Big Museum – Small Town (Intermission)

After 2 posts in a row that were all about the fabulous collection of historic automobiles Ye Ole Carriage Shop in Spring Arbor Michigan, I thought it was time for an intermission and a change of pace.

So this short post is about a glimpse of fall in East Tennessee and a casual dining experience at a restaurant that we’ve never visited previously…

I’ve lost track of the number of times I’ve posted photos of Bald River Falls but, for us at least, it never gets old.  In this case, thanks to our 2 week bout with Covid-19…now over with…we didn’t get to visit the falls at peak color.  However, Linda, one of our friends, did make the short trip and she took this pretty photo showing the colorful trees framing Bald River Falls.

We did note that the waterfall is just a shadow of its normal self… We have had very little rain in East Tennessee over the last 6 weeks and we’re in a semi-drought situation.  Still, the colors are very vibrant…

But hey…this photo of the area behind our house pops with a lot of color too.  Not as bright and varied as the trees adjacent to Bald River Falls in the Cherokee National Forest, but not too bad either!

We have experienced 3 very cold mornings in recent days…all at or below freezing, very unusual for this time of the year here in the Tennessee River Valley.  Our high on Tuesday was only 47F.  Temperatures will recover in time for the Tennessee Volunteer’s game this Saturday…should be in the low 70s.

I’d seen and heard ads for Craven Wings but I thought that it was close to an hour away from our house.  I was wrong and the drive is only about 35 minutes.  Better yet we were already in the vicinity after a medical appointment…

We’ve been looking for a new chicken wings place since our favorite, Wild Wing Café in Farragut Tennessee had suddenly gone out of business.  The only remaining location for Wild Wing Café in our area is about an hour from home…

These photos show a portion of the dining area as well as the bar.  There is a mix of booths, high tables, low tables and of course, bar stools.  The wood chairs, tables and the bar all help soften up the atmosphere in Craven Wings.  As you can see, like most venues of this type, the room is surrounded by televisions…

Laurie decided to try Craven Wings version of a Moscow Mule.  It’s made with Tennessee whisky instead of Vodka and it’s called a Tennessee Mule. ($9.00) Seemed a little pricy to me…

After perusing the appetizers, which include such items as soup, fried mushrooms, fried pickles, fried cheese sticks, spicy cheese curds and Craven rib tips, Laurie decided that she’d like her favorite, the Fried Pickle Chips. ($6.99) There were plenty of them and we both liked them…

Of course, the main reason we decided to dine at Craven Wings was to eat wings.  So we ordered 20 Traditional Wings, half with Sweet Chili Sauce and half with Hot Sauce. ($25.99) They came with blue cheese dressing on the side and we were very happy with our choices!  FYI...One weeknight each week, Craven Wings offers wings at 79 cents each...

If you’re not into wings or someone in your group doesn’t like them, other options include burgers (meat or plant based), a couple of chicken sandwiches, a Cajun quesadilla and a chicken wrap as well as a number of salads and sides.

Service was prompt and pleasant.  We’d arrived at about 5 PM and by the time we left Craven Wings was filling up with customers and take-out orders were flying out the door.  Craven Wings is now our new ‘go to’ source for chicken wings. 

This Craven Wings restaurant is located at 12350 South Northshore Drive in Knoxville.  Phone: 865-392-1221.  Two other locations in the area can be found in the Seymour community with another in Maryville.  Website: www.cravenwings.com. 

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave