Summer Local Living 2024

16 —Summer Local Living May 2024 BETH RINER Contributor B urger a fi cionados, take heart: we found Bigfoot at The Depot Café in Monteagle—the Bigfoot Burger, that is. The iconic half-pound, hand-patted, never frozen burger, a favorite with locals and tourists alike, was the brainchild of Gene Nixon, the longtime owner of the Montea- gle Flea Market, according to Neicy Bonner, who owns the popular meat-and-three café, which celebrates its 10th birth- day this year. Nixon, who owned the old Greyhound bus depot at 403 West Main Street, fi rst rented the building to Neicy when she decided to open her own restau- rant in Monteagle and later sold it to her outright. He was also the one who came up with the idea of the Bigfoot Burger—his fl ea mar- ket was famous for its Bigfoot Sighting sign. About seven years ago, he approached Neicy with an idea. “He come down here and said, ‘Tracy City’s got the moun- tain burger—you need to do the Bigfoot Burger,’” she recalled. “He said, ‘It’ll make some money.’” Nixon was right—on a good burger day, the Depot sells any- where from 15 to 20 burgers for $11.99 each. Customers with the biggest appetites can double the burger for $15.99 and even add bacon on top of that for $16.99. The juicy burger, which comes with a side of piping hot, golden crinkle cut fries, is half a pound of 80/20 ground chuck seasoned simply with salt and pepper. “We put mayonnaise, to- mato, lettuce, onion, pickle, the burger, the cheese, and then the bun,” Neicy said. Most folks, but not all, are able to fi nish the basic burger, al- though their eyes usually get big when server Jessica Green puts the plat- ter on their table. The Depot crew main- tains that the fact that the Bigfoot Burger is fresh, never frozen, and then hand-patted is what makes it so deli- cious—it takes about 10 min- utes to properly prepare one. Either Neicy or her right-hand woman, Ashley Easterly, grills it up. The Depot Café is open Mon- day through Friday from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. The daily whiteboard m e n u , which also features a downhome meat- and-three bu ff et for $10.95 or all- you-can-eat for $12.99, is posted on their Facebook page. Customers love their good, old-fashioned country food. “I think that’s why a lot of them comes back,” Neicy said. “We cook like their grandmas and their ma- mas. They remember the taste of bacon grease from when they was little.” The café also o ff ers a delecta- ble selection of homemade pies and cakes daily. “Probably the bestselling pie is the buttermilk—everybody loves it,” Neicy said. “And then there’s my famous pecan pie. We have a coconut cake that’s really popular and hummingbird cake too.” the hunt is over BIGFOOT FOUND: