An Early Dinner in Townsend Tennessee

Rather than publish 2 lengthy posts in a row about the Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center, I decided to post this much shorter post about our activities after visiting the Center.  By the time we finished our tour we were ready to grab a bite to eat…

But first we had to explore around the entrance to the Smoky Mountains National Park.  The Little River was up due to heavy rains but there wasn’t much tourist traffic headed for Cades Cove as the road to the Cove was closed for tunnel repairs.  Nevertheless, Laurie wanted to take a photo of the Park’s entrance…and then she took it a step further.

This little brook flows down the hill next to the entrance sign.  Despite the clouds, it was a pretty sight indeed.  Love that moss!

I really like this ‘selfie’ that Laurie took with the stream and the forest behind her…

We’d checked at the Heritage Center, asking about the 2 restaurants that I’d identified as possible dinner destinations.  We learned that one of the restaurants was closed for the season…probably due to access to Cades Cove being shut down.  So our dining choice was the Riverstone Restaurant, just outside the National Park.

The main dining room has a warm ‘woodsy’ feel to it with country décor and knickknacks adding to the overall welcoming impression.  Sadly, the fireplace wasn’t in use but then again it was fairly warm outside, especially for early February.

A bit later I discovered the back room at Riverstone Restaurant.  Of more interest was this attractive old-time pump organ.

FYI, I’ve included the restaurant's menu in this post.  Riverstone serves breakfast, lunch and dinner.  Prices are quite reasonable.  For example, a 2-egg breakfast with toast, a choice of meat and either hash browns or grits cost $7.99.  Sandwiches with a side range in price from $5.99 to $8.99.

But this was our dinner so we skipped on down the menu to the entrees.  They include 2 sides and bread and ranged from $9.99 for a “Veggie Plate” on up to $16.99 for such items as Frog Legs and Rainbow Trout.

We both started out with a side salad… They were fresh and tasty with iceberg lettuce, cheese, tomato, bacon crumbles, onion and slices of bell pepper.  While I removed the onion and bell pepper due my personal dislikes, it was still a very satisfying salad.  Of course, bacon makes everything better!

For her dinner, Laurie ordered the Ribeye Steak. ($16.99) For her second side she chose the Fried Okra.  The Angus steak was sizable and while there was a bit more waste than one might hope for, it was grilled medium rare as requested and it was flavorful.  For the price it was a decent steak.  The fried okra was nicely done and even I thought it was good!

The good news for me was that Laurie couldn’t finish the whole steak and that it was thick enough for me to slice sideways and cover a slab of bread so I could top it with 2 eggs a couple mornings later.  Yum!

My bride insisted on taking a photo of me…and this was the result.  It’s about as good as photos get for me these days. 

For my dinner, I ordered the hot Open-Face Roast Beef Sandwich. ($12.99) Slow-roasted sliced Angus roast beef was layered over Texas toast and the whole thing was then slathered with brown gravy. (For ‘normal’ people, this open face sandwich is also topped with grilled onions) For my second side, I ordered the turnip greens.

My dinner was all good including the turnip greens.  I could have used, but didn’t really need, a little more brown gravy.  The beef was tasty but I would have thought that since it was slow-roasted, it could have been a little more tender…

All in all, our dining experience at the Riverstone Restaurant was a positive experience.  Considering the price, quality and quantity of food served, this restaurant is above average for the area.  The Riverstone Restaurant and adjoining Riverstone Lodge, (with 16 recently refurbished rooms), are located at 8503 TN Hwy. 73 in Townsend Tennessee.  Phone: 865-448-8816.  Their website (which focuses on the lodge) can be found at http://www.riverstonelodge.com/.

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave