Showing posts with label gatlinburg. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gatlinburg. Show all posts

10/18/2011

Apple Barn - Potato Soup

apple barn bowl of potato soup
Apple Barn Potato Soup
I have already critiqued several meals from the Apple Barn in Gatlinburg, Tennessee so tonight it's all about the soup. As in potato soup.

When you order an entree at the Apple Barn, you get your choice of soups and I always selected the chicken noodle but just recently, potato soup was added to the mix.

The broth was thick with bits of bacon and plenty of cheese melting on top. Of course, big generous chunks of potato wedges were swimming in the cup.

And the taste, absolutely wonderful.

The Grassy Knoll Diner awards 5 shots out of 5 and recommends the potato soup at the Apple Barn.


LURKING ON THE GRASSY KNOLL

9/23/2011

Side Walk Cafe - Ober Gatlinburg

Ober Gatlinburg Sidewalk Cafe
The city of Gatlinburg, Tennessee is nestled at the foothills of the great Smoky Mountains. There are an endless number of restaurants to tempt your appetite. But there's more. Take a right hand turn on Ski Mountain road and it will twist you through the mountains and take you to the top where Ober Gatlinburg stands.

At the top of the mountain sits of course many elaborate ski slopes but also a small amusement park, an ice rink, carnival games, a black bear habitat, and several food stands and restaurants.


The Side Walk Cafe over looks the ice skating rink with several retail shops dotting it's surroundings. We had just spent several hours at the amusement park and came inside for a quick bite.
Ober Fries And Corn Dog
Since we were there in the off season, it was not very crowded so there was no line and placed our order. I ordered the corn dog and fries. You are looking at $6 dollars of food here. The corn dog was readily available but the fries were cooking in the fryer. My order was called out in a matter of minutes.

The corn dog was standard fare as corn dogs go. Well cooked, fresh, hot, and good taste. The fries were of fresh cut variety but as you can see, not to plentiful. However, they were fresh, well cooked, and hot and tasted good. It was a good fast food meal that filled me up and got us on our way to our next Ober Gatlinburg adventure.

The Grassy Knoll Diner scores 3.25 out of 5 shots and recommends the Side Walk Cafe in Ober Gatlinburg for lunch and dinner.


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Responses to “Side Walk Cafe – Gatlinburg – Corn Dog”


  1. LOTGK said

    Moominboy
    One of those days I’ll taste a corn dog :)
    LOTGK in reply to Moominboy
    If you like hot dogs, you will love corn dogs. Trust me….

3/19/2011

Bring Me Solo And The Wookie


I was recently at the Ripley's Aquarium in the Smoky mountains in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. In the shark tank, this one particular sawfish kept circling and then finally settled right above to rest on the glass. As I was watching the fish, (That's what I do when I'm in aquariums) it started moving it's mouth. In that instant, the sawfish looked like Jabba The Hut. I started laughing. I pointed out Jabba to my wife Patty and of course I had to speak the obligatory line, "Bring me Solo and the Wookie!" Watch it again and listen to me state the classic line.



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5/21/2010

Blaines Restaurant - Chicken Parmesan Penne

Blaine's Grill And Bar - Gatlinburg
Blaine's Grill And Bar - Gatlinburg
Blaine's Grill And Bar located in the heart of Gatlinburg has a unique restaurant atmosphere. When entering, you quickly notice it's a multi-level restaurant with distinct sections for dining. The wood decor is very "Country Western" type. Very nice.

The hostess at the entrance radioed ahead to have us seated. after walking up two flights of stairs our table server greeted us and led us to our table.
Blaine's Loaded Potato Skins
Blaine's Loaded Potato Skins
In a minute, our waitress returned and asked for our drink and appetizer order. I ordered the loaded potato skins for an appetizer. in less than 10 minutes, our appetizers were delivered. As you can see, there were plenty of them and they were loaded with bacon and cheese. The potato skins were well done, not burnt, and very good tasting. The cheese was plenty as well as the well-cooked bacon. So far, so good.
Blaine's Chicken Pasta
For my dinner, I ordered the Chicken Parmesan Penne. I was expecting penne pasta in tomato sauce and a slab of breaded fried chicken covered with cheese and tomato sauce. I received this. I was pleasantly surprised. Instead of a slab of chicken, it was cut up into small strips and chunks and mixed with the penne and sauce. It was surprising good.

