Holcomb's Custard Stand - Isom, Kentucky

Holcomb's Custard Stand - Isom, Kentucky

Happy Labor Day!  Welcome back to my little corner of the internet, where this time I found myself heading over to the small, unincorporated town of Isom, in Letcher County, Kentucky.  It was a random trip, not at all planned or anything.  Friday finally showed it's beautiful face, and I decided to make a quick trip over to Whitesburg and pop into Roundabout Music, just for a little something to do.  Afterward, I headed back in the general direction of Knott County, when I suddenly realized it was now officially Labor Day weekend, and in this part of the world, that means one thing...Isom Days.  I figured I'd stop in, if only for a few minutes, and see what was going on.


I walked around for a few minutes, looked at some crafts and listened to a few songs being played at the stage, and watched as they prepared for the now famous Isom Days Rodeo (seriously, everyone comes to this thing).  I was honestly pretty tired, and it was hotter than blue blazes, as it has been almost EVERY DAMN DAY since May.  If you find yourself disagreeing with that statement, then you're either a shut in with an exceptional air conditioner and no access to weather information, or you live on the Arctic Shelf somewhere, with no access to weather information.  It's been a scorcher. 


So, I figured I'd seen most of what the fair was offering that evening, and since it was around supper time, I would treat myself to a little something, it being Friday and all.  I saw this as a perfect opportunity to try something out that I'd heard so much about for so many years, but somehow never got to try myself.  Yes, you read that correctly...I live in the general area, and I've never eaten at Holcomb's Custard Stand.  There's no legitimate reason for this, and goodness knows I haven't purposefully tried to avoid it.  It just somehow never happened...until now. 

First approach.

Appearances can be deceiving, especially if you're the type of pretentious knob who turns their nose up and drives by such places.  This isn't some 4 star ball room with snobby waiters and fancy indoor plumbing, no sir.  This is the genuine article.  This is an authentic order-at-the-window and eat-where-you-can-sit Dairy Bar, and there aren't many left.  Anywhere.  Even here.  Holcomb's is one of the last privately owned "mom n' pop" type establishments of this type that I'm aware of.  It's a shame too, because many of my childhood memories involve visiting places like this and getting amazing food and service.  It's a dying industry, but this place stands defiant against the odds, just like many other businesses in Isom. 

There's clearly been many, many people served at this window.

I approached the above window, and a very nice young lady greeted me and asked me what I'd like.  Not wanting to sound stupid, I pretended to know what I wanted as I quickly scanned the hand written menus hanging in the front windows.  She knew I was full of it.  So, I kept looking, and looking at all the great menu items they had.  It made the decision very difficult.

Very difficult.

 


This is one of those places that, though small, has so many different options to choose from.  It's like a concession stand on steroids, and that's the hallmark of these types of places.  Great variety, low prices.  But when you're getting hungrier by the minute, it makes the task all the more daunting.

Must...resist....must....eat dinner first.

After the longest 3 minutes of my life, and probably the longest 3 minutes of that poor girl's life who very patiently waited on me to answer, I finally decided on something.  As I said, this wasn't simple.  But, when trying something new, I generally try to get some kind of signature dish, as good as everything else may sound.  I've heard various stories over the years about what's best here, but I've never heard anything about a signature dish of any type.  It's a free for all, but I finally noticed something that kind of stuck out to me.

I couldn't pass up something called an "Isom Burger", no matter the options.

The Isom Burger Box is a burger, topped with bacon, cheese, and a fried egg.  On the side, you get a big order of shoestring fries and coleslaw.  I opted for extra fries rather than slaw, because honestly, I'm not a fan.  I know that must be some form of 'Hillbilly blasphemy', and I'm sorry if it is, but it's the truth.  I just don't care for it.  Extra fries for me, all the way.  She took my order with a smile, and said it would be ready very shortly.  I then picked out a table.

Ok, the only table.

I sat there, and just took in my surroundings.  It was a beautiful start to the weekend, with the sun getting ready to set over a hill off in the distance.  I watched passers by, walking down the road, as the fair was only down the street about 500 feet or so.  So many kids and adults alike, just enjoying their time together at a small town festival.  You have to love that.  I could also hear a train, undoubtedly hauling some 'black gold' slightly off in the distance as well.  I was witnessing "Eastern Kentucky" in one collective spot, as I sat there, waiting on my order.  It was an honest revelation at that very moment.  I just kind of smiled.  After a mere 8 or 9 minutes, she called my name, and my order was ready.  $7.59 later, and I was more than ready to dig in and savor every bite.  Again, it has been a very long day, and I was starved out at this point.






  

Don't even act surprised.

 

Oh my...yes, and YES.

The smell was amazing.  I guess a big ole burger and a pile of fresh crispy fries can't smell any other way, but still, it was intoxicating.  I squeezed my ketchup out of my little packets, and was ready to chow down. 






 

YUM.

