The Dillard House, Dillard, Georgia

“If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.”

J.R.R. Tolkien

Are you hungry and near Dillard, Georgia? This is the place to go as there is no way you could possibly leave hungry. Joe and I had heard all about this place and wanted to check it out for ourselves. Dillard is the cutest little town and when we pulled up to the Dillard House, we realized we had been here before a couple years ago with family. The only difference is it is daylight this time and not as crowded as when we came at the night meal. What a beautiful building and what fantastic views that we couldn’t see in the dark.

This is a beautiful stone building decorated with lovely fall decorations and flowers. There is acovered porch that you can sit on the rocking chairs and enjoy the beautiful scenery of the Blue Ridge Mountains. What a great place to sit and wait for a table.

When you go into the restaurant foyer, the menu is up on the wall showing what they are serving for the day. They give you a number and when the number is called they take you into the dining room and let you get settled. A waiter or waitress comes by and asks for you drink order and told us the food would be right out. The dinning room is lovely with a large stone fireplace and large windows with great views of the mountains. There are some smaller tables and then they have long tables for large families to sit and enjoy a meal together.

This restaurant serves food family style where they bring out dishes of vegetables, various kinds of rolls, and what ever meat they are serving that day. Today they had Salisbury steak, fried chicken, and fried catfish. If you want more of anything, just ask and they bring it to you. They have a dessert for the day and the day we were there was a wonderful cooked apple dish with vanilla ice cream. When you are ready to leave, they bring in to go boxes to put all your leftovers in. We left there with enough food to feed a family of four. They are not stingy with their servings and everything was delicious. Mangia.

There are nice gift shops right there with unique items you can buy and also jams, jellies, and barbeque sauces. Sometimes there is a wait before getting seated and that is a perfect time to look around.

When we walked out of the Dillard House, we noticed people walking to an area with a barn. That is when we saw they have horses and mules in stables and where you can go horse back riding or go trail riding. I’m sure that would be a lot of fun.

They also have goats and chickens for the kids to pet. The goats were having fun playing around and some just looking statuesque. What a nice setting for the kids and how they loved being able to talk to and pet the animals. There was also a beautiful white carriage that would be great for a wedding in a covered section of the barn and even an old stage coach parked behind the barn.

There is also a large conference center that was beautifully decorated for fall. It has areas that can seat from 20 to 300 people and would make a great venue for a wedding. In the back they have a large fire pit with chairs set up around it. Just lovely.

There is even a whiskey distillery on the property called R. M. Rose Distillers. On this property, they also have 92 guest rooms and suites available, and more than 28 cottages and chalets available to rent. It must be wonderful staying here surrounded by such beauty.

I read a little about the history and learned the first Dillard to come to this area was Captain John Dillard in 1794 who fought in the American Revolution. He was granted 1000 acres as a reward for serving his country. He also befriended the Cherokee Indians who made a deal with him to give him all the land between two mountain tops for trading a muzzle loading rifle, a jug of apple brandy, coonskin cap, and $3. What a deal.

Carrie and Arthur Dillard established the Dillard House in 1917. Carrie was a hard worker, great cook, wonderful gardener, and great hostess. They treated everyone like family and made everyone feel comfortable. They taught this trait to their kids and grand kids. They have a 200 year history here.

You can come here for breakfast from Monday through Fridays from 8 to 10:30 and on Saturday and Sundays form 7:30 to 10:30. Lunch is served from 11:30 to 5:00 and dinner from 5 to 8. This is must visit if you are anywhere near here and if not, it is worth the drive. Www.dillardhouse.com. Bon Appetit.