Old Mill Restaurant - Gatlinburg

Old Mill Restaurant

I have been going to Gatlinburg for over 20 years and finally stopped for dinner at the Old Mill. I had heard good things about the Mill, good food, good service, fair prices.

Being November, of course this was a 20-30 minute for a table, but no problem, the air that evening was warm and the Christmas lights were on. The wait wasn't as long as expected and we were seated in less than 20 minutes. Rolls, butter, and an assortment of breads were brought right out along with menu's. So far so good.

Old Mill Soup And Salad

I ordered one of the popular house entree dinners, Southern fried chicken. Soup, house salad, mashed potatoes and corn came with the meal. I asked the waitress if I could have macaroni and cheese (Which was a side order on the menu) but she flatly said that no substitutions were permitted with the dinners. I politely pointed out that it was on the menu as a side but she again said no substitutions were permitted.

No big deal. Odd, but no big deal. My soup and salad were delivered to my table in minutes. Not bad service and not a bad salad either. The soup, chicken noodle, was bland, edible at best.

Southern Fried Chicken

As you can see, the fried chicken was golden brown and the pieces were average sized. And it tasted OK. The batter was crispy and the chicken juicy, as expected. The potatoes were all right but the corn was horrendous. (Now I understand why there were no substitutions, they were pushing the corn.)

The cost was just under $20 without tip.

The Grassy Knoll Institute awards 2.5 out of 5 shots as the food was average, nothing special, and points deducted for not being able to substitute a side dish and with that does not recommend the Old Mill for lunch or dinner.

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1. 
   

   Gumby said

   February 26, 2008 at 12:52 pm e
   Serious, that doesn’t sound good to me. The chicken looks dry and old. From the looks, I would rate below a 2.
   Reply
2. 
   

   Uni-Verse said

   February 26, 2008 at 2:12 pm e
   The proverbial shit on a shingle dinner.
   Reply
3. 
   

   Lolo said

   October 30, 2011 at 8:11 pm e
   the mill is something my family and i go to eat at everysingle time we come to gatlinburg. Ya’ll don’t know what u r talking about.
   Reply
   • 
     

     LOTGK said

     October 30, 2011 at 8:18 pm e
     Lolo.
     I call them as I see them. Perhaps the waitress was having a bad night or whatever but, the fact is that she was border line rude and I really never heard that you couldn’t substitute one of the side dishes from your main course.
     Reply
   • 
     

     Deeroddy said

     February 17, 2012 at 1:12 am e
     We eat at the old mill everytime we are in the area. Always great service and great food. We love it !!!!!
     Reply
     • 
       

       LOTGK said

       February 17, 2012 at 8:44 am e
       I’m glad you have a great experience when you dine there. Perhaps our waitress was having a bad day.
       Reply

C Staples - BBQ Chicken Dinner

Charlie Staples Chicken And Ribs

Charlies Staples BBQ restaurant has been around Youngstown for many years serving his own special blend of BBQ Ribs, Chicken, Pulled pork, and even Fish. This evening I was in the mood for chicken.

The restaurant was crowded, must have been a party happening that evening. (Wink) I made my way to my table and was quickly approached by our waitress who asked us for our orders. Very nice waitress and very fast service. I commend them for such service on such a bust evening.

The dinner consisted of four pieces of chicken smothered in a tangy BBQ sauce, two pieces of bread, and french fries. I received a breast, leg, thigh, and wing. The breast was the main part, and was fair sized and meaty. All the pieces were well cooked. The BBQ sauce just tangy enough to let you know you were dining in a BBQ restaurant.

The fries were surprisingly good. Well cooked and crunchy enough. I left the white bread alone.
The cost was just under $10 dollars with a diet Coke which was very reasonable.

The Grassy Knoll Diner scores 3.5 out of 5 shots and recommends C Staples Restaurant  for dinner.

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Chick-Fil-A Chicken Breakfast Biscuit

Chick-Fil-A Chicken Breakfast Biscuit

My son Patrick found out that if you go to Chick-Fil-A drive through in the late morning and order from the lunch menu, you may just receive a little extra with your order. Today was no different.

Inside the take out bag, was a foil wrapped sandwich marked ‘Free Sample’ that contained a breakfast chicken biscuit. This was a no frills biscuit with a piece of breaded fried chicken in between.

Surprisingly, it tasted pretty damn good. The biscuit was fresh and the chicken well cooked and juicy and hot. The cost, well, it was free. Apparently, a few minutes before the restaurant switches gears and goes from breakfast to lunch, whatever breakfast items they have left are given away to the lucky patrons ordering at the right time.

The Grassy Knoll Diner scores 5 out of 5 shots and recommends Chic-Fil-A chicken biscuits for breakfast.                  

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KFC - Chicken Strip Dinner

KFC Chicken Strip Dinner

This is what Kentucky Fried Chicken considers a dinner! Pictured left, the three piece chicken strip meal. The meal consisted of three strips of breaded chicken, one biscuit, and one side which I selected mashed potatoes with gravy. It was all tossed packed in this handy box.

I will say that the chicken, although not healthy or good for you, did taste good. (600 plus calories, 27 fat grams, 80 gram of cholesterol, 54 carbs) As well as the biscuit and mashed potatoes. You can see by the photo how the food was packaged. Not the best as the grease from the chicken was beginning to ooze through the cardboard. The cost was $5 dollars, which is respectable I suppose.

The Grassy Knoll Diner scores 2.75 out of 5 shots and recommends KFC chicken strip meal for dinner.

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Popeyes Fried Chicken

Popeyes Fried Chicken

Stopping on a whim at Popeye's Chicken, the money behind the Grassy Knoll Institute AKA my loving wife Patty, we ordered the 8 piece meal which included mashed potato's with gravy and rolls.

The service wasn't to bad, the waitress was a little ditzy but able enough. We had about a five minute wait for our order.

The chicken was hot and crunchy, and that's all the good I can say about it. The taste was pretty bad. It looked good, but was far from it. It was very greasy, almost soaking with oil, and the batter breading was bland, and the chicken was bruised. it was barely edible.

The mashed potato's were horrible. There was some sort of Cajun mustard gravy on them, (No, you could not order the potato's without gravy which signaled that they were pre-made and frozen and thawed out in the microwave for us customers) And they were processed potato's, and tasted chalky, even with the ultra spicy gravy.

The rolls were not much better. They were stale, and crunchy, which I don't think rolls are supposed to be. They were so stale that they actually crumbled in my hand while trying to eat it.

The cost was $18.00 which was pretty steep considering the food was poorly prepared and tasted terrible.

The Grassy Knoll Institute rates Popeye's Chicken one half shot out of 5 and does not recommend this establishment for dinner.

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