Finding excellent Bavarian dining in Western North Carolina I was surprised, while doing a little bit of research for this article, to find Germans were the second largest European group to settle in the Smoky mountains behind the Scot-Irish. I spent a portion of my youth living in Northern Indiana, where German culture and Germanic people were common. But, having
Where can you go in the Smokies for a family meal without being exposed to alcohol consumption? There have been a lot of changes over the course of my decades in the Smoky Mountains, probably the biggest change has been the availability of alcohol. We are talking by either the drink or the bottle in distilleries and package stores around
These are the restaurants we wish would come to the Smokies On one hand you could make the argument the Smokies have quite enough places to eat thank you very much. And we get that. What does a drowning man need with a cup of water after all? But, in the mountains, there’s a lot of similarities. A lot of
Ranking the regional “chain” restaurants in the Smokies For years, I didn’t realize that lightning bugs were a regional thing. We grew up chasing them, catching them, keeping them in jars and releasing them at the end of the evening. I thought it was a fairly universal experience. I mean, I didn’t expect Alaskans got a lot of lightning bugs
Which of these two Tradition-Steeped Restaurants is the Best? In the competitive world of the Pigeon Forge culinary scene, there are a lot of angles that have to be considered. It’s not just about who has the best food. You have to stand out. Certainly, you have to be creative. You have to grab some attention. Because, after all, if
When planning your dining for your Smoky Mountain Vacation, these are the places to miss in Pigeon Forge The truth is I’m a pretty easy date. I like to like things. When I spend a night on the town or at the movies or a local restaurant, I don’t like to go in with a critical attitude. I look for
Located six minutes from each other on the Pigeon Forge strip, these restaurants serve classic Southern dishes with a new flair There was a time when Southern dining in the Smokies meant a very specific, downhome type flavor. Maybe it was fried catfish. Maybe it was mashed taters and gravy or meatloaf or ham n’ beans. But whatever it was, it
A local father of 3 offers his advice on the best family restaurants in Gatlinburg For a town built for family vacations, Gatlinburg has relatively few of what I’d consider actual family restaurants. There are a handful of high-end places where kids are certainly welcome, but don’t give off the vibe of a family restaurant. These days, there are more
Blue Moose vs. Calhoun’s: Who ya got? There are many factors in choosing how to spend your culinary budget in Gatlinburg, not the least of which is geography. Are you, your hotel or your car on one end of the strip? Then it doesn’t make much sense to go past dozens of restaurants to get to the other end. In
A local breaks down what may be the biggest season of change since tourists started flocking to the mountains Turn, turn, turn. Change comes to the mountains faster than the seasons. Governed by the unforgiving judgement of those who vote with their wallets, pocketbooks and – probably – a variety of apps, everything in the Smokies is in a state of