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Marsha Blackburn Digs What Gingham Café Is Cooking

Rep. Marsha Blackburn took to social media Wednesday to plug an old pal’s restaurant, a homespun establishment specializing in comfort food and tantalizing sweets.  

The Tennessee Republican told HOH she originally met Gingham Café owner Niesha Wolfe shortly after arriving in Congress. The then-newly minted lawmaker said she bumped into Wolfe at a chamber of commerce meeting. “She was a CPA and their board president,” Blackburn noted.  

Per Blackburn, the two have remained friendly ever since. (Wolfe did not respond to email inquiries regarding her relationship with the seven-term pol.)  

“I stop in for lunch regularly when working in the area,” Blackburn said of her affinity for the place.  

The modest eatery appears to primarily traffic in lighter fare (soups, salads and sandwiches, mostly), but does boast main attractions such as sweet relish meatloaf and a waffle-wrapped BLT offering.  

(Courtesy Gingham Cafe)
(Courtesy Gingham Cafe)
(Courtesy Gingham Cafe)
(Courtesy Gingham Cafe)

TripAdvisor users swear by the signature grilled cheese — a dairy double team featuring bacon and Havarti on the inside surrounded by a cheddar crust — and pretzel salad (“The only regret is that I did not get dessert,” lamented one clearly satisfied customer), while armchair critics on Yelp tend to gravitate toward the soups.  

Blackburn, on the other hand, remains devoted to the pimento cheese sandwich (“Has a little bit of spice,” she said.).  

And, oh how she loves those toffee bars.  

“Toffee bars are crunchy on top and gooey melt in your mouth centers. You don’t even think about calories,” she asserted in an email. “These are worth it.”  

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