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?
We tried the “Design Your Own” kiosk at Goo Goo Clusters on the parkway and we’d do it again I couldn’t help but think of Willy Wonka.The kids had finished designing their candy bars at the kiosks in the next room and were ready to watch the Goo Goo artist, like a Subway sandwich artist, but with candy – bring
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
Five historic restaurants located outside of the Smokies When visitors come to the Smokies, they are beset by merchants, restauranteurs and more. And all are selling a particular brand of nostalgia. Authentic mountain goods, authentic mountain recipes. Some of it real. However, some of it is catering to specific expectations. But the taste of East Tennessee – even the mountains
Planning to spend the holidays in the Smokies? These are the best places that will be open on Thanksgiving and Christmas Fall is in the air in the Smokies, and you know what that means… that’s right! Time to start planning how to spend your holiday vacation in the mountains. Maybe you’ve got a hotel for Thanksgiving in order to
What restaurants offer wild meats in the Smokies? I remember the first time I ever had wild game meat as a kid. Importantly, I didn’t come from a hunting family. But I’m sure we had cousins out in the wilds of Indiana hunting rabbits and squirrel and other such critters, varmints and such. The details are somewhat fuzzy, but the
The best places to get a taste of fall in the mountains of East Tennessee Autumn is approaching full swing in the Smokies. That means warm days and crisp nights. It means the advancing of a rustic colors down from the high mountains all the way to the valley. The very air feels and – when you’re in the mountains