On my visit to Maisie’s Restaurant in Old Hickory, Tennessee last week, I took an alternate route
coming home, and noticed something was different along the way. The
former Old Hickory Restaurant was closed, but a new Meat and Three was
open in its place -
Amy’s Diner [
http://www.meatandthree.com/tn/amysdiner/].
Amy Stevens may or may not be a name that you immediately recognize,
but the
Blue Goose Café
is probably one you would know if you have ever spent any time in
Hendersonville,
Tennessee. Amy was the owner of the Blue Goose for eight years, up
until this past April. Thinking that she might make a career change,
Amy sold the Blue Goose to enable that change. However, a few months
later, someone told Amy about a place that was for sale in
Old Hickory.
Seeing the potential for growth and recognizing the challenge that the
new opportunity would bring, Amy purchased the former Old Hickory
Restaurant, changed the name to Amy’s Diner, and opened in August 2006.
In most new ventures, one cannot generally go it alone, and Amy’s case is
no different. She has assistance from some of the people who were with
her before. Before talking with Amy today, I was greeted and taken care
of by Stacy, one of the waitresses who was with Amy at the Blue Goose
(the other one is Ashley). I also found out that Amy’s mom comes in on
Wednesdays to make the fried chicken.
I am sure this new venture will take some getting used to for Amy, since the
Blue Goose was on the busy main thoroughfare in Hendersonville. The location
in Old Hickory is a little more out of the way, yet the customer
traffic is already a mix of “new” regulars as well as a steady stream
of folks who have seen the well-placed signs in various places, in
addition to the free “word-of-mouth“ advertising that is taking place.
Once the word really gets out that Amy is in her new digs, there is
sure to be a group of “old” regulars that flock to visit this
new Old Hickory meat and three.
The interior did not seem to be too different from what I remember the
Old Hickory Restaurant looking like, although it had been a while since
I was there. The building has housed a café/restaurant for many years.
As I have said many times about other places, this café is kind of typical meat and three
- nothing fancy. The L-shaped dining room has wood-paneled walls, a
tile floor and about 15 tables, of varying sizes. There is a white
board that lists the daily meat specials, but not a lot else on the
walls. The focus here is on the food, not so much on the décor.
Speaking of food, I ordered the baked chicken with gravy over rice,
mashed potatoes, squash casserole, corn bread and sweet tea. There were
3 meat choices today and about 15 different veggie choices. Between the
two dessert choices, chess pie and coon dog cake, Amy talked me into
the coon dog cake. It is comprised of yellow cake mix, pineapple, cream
cheese frosting, and pecans. I did not really inquire into how it got
its name - all I know is that, in typical southern comfort food
fashion, the little piece that I asked Amy for was not too small. Of
course, I didn’t mind one bit. My wife, mother, mother-n-law, sister,
and just about every other true Southern cook I know makes sure that
you get a suitable piece of pie or cake at the end of the meal.
Hey, nothing wrong with a siesta on a Tuesday afternoon … right?
