MISS MARY BOBO'S BOARDING HOUSE RESTAURANT

Yesterday (01/19/16), Jerry Sharp, Pam Sharp, Hub and I had dinner at Miss Mary Bobo's in Lynchburg, Tennessee. Lynchburg, with one traffic light and approximately 600 residents, is known worldwide as being the home of Jack Daniel's Distillery.

Miss Mary and her husband had boarders in their house in downtown Lynchburg, and became known for the meals she prepared for them every day. Soon, it was turned into a restaurant where guests sat at one table and passed the yummy bowls of food around just like they would do at home. As they grew older, Miss Mary and her husband ceased having boarders, but the restaurant remained open. The restaurant today, now owned by the Jack Daniels Corporation, is in the original house, although it has been renovated several times since it was built in the early 1800s.

You must make reservations to dine there. We got there about 12:45 for our 1:00 reservation. After we checked in, we waited in the gift shop until 1:00. At one, someone rang a dinner bell, and we were taken to our dining room (they have seven) and all seated at the same time. Servers brought food in big bowls and platters to our table.

Our hostess told us about the history of the restaurant while the food was being brought to the table.

See the fried chicken? In addition to the chicken, we had cornbread muffins and butter, beet pickles, pinto beans, mashed potatoes, fried okra, cabbage casserole, roast with gravy, and some baked apples flavored with Jack Daniel's whiskey that were fabulous. For dessert, we had pecan pie with whipped cream flavored with Jack. The restaurant is located in a dry county and no liquor can be served, but it is okay to use it to flavor our food. Of course, we had sweet iced tea with lemon and coffee with dessert.

We really enjoyed the people we were seated with, and it was a great dining experience. Miss Mary Bobo lived to be 102, no doubt because of the good food she ate daily.

After we finished eating, we strolled through downtown Lynchburg for a little while, but it was freezing and we couldn't linger in the cold wind. We are looking forward to going back in the springtime.

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