When Claire and I rode our tandem Zippy 14,000 miles around America in 1995-96, we took Tennessee the long way on the back roads. I remember that we visited the Jack Daniels distillery, but it was not legal to buy it in the same county.

Claire remembers most, not surprisingly given her love of all things chocolate, the chocolate gravy she had over her biscuits one morning. We asked at several eateries and were directed to various fast-food locations; none had chocolate gravy. Some remember mothers or grandmothers making the dish, but didn’t think restaurants would have it; a dying Tennessee breakfast tradition.

But, Claire does not give up easily when chocolate is involved. We kept looking, and saw a block off our route, the Family Traditions Restaurant. It looked like an abandoned fast food place, but we did a U-turn and found it semi hidden at the back of a strip mall. We saw no cars, and our hopes dimmed. Claire went inside, and not only were they open, but they had chocolate gravy for breakfast.

She was a happy girl!