Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Back to Doug’s Place – Loudon Tennessee

When Laurie and I find a promising dining venue in East Tennessee, if the restaurant is promising, we try to return as soon as possible in order to verify our initial impressions. 


Our first visit to Doug’s Place in Loudon Tennessee was a positive dining experience.  So…we’ve been back twice since then, once by ourselves and once with our friend Karen.  As previously mentioned, we’ve lived in this area for 4 ½ years and Doug’s Place is the 5th restaurant in that period of time to occupy this building…


On our second visit, I chose this nice salad and the very interesting and flavorful soup of the day as my sides.  I can’t recall what the soup was called but it had a green chili base.


OK… During our first visit I’d ordered the Peppercorn Sirloin Steak cooked medium rare. ($14.00) It had been cooked just right and it was fairly tender as well.  I decided to order the same entrée just because I really liked my first experience and also to see if the quality from my first experience held up.  It did…this steak was just as good as the first one…and the peppercorn sauce is really great too!


Laurie ordered a side salad ($2.49) just like mine as her entrée didn’t come with any sides.  This was her Penne Pasta Basil Alfredo. ($9.00) The penne pasta is tossed with cream, parmesan, basil pesto, kielbasa sausage, zucchini, squash and red peppers. (She left out the red peppers) She thought that this was excellent! 

Diners also have the option of adding grilled chicken ($12.00) or grilled shrimp ($14.00) to this offering…


On our 3rd visit to Doug’s, we once again ordered salads.  This one came with a balsamic vinegar dressing. 

I almost forget one other important detail.  Rolls are served with the meals…and they are not the standard pop in the oven rolls that most restaurants in East Tennessee provide.  Each of the 3 or 4 varieties served at Doug’s Place have texture…a nice ‘chew’…to them, reminding us of the rolls served in our former home turf in Chicago.


Karen ordered the hand breaded Fried Shrimp Dinner. ($13.00) The shrimp were accompanied by an Asian orange glaze and her side baked potato.  Lucky for me, Karen couldn’t eat all of her shrimp and I was able to sample one dipped in the orange glaze.  It was very good!


Laurie is more willing than I am to jump out there and try something unusual or different on a menu.  In this case she ordered the Sesame Ginger Beef Stir-Fry. ($10.00) This entrée consists of tender sirloin strips with broccoli, carrots and mushrooms in a light sesame ginger glaze.  Laure proclaimed it as a nice change of pace and a winner!


I finally strayed away from my Peppercorn Sirloin Steak…and at the same time order something relatively healthy for dinner.  This is the Honey Lime Chicken. ($11.00) The boneless breast of chicken is smothered with their honey lime sauce.  For my second side, (after my salad), I chose the rice pilaf.  The chicken was moist and has a nice flavor.  I was surprisingly satisfied with this, (for me at least), rather plain offering.

Other available sides include: French fries, sweet potato wedges, Yukon gold mashed potatoes, oven-roasted red potatoes, broccoli, the baked potato, cole slaw, onion rings and the vegetable of the day.

In summary…3 trips to Doug’s Place…3 very satisfying dining experiences!  Doug’s Place is a keeper!  We will return and I hope that the residents of Loudon, Lenoir City and Tellico Village continue to discover and dine at this local upscale but reasonably priced restaurant…

Doug’s Place is located at 222 Lakeside Plaza in Loudon Tennessee.  Phone: 865-657-3503.  I’m not on Facebook…but if you are you can check out Doug’s Place at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Dougs-Place/636791193045225.  I will also post a review on Doug’s Place on Trip Advisor in the next few days.
 
Just click on any of the photographs to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave


4 comments:

  1. Glad to hear you're still having good experiences there.

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  2. Dear Dave, The food looks good and the prices seem very reasonable.
    I like the chicken you ordered. Laurie's sesame beef looks good too.
    The salad seems a nice size for the price too.
    Blessings, Catherine

    ReplyDelete
  3. Sounds like an excellent place to dine and reasonably priced too. Not as easy to find these days as you would like.
    Sam

    ReplyDelete
  4. Sounds good to me and I'm glad you're still liking it!

    ReplyDelete