Java Mama Cafe

My family stopped in Dillard for the night on our way to Atlanta from Tennessee. We got to the town on a Sunday night and we were starving and there was nothing open for miles except this café. The café has a really homey and comforting feeling; We sat on couches and ate off the coffee table while reading the newspaper.
I ordered a sandwich that was the best sandwich I’ve ever eaten, I’m not exaggerating, I’m craving that sandwich right now. It was called something like «mama’s special», I’m not really sure. It was a smoked turkey, smoked cheddar, and green apple sandwich with tomatoes, lettuce and homemade Dijon mustard. The combination of that Dijon mustard and the green apples (I know it sounds strange) is out of this world! Going to this small GA town to eat that sandwich again is on my bucket list.
We went there again for breakfast the next morning, my father (who drinks Starbucks3 times a day) said that he was glad that there were no Starbucks around because had there been he would have never tried the coffee here, which was pretty good as far as coffee goes. We had delicious muffins for breakfast which were huge, but it was perfect to take some for the road.

A great place for excellent coffee, homemade baked goods, salads, soups and sandwiches. The BLT sandwiches with homegrown tomatoes are the essence of summer. Yumm. The staff are friendly and helpful, and the internet access is always free.

Discovered on a recent trip to the smoky mountains, this place is a great stop before venturing further into Tennessee from Atlanta. We had left the city a little light on goodies, and our raid here helped get us through a long cabin weekend.
This place is located in a quaint, semi-​cheese strip of collectible and knickknack stores — FYI, some of the collectible stores nearby house amazing finds. The girlfriend spotted it but having never heard of it we were expecting sandwiches in a bag and burnt coffee this far out, and braced for the worst.
We were pleasantly surprised to smell something amazing in the coffee and baking department as soon as we got within reading distance of the ‘daily special’ sign out front — oh hell yes. We saw ‘Cranberry-​Walnut Chicken Salad With Sliced Tomato’ and eyed each other warily like this was a trick the other had planned.
The owner, a really sweet lady, made a couple of recommendations. We ended up ordering 2 sandwiches, a garden salad and several desert items. One is mentioned above, the other was a turkey one. The rest was brownies and cookies and muffins. Everything was fantastic and fresh, well balanced and worth the price. The coffee was some fancy amazing third-​world free-​trade shade-​grown nun-​plucked stuff that was vaporized instantly by her and I.
We left before trying any of the food, and I’m embarrassed to say we would have gotten more. The owner was telling us how she’d spent 15 years as a chef before moving out into the country and opening this place. She clearly has the passion to make great food because she could stand on her own feet against big city competition. Great ingredients, prepared the old fashioned way from cookies to chicken salad.
Highly recommended. What else… closed on Thursdays, menu on their facebook/​myspace page, wifi. Enjoy!

Oh, I should not have gotten both the mocha cupcake and a coffee on my drive back to Atlanta. I’m going to be far too awake.
This café is a great place to stop, stretch, relax, and chat. They carry Counter Culture coffee, but they make their own blend and take their own notes on the flavors. Quite knowledgeable about the coffee and the origins. The cupcake was nifty. It was a bit more cake than many cupcakes, but that does really well with coffee. The icing was, ahem, rich. I should have eaten half…
This place has become a fairly regular stop for myself and my wife on voyages between Atlanta and SW Virginia. There’s always a crowd of locals, and everyone’s very friendly. Beware that they’re closed on Thursdays.
(And gas in this general area is the cheapest until NE Tennessee. Fill up before NC or venturing further south in GA.)