About The Banks County news. (Homer, Banks County, Ga.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 9, 2013)
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 9, 201 3 THE BANKS COUNTY NEWS PACE 9A Features Lots to do in LaGrange Entertainment, attractions and more in Central Georgia town » i SONS OF LAFAYETTE The annual Christmas performance by The Sons of Lafayette Male Choir was presented recently in the First Presbyterian Church, which provided a lovely backdrop for the evening of music. GOOD LUCK In downtown LaGrange, a favorite spot for visitors and locals is the fountain where a sculpture of Marquis De Lafayette is located. There is a custom that your wish will come true if you take one penny and stand back to back with the statue. Toss it over your shoulder and make a wish. Then, stand face to face with the Marquis and toss a second penny forward while making another wish. MAKING A WREATH A wreath work shop at Hills and Dales estate used greenery from the grounds for the creations. Garden craft workshops are offered year- round and are of fun for groups or individuals. HILLS AND DALES Sherry Lewis holds a wreath she made at a workshop held at Hills and Dales. Tours of the home (background) are also offered. Below, the living room at Hills and Dales is festively decorated for the holidays. BY ANGELA GARY Touring a beautiful historic home where workshops on wreath-making and other garden crafts are offered, an evening of wonderful music from the Sons of Lafayette Male Choir and a night of hilarious good times at the New Horizon Community Theatre. Thrown in shopping in the unique shops in the charming downtown and enjoying some culinary delights and you will have the perfect girl friend get-away. LaGrange and Troup County, located in Central West Georgia just one hour’s drive past Atlanta, is a great destination for North Georgia residents. Arts, culture and architec ture are all to be found. We started our long weekend off with the annual Christmas per formance of the Sons of Lafayette Male Choir. The performance was amazing with all the voices raising together in classic and traditional Christmas selections. Don’t worry if you missed it, the group has a spring production coming up. The annual “Christmas With The Sons” was presented in the beauti ful First Presbyterian Church, which provided a lovely backdrop for the evening of music. The 32-member choir, directed by Loren Pinkerman who is in his last year with the group, was accompanied by organist David Kocsis and pianist Eve McKibben. Violinist Callie Hammond joined the group for several selections. The next morning was spent at Hills and Dales estate where we joined in a wreath-making worship and toured the home and grounds. Garden craft workshops are offered year-round and are lots of fun for groups or individuals. We gathered around a table in the garage of the home where fes tive holiday music was playing and plain wreath forms were waiting for us. Greenery had been gathered from the grounds and was stacked in wheelbarrows and tables. We all had different ideas for our creations and gathered some of the greenery and colorful accents and got to work. One hour later, we all had very different, but all very lovely, live wreaths to take home with us. It was so much fun and there was lots of laughter and smiles as we worked on our wreaths. We also spent some time touring the 1916 home and the grounds. Executive director Carleton Woods led our tour of the home and he pro vided some fun and interesting facts about the Fuller family and some of their pieces that are on display. It’s a great house tour because there are no ropes and barriers and you can check out everything in each room. All three floors of the home are open for the tours. The home was used by the sev eral generations of the family from 1916 through 1998 and there is an eclectic mix of furnishings and decor. A favorite room of visitors is the spacious library which features a huge live tree with family orna ments on it during the Christmas season. In addition to the family ornaments, old-fashioned style sil ver tinsel adorns the tree. Plan to spend some time in the charming downtown LaGrange area, where the fountain and sculp ture of Marquis De Lafayette are the center piece. There is a custom that your wish will come true if you take one penny and stand back to back with the statue. Toss it over your shoulder and make a wish. Then, stand face to face with the Marquis and toss a second penny forward while making another wish. Santa was sitting in a buggy in front of the fountain and we couldn’t resist stopping for a photo and tell ing him what we want for Christmas. None of those long mall lines and no charge for a quick photo. Be sure to stop in at the folk art exhibit at the LaGrange Art Museum on Main Street. It provides some wonderful folk art from Georgia and Alabama that had been in private collections. Unique displays from local and national artists are also in the museum and you will enjoy roaming around and experiencing it all. Our last night in town, we drove over to West Point, also located in Troup County, for dinner and a show. “Hallelujah Girls” was play ing at the New Horizon Community Theatre and it was hilarious. The cast did a great job bringing this fun tale to life and it made for a fun night out. We made the Country Inn & Suites are headquarters for the weekend and it’s a great property. Centrally located to all of the attractions, it has large rooms and a spacious lobby with a library area and breakfast room. A free hot breakfast buffet is include in your stay. There is also an indoor pool and fitness center. To start planning your visit, check out the website at www.lagrang- echamber.com. There’s always