Nice Dinner in Townsend Tennessee

Laurie, her sisters and me had finished our drive for the day.  We’d gone to Bald River Falls, driven across a significant part of the Foot Hills Parkway and we’d done the ‘loop road’ through Cade’s Cove in the Smoky Mountain National Park. 

Then it was time for dinner…

This is the Trailhead Steak and Trout House in Townsend Tennessee.  The current owner took over this restaurant about 6 years ago.  First of all, given the fact that Townsend is located a fair distance away from tourist centric Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg/Smoky Mountain National Park, it’s pretty impressive that this restaurant is still operating after 6 years.  The theme is quality food and a quality dining experience at a lower cost than is usually offered by a restaurant with a similar menu.  

Both the exterior and the dining rooms at Trailhead invoke a woodsy feel that fits the area given the Smoky Mountains National Park and the adjacent Cherokee National Forest.  The tables are well spaced too.  We arrived early for dinner but by the time we left, (on a Monday), most of the tables were occupied. 

I didn’t partake of the largess offered on the salad bar… However it looked very fresh and Laurie made up a salad to go with her entrée.  She thought that it was a very good salad bar with lots of choices and she enjoyed her salad.

 

Note: The salad bar can be added to any entrée for only $1.00!

This cup of soup is a bit messy because I started eating it before Laurie’s sister Bonnie reminded me to take a photo.  This was Trailhead’s version of cream of broccoli soup.  It was different…with an unknown spice added that changed the usual flavor…but it was quite nice.  This was 1 of my 2 sides that came with dinner.

The 3 sisters all ordered the same thing for dinner…the 6 oz. Sirloin Steak cooked medium rare with a baked potato and the salad bar for their sides. ($11.95)  The only differences between their meals were the extra toppings on the steaks and the potatoes.  Steak toppings, including these mushrooms, came with an upcharge of $1.00.  The ladies were very happy with their meals!

This 6 oz sirloin steak came without toppings.  The steaks were all properly grilled.

EMERGENCY!  There was a bit of excitement during dinner!  Laurie’s sister Karole choked on a piece of sirloin steak and she couldn’t breathe… The hostess started to call 911 but our heroine Laurie saved the day, performing the Heimlich maneuver and popping the offending steak free.  Karole may have been more panicked over the thought of EMT’s arriving with sirens blaring than she was of choking!  In any case, all was well and we finished dinner in peace.

FYI…The sister’s diets are both a curse and a blessing for me.  In this case, not one of them could finish their steaks so I had some nice leftovers for the next day!  The curse is that there are too many leftovers around and I hate wasting food…but my girth tells me to get over it!

Of course, I just had to be different.  I ordered the 8 oz. Country Fried Steak with brown gravy. ($11.95) It was a bit above average but I would have preferred white pepper gravy vs. the brown gravy. 

The menu also featured a number of appetizers and salads, but the focus is on steaks, hamburgers, catfish, salmon and rainbow trout…an 8 oz. trout either pan grilled or battered in corn meal and fried.  The trout offerings were $15.95 each.  Should you hunger for a big steak, the 16 oz. ribeye could be ordered for $27.95.   

We enjoyed our meals at Trailhead and we will return, probably with other visitors.  The Trailhead Steak and Trout House is located at 7839 East Lamar Alexander Parkway (US Hwy 321) in Townsend Tennessee.  Phone: 865-448-0166.   Their website can be found at: http://www.trailheadsteakhouse.com/default.html.

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