By Harper Hailes

My family and I would definitely consider ourselves foodies. We love going out to eat and trying new restaurants and finding the best food. We love to look at the menu while in the car on the way to the restaurant and plan on what we will order. My dad Brent Hailes (’89) has always said that food is love, and in this situation, it most definitely is. 

On October 6, my mom Catherine, my dad, and I flew to Tennessee to visit my older brother Brent (‘22) for parents’ weekend at Sewanee, The University of the South. We had the most wonderful time, but the best part was the food. In particular stood out a special market and restaurant in Monteagle, Tennessee, about ten minutes away from Sewanee’s campus. My brother insisted that we have to go and eat lunch there, and that it is the best food on The Mountain, which is how students, faculty, and family refer to the campus and the area around it.

The name of the restaurant is The Mountain Goat, and my brother was spot-on about how delicious the food was. When we were pulling up, I was already excited and intrigued by the paintings of several goats on the sides of the walls outside. I had high hopes and did not want to be disappointed, because I was starving. 

Inside of The Mountain Goat, Photo credit: Harper Hailes.

When we walked inside, the delicious smell of freshly cooked food filled the air quickly, and the first thing I saw was the menu, an extravagant chalkboard packed from top to bottom with dishes ranging from paninis to salads to cheesy goodness pizzas.  

The chaos from the music, conversations of other families, and my stomach grumbling gave me very little time to fully read the menu, which was about two paragraphs long. Everything on the chalkboard was written in bright colors and font, and listed under the unique names were the descriptions of the food. I was so excited to try out a new restaurant and wanted to order something out of my comfort zone, but the first thing I saw on the menu was an Asian salad. Without getting the chance to look at the rest of the menu, I told the woman taking my order that I wanted the Asian salad, chips, and a fountain drink. I regretted later that out of all the things I could have possibly ordered, I chose a salad; unlike my mom, dad, and brother, who all got sandwiches. 

After quickly complaining to my mom about what I ordered, I walked over to pick out chips and my drink. I decided on an ice cold water and some original Sun Chips, and we sat down. We discussed with excitement what we ordered, yet I was still annoyed with my order so I decided to take my sadness out on my Sun Chips and ate the whole bag very quickly.

When my dad brought our order over when it was ready, I was amazed. My dad ordered a Philly cheese steak, my brother got the Ragin Cajun, and my mom got the pesto sandwich, and steam was coming off of all three sandwiches. Lo and behold, there was my Asian salad, sitting, just waiting for someone to add the dressing and take a bite. 

To my surprise, it looked much better than I expected. There was romaine, carrots, almonds, broccoli ramen slaw, wontons, and the sesame dressing on the side. After shaking the container to spread out to ensure that all of the ingredients were coated with dressing, I took my first bite, and a smile appeared on my face, and my stomach was satisfied. The salad was so delicious that all of my regrets about what I had ordered went out the window. The crunch from the carrots and bits of ramen was satisfying, and the tangy sweetness from the sesame dressing made the salad cold and fresh. The salad itself was enormous, but knowing myself and my love for salads I knew that it would not be a problem finishing it up. After eating more of my salad, I began to eye my family members’ sourdough sandwiches and wanted to take a bite and try them out for myself. My mom saw my wandering eyes and offered me a bite of her pesto turkey sandwich. The sandwich had herb crusted turkey, pepper jack cheese, roasted red peppers, pesto aioli, and spinach served on a baguette. I took a large bite, making sure I would get every flavor. The crunch from the baguette truly made the sandwich delicious, and the pesto aioli made me take another bite. 

After that, my eyes wandered to my dad’s Philly cheese steak. At first I thought it was weird to order a Philly cheese steak in Tennessee, but he said it was good, and I trusted his word. When I took my first bite, I was shocked because his sandwich was still hot, and the melted cheese pull made it even better. There was roast beef, provolone, green peppers, onions, mushrooms, chipotle mayo, served on a hoagie. 

My brother’s Ragin Cajun sandwich looked very good, but since he said it was spicy, I stayed far away from it. The sandwich had Cajun chicken, gouda, bacon, chipotle mayo, and was served on sourdough.

If you are visiting Sewanee, I highly recommend The Mountain Goat; it was some of the best food I had ever had. The environment was perfect for a lunch date, and I was happily surprised by my order and would rate the place a 9/10.