A Breakfast Buffet for Dinner

It was time for dinner and we didn’t feel like cooking.  But this time of the year, it gets dark early so we didn’t want to have to drive to far for our evening meal… There were a couple of local restaurants that we hadn’t eaten at in a long time or ever, so I picked one and off we went!

As you can see, this is Donna’s Old Town Café.   It’s located in downtown Madisonville Tennessee.  This restaurant has been in business for many years and while we ate here once before…probably 6 or 7 years ago…it was time to try it again.

Note: We are not creatures of habit when it comes to restaurants.  A 'favorite' restaurant for us would be one that we dine at 4 to 6 times a year.

This photo was taken from about midway through Donna’s Old Time Café toward the front of the restaurant.  The cashier is stationed at the front right side.  There is a small gift shop by the front windows.

Laurie took this photo from the front of the restaurant.  The restaurant is long and narrow with 2 seating areas…this one in the front and a second one back by the buffet tables you can glimpse in the next room.

I was looking forward to dinner!  What I’d read somewhere and forgotten was that Thursday night’s buffet at Donna’s Old Town Café is a breakfast buffet… We like breakfast so we decided to try it vs. ordering off the menu.

This serving table provided all the salad and dessert related items…

The adjoining ‘hot’ steam table provided the meat, eggs, pancakes, potatoes, soup, gravy, biscuits, etc., etc.

Laurie decided to start out with the salad table.  She chose 3 different types of potato salad… She loved 2 of them and the 3^rd one was just OK.

Salad table…hell no!  I went directly to the hot serving table where I picked up a biscuit and pepper gravy, a bit of country ham, a couple sausage patties and a potato pancake.  That yellow stuff is some kind of cheese…

I didn’t ‘understand’ the potato pancake.  It wasn’t warm and it lacked that distinctive flavor in a top notch potato pancake.  (Maybe it wasn’t a potato pancake…but standard pancakes were offered right next to these) The sausages were good…nice flavor and the biscuit was very good as was the pepper gravy.

Laurie went over to the hot table and came back with a biscuit with the pepper gravy, some scrambled eggs, cheesy potatoes with onions, country ham and bacon and cooked apples.  She liked everything she had, even commenting that the scrambled eggs were better than usual for being on a buffet line.  She also thought that the pepper gravy, not usually our favorite, was very nice.

My second trip to the buffet netted another biscuit which I covered with a scoop of thick chicken dumpling soup.  I asked the very young waitress if the vat of chicken dumpling soup was intended to be poured over the biscuit.  She’d never heard of such a thing…but Donna (the owner) was sitting nearby and she told her that it had been a common practice in the past. 

(FYI…the red dots on the food came from my personal bottle of Tabasco)

For dessert Laurie chose this piece of what she thinks was banana spice cake with a maple-sour cream icing.  She liked it just fine.

I personally would have liked it if the different non-fresh vegetable food items had been labeled as to their identity.  I’m not much into guessing about my food selections.  What were the 3 potato salads…was that a potato pancake…what were the desserts…what were my soup choices, etc.?

For my dessert, I chose this pudding.  It had chocolate, pineapple, custard and whipped cream but it was unnamed so I’m guessing a bit.

Laurie enjoyed her meal more than I did.  Both potato offerings were loaded with onions…which I’m not crazy about and I just don’t care for plain scrambled eggs from a steam table.  The biscuits were excellent as was the pepper gravy and the chicken dumpling soup was tasty enough too.

Certainly the price was right!  Our tab after taxes and before a tip came to less than $20.00… We will return to check out the normal dinner buffet which is served on Friday and Saturday nights.

This restaurant is open from 7 AM until 3 PM Sunday – Wednesday and from 7 AM until 8 PM Thursday – Saturday.  You can order from the menu if buffets aren’t your thing.  Donna’s Old Town Café is located at 100 College Street in Madisonville Tennessee.  Phone: 423-442-3304.  Website: www.OldTownCafe.com.

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for dinner!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

Dining Out with the Family…

When our son and his family came down from Omaha to visit us, we went to a movie, the space movie “Passengers” and after that we had dinner out. 

