Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Hot Rod 50’s Diner Again…and Again!

This is not the first time that I’ve blogged about Hot Rod 50’s Diner in Alcoa Tennessee… The first blog was back on August 17, 2012.  This is not gourmet cooking!  It’s comfort food…period!  Looking for healthy eating…forget it!  During the past month or so, we went to movies in Maryville Tennessee and then followed up with a ‘light’ dinner at the diner.

To view the exterior of Hot Rod 50’s Diner…along with some interior photos and food pictures not featured in this blog, just click on this link with my first article: http://bigdaddydavesbitsandpieces.blogspot.com/2012/08/hot-rods-50s-diner-tennessee.html.
 
Dawn Marie was staying with us for week during the Christmas holidays.  After viewing the Quentin Tarantino movie “Django”, we were off to Hot Rod 50’s for dinner.  The restaurant is packed with signs and memorabilia from the 50’s…and other more recent eras as well.  There are even 3 pin ball machines near the front doors.  This is a happy, kid friendly place…

FYI…We all liked "Django" but in true Tarantino fashion, it was bloody and violent.  It made his classic "Pulp Fiction" almost look like a sweet fairy tale.  At the same time, it addressed some of the wrenching misery facing slaves before the Civil War...with our hero, (Jamie Fox), getting even in the end!    
 
Dawn Marie ordered the Pepperoni Burger…rare…with a side of Mac and Cheese. ($8.99) This 10 oz. burger is mixed with pepperoni slices and it’s topped with melted provolone and marinara sauce.  Dawn liked this combo, equating it with a hamburger and pepperoni pizza on a bun.  Her only negative was that her burger was medium rare instead of rare.  The mac and cheese was just fine…
 
 
Laurie went for the Bacon Cheese Burger, medium rare, with the chunky applesauce on the side. ($7.99) Her burger was medium rare as ordered and the meat had a nice texture and flavor.  She chose the provolone cheese to top her burger but other options include American, Cheddar, Swiss or Pepper Jack.

Note: Many restaurants in Tennessee will not cook a hamburger less than Medium so Laurie and I truly value a restaurant that will serve a medium rare burger…
 
I ordered the Country Fried Steak with white gravy. ($9.99) My two sides were the Ribbon Fries and Chunky Applesauce.  The Country Fried Steak was very nice…note my added Tabasco… We all really like their chunky applesauce but we all also agree that the ribbon fries are not what we hoped for.  They are a great idea but they’re too soggy or limp and just don’t make the grade.  I’d noted this on our earlier visit but at the time I’d attributed the soggyness to their placement on top of some hot food… Now I know better...
 
 
This is Dawn Marie and I as we prepared to exit Hot Rod 50’s Diner after our meal.  Yes indeed…it was cold outside!  As Dawn lives in Miami, she really feels the cold.

So…after Christmas, David II, Amy and our grandsons came down to East Tennessee from the Cleveland Ohio area to celebrate the Holidays.  Once again it was off to the movies, this time it was “Parental Guidance” starring Billy Crystal, Bette Midler and Marisa Tomei.  Even our grandsons liked this funny yet poignant movie…
Then it was time to eat!
 
Once again, we returned to Hot Rod 50’s.  Here, my namesake, David III poses with his mom Amy… David III is 12 years old.
 
 
This is Amy again, posing with her hubby and my immediate namesake, David II.  I was buying dinner…so my little boy kicked in with the appetizer orders!  Unfortunately, we failed to photograph any of them before we attacked them and killed off their photogenic qualities…

He ordered Fried Cheese Moons ($5.99); Jalapeno Bottle Caps ($5.99), and; Fried Green Beans ($5.99).  We agreed that the cheese moons were nothing special, the bottle caps were tasty…spicy hot…and the fried green beans were the best!  We would order them again for sure.  They are accompanied with Ranch Dressing for dipping…
 
This is Emmett Lee…our other grandson and a fellow blogger.   He’s 9 and he blogs primarily about computer games.  Other kids in his age group might enjoy his blogs.  Two of his sites can be found at: http://videogamerheaven.blogspot.com/ and http://simplemilo.blogspot.com/.

On to the food…
 
Laurie only photographed items that we hadn’t featured before…plus one outstanding sandwich worth another look!  Amy ordered the 10 oz. Gorgonzola Burger with a side of Tater Tots. ($7.99) She rated her hamburger as just OK…bummer!
 
 
Hot Rod 50’s Diner features a significant number of ‘specialty burgers’.  This is my dinner…a Spam Burger with Chunky Applesauce. ($8.99) This 10 oz. burger was topped with 2 slices of fried Spam and melted cheddar cheese.  The burger was cooked perfectly…medium rare and very juicy.  I was a bit disappointed in the fact that I could barely taste the fried Spam against the hamburger and cheddar cheese…but hey, this was a good burger!

Other Specialty Burgers are topped with your choice of fried cheese moons, an egg and bacon, peanut butter and bacon, a hot dog or sliced roast beef.  Another burger from the ‘regular’ burger menu is topped with pepper jack cheese and a layer of those hot and spicy Jalapeno Bottle Caps…
 
OK…This was our ‘little’ boy’s entrée sandwich… I featured this creation in my previous blog on Hot Rod 50’s Diner.  This is “The Hog”.  ($7.99) This is Hot Rod’s signature sandwich, a huge (and thick) cut of pork tenderloin breaded in the house's own homemade bread crumb mixture and then pan fried.  This is a great pork tenderloin sandwich!  After all of those appetizers, you can believe that part of this came home in a box for later consumption…

I should mention one other burger creation on the menu…The Chubby Burger.  This is a 30 oz. cheeseburger with 16 oz. of French Fries!  ($16.99) The Chubby Challenge involves the complete consumption of the Chubby Burger and Fries in 30 minutes.  If this goal is accomplished in the allotted time, you are awarded with your photo on the wall of fame and a Chubby Burger t-shirt. 
Hot Rod 50’s Diner is located at 373 Hannum Street in Alcoa Tennessee.  They are open 7 days a week.  Phone: 865-984-7171.  For a look at the full menu…which includes much more than hamburgers…go to www.HotRods50sDiner.com.
Just click on any of the photos if you’d like to enlarge them…
Thanks for stopping by for a visit!
Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

3 comments:

  1. Glad to see you've exposed the whole family to Hot Rods and I'm surprised they'll cook the burger med-rare - guess they are confident of their meat source. I've got to go there and try the hog. Nice shots of everyone.

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  2. what nice post and nice know your family David, I love David III:)))

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  3. oh what fun!! your pictures show all the joy of comfort food!!!

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