Wednesday, March 19, 2003
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Wednesday, March 19, 2003 |
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Right On Thyme feeds your southern soul By Ellie White-Stevens
Some of the best family dinners consist of favorite dishes prepared with love and bit of soul. John and Martha Foster and their daughters are the family behind Right On Thyme Restaurant and Catering. They call their food "southern cuisine with a flair." The house specialties are Fried Chicken, Collards, Sweet Potatoes, Fried Fish and Beef Tenderloin. Tambra Foster, Banquet Manager, shares, "We're famous for the fried chicken. It's so good because it's fresh, never frozen." She continues, "We're looking at offering a lunch menu starting in April." Dinner will be plated for a more elegant dining experience. Gayla Foster Whitestone directs catering. "We look to incorporate a line of sandwiches and lighter fare into the daily menu next month, including hamburgers, chicken tenders and veggie burgers," explains Whitestone. What can you expect on their current daily buffet? St. Patrick's day saw corned beef, cabbage, potatoes, their signature fried chicken, rice and gravy, sweet potato souffle, green beans, black-eyed peas, vegetable soup, rolls, cracklin' cornbread, biscuits, corn muffins and a full salad bar. For dessert: yellow cake with sink-into-your-sweet-tooth-good chocolate frosting or carmel cake. Their lunch and dinner selections range in price from $4.50 to $15.00, making it an affordable choice for local dining. Chef Gail Foster Downing continues with her thoughts on food, "It has too be good enough for me to eat, and I'm very finnicky. I use fresh herbs. I want everything to be yummy. I like yummy. Food needs to be seasoned. It's food the way God intended it to be--good." Don't even think about asking for their recipes. Not even for the Sweet Potato Souffle. Some things are kept in the family. Downing taught her recipe to Whitestone's husband. Now he's the only one who makes it. A request to print it in this paper was met by three different versions of "no" from all three sisters. But it was definitely worth a try. Right On Thyme delivers lunch Monday through Friday, and recommends reservations for Sunday's busy lunchtime. Open also for breakfast and dinner Tuesday through Friday, Right On Thyme takes time off from restauranting to do catering on Saturday. As a full service caterer, Right On Thyme has a large banquet room available. The actual operations of this business began with with catering. Downing was working for a caterer north of town. The commute was a bit too much. She thought she could do the same thing in her own backyard. The family vision started long before that. Foster shares, "My dad always dreamed of having a restaurant. He would pack up breakfasts that my mom made, and sell them off the back of his truck at the construction sites where he worked." Today, Downing shares that her father, at age 75, still hand picks and cuts the greens served at Right On Thyme. Right On Thyme opened in September 1997 on Highway 54 in a little blue house. Five years later the Foster family moved it to the present location, formerly Baci Italian. That's on Highway 85, behind the Arby's and Captain D's, just north of the square in downtown Fayetteville. Chef Downing concludes, "I want everyone to come in here and be comfortable. And bring the kids. I want them to get quality food, no junk." To get a custom quote on catering or find out the day's buffet specials call Right On Thyme at 770-716-8400.
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