(FYI…The adults did enjoy the movie…the grandsons not so much)

Laurie and I had visited the Chili’s in Lenoir City Tennessee about 10 weeks earlier and we had enjoyed our experience.  As it turned out, our grandsons David III and Emmett Lee both like Chili’s.  Even better, it was on the way home from the movie theater…

Laurie and l love Chili’s version of fried asparagus.  Their “Crispy Asparagus” is lightly battered and quick-fried.  Then it’s topped with crumbled queso fresco, chopped cilantro and a drizzle of chimichurri sauce.  It’s served with roasted garlic aioli on the side.  Fortunately for Laurie and me, no one else particularly likes asparagus so it was all ours! 

I will say that it’s all about the roasted garlic aioli.  That dipping sauce puts the fried asparagus over the top.  The only problem is that we always have to ask for more aioli…which I like on just about everything!

David II ordered a couple of helpings of the Crispy Cheddar Bites.  These lightly battered and fried white and yellow Wisconsin cheese curds are topped with a sprinkle of Cajun spice and chopped cilantro.  They are served with house-made ancho-chile ranch for dipping.

Laurie and I have eaten a lot of Wisconsin cheese curds, fried or otherwise.  This version didn’t have much flavor and we certainly couldn’t taste any Cajun spice.  The dipping sauce helped them a little… 

For a second appetizer David II ordered the basic Chips and Salsa.  These extra-thin corn tostada chips are made daily at Chili’s and they’re served with their fresh salsa.  They were good if not particularly remarkable.

David II ordered the Smokehouse Combo for his entrée!  He had a choice of 2 meats…smoked bone-In BBQ chicken breast, jalapeño-cheddar smoked sausage, hand-battered chicken ‘crispers’ or a half rack of house-smoked baby back ribs (for an additional $2.00).

He chose the sausage and the chicken ‘crispers’.  As you can see, this combo platter was served with roasted street corn, home-style fries, chile-garlic toast and house-made garlic dill pickles.  There was plenty of food and he seemed to enjoy his dinner.

Emmett Lee blew everyone’s mind!  His 13 year old palate is currently limited to fresh fruit, hamburgers, French fries, plain buttered pasta, macaroni and cheese and hot dogs.

He faked us out, ordering the Cajun Chicken Pasta minus the normal extra topping of chopped green onions.  He had the Alfredo sauce on the side "just in case" but he ended up bathing the penne pasta with it.  The pasta was already topped with grated parmesan and diced tomatoes and its served with a piece of garlic toast.  Then he added the Cajun grilled chicken breast!

He ate about half of it…excellent for him.  It smelled so good that I wished that I’d ordered it!

Amy limited herself to a bowl of the Chicken Enchilada Soup.  This hearty soup contains marinated shredded chicken and it’s topped with crispy tortilla strips and cheese.   This wasn’t the first time she’d ordered this soup so she obviously likes it…

Laurie loves quesadillas!  So she decided to order the Beef Bacon Ranch Quesadillas.  These flour tortillas are filled with beef or chicken, (she chose chicken), as well as a 3-cheese blend, chile spices and Applewood smoked bacon.  They are served with house-made pico de gallo, sour cream and ancho-chile ranch dressing.

She enjoyed her quesadillas and she gave a couple of them to me and one to Amy as well.  I liked them too, especially after dipping them in the ancho-chile ranch dressing.

David III stuck with a basic Classic Bacon Burger and French fries.  The burger was topped with Applewood smoked bacon, melted sharp cheddar cheese, house-made garlic dill pickles, fresh leaf lettuce, tomato, sliced red onions and Chili's Signature sauce.  He loves burgers and at 16 years of age, he devoured his dinner in a hurry…

The photo of my dinner was of too poor a quality to publish and perhaps that is appropriate!  I like a good burrito so I ordered the Smothered Prime Rib Burrito.  The prime rib was mixed with citrus-chile rice wrapped in a warm flour tortilla then smothered with ancho-chile sauce, sour cream sauce and melted cheese.  It was then topped with corn and black bean salsa and chopped cilantro.

