The Best Part of Breakfast at the Roadhouse
by Ari Weinzweig
The buttermilk biscuits at the Roadhouse have always been good, but lately they seem to be getting better and better. Barely a day goes by that I donât hear a compliment about them. Even biscuit connoisseurs have started to swear by them. Southerners, transplanted Southerners, and biscuit lovers are all going bonkers for these.
Why our biscuits are so good.
While nearly every buttermilk biscuit recipe will have similar ingredients, the quality of the final product is in the hands and skill of the person making them. Head chef at the Roadhouse, Bob Bennett, and crew have been working at them for well over a decade. As Bob told me, âIâve made biscuits at almost every job I have held. Over time, I have definitely gained an appreciation for our biscuits.â The results just seem to keep getting better.
Karl Worley, the man behind the nationally acclaimed Biscuit Love in Nashville, holds the Roadhouse biscuits in high regard: âThe biscuits at the Roadhouse are the definition of hospitality. Bob sources the best ingredients, carefully mixes them together, and bakes them to perfection. They are everything that takes me back to my grandmotherâs table when I eat one. Buttery, flaky, and filled with love!â
They come by the dozen, too!
My favorite thing of late is to buy a dozen and bring âem to meetings. While donuts delight and Bakehouse pastries are a surefire way to please, folks just donât see boxes of freshly baked biscuits around these parts all that often!
A few years back Southern Living magazine wrote that, âBiscuits were so revered and celebrated in the pre-Civil War South that they were usually reserved for Sundays. Early Southerners actually considered the biscuit a delicacy.â I still do!
P.S.: The first biscuit cutter was created by Alexander P. Ashbourne. He got his patent for it on November 30th, 1875. Ashbourne was born in 1820 and lived to be 95 years old in Oakland, California. For more on the work of Mr. Ashbourne, see âBiscuits and Black Historyâ from Southern Foodways Alliance.