The Yellow Moon
We found ourselves with a couple of hours to kill before visiting with my great aunt this afternoon and Mary found a Winery, brewery, restaurant in a place called Alto Pass, Illinois. We punched it up on Google Maps and it was just 35 miles away so we fired up the Ford beast and headed West to see what we might see.
A few miles West of Marion is Crab Orchard Lake, a WPA project lake in an area that boasted many government industries during WWII. Crab Orchard in now a Federal game preserve ans is also home to the Marion Federal Penitentiary which replaced Alcatraz as the home of the worst of the worst. A little further down Illinois Rt. 13 we came to Carbondale – noted for SIU but really famous for being the place where I was born; and then to Murphysboro which isn’t famous at all. We then headed South on Rt. 127 for 16 miles to Alto Pass and lunch at Von Jacob Winery, Brewery, Restaurant and B&B – NOT the restaurant was catering a wedding and was closed.
Fuzzy’s
A quick scan of the GPS showed a restaurant called the “Yellow Moon” in Cobdon only a few miles away. Well, the few miles took us across a mountain ridge and down a 1 lane road but afforded a spectacular view of what used to be called the Illinois Ozarks. Then in to beautiful downtown Cogdon (don’t blink or you’ll miss it!
We passed the Yellow Moon and missed it the first pass but found it on the second trip around the block. An unassuming place in an equally unassuming building (right next door to Fuzzy’s Tavern if you missed it on the second pass. Fuzzy will wave and give you a war hoop!).
We were greeted by Sandy who proudly proclaimed herself the mother of the restauranteur and Alex our server for the afternoon (in his tuxedo t-shirt) and thus began a totally unexpected succulent journey. Spinach salad with red onions, cranberries, bacon, goat cheese; wrapped in a whisper of Apple – Maple Vinaigrette. Pastrami Reuben on home made marbled rye with kettle chips. Followed by Greek yogurt and white chocolate cheesecake and maple vanila homemade ice cream.
Mary’s Brewski!
Wash it all down with a couple of pints of brew from Big Muddy Brewery – an India – Brown Ale for Mary and a Kinkaid Wheat for me. We staggered down the block a couple of hours later past Fuzzy’s Tavern and in to Anthill Gallery & Vintage Curiosities. Finally, to the accompanyment of a war whoop from Fuzzy, we headed back up the street to our Ford Beast and up the road to Flamm Orchards for some local apples and then back to Marion.
A most excellent afternoon!