 

Sorry, but I didn’t like the Smothered Prime Rib Burrito creation at all!  Three of our local Mexican restaurants serve better beef burritos with a lot more flavor.  I wouldn’t recommend this entrée to anyone…

The best part about this meal was that David II paid for it!!  Yea!!  Chili’s in Lenoir City is located just off US Hwy. 321 at 320 Fort Loudon Medical Center Drive.  Phone: 865-988-4061.  Website: https://www.chilis.com/.

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

Christmas at Home – Part II

Christmas Day came and went…and still we had a terrific Christmas family gathering to look forward to at our home here in East Tennessee!

Winters here in this part of the world are pretty mild when we look back on our many cold and snowy years in St. Louis Missouri, Attleboro Massachusetts, and of course, Chicago!  When our next guests arrived on December 28th, it was in the mid-60’s at our house…

Our first sighting of our visitors was when they pulled into our driveway.  We weren’t surprised to see our family from Omaha but we were stunned to see who was driving!  Our 16 year old grandson and my namesake, David III, was behind the wheel… Time flies faster each year!

It’s a one and a half day journey from Omaha to the Knoxville area and the family was tired!  It didn’t take much time for David III, Emmett Lee and their mom, Amy, to settle in and chill out… Welcome to paradise east!

Here’s Daddy…aka David II!  The family’s post-Christmas schedule included dental work for both boys, one on the 26^th and the other on the 27^th.  They then drove to Clarksville Tennessee to spend the night before the final leg to our house.  

This isn’t the greatest photo but the family, especially Emmett and David III, (shown here), had a fun and surreal time with the Samsung Virtual Reality Oculus that came with the new phone Laurie got for Christmas!  The boys were panicked at times as they rode a roller coaster, fought of scary creatures, etc.  They waved their arms around and both of them almost fell over using this new piece of technology.

Here is Emmett Lee (13) playing a video game while enjoying a bowl of ice cream.  The good news is that he isn’t always in the electronic world.  He loves track, basketball and football.  He has a great arm and he catches equally well.  Even more important, he’s a great student!

While Emmett Lee was doing his thing, David III (16) was following suite with his ice cream and a video game.  David III loves snowboarding and soccer plus he’s an exemplary student!

David II and Amy were very happy to receive another one of my mother’s abstract paintings to add to their growing collection!  We’ve been parceling them out to David II and his family for the last several years. 

I took this photo of David and Amy when we went out to eat at Chili’s.  They have been married over 19 years.  They met at a party in Chicago and the rest as the saying goes “is history”.  As you can see, they still like each other!

Of course, Laurie (Nana) and I (Papa) still like each other too, although there are times that I do push the limits of her patience!  In April, we will have been married for 38 years…

In this photo David III is paying the penalty for looking at his phone instead of focusing on the family gathering.  You can imagine that no 16 year old boy wants any public displays of affection from grandparents in a public place.  He only had to be ‘punished’ once!

What a laid back group!  Amy, David III, Emmett Lee and Nana (aka Laurie) all cozied up on the couch.  David II and I had a football game on that no one else was watching…

On the morning of their departure the males in the pride posed together.  It’s obvious that by this time next year, I’ll be on the left as the shortest and David II will switch places with David III!  At least this old lion can partially blame my height on shrinkage due to aging… As per the doctors, Emmett Lee will probably top out at 6’3”…a little shorter than his dad…and David III is projected to reach 6’7”.

The final photo from the visit had to be one of our loving Omaha clan.  (David III, Amy, Emmett Lee and David II) From our house, they were off to Indianapolis to visit Amy’s family for a couple of days before dashing back to Omaha.

But there is one more Holiday related family photo to share... Every year Amy comes up with a theme and everyone gets into appropriate costume for the family Christmas Card.  In the past they’ve been super heroes or wizardly characters.  This year Amy outdid herself!

How about these elves on the shelf!  What imagination… Amy’s 3 ‘boys’ must really love her just to put these elf costumes on!  I’m not sure which of the 4 poses is my favorite but I do like David II’s soulful look.  Great job family!

We hope that everyone had a terrific Christmas and that all of you will have a Happy and Healthy New Year!

That’s all for now… Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them.

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave and Laurie

Loudon County Tennessee – Special Shops

As I’ve mentioned on several occasions, I’m not a big fan of shopping.  Having worked in retailing for most of my career, plus just being a ‘male’, I generally don’t enjoy browsing through stores. 

