Abuelo’s in Turkey Creek

Time for dinner after running errands… Where to go where we haven’t been or at least haven’t been recently?

After some discussion, we decided on Abuelo’s Mexican Restaurant in the Turkey Creek Shopping Area.  Turkey Creek is partially in Farragut and partially in Knoxville Tennessee.  It had been several years since we’d dined at Abuelo’s…

As you can see from the furnishings, the courtyard and the ambiance, Abuelo’s is “upscale” in appearance as compared to most typical local Mexican restaurants.  Of course, the question then becomes, does the food match the upscale décor? 

To start, our waiter brought us a margarita and a beer along with a choice of 3 different salsas for our tortilla chips.  The presentation was upscale…note the metal basket for the chips and the multi-bowl salsa container.  The chips were nice but quite thin.  The salsa choices were OK but I prefer the more traditional version.  Laurie thought that her margarita was very good…

We looked over our choices of appetizers and/or small bites/tapas, and we went with the Jalapeño Cheese Fritters. ($5.29) We like jalapenos and we like cheese so how could we miss with these!   Well…they were plentiful and good but not great.  They were filling but somehow they just didn’t trip the switch for our taste buds.

For her entrée, Laurie ordered the Quesadilla Al Horno with Chicken. ($12.39) Again, it was OK but it didn’t resemble the quesadillas that she is used to and prefers…

FYI…Abuelo’s Mexican Restaurant in Turkey Creek is part of a restaurant chain that has about 40 locations in 13 states.  These states include: Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.

I decided to order something a bit different from the norm in a Mexican Restaurant.  This was the Pork Tenderloin Abrigada. ($16.29) There were 3 bacon-wrapped pork tenderloin medallions that were smoked and grilled.  This entrée is served with a choice of 2 enchiladas and 2 sides.  For my enchiladas I choose the seasoned ground beef and the shredded beef.

The 2 sides were OK.  The 2 enchiladas were very good…meaty with a nice sauce.  My upfront concern was the trio of smoked and grilled pork tenderloins.  Many restaurants tend to overcook pork and it ends up dry and chewy.  In this case, the bacon wrap and the chef worked well together and the tenderloins were juicy and very flavorful indeed!

Service was about average although our waiter seemed to be a little inefficient or scattered in his approach to serving his tables.  All in all, it was a decent meal with my meal overshadowing Laurie’s.  In the end however, I think that we still prefer a couple of our local Mexican restaurants…

Abuelo’s Mexican Restaurant in Knoxville’s Turkey Creek area is located at 11299 Parkside Drive in the Pinnacle shopping area, along with Sullivan’s Steak House, Bed, Bath and Beyond, Ulta Cosmetics and Bonefish Grill.  Phone: 865-966-0075.  Website: http://www.abuelos.com.

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by to see what was for dinner!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

Benefit Event for Smoky Mountain Service Dogs

Our friends Norm and Linda invited us to go with them to a benefit auction event complete with a good band…all combining to raise money for Smoky Mountain Service Dogs. 

It was a beautiful early spring afternoon.  The venue for this important fund raising event was at the Wild Wings Café in Farragut Tennessee…

The stars were properly aligned… We really like Wild Wings Café, we love quality local musicians, we love our military veterans, we were with good friends and we love dogs!

Wild Wings Café is a big restaurant/sports bar with a huge bar and a plethora of tables, both indoors and outside on the deck.  Live music is a regular occurrence too with a stage in a corner in the bar area.  

On this date, early on a Sunday afternoon, a Bloody Mary Bar was open.  It was a special deal with all Bloody Marys’ complete with whatever garnishes you might want, for only $3.63 each.  The selection process was challenging!

However, Laurie overcame what might have become an overwhelming garnish mental “block” and created her own special Bloody Mary. 

Note: Wild Wings Café has some kind of special every day…including some days with all the wings you can eat at lunch for a fixed (and very reasonable) price.

…and on the stage we have the hostess for this fund raising event.  She’s Lauren Davis, news anchor and reporter for Knoxville’s CBS affiliate WVLT.  She’s been with WVLT for almost 10 years now.

To learn more about Lauren, you can go to http://www.local8now.com/content/bios/10155166.html.

We had a visitor at our table…one of the Smoky Mountain Service Dogs folks… Norm’s watching proceedings on the stage while Linda and Laurie are listening to an update on the silent auction.

The area in front of the stage was loaded with auction items and silent auction bid forms and folks continuously milled around the area making bids and checking the bids they’d already made.  All of the items being auctioned off, from gift baskets, gift certificates and Wild Wings for a year to trips and facials, were all donated for this event.

Hey…it wasn’t all about the fund raising auction.  We did have to eat lunch!  I started out by ordering the Buffalo Shrimp. ($8.49) They were accompanied by blue cheese dressing and celery sticks for dipping.  Very nice! 

