Coffee ice cream on a warm doughnut
