The Casual Pint and Holy Smokin BBQ

Our friends Norm and Linda invited us to go out for dinner and a few brews over in Maryville Tennessee.  This meant that Laurie didn’t have to cook and I didn’t have to grill or fry something so off we went!

This is the Casual Pint in Maryville Tennessee.  This chain of stores/beer bars is all about the beer.  They don’t usually offer any food…except for free popcorn in this instance.  As you can see, you can enjoy your brews inside or on the patio.

This is what the Casual Pint’s ‘beer’ bar looks like.  All locations have 20 + beers on draft.  This photo was taken in the Casual Pint in Farragut Tennessee.

The number of beers to choose from isn’t limited to those on draft!  The selection is pretty impressive with both chilled and off the shelf selections for customers ‘to go’. (Farragut Casual Pint is pictured)

This is a photo of the front portion of the interior of the Casual Pint in Maryville.  It was early but it was busy!

I assumed that the Casual Pint was a local chain… I was sort of wrong!!  While this franchise operation isn’t huge yet, it is growing.  At this time, there are locations in Arizona, Texas, Nebraska, Kentucky, Ohio, North Carolina and South Carolina as well as in Tennessee.  The company is local in a sense as it is headquartered here in Knoxville.  The Knoxville metropolitan area has 8 locations and there are other stores in the Chattanooga, Nashville and Memphis markets. 

I don’t quite understand the lack of food for customers at The Casual Pint.  Perhaps it’s an overhead/cost issue and it certainly simplifies the operation!  In any case, this store/beer pub is regularly visited by food trucks. (Talk about symbiotic relationships!)  I’ve also seen customers bringing food to The Casual Pint to be enjoyed with the brews.  Pizza is a common choice for ‘carry in’ dining.

Norm and I queued up to the Holy Smokin BBQ truck to procure dinner for our brides and ourselves… After placing our orders, we returned to our table until our food was ready to be picked up. 

Laurie and I both had a half rack of ribs.  I opted for mine without a side and she had potato salad with hers. ($15.00 without a side and $17.00 with a side)

First of all…the ribs were loaded with meat.  There was a lot more to them than I expected.  They weren’t overcooked with the meat falling off the bone.  It’s a personal preference on our part.  We actually like having to ‘work’ the meat off the rib bones.  On the other hand, they could have been a bit tenderer. (I know…we’re hard to please!) The BBQ sauce was decent and Laurie thought that potato salad was very good.

Norm and Linda have eaten from this food truck before so they already knew their favorites.  Linda had a BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwich with a side of Potato Salad. ($8.00)

Norm ordered a sandwich that isn’t on too many BBQ restaurant menus.  This was the Smoked Bologna Sandwich. ($8.00) Look how thick that slab of bologna is!  Norm gave it a thumbs up!

Other items on Holy Smokin BBQ’s menu include chicken, brisket, wings, nachos, smoked hot dogs (one with pulled pork added), smoked baked potatoes and a vegetarian Jackfruit sandwich. 

All in all, Laurie and I gave Holy Smokin BBQ a “thumbs up”.  It was very competent bar-b-que!  Website: http://www.holysmokinbbq.biz/.

As we departed The Casual Pint, I impulsively purchased a couple of 6-packs of beer.  They were the Icelandic Einstok White Ale and Smithwick's Red Ale as       shown above.  Since this visit, we’ve one again returned and I’ve added a couple more craft beer selections to our refrigerator.  It is a great place to hang out with friends as well as a great source for a plethora of different craft beers to take home…

The Casual Pint Store/beer bar in Maryville Tennessee is located at 721 Watkins Road.  Phone: 865-983-9990.  The company’s website can be found at http://thecasualpint.com/.

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave