Duck Noodle Soup c/o Crossroads Cafe

Sewanee remains much the same in many ways from year to year. The streets and much of the overall ambiance are not terribly different from how they were when I was 8, 9 or 10, or even what it may have been like in the childhood years of my father and cousins...well, more has definitely changed since those days. There have been changes. The one stoplight on University didn't exist during my childhood. You are far less likely to make friends with the occasional town dog due to leash laws. The new dining hall and its phallic sandstone peaks obliterated a former road and changed the overall commons landscape, as did the new science building in front of the library. I was also quite shocked to see the relatively low-key Sewanee Inn entirely torn down. The formerly almost-entirely one-story sprawl of rooms has been knocked to the ground and the new structure being built is decidedly larger and taller. As a kid there were pretty much three places to eat in town, an ever-changing fried food and ice cream kind of place next to the bookstore (which used to be independent but now is technically affiliated with Barnes and Noble), Shenanigans, and a small diner-like place, which I recall only as the place I tried bread pudding for the first time. Any hint of ethnicity or sophistication in the dining choices of the town simply didn't exist. Now, however, there's a relatively 'upscale' restaurant where they care about the garnishes as much as they do the food's provenance. Oh and it used to be that pretty much you could only get beer at Shenanigans and now there are at least four options for those who like a brew from time to time. And, perhaps most astoundingly, there is now a place that serves a limited, but certainly ambitious, menu of Singaporean fare. And it was there - Crossroads Cafe -that Dad and I went before hitting the road for the airport. On the day in question they had about five main options scrawled on their dry erase board. Dad and I both went for the duck noodle soup, which came out steaming and in quite a generous bowl. I found the broth a bit thin and in need of a bit more flavor...but I am accustomed to restaurants that aren't really catering to an American, white, southern palate. In other words, I think that the overall taste probably would work for those not quite as ambitious as I am....which is a much greater portion of the town and surrounding area. I loaded up on pickled chilis and requested extra sriracha and enjoyed it. Definitely hope they find a way to stay around for the duration.