Saturday, March 29, 2008

SCRATCH

Dave and I had a date last night, and we stopped by this little hidden treasure in our town. If you live locally, you NEED to go see this place.

It's called Scratch, and that's exactly what they do. Everything is made from scratch. Wonderful whole grain breads baked in a clay wood fired oven, Pizza's with the most intriguing toppings such as pear, mango, papaya, along with basil, other herbs, etc.

The owner lives above the shop, and we felt like we were stepping back into time. The way things used to be. Perhaps it was reminiscent of the 1920's and 30's. As we entered they had a hugh crock of homemade smoked tuna and salmon chowder. The aroma was enticing. The owner gave us the grand tour and explained the cooking process of the large clay oven. All the while, they were stoking it with wood as watched.

The eclectic mix of made from 'scratch' items was also interesting. Everything from Cilantro hummus, to apricot cheesecake pizza. You can purchase partially baked pizza and finish cooking at home for $10 each! They pre-bake it in their clay oven at well over 1000 degrees.

It is only open Thurs.- Sunday. Their bake days are Thurs. and Fri. So it looks like Friday evening, or early Saturday would be the best time to go with the most selection. Each week the 'menu' changes so you never know what they will be baking. If you are a sour dough fan, you have found your paradise. Some of their starter dates back 100 years.

Under the counter the owner must have thousands of LP records from the 50's 60's and 70's. He told us that ofen on Thurs and Friday nights he is there baking until wee morning hours. I think he is most certainly a Led Zepplin fan :) He cranks the music up during these wee hours and bakes away. What an interesting place!!

Here's the info for anyone local that wants to visit :)

5 comments:

Paula said...

Mmmm, sounds terrific. I wish we had one in my hometown.

Anonymous said...

Wow, we have thought of going to this place many times but always end up at the Asian restaurant across the street. We will try this for sure now. Thanks for the review.

rachel said...

Is this place in Kingsport??! I'm a Kingsport native....live just 30 minutes away and I wanna go !! ~Rachel

Unknown said...

sounds wonderful! glad you had fun on your night out. we love trying unique spots and have some cool faves around here, too.

Patricia said...

Mmmmm...sounds wonderful!!
And lucky you, having a date night!
Glad you had fun!