Lookout Mountain chock full of nostalgic attractions and worthwhile treasures
Rising Fawn, Ga. – Not far from Cloudland Canyon State Park, Canyon
Grill’s location is remote – so remote that most guests drive at least
a half-hour along a scenic road on the back side of Lookout Mountain.
First-timers are told to recognize the building from the cars in the
gravel parking lot and its proximity to the adjacent New Salem Mountain
Market, an old-time corner grocer.
Still, Canyon Grill is packed, mostly with out-of-towners, on a nightly
basis with guests savoring choices like Slash n’ Burn Catfish, Ground
Mignon, Whole Rainbow Trout, Alaskan Red King Salmon and Rack of Lamb.
Among the regular guests are artists who call Rising Fawn and Lookout
Mountain home.
Mostly known for nostalgic attractions like Rock City and Ruby Falls,
Lookout Mountain has been a haven for artists since local printmaker
Fannie Mennen founded the Plum Nelly Clothesline Art Show in 1947. The
name Plum Nelly is derived from contractions of the phrases: "Plum out
of Tennessee" and "Nearly out of Georgia." Featuring local artists and
craftspeople, the show is but an historical footnote now. Yet the art
community in Lookout Mountain is thriving more than it ever has.
“Fannie was part of a group of artists who moved from Chattanooga to
Lookout Mountain for a more secluded and peaceful place to work on
their art,” said Ken Pennington, an artist who owns Pennington Studios
on Lookout Mountain with his wife, Becky, and whose family has resided
here for six generations. “They are the artists who inspired my own
interest in art.”
At Canyon Grill – which is owned and operated by the husband-and-wife
team of Lawton and Karen Haygood – framed images of local wildflowers
and local landscape scenes, many of which are Cloudland Canyon State
Park, adorn the walls. The surrounding area is teeming with galleries
selling the creations of local artists.
Lookout Mountain Pottery, owned by Mark Issinberg on Plum Nelly Road in
Rising Fawn, showcases and sells Issinberg’s ash-glazed pottery that is
gas kiln-fired to 2,300 degrees. Cheryl Sculley’s Trenton Tile &
Clay Works features her pottery and ceramic tiles. She resides with her
husband Peter, who practices the mostly forgotten art of
blacksmithing. Nick Oliver, who displays a collection of
Christmas figurines he has carved from seasoned cedar; Jimmy Hedges,
who specializes in American Folk Art and Outsider Art; and Sue Cannon,
whose wood-fired and salt-glazed stoneware; Scott and Tatiana Hill; and
furniture maker Carrter Frierson are just a few of the artists who call
Lookout Mountain home.
Ken and Becky Pennington, who operate Pennington Studios, coordinate an
annualopen house every second weekend of November, when visitors can
explore artists’ homes and studios on Lookout Mountain. The resident
artists also invite guest artists who display their works at each
location. Ken Pennington is a landscape and portrait artists while
Becky specializes in vivid color and electric patterns.
Canyon Grill was a 40-seat restaurant when it opened in 1996. Today, it
has expanded to 142 seats. Named after Cloudland Canyon State Park, and
Haygood’s cooking technique, Canyon Grill features fresh seafood flown
in from a purveyor in Boston. Slash ‘n Burn Catfish is the signature
item. The whole bone-in catfish is stuffed with ginger, garlic and
jalapenos into thin slashes, cut into thin slashes, dredged in flour,
deep fried and then topped with black bean soup.
Other intriguing items are the grilled cabbage and the crispy squash.
The half-head of red cabbage is steamed until softened and then cooked
on Haygood’s wood-burning grill. It is finished with a touch of garlic
and anchovy sauce, and a bit of cream. The crispy squash is lightly
salted and sprinkled with corn meal mix and dropped into peanut oil,
yet it has just a hint of deep-fried taste.
Just by looking at the menu, Haygood’s passion for grilling is evident.
Before he introduced the signature selections at Canyon Grill – and the
Boathouse, a restaurant he and Karen operate along the banks of the
Tennessee River in Chattanooga - Haygood developed a first-of-its-kind
wood-burning grill in the late 1970s when he served seafood at his
restaurant, Turtle Cove, in Dallas. It’s art of a different kind on a
mountain where artists thrive.
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