Food: Moon Pies
We have the Chattanooga Bakery Company to thank for this delicious and filling treat. When the general foreman and chef decided to make a snack that the nearby miners would buy, he gave a taste to his three-year-old grandson. The legend has it the child said “It looks big as the moon.” The man exclaimed, “Moon Pie!” and scared the child to tears.
There are four flavors – chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, and banana – but the historic moon pie is the chocolate one. And in the South, a traditional snack was “an RC Cola and a Moon Pie.” Back in the 1950s, the RC was about 12 ounces, the Moon Pie about 16 ounces, and you could get both for a dime. That was a working man’s lunch.
I’m sure you’ll want to make your way to the good ol’ town of Bell Buckle, Tennessee on June 19, 2010 for the 16th Annual RC and Moon Pie Festival. There’s country music, crafts, a 10-mile run, and cutting of the world’s largest Moon Pie. Oh, and deep fried Moon Pies. Boy, doesn’t that sound good…