There are exceptions however… I do like wandering through well run antique malls or stores and I can appreciate those retailers whose merchandising is different or at least a couple of steps above the norm.

All of which leads me to a recent shopping trip with Laurie and Dawn Marie.  It takes a lot of nerve, money and imagination to open a store that is a cut above average.  The photo above was taken just before Christmas. This is The Lacy…

The Lacy offers an eclectic selection of furnishings, antiques and gifts. 

This store opened just before Christmas and it occupies the first floor of what used to be The Lacy Hotel in Lenoir City Tennessee.

This former hotel was built in 1927.  There is roughly 5,000 sq. ft. of finished space on the main and upper level and there is an additional 2,500 sq. ft. in the basement.

Every room on the first floor of the old hotel is filled with an eclectic mixture of the old and new as well as many classically repurposed items.

FYI, the General William Lenoir Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution was organized October 15, 1925, in Lenoir City, Tennessee.  Mrs. W. N. Lacy was elected the first regent of the Chapter.  From my research some Lacy family members still reside in this town.

There are plans for The Lacy to expand to the second floor of this revitalized old hotel.  Expansion is slated for early 2017…

From what I read, quite a lot of renovations were done inside the old hotel.  There’s been some rewiring with a new heating and cooling system put in, the hardwood floors were refinished and of course the interior was repainted. 

Ahhh…the shoppers!  Laurie and Dawn Marie posing by some old sliding barn doors.  Laurie saw a lot of things she would have liked to buy but my saving grace is that we have so much ‘stuff’ now from our years of collecting that we don’t have space for anything that is very large…

The Lacy is located at 105 North A Street in Lenoir City Tennessee.  Phone: 865-773-5187.  Email: thelacy@yahoo.com.  Website: www.thelacy.net. (Note: Although I took the website link from The Lacy’s business card, I could not connect with it via the internet) This store is on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/thelacyhotel/?hc_ref=PAGES_TIMELINE.

From Lenoir City and “The Lacy” we headed south on US Hwy.11 to Loudon, the county seat.  As we drove along, I spotted a Norfolk Southern train headed in the same direction.  I’ve always wanted to capture a photo of a train emerging from the classic railroad bridge over the Tennessee River into the town of Loudon.

If I’d turned where Laurie told me to, we would have captured the desired photo…but I turned a block later and by the time we worked our way back to the nearest crossing to the bridge this was the best we could do.  As it was, Laurie had to grab this shot through the windshield as we pulled up to the track… Maybe the next time!

This is the Mulberry House in Loudon.  It’s the sister store to the Lacy in Lenoir City.  Both are owned and operated by Deborah Taylor.  Taylor got started selling her excess ‘stuff’ in antique malls/shops in both Loudon and Lenoir City. 

In September of 2015 Deborah opened The Mulberry House.  This store features items as disparate as clothing, jewelry, home décor, gifts and furniture.  This store sells antiques as well as new gift items.  It’s a nice mixture…

Once again I lucked out… Dawn Marie made a purchase at the Mulberry House but I escaped with a minor purchase of a gift for my wife's niece Kasey, who is due her 4th child in March!

Cow creamer?  Hand towels?  Display featuring cotton balls?  How about a lamp?  My favorite…if I had a place to display it…would be that antique metal transom hanging above that old French dresser. 

There are plenty of tasteful gifts and décor items to check out in this store.  What I like best is that the merchandise is far above the norm quality wise…

There is a lot to look at but this store isn’t at all cluttered…

One room of the house…up on the second floor features a number of clothing items, purses and accessories.

The Mulberry House is located at 506 Mulberry Street in Loudon Tennessee.  Phone: 865-657-3737.  This store is on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/The-Mulberry-House-1808661002694805/.   I couldn’t find a website listing.  

It is very encouraging that the current economy is doing well enough that in the last couple of years this and other antique, home decor and gift shops have opened south of Knoxville along the I-75 corridor.  Lenoir City, Loudon and Sweetwater are all developing as true specialty store destinations.

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by to see where the ladies took me shopping before Christmas!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave