09/02/2026
Love it.
My pops had about the highest compliment a southern man of his generation could give somebody’s cooking, and it didn’t sound like much of a compliment at all.
“don’t need nothing in it.”
He could be talking about grits or green beans or gravy or whatever else somebody set down in front of him, but what he meant was whoever was back there cooking knew when they were done. Salt was right. Seasoning was right. Everything that belonged in it was already in it, and there wasn’t any reason for you to start shaking bottles over somebody else’s work.
I thought about that eating breakfast at Holloway Corner Kitchen in Foscoe, because there’s some real restraint involved in having the ability to make food complicated and choosing not to.
Andy and Megan Long (along with co-owner Dave Brewer) have already proven they can cook at a pretty high level Over Yonder in Boone , but Holloway Corner doesn’t walk around telling you about it. It’s a fun, funky little diner that feels like it ought to, from the warm folks who greet you at the register to the easy rhythm of a staff that seems genuinely glad you walked through the door, and somehow they managed all that without turning the whole thing into some pretentious version of what somebody thinks a mountain diner ought to be
They serve livermush, for crying out loud.
They serve enough of it that there’s a sandwich called the Foscoe Is For Livers, crispy livermush with grilled onions, eggs, cheese, tomato and mayo on white toast, and if you eat livermush they give you a participation sticker.
We got one.
Which means after eating livermush our entire lives, we finally got recognized for our accomplishments.
But that little bit of foolishness tells you something about the place too. They can have fun with the food without fooling with the food, and there’s a difference.
Everything doesn’t need elevating.
Sometimes it just needs cooking right.
Pops would’ve understood that.
Holloway Corner Kitchen, "don’t need nothing in it."