The chicken was juicy, hot, and plentiful, and smothered in a cheese and tomato sauce that was very good. The penne was well-cooked, and the aforementioned sauce was just zesty enough to bring the taste home.

The cost was very reasonable. The loaded potato skins were $5.95 and the main course was $9.95 plus diet drink. Total cost without tip was $18.00 dollars. For Gatlinburg, and for the portions served, it was a great bargain. The excellent service of the hostess and waitress only added to the good experience.

The Grassy Knoll Diner scores 4.25 out of 5 shots and recommends Blaine's Grill And Bar of Gatlinburg for dinner.


LURKING ON THE GRASSY KNOLL

5/02/2010

Texas Roadhouse Restaurant - Filet Mignon

Texas Roadhouse Of Gatlinburg
The Texas Roashouse Restaurant, located on the Parkway in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, is famous for its steaks and BBQ ribs. It was packed with about 75 people waiting outside for a table. It took about an hour before our beeper activated signaling our table was ready. The waitress took us to our table, took our drink orders and returned quickly and promptly took our dinner orders.
Texas Roadhouse Dinner Rolls
I have been to the Texas Roadhouse before and I remembered the rolls. Our waitress brought them to our table as we were being seated. They were hot, fresh, very good tasting especially with the cinnamon butter that came with the rolls. Clearly, Texas roadhouse knows how to do rolls.
Texas Roadhouse Filet
I went with the advice of our waitress and went with the Filet Mignon with a loaded baked potato and steak fries. (You get two sides) After eating about 25-30 shelled peanuts supplied to our table, (There are two tin buckets on every table, one empty, one full of shelled peanuts) our dinners arrived.

As you can see, the steak looked delicious and the loaded potato and steak fries were generous. The waitress asked me to check my steak to see if it was cooked to order. I ordered it well done, and informed her that they could butterfly the filet if necessary. (Butterfly steak, cutting the filet in half making it easier to cook thoroughly through without burning the outer steak) It was not to my order. It was almost bloody red and I asked her to please return it and butterfly the steak and cook it to well done.

About ten minutes later our waitress returned with the filet looking exactly the same. It was not butterflied. I could see that the steak was not cooked more as the red blood was now oozing out onto the plate all over the steak fries. I sent it back once again asking that it be cooked to well done. Once again, it was returned and I could tell that the chef did not cook my filet further. In fact, it was now cold. So was the potato and fries.

At that point, I refused the steak and asked to speak to the chef. I was denied. The waitress said they were to busy and the chef was very busy and behind in his cooking. That explained everything right there. The chef never attempted to recook my steak and figured that I would accept what was served to me. I did not!

Since everyone was already finished with their dinners, I completely rejected my steak and stated I would not be paying for it. The manager agreed after coming over to my table and inspecting the steak. He apologized several times and offered any other entree for free. I declined and we left.

The Grassy Knoll Diner scores 0 out of 5 shots and DOES NOT recommend Texas Roadhouse restaurant Filet Mignon  for dinner.



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Responses to “Texas Roadhouse Restaurant Filet Mignon- Gatlinburg”


  1. Gumby said

    I thought this was going to work out well. The steak did look damn good. Will you ever go back and chance it again?

    • LOTGK said

      I will return, and in fact have already done so. However, I did not order the Filet again. You will in my later updates my experience at the Texas Roadhouse.

  2. FreakSmack said

    The least they could have done was send you on your way with a couple pails of peanuts and rolls. I’m not going to lie I go to a place with good rolls for the rolls, I only order a meal because they frown upon you sitting there and only eating the rolls.
    I like the choice of the double potatoes, I like to rock the double mashed at Chili’s.

    • LOTGK said

      Double potato, I’m Irish, I had no choice. :D
      And yea, they did attempt to satisfy me with a free any thing dinner, but everyone was already finished, and with it being busy, it would have been another half hour, and nobody wanted that.

  3. Elecpencil said

    Good for you for refusing the steak. I also hate bloody steak and want it well done. I never order prime rib as it is always bloody. I once saw a woman send the bloodiest steak I have ever seen back at Brown Derby. She told the waiter,”I said, rare not well done.” I think it was Mrs. Dracula.

  4. Ska2682 said

    The only way to eat a steak is Medium-Rare. I little blood is good for the soul. “Meat tastes like murder, and murder is delicious!”-Denis Leary

    • LOTGK said

      I would have accepted medium rare. However, this steak was very rare, blood was oozing out after I cut into it. It was not how I ordered it.