 

Crisp on the outside, soft in the middle.  The way God intended.

 

Check out those layers.....drool....

 

Ok last one, I promise.

The burger was fantastic.  The patty was nice and juicy.  It was the pre-pressed variety, but that's fine.  It was well seasoned and cooked nearly to perfection.  The bacon was as real as it gets.  Nice and thick, cooked thoroughly, and hit a nice middle ground somewhere between soft and crispy.  Perfect.  And the egg...ohh boy.  I was put off once upon a time at the thought of an egg being on my burger.  It just didn't sound good to me, not appetizing at all.  One day, I talked myself into it, and I never looked back.  It's an amazing flavor and texture combination, and I recommend it to anyone, especially if you had the same notions as I once had.  This one was no exception.  It was cooked perfectly, with only a very slightly runny yolk, just enough to give it moisture, and to release the flavor.  I was pleased.

The fries were great as well.  They were standard shoe string fries, but they were really good.  They were fried the right amount of time at the right temperature.  That isn't always an easy thing to do, and they nailed it. 

I enjoyed every bite, took in the scenery around me, and pondered on dessert.  And by "ponder", I mean "I'm definitely getting something but I have no idea what".  I walked back over to the window, and again was indecisive. 






 

Because yes, there's an entire other dessert menu separate from the above hand dipped ice cream one.  An already impossible task has now just reached improbable levels.

This wasn't going to be easy, and I sure wasn't going to skip out.  You can't go to a dairy bar and not get ice cream of some type.  It's a law.  I looked and looked, pondered and pondered.  Everything looked good, and as hot as it was, any of it was going to feel pretty good going down.  I just couldn't decide....that is, until I seen something.  I don't know how I saw it, because it isn't on the menu.  Somehow, I just knew.  I knew to look past the menu...through the glass.  That's when I saw it.  With thine own eyes and thine own heart, I saw it; something....












 

...extraordinary.

I could have cried.  It would have been silly, but warranted.  I could have laid down right there in that parking lot, with all of Letcher County walking past me, and just sobbed.  I just found, for the first time in decades, Superman Ice Cream.  I just found my childhood.  I just found Summer in the 80s.  I just found Saturdays at the old Hindman Mi-Dee-Mart.  I just found after school at the long gone Brinkley Dairy Bar.  I felt like Indiana Jones after he found the Arc. 

The world could have ended at this moment, and I would have had no regrets.

I savored every bite.  I sat there, and felt sorry for anyone not eating Superman Ice Cream at that moment in time.  I knew, at that moment, life was grand, and everything was going to be ok.  That's the power it wields.



Holcomb's Custard Stand is a gem hidden in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains.  How I managed to miss this place for this many years is something I'll never know, and surely something I'll have to atone for later.  I very much enjoyed it.  I enjoy Isom in general, it's a neat little town with lots of small wonders, antique stores, and beautiful rustic views.  It's also just down the road from where current UFC women's superstar Jessamyn Duke was born and raised.  How's that for a little bit of trivia?


I've found another favorite eatery, right here, close to home.  It was right under my nose, and though I had always heard about it, I just never made my way over to check it out.  I'm glad I did, and I'm glad I can share some of these adventures with you, no matter where you may be.  I'm proud to be a Kentuckian.  We're a proud people in general, and many share my love for this area. 



Many may do so....but there's one in particular.  One person who has no qualms about laying it all on the line, and showing the world what we have to offer.  One person, who is always the first in line to shine a spotlight where so much darkness can sometimes lurk.  One person...that has graciously agreed to join me next time around.


Hopefully, she'll bring the Bourbon. 

Roundabout Music Company - Whitesburg, Kentucky

What's the first thing you think of when you hear "Eastern Kentucky"?  What ideas and images leap through the synaptic gaps of your brain when those two beautiful words are bestowed upon your ears?  Rolling hills?  Flowery meadows?  Beautiful women?  Horses?  Cornbread?  Coal?  Ale 8?  VINYL RECORDS?  For those of you that answered "cornbread", nice try, but this time around, we're not delving into the world of hillbilly cuisine.   If your response was "vinyl records" followed by a raised eyebrow (as should have been the case, based on the title and first picture of this blog entry) then good for you! 

In a world thought to be dominated by digital media; a world full of mp3s and Ipods, Spotify accounts and satellite radio, Itunes and Youtube.  In a world where physical media was thought to be 10 stages past dead and forgotten relics of the past...emerges Roundabout Music Company, nestled in the last place on Earth you might would expect such a niche outlet to be located.   I say "might", because to the outside world it may seem a bit strange and out of place...but to the residents of Whitesburg, Kentucky and surrounding areas, a record store finally popping up was inevitable, and all but surprising.  As of a few years ago, Whitesburg has really emerged as a beacon of hope for this area.  It's a very reliant, progressive, unique little town that has taken on a personality all its own.  It was once thought to be dead end and destined to be a ghost town, like so many of our precious townships as of late.  Now, the residents have taken it back, and they've absolutely turned it around, relying on the arts and its own brand of Appalachian History and heritage.  It has become economically self sustaining, and Roundabout is one of many businesses in town that have emerged seemingly out of nowhere, owned and operated primarily by the employees themselves.  It's a business model that's risky, but by golly it's working.  And it's working WELL.

