Simple And Tasty

I found another hidden away East Tennessee eatery, Rheatown Country Store, which is just down the road from me off 11e. 

It’s nothing fancy by any stretch but that’s what so appealing, to me anyway. It’s not really a store, perhaps it was at one time. I mean they do have some snackie type items, e.g. drinks, some chips and some candies but that’s about it. It’s more of a restaurant. 

I stopped in there this morning, before my walk, to give it a try and I was not disappointed, and left full, fat and happy!

Biscuits with gravy, a couple over easy eggs and bacon!

The breakfast of heart failure -

And I enjoyed every bite 👅 !

Scoop Dog Luv’n

It was a difficult decision!

I nail it and went with the Peanut Butter Bull’s Eye ice cream in a 20oz milkshake, which was the right call! It was delicious 😋 -

Make It A Combo

I took a drive to Midway, TN this past weekend to visit, “DMD Family Farm” -

I’ve had a craving for a good smash burger and happened upon this place on FB. It looked interesting, so a leisurely drive was in order!

The general store resides in a restored 1897 farmhouse that is very much country. It’s also where the line queues up to order food. It’s a small menu that offers breakfast all day and several different burger variations, plus some delicious looking milkshakes!

I ordered myself a sweet tea -

And the “Chef Kirk’s Smashburger”, which has American cheese, Arugula, tomato and garlic aioli, and a small order of tallow fries -

The food was delicious 🤤! The burger was cooked perfectly, nice and juicy and the topping were fresh. The fries were similar to McDonald’s, piping hot and not a soggy one in the bunch! Cooking them in the beef tallow makes a big difference.

My smashburger cravings were met and exceeded, delicious 😋  I regretted not getting a milkshake, next visit!

Eating outside under the covered porch was a plus. I was able to people watch while waiting for my food, which was brought out to me when it was ready.

Too bad it’s not closer to Limestone, it was a bit of a drive, but I’ll certainly be going back, as it’s well worth the drive 👍👍

Sweating To BBQ

I checked out and had dinner at the Swifty Pig BBQ restaurant in Jonesborough yesterday -

I’d driven by it several times and it looked interesting, so I took the drive and gave it a whirl.

I went with the brisket burger with American cheese (extra cost), fried onions and BBQ sauce, and an order of fries (extra cost).

First impressions of the food when it arrived was how small the burger was, tiny really, similar to a McDonald’s hamburger, so a bit disappointing but it was delicious! SO tender and juicy, it melted in my mouth. The fries were ok too, typical, nothing special.

The AC wasn’t working and it was very hot so it was very hot and sticky inside, which kinda put a damper on the experience. It’s one thing if I was eating something spicy and was sweating but sweating just waiting for my food, well that was a bummer. The owners were there and very welcome, and actually apologized for the AC issue. The wait staff was just ok, friendly and all but a tad aloof.

All in all it was delicious burger and a clean place. I’d go back to try one of their other items.

The Food Pyramid

And living in East Tennessee!

Five-And-Dime Diner

I stopped and grabbed lunch today at Clinchfield Soda Station in Erwin.

What a cool breakfast and lunch spot. Located inside the Clinchfield Drug company building. It’s an old school diner type counter with swivel stools along side the drug store wares, even a pharmacist filling prescriptions!

Very similar to the good olde F. W. Woolworth Company, aka “Woolworth” diner, if you’re familiar with this five-and-dime store from back in the day!

I got a cheeseburger with pickles, fries and a sweet tea. It was delicious! One of the better burger I’ve had since moving to the area. It was so tasty and tender, cooked perfectly and the fries were also tasty and piping hot -

These sodas look interesting too -

I’ll definitely be visiting again. They have an “Iron Horse” burger that sounds and looks delicious but I’ll need to bring a BIG appetite to tackle this burger 🍔 but I’m up for the challenge.

Might even top it all off with an old fashion milkshake!

The service was great too. I give it two thumbs 👍 👍 up!

A Hole In The Wall It Is!

We’re learning that many places of business are closed on Sundays and or close early in these East Tennessee parts. Places like mom and pop stores and restaurants, co-ops and feed stores and most Mennonite establishments.

Well, after breaking our backs cutting, hauling and burning limbs and brush last Sunday afternoon, we opted for a bit of lunch during our break time. Alas, all the local little eateries we closed…except for the Hole In the Wall Diner in Chuckey -

This hidden gem is open till 2:00PM on Sundays and only 11 miles away, so off we went! 

As you might expect, since being one of the few places open on Sunday, the place was busy.

With only one waitress and one cook things were a tad slow. However, that wasn’t an issue as we were in no hurry. We were definitely outsiders and may have gotten a few stares or two. Several parties looked to have come from church, we on the other hand NOT so much and filthy dirty too.

Think I’m a liking these cowboy commandments -

Our smash burgers eventually arrived and they ended up being well worth the wait! The prices were super reasonable and the waitress was super nice.

We’ll definitely be keeping this place on our go-to option list and plan to stop in one of these days for breakfast, as their menu looked delicious.

A Beer Garden

We hit up The Gentry in downtown Greeneville Friday night for some cold beer and wood-fired pizza 🍕-

It’s an outside venue situated in an old alley. The buildings on either side are in a bit of disrepair but suppose this adds to the unique charm. There’s plenty of seating options from picnic tables to couches to Adirondack chairs, covered and uncovered, even an igloo bubble. There’s a stage and they had a lone dude up there singing away on the night we stopped in. It was a relaxing atmosphere -

The pizza was tasty but smaller than we expected (not our pizza pictured) and took a while to come out -

Still getting used to the fact that generally speaking there just are not a lot of people out and about hanging and socializing in these parts.

