Mt. Juliet Restaurants Serve Old Favorites in New Ways
food, restuarant, wow café & wingery,
A visit to WOW Café & Wingery will take you on a tasty trip around the world with 17 exotic wing sauces and land you right back in Mt. Juliet with an order of peanut butter and jelly wings.
What?
“We came up with this idea for the peanut butter and jelly wings,” says owner Brad Creel, “and I know it sounds crazy, but they’re delicious. We’ve been doing this as a special in our store, taking the Thai sauce, which is peanut-based, and mixing it with our Australian Raspberry sauce. You can even get it crunchy.”
Kids love it, and this non-menu item is turning out to be popular fare among locals. “We know who our regulars are when they come in for an order of peanut butter and jelly wings,” Creel says.
For those wing aficionados who may not be as adventurous, the usual Buffalo wings (in three heat levels) are a mainstay on the menu. But it’s the international sauces that take wings to a whole new plane - curry/coconut Bombay wings, the zesty herb-and-garlic Italian sauces, tangy lemon-pepper Parisians and the spicy jerk of Jamaica give diners a real taste of international places.
Still, the American fare remains most popular, Creel says.
“Kansas City honey barbecue wings are probably our best sellers, but my favorite is the Santa Fe, which is a chipotle and buffalo hot wing sauce we’ve added taco seasonings to.”
Wings aren’t the only item on the menu. This New Orleans-based business has plenty of wraps and Cajun offerings.
“Our red beans are incredible,” Creel says. “I can hardly keep them on the shelf, and we have gumbo that people absolutely love.”
Nothing is more Southern, perhaps, than fried chicken and catfish, and the folks at Baker’s Café and Catering serve these classics up right.
“Our fried chicken and fried catfish are delicious, and we make fried salmon patties that everybody loves,” says Tina Baker, who owns the popular meat-and-three with her husband, Brian.
The popular new restaurant serves a lunch and dinner buffet that includes casseroles, vegetables and desserts. The homey restaurant is also known for its chicken and dumplings, cornbread muffins and banana pudding.
“We say it’s a taste of hometown Tennessee - food like your mother made,” Baker says.
If you’re looking to create your own homemade meal, then a trip to Houston’s Meat and Produce is in order. They stock fresh, never-frozen chicken, as well as some of the best meats in town. Open for 15 years, this family-run business also offers catering services featuring Caribbean chicken and twice-baked potatoes, as well as in-house dining.
“We seat 16 people and we’re basically a meat-and-two,” says owner Jerry Houston. “Our Monday meatloaf is very popular, but our big seller is the Thursday taco salad.”
Ground beef is seasoned with traditional taco seasonings, made to order mild or hot, then topped with grated cheese, green onions and tomatoes - all for less than $6.
Story by Betsy Williams
Photo by Courtesy of Jerry Ward