I also decided to order something we hadn’t tried before.  This was an order of Hot Shots. ($6.49) These are house made sausage fritters “with a lot of heat” and a ton of cheese.  They’re served with honey mustard for dipping.  They were OK but they didn’t really deliver a lot of heat…

Laurie and I also split an order of Wild Wings chicken wings. (No photo…$17.99) We had 9 wings coated with “The Slayer”, a garlic sauce and 9 others coated with “Red Dragon”, a hot teriyaki sauce.  As usual, we were very happy with this restaurant’s chicken wings!

Norm and Linda also ordered an appetizer, the Steel Town Spuds.  They chose “Crispy House-Made Chips” vs “Big Fat Fries” or “Tater Tots”.  Their chips were topped with ranch dressing, bacon, scallions and melted cheese.  While they enjoyed their appetizer, they noted that the serving seemed smaller than it was on previous visits…

Wild Wings Café in Farragut Tennessee is located at 11335 Campbell Lakes Drive.  Phone: 865-777-9464.  Website: http://www.wildwingcafe.com/locations/knoxville-tn.

This smart service dog did a great job collecting contributions, approaching tables with that bucket in his mouth.  It’s hard to ignore kids or dogs in a situation like this!  One of the disabled veterans who had benefited from this charity was also in attendance along with his service dog Bella! 

This pup asked that I post a link to Smoky Mountain Service Dogs so others could contribute to this worthy cause that helps veterans who have given so much to preserve our freedom.  I couldn’t deny the request so here it is: http://www.smokymountainservicedogs.org/.

The primary musical attraction for the event was the Steve Rutledge Band!  That’s Steve with the guitar…  

Steve Rutledge is a guitar virtuoso, singer and producer who was originally from Frankfort Kentucky and who now lives near Knoxville Tennessee.  Steve has shared the stage or opened for artists like: The Marshall Tucker Band, Trace Adkins, Reba, Emerson Drive, Jake Owen, Trick Pony, Toby Keith, Trisha Yearwood, Patty Loveless, Montgomery Gentry, John Fogerty, The Eagles, Lonestar, Big and Rich, Gretchen Wilson, Kelly Pickler and Taylor Swift. 

Here’s our event hostess from WVLT again…Lauren giving Laurie 2 thumbs up! 

Other groups were involved with this fund raiser… They included the Knoxville Academy of Music, with students playing with the band, (http://www.knoxvilleacademyofmusic.com/about/), and Paws for a Cause, a nationwide service dog organization. (https://www.pawswithacause.org/)

Note the volunteers and auction participants in the foreground.  Norm and Linda won a couple of bids but we just wrote a check and dropped it in the bucket…

Performing on stage with Steve Rutledge is Tommie John.  He has his own band and he’s currently set to compete in the 2017 International Blues Challenge.  We really liked him and he has the right voice for the Blues!  To learn more about Tommie, just go to https://tommiejohnmusic.com/home. 

  

The action intensified as the event stretched on…nearing a bidding frenzy as people jumped in for last minute bids! 

Seeing Steve Rutledge and the band at work again reminded me that I should provide you with a link to his Facebook site.  It’s at https://www.reverbnation.com/steverutledgemusic.

With Lauren Davis 'rocking out' at the left of the photo, another guest performer was rockin’ the house!  That’s Jay Storm who has his own band, the JayStorm Project.  He’s a rock/bluesy funk style singer and he has more energy than I ever had!   To learn more about JayStorm, go to https://www.jaystorm.net/home.

We don’t know the final total from this worthy fund raising event but the organizers seemed pleased.  On top of contributing to a great cause, we had some good food and a lot of fun with good friends and good people!

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge the photos.

Thanks for stopping by to see what’s been going on!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave 

Waste Not, Want Not…and a Light Dinner Out

As I’ve mentioned previously, I don’t believe in wasting food.  I would estimate that 98% of all food products that we purchase are consumed…mostly by myself via breakfast or lunch creations. 

The following are some examples of our ‘creations’, a couple of which stem from leftovers and others where we utilized food items that we overbought with good intentions and had been in the pantry for a while…

We’d made tacos one night… Consequently, we had seasoned taco meat (hamburger) left over and I needed to do something with it.  So I scrambled some eggs with cheese and the taco meat and then added spicy taco sauce when it was finished.

Laurie kicked it up a notch, adding pickled jalapeno slices and a dollop of sour cream…

…and then she wrapped it up in a soft taco shell.  It was very good!

Another time, we’d open a can of pineapple rings and we had about half a can left in the refrigerator.  Laurie volunteered to make pancakes with a pineapple ring and cherry in the middle…surprising, since she doesn’t like pancakes!  She thought that these were pretty good though!