When I was in Chicago last week we went out to an outdoor brewery on Friday night and it was hopping! Families, kids, dogs, a beehive of activity but alas not in Greeneville anyway -

Not my pic above but a good look at what the alley looks like.

Suppose I’d go back again, as the pizza was tasty

And the 16oz beers were frosty 🥶 cold.

Opa! Brunch With A Greek Twist

Sunday breakfast at Elia cafe!  The best Greek and Mediterranean brunch in Park Ridge, IL, absolutely delicious!

I went with the Spano Benedict, which is spinach and feta pie, poached eggs and hollandaise sauce with hash browns and sourdough toast - 

Great service and HUGE portions, SO delicious!

#Blessed

D-LISH-US!

As Tina Turner belted out - 

"You're simply the best

Better than all the rest

Better than anyone

Anyone I've ever met"

Pretty much sums up the banana pudding pie that the wonderful Mrs. Maria made for my birthday!

#Blessed

Plop And Droppings...

Alas, I'm still getting adjusted to some of the weird stuff that the locals eat around these parts -

💩

A Couple Hens Live Here!

"What's the deal with" "The Chicken Coop"?

There are no chickens in it! There are no roosts! There's no chicken wire to be found! So, why's it called a coop?

Ah, that's because this is a convert garage, turned into a lovely backyard bar!  With a couch and chairs, instead of roosts, games to be played, karaoke to be sung 

No nest boxes, rather a refrigerator full of frosty cold wobbly pops!  Whatever you do, just do NOT drink the Miller Lite beers.  Seems they came with the fridge many years ago, EWWWW

I've not yet been invited when the place is a rock'n but it's definitely a coop of some sort, so I'll still give it two thumbs up 👍👍!

Ah-Chooooooooo!

DOH!

When someone screws, or rather unscrews, the top to the pepper shaker and completely ruins your first bite of the mouth watering slice of pizza that you've been thinking about and aching for all day -

The consolation prize was the waitress comping us two deserts - a slice of key lime pie, the pie that made Cootie Browns famous, and a slice of Raspberry Fusion Pie!  Both BIG hearty slices too, and both delicious, BURP!

My Bologna Has A First Name...

It's a thing here in East Tennessee...

It's Said, "When In Rome"...

We stopped in and had lunch at the original Burger Bar, located in downtown Bristol, Virginia/Tennessee. This classic diner has been around since 1942 and is famously known as the last place Hank Williams, Sr. had his last meal and was seen -

It's a tiny place, with the inside looking like two different restaurants joined by a small hallway between both places.  It had an old diner feel with thick stools and a Formica counter -

I went with the "I Can't Help It" burger, which is a cheeseburger with bacon -

The walls and ceilings are adorned with signed one dollar bills, that I'm assuming were taped up by visiting customers -

Seems the blue state of Virginia is keeping in line with their taxation, geesh -

All in all it was a good take. I'd stop in again if in the area.  The burger was tasty, as were the onion rings, and it was nostalgic traveling back in time if only for a short time. I now regret not ordering one of their milkshakes, alas.  They had quite a variety and they looked delicious too, next time...

We Got "Buzzed" Wings

This past Sunday afternoon we selected a restaurant in Jonesborough to try out.  A little, diner type placed called, Buzzed Wings. However, what we didn't realize, until it was too late, was that Jonesborough was hosting an outdoor Easter events for kids, so it was busy and teaming with people.

We lucked out and found a parking space a couple blocks from the restaurant. A tad chili but the walk was nice and allowed us to take in the activities and do some people watching too.

The restaurant wasn't too busy.  We got a table and were waited on fairly quickly. The waitress was friendly and chatty.  We ordered chicken wings, asked for well done, with Korean BBQ and Garlic Parmesan sauces and their loaded Mac & Cheese.

The food was okay.  The wings were not cooked well done as request but not too bad.  However, they were drenched in the sauces which was a bit overwhelmed, but of course that didn't prevent us from eating them right down to the bones.

The mac & cheese was okay. It was creamy and cheesy, they used penne pasta, and it was donned with real bacon bits.  Oh, almost forgot the most important, the beers were frosty cold 😋

All in all it was okay.

Breakfast For Lunch Because Why Not!

Sausage biscuits and gravy with over medium eggs are not just for breakfast -

I stopped in at the 11E Diner in Jonesboro earlier this week following my Tusculum dental appointment. I've had a hanker'n to try their biscuits and wasn't disappointed if I'm being honest.

Just don't tell me cardiologist...

We're All In On The Fun Too!

Yesterday was a beautiful day here in East Tennessee!

So, it seems appropriate to sit outside and why not next to a roaring fire, that was our plan -

And enjoy some frosty Yee Haw Dunkel beer -

And we nailed this plan!

Nope NOT Those "Cooties"

After several hours of clearing overgrowth on our farm this past Friday, we headed over to Cootie Browns campus location for dinner, cold beers and some March Madness college basketball -

Their pizza is delicious, especially when paired with ice cold beer!

Nope, Not That Aunt Bee

Aunt B with an A!

We headed to Aunt Bee's Home Cooking restaurant for breakfast in Greeneville on Monday morning after our 9AM meeting -

A diner type restaurant with plenty of seating. We were seated right away and had our coffee without waiting.  Our food came out relatively fast and wasn't too bad - sausage gravy and biscuits, eggs and bacon. The wait staff was friendly too.

I'd go back.