Buckle up your bike helmet for a trip to Travelers Rest! Just kidding. I don’t bike. If you do though, this is a great day trip for you. You can bike along the Swamp Rabbit Trail and hop off along the way to drink and eat all day. You can even rent a bike there if you so choose. Again, I don’t bike unless its stationary so we basically just ate and drank our way along the trail.
First stop was Swamp Rabbit Brewery for some afternoon cocktails. We took some friends along for this field trip. The boys enjoyed the craft beer and the girls chose a refreshing blackberry cider. The atmosphere is really fun and light hearted with indoor and outdoor seating. They were setting up for BBQ that night and there was a high school reunion setting up in there backyard area. It is a great place to stop and have a cold drink on a hot day!
Our next stop was The Tasting Room. Such a cute place! They have a great selection of beer and wine. Obviously we needed a drink after drinking for an hour already. We loved the atmosphere and the bartenders were awesome too! So friendly and helpful. It is a real hidden gem in TR. It is located right behind Farmhouse Tacos and Rocket Surgery so its perfect for a before dinner or after dinner drink. We actually chose both!
Next up was the main event! I had been told by several people to try Rocket Surgery and after following them on Instagram and drooling over their pictures, I thought it was high time! It is right on Main St in front of The Tasting Room so we just walked right over. We chose to sit out on the covered terrace and it was lovely. We started with the warm marinated olives, goat cheese and house made bread. I was a bit skeptical because goat cheese isn’t at the top of my list. However, I love olives so we went for it. Bam! I like goat cheese now. I just needed to know how to pair it with the right thing. It was a little warm and combined with the saltiness of the olives and the amazing bread it was delicious. The house made bread was a carb lovers dream. If you are doing Keto, you’re out of luck here. It would be worth the cheat day though. Myself, I’m on a high carb diet. You know how it is when you’re just shy of 50 right? Gotta keep those carbs up to keep that weight on….
Speaking of carbs, lets dig into the entrees. We all got something different and they were all absolutely amazing. I chose the Duck Ragout with Campanelle pasta, mushrooms, tarragon, preserved orange, grana padano and it was out of this world amazing. All of the pasta is house made and the difference is incredible. The flavor was so complex and the duck absolutely melted in my mouth. Jeff chose the Bolognese with Bucatini pasta, pork tomato sauce, grana padano, roasted garlic and basil. Outstanding!! The pasta was perfection.
My friend, Christy, chose the Agnolotti with Ricotta, goat cheese, and preserved lemon, blistered tomatoes, basil, grana padano and she added the meatballs. I’m not really a meatball person. It is a texture thing for me. Believe me, I’ve tried. These were good though. The texture was just right and they were full of flavor. Her husband, Ray, chose the Chicken Parm with Mozzarella and herb stuffed chicken, marinated tomatoes, roasted garlic, grana padano, preserved lemon. Wowzers! Bring your appetite for this one!!
The service was excellent with the manager checking on everyone. She was so friendly and made our experience that much better. Needless to say, dessert wasn’t an option after all of that amazing pasta. I would definitely go back. They are only open Wednesday - Saturday so plan your field trip accordingly!
We had to end the evening with a night cap so back to the The Tasting Room. It is such a nice place to sip a drink, relax, visit and let your meal settle. Speaking of which, we discovered the most amazing thing there. Underberg! If you haven’t heard of it, I promise you need it in your life. If you’ve ever over indulged in food or drink this little elixir is a miracle. After eating our weight in pasta, this little shot of magic made us feel like a million bucks again. Underberg is a German digestif bitter made from aromatic herbs from 43 different countries. It has a bit of licorice after taste that I enjoy but even if you don’t like licorice, it is worth it. Underberg has been working its magic for people since 1846! Thanks to Amazon, I will never be without it. It is my new holy grail for stomach distress. I’ll leave it at that.
You can only eat and drink so much in one day and I really wanted to try Farmhouse Tacos so Jeff and I went back solo the next Saturday. Obviously we had to visit our new friends at The Tasting Room for a pre meal drink and they remembered us as soon as we walked in. If I lived in TR, this would be my hangout for sure!! We walked over to Farmhouse Tacos and decided to be sensible and pass on the chips so that we could each try 2 tacos. Good choice. I went with the Grass Fed Ground beef with romaine, sharp cheddar, pico de gallo, and chipotle aioli and the Baja Fish with grilled haddock, romaine, pico, cilantro pesto. Of the two, the ground beef won hands down! The flavors were very complex for a beef taco. Jeff chose the Ancho Charred Chicken with romaine, guacamole, Monterey Jack cheese and honey jalapeño crema and the Blackberry Duck with duck confit, goat cheese, Serrano, corn and habanero blackberry sauce. He said both were excellent. I have to tell you though that the star of the show was the charred corn on the cob with spicy aioli, green onions and cojita cheese. It was the best corn I’ve ever eaten. I don’t say that lightly. I’m almost 50 and raised in the South so I’ve eaten my fair share of corn. The corn alone is worth the drive to TR!! You’re welcome.
So that’s it! You could do a day trip biking the Swamp Rabbit Trail, having a drink at Swamp Rabbit Brewery & Taproom, bike down to Farmhouse Tacos for lunch and bike along the trail to work that lunch off. Or, if you’re like me, pop and Underberg and relax until dinner with your friends. Rocket Surgery is a must for dinner and The Tasting Room is your go to for your before or after dinner beer and wine! Tell them Southern Field Trips sent you!!