Now…what in the heck am I going to do with a partial jar of cherries!? (To be determined)

We had an old box of tuna helper in the cupboard and we’d finally made it up for dinner, adding spices, some shredded cheese and baby peas.  Then there were the leftovers for me to deal with.  I put them in a frying pan with a bit of butter, and then fried an egg, dropping it in the middle of the leftovers.  It was a very nice breakfast!

Then there was a leftover grilled boneless pork chop… Reheat it and place it on top of a toasted buttered English muffin.

…and then of course drop a couple of fried over-easy eggs on top.  Yum!

On another occasion I decided to use up an old box of Uncle Ben’s rice.  So I opened a can of Kirkland’s Chicken that we’d had in the pantry for months and ‘fried’ the chicken in butter to provide a little more flavor and texture.

Laurie cooked the rice in her rice cooker and then we added the chicken, some small pieces of leftover bacon and a bit of cheese.  Laurie plated her meal with some crushed croutons and added the cherry tomatoes for color.  We thought that it was a decent if not great use of our old pantry stock.

Leftover breaded Tilapia filets…  Heat them in butter in the frying pan and…

…add two easy-over eggs for a very satisfying breakfast!

We’ll end this leftover food posting with an actual meal out

One evening we decided to stop by the Tanasi Bar and Grill (Tanasi Clubhouse in Tellico Village) in Loudon Tennessee for a light dinner.  Laurie ordered the Southwest Chicken with a side salad and chips. ($12.00) She liked it and said that she’d order it again…

I went super healthy with my choice.  This is the Citrus Herb Salmon with broccoli and grilled green beans. ($14.00)  It was perfect!  Those grilled green beans were a real winner and the salmon with the citrus based sauce hit the spot…

The Tanasi Bar and Grill is located at 450 Clubhouse Point just off TN Hwy. 444 in Tellico Village/Loudon Tennessee.  Phone: 865-458-9392.  While this restaurant doesn’t really have a website, I’ve attached a link to their menu: http://places.singleplatform.com/tanasi-bar--grill/menu.  

That’s about it for now… I apologize for all the food and restaurant related blogs but we haven’t been out exploring much lately so my usual historical or sightseeing posts have suffered as a result. 

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave 

Twin Peaks – Knoxville Tennessee

My son and I have been threatening to take my grandson David III to a Twin Peaks restaurant in the Omaha area for the last couple of years.  Of course, with Twin Peaks being known for its ‘scantily’ clad waitresses, he wants nothing to do with visiting this restaurant chain with a couple of old folks…

Finally, based on comments by friends here in East Tennessee, and driven by curiosity, I convinced Laurie that we should check out the Knoxville branch of Twin Peaks… It certainly has a much more upscale exterior appearance than either a Hooters or a Tilted Kilt restaurant.

A huge bar dominates the center of this restaurant.  Note the TV’s… This is definitely a sports bar on steroids!

Twin Peaks is a big restaurant too!  There were lots of tables in the front area beyond the bar as well as on either side of it… The décor is heavy on warm woods accented by lighting that gives that north woods or mountain forest feel.

In addition to the “woodsy” feel, Twin Peaks décor includes numerous taxidermy mounts as well as signs that help create the feel of a ‘male orientated environment.  Note the deer’s butt above the exit…

This is yours truly with our very nice waitress.  She is 18 or 19 and she looks about 15.  She was old enough to serve beer… Waitresses were all wearing those plaid tied-off tops with low riding shorts and big belts.  For those who worry about feminine exposure in these types of restaurants, my wife and I agreed that the ‘uniforms’ here are relatively modest in comparison.  I did read that the uniforms can vary from location to location and also seasonally...

So…what about the food at Twin Peaks?

As with Hooters, the menu at Twin Peaks is relatively modest in scope.  However, it is much more imaginative and upscale in its offerings.  We started out with “Billionaire’s Bacon”; thick cut bacon seasoned with brown sugar, red chile flakes and smoked paprika. ($4.95) It was excellent!

There are 12 different “Bites”/Appetizers listed on the menu.  Most of these items are fairly standard.  However the Triple Play with house made avocado smash, fire roasted salsa and chipotle queso with tortilla chips and the Bacon Jam Sliders…grilled mini burgers with smoked Gouda, bacon jam, roasted garlic mustard and pickles on a potato bun are creative to say the least.

As a matter of fact for my meal I ordered another item off the “Bites” portion of the menu.  These are the Buttermilk Chicken Sliders. ($8.99) The sliders include battered fried chicken, more of that billionaire’s bacon, American cheese, jalapeno gravy, honey butter and hollandaise sauce on house made buttermilk black pepper biscuits.  I loved this combination and I’d definitely order it again.

The Salads and Soups portion of the menu includes a Greek salad, venison chili; ale enhanced blonde bean and bacon soup and green chile chicken soup.  Handhelds include 5 different hamburgers and 6 other items such as the Sicilian, a bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich, a Philly cheese steak and Blackened Fish Tacos.