something going on, so be sure to check out the calendar of events. Coming up soon is the 17th annu al Azalea Storytelling Festival on March 1-3. The event will feature nationally acclaimed storytellers, Donald Davis, Carmen Deedy, Eric Litwin and Ed Stivender. Angela Gary is an editor with MainStreet Newspapers Inc. She can be reached at AngieEditor@ aol.com. Dining options offer tastes for any palate BY SHERRY LEWIS LaGrange is filled with many won derful dining options, so visitors will have no problem finding everything from fine dining to comfort food. TASTE OF LEMON Rich history and delicious country cooking come together at the Taste of Lemon in downtown LaGrange. It has been almost 29 years since vision became reality for Betty Daniel. She moved a historic Methodist church and a couple of houses to her prop erty near downtown at that time. She thought the church would be a great place for a restaurant, and at first, she didn’t think she’d be the one to open it. With the help of Betty’s sister and daughter, Donna Close, she did just that. Many years later, the restaurant continues to be a favorite of locals and travelers as well. Each day the menu includes sev eral meats and a wide variety of veg etables, along with homemade des serts. Patrons can choose from a meat and three vegetables or try a very unique vegetable plate which consists of a small serving of ten vegetables. There’s also a salad plate that comes with broccoli salad, carrot salad, chicken salad, and deviled egg salad. I opted for the Sherry Chicken which had me asking Donna for the recipe before I left the restaurant. It was incredible! My veggie choices included some of the best mac-n- cheese I’ve ever eaten, sauteed car rots and a serving of mouth-watering pineapple pudding. Next, I had to decide on dessert. It wasn’t easy with a choice of caramel cake, sweet potato pie, a brownie, peach cobbler or buttermilk pie. I topped it off with peach cobbler alamode. It was the perfect was to end the meal. While the food is spectacular, that’s not the only reasons flock to this icon ic restaurant. There’s just something about the rich history in the church from the 1890s. Some come back to reminisce about days gone by. It holds a special place in the hearts of those who attended the church and those who were married in the church. Still, there are rehearsal din ners, weddings, and receptions in the church turned restaurant to this day. Before or after your meal, be sure and take a few minutes to visit the gift shop before leaving the property. It’s located in one of the houses, next door to the restaurant. VENUCCI Chef Tulla White is no stranger to the restaurant scene in LaGrange. At Venucci, he combines traditional Italian cuisine with his creative flare and the outcome is indescribably delicious! You’ll find all the Italian favorites, such as Alfredo, manicotti, ravioli and pizza, but that’s just the beginning. He also adds several specials each day. We started with an appetizer spe cial: artichoke Franchaise. I confess, it was the best artichoke recipe I’ve ever tasted! Imagine artichoke hearts, battered and fried, then topped off a buttery, lemon, garlic sauce. Chef Tulla created a magical combination that seemed to melt in my mouth! It didn’t stop there; we had a house salad drizzled with dressings made fresh at the restaurant. My personal favorites were the Red Blue Cheese and White Balsamic Vinaigrette. For our entree, we tried the Lobster Stuffed Filet served with homemade mashed potatoes and sauteed spin ach. I knew it was an excellent choice with every mouth-watering taste. For more information on Venucci log onto www.thedowntownrestau- rantgroup.com/venucci.html C’SONS At C’sons you’ll find a fine dining establishment committed to provid ing quality food and service in a com fortable relaxed atmosphere. Chefs create daily menus featuring classic dishes and new flavors with the fresh est seasonal ingredients. C’sons is open for lunch and din ner. The luncheon menu offers sal ads, soups and a variety of menu options. One of the most interest ing items was the Hunter’s Stew. It’s a perfect combination of venison, duck, Tasso ham, braised greens and potatoes. For my main course, I tried the crispy buttermilk fried tilapia, house made remoulade, roasted corn cheese grits with sauteed asparagus. Some of the other menu choices include Fried Green Tomato BLT, C’sons Crab Cake Club, Lobster and Crawfish Salad, and Thai Chopped Chicken Lettuce Wraps. Please save room for dessert. The choices include Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding, Chocolate Decadent Cake, Classic Cheesecake, Granny Smith Caramel Cake and Classic Creme Brulee’. If you are looking for a memorable dining experience C’sons is the per fect place! For more information visit www.csons.net. IRISH BRED PUB While visiting LaGrange we took a side trip to West Point and were pleased to find the Irish Bred Pub. They offer a variety of savory starters including chicken wings, fried green tomatoes, potato skins, fried dill pick les, just to name a few. We tried an appetizer sampler with shrimp ten ders, fried mushrooms, and onion rings. Every item was fantastic. A delicious dinner option is “The Lucky Irish Clover” A Taste of Ireland, which includes Fish and Chips, Shepherd’s Pie, and Guinness Irish Stew. Other options include Po-Boys, Award-Winning BBQ Ribs, steaks, a variety of chicken entrees, and a whole lot more. No matter what you chose, I’ll bet it will be scrumptious. For dessert, try the Irish Chocolate Overload or Strawberry Shortcake. For more information, visit theirish- bredpub.com/westpoint/. Sherry Lewis writes travel features for The Banks County News and spe cializes in food writing and outdoor adventure.