  5. Delong said

    Your crazy. I’ve been eating at Gia’s pizza for years and its always been good service and good food.

    • LOTGK said

      Methinks you posted in the wrong Blue Plate Special category.
      But, Gia’s in Boardman, Ohio has not been open for years, I believe it has been open just under one year, so if there are more of these restaurants, God help us all.

  6. Max Jackl said

    I’ve been to the Roadhouse. They do have great rolls. My dinner was good, I got the ribs, they were fantastic. I’d rate them a good.

    • LOTGK said

      The ribs are coming up max. I returned to the Roadhouse for other times I had good results. The filet was the only unworthy dinner I had there.

  7. Ahrcanum said

    Hope u r lurking way far from the Tennessee floods! Have a good show, and a better meal and the next stop. Damn- it looked so good too. How was the salad?

  8. The River Yeti said

    At our Texas Roadhouse (in FL) you throw the peanut shells on the floor….Booya.

  9. Moominboy said

    Oh I would have grabbed it. I love my steaks rare, in fact I wouldn’t mind if it was still moving ;P The whole plate looks mouth-watering. But it’s bad style to insult the customers intelligence (or at least their perception).

    • LOTGK said

      Yes, you would have loved this steak then.
      The sad part is, its a great restaurant, I have eaten there plenty. I just won’t recommend the steak.

  10. Tushar Bhatti said

    Hello would you mind stating which blog platform you’re working with? I’m planning to start my own blog soon but I’m having a tough time making a decision between BlogEngine/Wordpress/B2evolution and Drupal. The reason I ask is because your design seems different then most blogs and I’m looking for something unique.
    P.S Sorry for being off-topic but I had
    to ask!

1/29/2010

Mountain Heritage Inn - Gatlinburg - Cottage

For well over 20 years I have been traveling to Gatlinburg, Tennessee to attend the Smoky Mountain Gift Show located at the entrance of the great Smoky Mountains. I have stayed in just about every hotel, motel, cottage, Inn, bungalow, and room in town. About 10 years ago, we were told about the Mountain Heritage Inn, located at 575 River Road, Gatlinburg, Tennessee.

The proprietors are real nice folks, (Hello Louise) who understand a traveler and are ready to help when something comes up. The Inn is located in the heart of Gatlinburg making everything within walking distance. The room rates are very affordable. This exact cottage, room 127, is $74.99 per night. Before you say that other establishments offer lower rates, take a look at what you get for this price.

First, the cottage is a stand alone structure. It does not share any walls with other rooms. This offers enormous privacy. It has a nice little front porch with old fashioned rocking chairs and a grill for cooking burgers or hot dogs. A quick right turn from the room and you find the pathway to the Parkway, the main road of Gatlinburg and the convention center.

Inside the cabin, there is a spacious kitchen with round table and chairs, a mini stove, full sized refrigerator, microwave, kitchen sink, counter, cupboards, toaster, dishes and utensils. Everything needed to have a cooked meal in your room.

Moving along, the bathroom was large and clean with all lights working. (I absolutely hate when lights are burned out) The sink counter was large to hold all my toiletries and a large mirror to help in shaving. The shower and tub surround was sturdy and the water pressure strong.

As you enter the main living area, the heater and air conditioner is located on the right side of the wall. Amazingly, it was very quiet compared to other floor units. A comfortable recliner to watch TV in and a work desk with lamp plus several drawers for your clothes.

On the far right side of the room, a gas fireplace sits. It's very easy to use, merely turn the switch, set the timer and sit back and prepare to get toasty. To the left of the fireplace is the 25 inch TV set with a good channel lineup. Below the TV is a dresser for clothes.

But wait, there's more. There's a hot tub in the room. After a long day of work at the show, a nice relaxing soak does the body good.

Lastly, a king sized bed with a firm comfortable mattress with clean sheets and covers. Plenty of fluffy pillows to sleep soundly.

Before we get to the photo gallery of the cottage, let me tell you one quick story about one of my trips to Gatlinburg. We had gotten a late start and with the drive time roughly 10 hours, we were going to get in town quite late. I called ahead to Louise and explained the situation, that we would not be there by 6pm, but more likely around 11pm. With the office closing at 6pm, Louise said that she would tape our keys to our doors and in the morning come in and register.

Sure enough, our keys were on our room doors. Try that at another hotel. Now onto the gallery.

There you have it, the cottage at the Mountain Heritage Inn. At $74.99 it's a pretty good bargain for what you get.
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