Eight items are also listed as Hot Dishes.  Laurie chose the Beer Battered Fish and Chips. ($8.99) The fish was plentiful and perfectly fried.  She also liked her house made tartar sauce.  The French fries were better than average too…

Other choices in the Hot Dishes portion of the menu include Pot Roast, salmon, chicken and shrimp, steaks and chicken fried steak or chicken.  Desserts offered include a sundae, bread pudding and a mini apple turnover.

Menu wise and as relates to the quality of the food served, Twin Peaks ‘smokes’ its competitors!  Yes…the clientele were mostly male but there were a couple of women and at least one family dining here during the off-peak period when we had our lunch.

 

This rapidly expanding restaurant chain now has 80 locations scattered across the USA plus 1 location in Kazan Russia.  Twin Peaks in Knoxville is located at 135 North Northshore Drive.  Phone: 865-622-5730.  Website: http://www.twinpeaksrestaurant.com/locations/knoxville/.

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave 

Local Provisions – Stocking Up

As I’ve mentioned before, if any particular restaurant had to rely on us as a steady customer in order to survive, they’d go broke.  We rarely eat twice at the same restaurant in a month…or even in a 2 month period.

Well…the same rule applies to our grocery purchases.  Our standard grocery purchases are spread between Food Lion, Ingles, Food City and Costco with occasional stops at Fresh Market, Publix and Kroger.  Beyond that, there are a couple of truly 'local stores' where we shop every couple months or so…

One of our periodic stops is at Benton’s in Madisonville Tennessee.  Benton’s is famous among chefs across the USA…and popular among knowing locals too!

Benton’s is a key source for hundreds of gourmet chefs as well as a lot of local restaurants.  They order the country ham, prosciutto and Benton’s bacon, using these products to enhance their culinary creations.

But…as you can see above, Benton’s also has a store attached to the production facility that is open to the public. 

Butcher at work!  This is where they cut and process their hams and other smoked products for shipping.  It’s also where you can have your personal orders cut and packaged.

Just entering the store is an experience… The smoked ham, bacon and prosciutto give off a distinctive smoky smell that clings to your clothes.  You can tell that someone has been to Benton's for 'a period' after they’ve visited!  Hams and bacon for commercial and private purchase hang in clear view of walk-in customers.

Customers can buy slices of country ham, prosciutto and seasoning meat for beans, greens, etc.  As you can see, they also sell as few specialty items and Benton’s T-Shirts.

Benton’s store in Madisonville also sells a variety of lunch meat, cheese, shrimp, onion rings, salmon filets, French fries, chicken tenders, hot dogs (wieners) and tubs of BBQ pork.

We did pretty well… Laurie loves their farm fresh free range eggs.  We also picked up a package of Benton’s bacon (great bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwiches or commonly known as BLT'S), a few thick slices of some terrific bologna, a couple pounds of Benton’s mild sausage (the spicy sausage is great too) and 2 nice ribeye steaks. 

I did point out Benton’s butchering/meat processing area.  In addition to ribeye steaks, customers can buy New York strip steaks, beef tenderloins, pork baby back ribs, pork loins and hamburger in bulk or patty form.

If you ever get a chance to check out Benton’s retail store, you can check out the commercial operation too.  With luck, Allan Benton will be on site.  He looks a bit like a younger Jimmy Carter and he is a very nice and a very humble person!  Benton’s is located at 2603 Highway 411 North in Madisonville Tennessee.  Phone: 423-442-5003.  You can learn more and order the smoked products on-line at http://bentonscountryhams2.com/.   

Sloan’s Hometown Foods in Vonore Tennessee is another local store that we visit every month or two.  This is a small full service grocery store that comes complete with butchers who will provide whatever cut of beef or pork that you might want.  Contiguous with the grocery side of the store, there is a gas station, car wash, convenience store and a hardware store that also has some fishing and hunting equipment.  It’s where I buy my live bait…

At Sloan’s we picked up a little fresh ground beef, boneless chicken thighs, some chorizo and a couple of great pork steaks for the grill.  Their meat selection is always fresh and the prices are very reasonable.  The grocery store also carries my Heinz Spicy Ketchup…my favorite ketchup!

Sloan’s is a bit of a family owned local multi-unit conglomerate and no 2 stores are the same.  However, the Vonore location is the only full service grocery unit.  Other stores in Etowah, Madisonville and Loudon feature everything from expanded convenience store/gas stations to full service hardware stores & garden centers (at least 2 with a deli or restaurant), 2 of which also sell lumber and building products to local contractors. 

Sloan’s in Vonore Tennessee is located at the corner of TN Hwy 360 and US Hwy 411.   Website: http://www.sloansstore.com/.  The website hasn’t been updated with the information about the Etowah location but that location is on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/SloansofEtowah/.  

  

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

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave