CityView Magazine

26 | November/December • 2014 T iny Tim talked non-stop about plum pudding, and according to this classic Charles Dickens character "it just wouldn't be Christmas without it." Chances are your top holiday entree is likely specific to your nationality, culture, heritage and upbringing. Without using too much imagination you can nearly see, smell and taste it. You might even have a mental photo bomb of friends and family chattering and carousing about in a large room – even as you are locked into a food moment with the dish that is as much a part of the festivities as any decoration or gi. Some time during the evening you ask yourself three ques- tions. "Why do I only have it at this time of the year?" "Why doesn't anyone make it as good as Grandma or Aunt Sarah?" "Why do I feel so connected with this slice of home?" Some of these holiday comfort foods can be found at mom and pop restaurants in Fayetteville. Experiencing the holiday buzz won't happen though until you free yourself from the res- taurant "chain" gang. e candlelight ambiance and home craed preparation of four mom and pop establishments – the Rainbow Restaurant, Hilltop House, ScrubOaks and Taste of West Africa – will silence the blur of look-and-taste-alike of nationwide chain restaurants. is quartet of local eateries have unique stories and each offer a traditional holiday recipe for our buffet table. Rainbows for 70 plus years John and ea Kanos, owners of the Rainbow Restaurant, located at 3708 Ramsey Street, believe in research and develop- ment of their menu. at kind of hard work and pride comes somewhat naturally since they are third generation of the same family to operate the Rainbow, which prides itself on home-style cooking. e menu isn't overly complicated, and in fact includes standard main entrees such as sandwiches, soups, salads, burg- ers, steaks, wraps, grilled chicken dinners and liver and onions. e Kanos family use old recipes but are always experimenting. e restaurant has been open since 1938 and that alone speaks volumes for how it has stood the test of time. ey serve breakfast, lunch and dinner Monday to Saturday and breakfast and lunch on Sunday. Here's a classic that John and ea tinkered with in order to make it a gold item on a menu that features a vegetable of the day. High on the Hill Beth Shearin-Smith, owner and executive chef at the Hill- top House Restaurant, for the past decade, has taken many of her grandmother's recipes and transformed them into menu selections. "I normally never got things like squash casserole, chicken salad, deviled eggs and corn pudding unless it was anksgiv- ing, Christmas or Easter," said Shearin-Smith, whose restau- rainbow restaurant collards hilltop house corn pudding Scruboaks pumpkin ravioli

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