Willie’s Restaurant – An Update…

Laurie and I have never hidden the fact that Willie’s Italian Restaurant in Seymour is our favorite place to eat in East Tennessee.  When you combine the price with the quality of the food, it’s very hard to beat… Now, if only they could serve wine with dinner!

Here's a little feedback regarding our most recent visit to Willie’s…

We drove over to Willie’s for dinner with our friends Joel and Holly as well as Karen and Charlie.  Everyone had eaten at Willie’s previously and this planned group visit had been a request…no argument from Laurie and myself!

This was our appetizer…a small White or Bianca Pizza ($8.95).  This pizza is all cheese…Mozzarella, Provolone, Romano and Ricotta, with fresh garlic and basil.  This is one very tasty pizza!  Everyone loved it…  

I’m not going to repeat myself by showing pictures of the salad or the delicious garlic bread knots that come with dinner, nor am I going to repeat myself by posting photos of meals we’ve previously enjoyed and posted on my blog site.

We did have one complaint this evening… Three members of our group had their hearts and appetites set for the big crowd "pleaser" entree!  We were shocked to learn that as of about 5:30 PM on a Saturday, Willie’s was out of the Lobster Ravioli! ($10.99) Apparently, the crowd on Friday night had wiped out this pasta favorite.

So, it was back to the menu, looking for alternatives.  Charlie chose the Garden Trio Tortellini, (see above), tri-colored cheese tortellini in the house recipe tomato-cream sauce with shrimp. ($11.98) Charlie commented that he might just like this better than the Lobster Ravioli.  Everyone else that tasted this dish agreed that it was very good!

Joel decided to go with an old Italian restaurant standard…the Chicken Parmesan. ($7.99) Joel and Holly have traveled around the world with their careers, but Joel said that this was probably the best Chicken Parmesan he’d ever eaten!  The tomato sauce was rich and very fresh tasting plus the chicken breast was breaded and fried to perfection.  I tasted the chicken breast and I’ll probably order it the next time we go to Willie’s…very nice!

One other comment… I had the Spaghetti with Meat Sauce, ($7.99), plus a side of Meat Balls ($2.99). Joel said that my meat sauce was one of the best he’d ever had, very rich and satisfying…and Karen commented that the meatballs were very, very good, and she is very picky when it comes to meatballs…

FYI…This is Willie!  He’s from Queens in New York City.  Willie knows Italian food!  Laurie and I have recommended Willie’s to many friends and relatives and we’ve never had negative feedback…other than the absence of the Lobster Ravioli this past visit. (Even that worked out…as our group was ‘forced’ to try other entrees, all of which were highly enjoyed!)

Willie’s Italian Restaurant is located at 11612 Chapman Highway, (US 411), in Seymour Tennessee.  Willie’s is open for lunch and dinner Monday through Saturday, but closed on Sunday.  Phone: 865-773-0170.  Willie’s now has it’s own website: http://willies-restaurant.com/.  He is also on Facebook, where customers can view daily specials and post comments.  Check it out at http://www.facebook.com/pages/WILLIES-RESTAURANT/128199593345?sk=info.

I promise not to blog about Willie’s again in 2012 unless we try a dish that we haven’t tried or posted before.  Just click on any photo to enlarge it…

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave