Aquaint new restaurant has opened about twenty minutes from town.  While usually a new restaurant might not be a news-worthy event, Eggleston's Palisdes' location in veritable ghost town makes it notable.  

Fifteen minutes west on 460 there is an easily missed curvy country road that leads down to the river, across a bridge probably seen as frequently by those touring by kayak, tube, and canoe as non-locals out for a drive in the country, there is an easily-missed railroad town once known as Eggleston’s Springs.   At some point in history, there was a train station where passengers could catch a horse-drawn carriage up to the Mountain Lake resort five miles away.   Nowadays, there is a vacant ice cream parlor that looks like it came out of a coffee table book on the Old West, a few empty storefronts, a couple homes, and the now re-occupied location of a classic glass-front brick general store.   And this is the location where owner Shaena Muldoon has chosen to offer her gourmet vision of a locally-centered restaurant.

Overlooking the river and immediately adjacent to the still functioning Norfolk Southern freight line, the restaurant has plenty of exterior ambiance.  Inside, Muldoon has done a fantastic job of converting the old store into a homey, yet classy eating environment.  The pressed tin ceilings have been repaired, the floors refinished, and the shelving on the walls has been cleaned and re-painted.   There are some new lighting fixtures in the ceiling that stand out as a bit too modern in contrast to the antique cash-register and the vintage-styled carpentry throughout.  

And the bathrooms are truly an adventure:   antique basin sinks are complimented by vaulted ceilings and a black bronze locking mechanism that is a bit more like a trap than a way to insure privacy.  A trap?   Every person at my table got temporarily stuck trying to figure out how to open the lock, which appears to be a simple slider, but requires an unusual outward motion to operate.   The head cook, James, stopped by our table to relate the story of a young girl who got stuck in the bathroom on opening night and started screaming until someone came to instruct her on the proper operation of the door.        

When I visited on Tuesday, January 27, just three days after opening day, the menu was still fairly limited; however, some of the food available was delicious, to say the least.  And given that I first heard of this restaurant from local organic farmer Bert Webster of Stonecrop Farms, who had been approached about supplying gourmet greens during the growing season, the future has a lot of culinary promise in Eggleston.

 My table ordered three of the appetizers, the best value of which was the Pear Bris Quesadilla, which featured an unusual, but spectacular tomato jam for $5.   The Spicy Shrimp appetizer was less than I desire from dollar-a-piece shrimp:  though they were served with a honey chili glaze, chopped cilantro, and a chili dipping sauce that could have complemented great shrimp, the six shrimp themselves were slightly over-cooked versions of the frozen economy shrimp that you can buy at Kroger.   So, if you’ve ever lived near the coast, you might want to steer clear of that one.   The house salad looked typical, coming with some shreds of carrots, three tiny radish slices, and a couple pieces of red onion, over a bed of those ubiquitous gourmet mixed greens for under $3.

All of the entrees are prepared in the large gas pizza oven behind the luxurious bar.  My entrée was a large individually-sized white pizza called the Lisbona, which featured gorgonzola cheese, good pepperoni, and a couple pieces of arugula, on a fairly conventional, but not over-sweet crust for just over $10.   I also had the opportunity to try the more conventional White Pizza, which featured mozzarella and parmesan with mushrooms and truffle oil on a conventional crust.   Apparently there is also a honey wheat crust for people who like that delivery-style candied crust flavor.   Everyone else at my table ordered the local breaded and pan-fried trout that came with fresh, if slightly overcooked green beans, and a too-sugary sweet potato soufflé.   The trout was a little over-cooked for my tastes, but was a delicious complement to the green beans, and at $13 it was in a similar price-range to fish dishes at restaurants in town.   Entrées my table skipped were an antibiotic free New York Strip, a rosemary and apple stuffed Pork Chop, a vegetarian Eggplant and Tomato Tart on puff pastry, and a handful of delicious-seeming pizzas.

On the desert menu, it was slim pickings for someone who limits chocolate, so I got stuck with something called a Cinnamon Bread Pudding that was a bit more like a slightly stale and chewy cinnamon blondie with a slight drizzle of a rum sauce.   The other desserts seemed to be to a higher standard.  The stand-out was a plate of four Truffles:  inch-and-a-half spheres of milk and white chocolate individually rolled in crushed almonds, pecans, cocoa powder, and coconut shreds.    Others at the table seemed to enjoy the Molten Chocolate Cake, which was like a gooey brownie cooked in a muffin tin with chocolate mousse and fudge sauce.   The prices on deserts were reasonable at around $5 each, though the servings were definitely in the fancy-restaurant size.

I don’t drink these days, but my table sampled liberally from the fairly extensive wine and beer list – unusual for a restaurant in Giles County.  While no one discovered any new selections to write home about, the prices were reasonable, with beer and wine under $4 a glass and fortified wine under $5.   Our waitress had not yet availed herself of the different selections and was not able to distinguish brand name from variety, but given that that the restaurant had just opened, it was easy to overlook. 

The owner came by our table to ask us how our eating experience had been, which, except for an entrée that came out late, was great.  She also told us un-ironically before the meal that our server was a “Hospitality Specialist,” which was good for a laugh and apologized for the limited menu, explaining that they would be adding items each week until they had a complete menu.  Subsequent report is that they have added a Winter Peach Pie that comes with a walnut praline sauce that is worth a trip itself. 

So long as you steer clear of the Spicy Shrimp appetizer and want your coffee black, as they only serve that non-dairy creamer stuff, Eggleston’s new Palisades restaurant is totally worth the short drive.  It would make for a spectacular date, as the ambiance is classy, but the prices are reasonable, and the out-of-the-way aesthetic adds considerably to its local charm. 

Presently, the Palisades is soliciting local musical talent to come share acoustic, old time, bluegrass, blues, and other low key entertainments on Friday and Saturday nights, which could ultimately make this place an important area destination like Oddfella’s of Floyd or Gillie’s of Blacksburg. 

Afterwards:  Rumor out in Giles is that Shaena Muldoon, the owner, has chosen not to continue offering organic ingredients as part of her business plan, but she continues to utilize local Trout for her fish entrée.  This Spring, another local business woman is opening a new take-out restaurant in Newport, filling the niche that Palisades Restaurant might have been able to fill, offering a green and local vision of the hometown restaurant.  Keep checking the Woove for a review of this new far-out-in-the-country destination as soon as it opens its doors.