Restaurant Updates + Critters

I could have titled this posting as “Miscellaneous” but ‘restaurant’ and anything that refers to ‘critters’ or animals is a bit more attention getting.

We’ll start with a look at some attractive local residents…just crossing the road on a pretty spring day… 

These deer are just a couple representatives of the herd or herds that live in the woods and meadows near us… We must have the ‘right’ foliage in our yard as they rarely nibble on our plants and bushes.  They did browse on our rose hips a bit this spring and last year they did pretty much level our hostas in the backyard.  However, this year the plants grew back and the deer don’t seem interested.  In our case, we’d sacrifice a few plants just to have the deer around the house…

We went out shopping for a new car…to replace our 1998 Buick Regal GS.  After all of the mental strain and pain of car shopping and talking to salespeople, I needed a ‘comfort food fix’!  Consequently, for an early dinner we went to Hot Rod 50s restaurant in Alcoa Tennessee.

I was feeling so ‘stressed’ that I ordered my favorite sandwich…Hot Rod 50s version of a pork tenderloin sandwich, which is named “The Hog”.  This humongous creation is the restaurant’s signature sandwich.  This huge, thick cut of pork tenderloin is breaded in their homemade bread crumb mixture.  Then its pan fried and garnished with lettuce, tomato, pickles and onion.  Costing only $7.99, this beast is served with a side…and I chose a pile of ‘healthy’ French fries!

There was so much food that I vowed to never order another one of these beauties…well at least not with French fries as my side order...perhaps just some coleslaw…

Unlike me, Laurie at least showed some restraint… She ordered a 1/3 lb. bacon cheeseburger with a side of some righteous top notch onion rings. ($7.99) Hamburgers are the key menu item at Hot Rod 50s…but the menu is huge and it even includes entrees and casseroles.

For more information about Hot Rod 50s restaurant in Alcoa Tennessee and to have a look at their expansive and reasonably priced menu, just go to http://www.hotrods50sdiner.com/index.html.  This diner is a fun place to eat too!

Here’s J.D. ‘chillin’ on his favorite blanket on Mama's lap in front of our fireplace.  He allows us to live with him as long as we do what he asks…err…demands!  How benevolent of him...

We’ve lived in here in East Tennessee for almost 5 years now.  Recently we decided to pay a visit to a restaurant chain that we frequently ate at when we lived in Chicagoland… We hadn’t eaten in one of these restaurants since coming to the area.  This is an inside photo of Famous Dave’s barbecue restaurant in Knoxville Tennessee.

 

The primary reason that we haven’t visited Knoxville’s Famous Dave’s since we moved to the area is that we’ve enjoyed terrific BBQ ribs and other items from our personal source and friend…aka Big Dude...almost from the time we moved in. (http://bigdudesramblings.blogspot.com/)

In any case, our favorite meal at Famous Dave’s was always the Rib Tips… We never cared much for this chain’s sides, except for the muffins, but we really loved the rib tips.  They had always been reasonably priced too.  At one point I was in the habit of just ordering a pound of rib tips…sans any sides.

Back to our recent experience… The sides were much improved. The slaw was very good and the addition of the ‘homemade’ potato chips was a real plus.  They were excellent!  But…what happened to the ‘rib tips’??  These weren’t really ‘tips’.  They were just bites of pork…no grizzle or bone to work around…and much less flavor than real rib tips!  They were pretty disappointing!  

Did I mention the price?  This Rib Tip or Ends Platters were $14.99 each.  I guess that inflation has raised its ugly head… Note: I couldn’t find this platter on the company's website menu.

Famous Dave’s in Knoxville Tennessee is located at 208 Advantage Place.  Phone: 865-694-9990.  Website: http://www.famousdaves.com/home.

Just click on any of these photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave