Eat like the locals at this Rustic River getaway near Cumberland Gap National Park Living up and down East Tennessee, I’ve found that there’s a certain gravity to the geography of the region. If you live near the middle part of the state, you go to Knoxville, Pigeon Forge, and Gatlinburg when it’s time to explore. When you start heading
Does Dollywood’s All-you-care-to-eat family-style restaurant live up to the hype? I’ve had a standoff-ish relationship with Dollywood’s signature dining experience. Yet, it is ranked by USA Today as a Top 10 theme park restaurant in the country. It’s not because I don’t like it. I get why USA Today ranked it so, though I might quibble slightly. I have a
Breaking down two favorite restaurants that have underwhelmed recently I can’t imagine what it’s like running a restaurant in the Smokies. I know a lot of places have competition and the restaurant business is notoriously hard. But in the Smokies where new competition arrives seemingly weekly and any success is met with a dozen copycats, the work of sustaining excellence,
Famed Michelin Guide gives stamp of approval to restaurants in the region When you think about dining in the Smokies and beyond into the mountains of North Carolina, certain staples spring to mind. You’ve got your pancakes. There’s tons of barbecue. And the number of places selling down home, farm approved fare are too many to count. But upscale dining?
Local lists best dinner shows in the Smoky Mountains Sure, Vegas has Usher and Sting, and Broadway has some musicals based on Disney properties. But none of them have what we have in Pigeon Forge: Dinner shows with comedic musicals based on real-life events, feats of aerobatics, equine-based stunts and more – all delivered with a delicious multi-course meal. My
Local dinner theaters are getting into the Smokies holiday spirit I have found the key to success when enjoying Pigeon Forge’s dinner theater scene, is not to overthink it. Pirates? Sure. A Kentucky blood feud from the early 1900s? Yep. Lumberjacks sawing logs on behalf of a Team Naughty or a Team Nice? What in the Ho-ho-ho is a-going on
A local’s guide to the best breakfast in Pigeon Forge The Pigeon Forge dining scene is ever-growing, ever evolving. We’ve got gorillas and pigeons selling tacos now, so pretty much the sky is the limit. But breakfast? Ah my friends, breakfast is the last bastion of traditionalism in an ever changing world. Bacon. Biscuits. Sausage. Pancakes. That’s the menu for approximately
A Smoky Mountain local reveals his top picks for the best hole-in-the-wall restaurants in Gatlinburg In a world filled with chain restaurants and expensive dining options, sometimes you find the best restaurants where you least expect them. We call them hole-in-the-wall restaurants for lack of a better term. However, we use it with affection. Often, the best places to find
The Drury Plaza Hotel in Pigeon Forge and Hotel Indigo in Gatlinburg offer visitors new hotel options A long time ago, when the world and I were young, I visited the Smokies in a very different way than I do now. Back then, I was still a young Hoosier. And a Smoky Mountain vacation is a Hoosier rite of passage.
Harpoon Harry’s offers a wide variety of seafood dishes and Sushi: An honest review Located right in the bend of the strip, just as you get ready to enter the proper cruising section of Pigeon Forge sits Harpoon Harry’s, which has been delivering a wide variety of seafood dishes to its patrons for more than a decade. Opinions vary widely