Roundabout opened last Summer, and as a music lover and vinyl collector myself, it was somewhere I knew I had to visit.  The store has 4 owners, one of which is actually the husband of a long time friend of mine by the name of Lacy Hale.  To call Lacy a brilliant artist would be the understatement of the century.  She's making quite a name for herself in the world of folk art, and is a member of several different art related councils and commissions.  Before I start to gush too much and skew off into a tangent, please take a moment and visit her website here.  She's incredible, and she and her husband have been vital assets to transforming Whitesburg into the unique powerhouse that it's becoming.

If you think I'm exaggerating in any way, shape, or form about her artistic abilities, I assure you I'm not.  These photo quality images were hand painted with a brush on the side of a bumpy brick wall in Knott County.

I started collecting vinyl in 2006, during the time, according to various data sources, that vinyl sales were at the lowest in history.  I wasn't just following some random trend.  I started because I missed it.  I missed the art work, I missed the liner notes, I missed the SMELL, I missed the history; the fun of discovering who owned an old forgotten album in some dusty milk crate at an off road yard sale somewhere.   I missed all these things from my childhood...all these things that you simply can't get from digital media.  I just like having something tangible, something that I can enjoy in different ways, creating a multi-sensory experience, and not just an auditory sensation.  With vinyl, I can look, see, feel, smell, AND hear my music.  I might could even taste it, but that would be weird, so I'm not going to do that.  Bottom line; no one has ever walked into my house and said "holy crap, your MP3 collection is sick!  Look at all those files!"  However, with my record collection, it's a whole different story...because there actually IS a story.  It would appear that many other people have shared that same sentiment, because as of 2014, vinyl sales have SOARED, increasing nearly 300% since I started back in '06, and overall sales being the highest since 1991.  It's back, and not even I expected it to happen.


These gentlemen who put all their faith and love into this store, however....they knew.  They knew that their hard work and focus on something they believed in would pay off in so many different ways.  Hats off to them for being such an inspiration to the rest of us.


So, that brings us to Record Store Day, 2015.  April 18th, 2015 to be exact.  Yes there's a Record Store Day, and yes it's like Christmas for us.  We dig it, and we get involved however we can, which includes supporting mom and pop record stores such as Roundabout, and getting our hands on many Record Store Day exclusives, which are released only to stores such as this, and only on this day.  I figured it was as good a time as any to pop in and see what's up.

Awesome.

Awesomer.

More Awesomer.  Seriously, every genre and sub-genre you could possibly think of!

The wall of amazing.

Pretty bustling and busy!

That's actually my cousin Angie who just happened to be there with her back turned to me...but don't tell her I told you that.

YES.

Wait...LOL...what??

Whaaa...??

Ok, this is clearly much more than just a "music store".  This is an eclectic collection of EVERYTHING APPALACHIA.  This is our heritage, our folklore, our customs, and our everything, all rolled into one unique palette of amazingness!  It has already been worth the trip just to look around and all this great stuff, all created by local artists.   

Personalized tote bags are always a nice touch.

...and instruments!  FOLK instruments! 

...and Roundabout Swag!

...and perhaps a little something for myself?  Perhaps a local boy from over in Breathitt that has been proclaimed the "savior of county music" and has received an insane amount of exposure and publicity all over the country?  Yeah, maybe.

Maybe a little more something for myself?  Yeah maybe.

Very cool, an in store performance by a local artist!  I wonder if if this Wayne Graham fellow is any good?

Yep...he is.  Check out this performance!

And check out this dude's shirt.  OOOOO YEAHHHH

and...ohh dear....FREE Ale 8, just for stopping in.  Gracious me.

Roundabout Music Company is a true testament to the Appalachian spirit of never giving in and never giving up.  It's a spirit that endures, whether in the coal fields, in the gardens, in the faces of ignorant media critics, and in the case of successful small businesses.  It's quirky, it's cool, it's independent, it's a nexus of culture, and it was a pure joy getting to finally make a visit.  For music lovers, for art lovers, and for culture junkies, it's a place you must make time for as soon as possible.  I was treated just like family, as expected. It's as if it were more of a social gathering with hosts and guests, than customers at a business.  Now that these folks have opened a few doors, and have provided a platform and venue for local, regional, and even national music acts, things could get even more interesting in our little part of the world pretty quick.  Thanks for reading, and have a great night!

Thanks Lacy :)

For more info on Roundabout Music Company, check their Facebook page out here.

In addition, for more info on Appalshop and WMMT FM, two organizations instrumental to everything I have mentioned in this blog entry, click here and here.