Critters plus Big Ed’s – A Local Tradition

This post starts with birds and ends with cats…and in between, a trip to Oak Ridge Tennessee’s iconic pizza joint!

Laurie captured this bluebird sitting on our deck railing surrounded by its favorite food, meal worms.  This is also the ‘look’ our blue birds give her when they want her to give them more food!

These small members of the thrush family are year around residents in East Tennessee.  In really cold weather, several birds will roost together in one cavity or nesting box to stay warm…sometimes packing more than 8 individual bird in one nest or box.

Birds here in the southeastern USA can be quite eye-catching.  This male purple finch has been a regular visitor to Laurie’s bird feeding station.  Birds who breed in northern Canada migrate to the southern USA but others are permanent residents.  Sadly, purple finch populations have plummeted in the eastern USA due to the more aggressive house finch and in some instances, also by the introduced (invasive) house sparrow.

Our friends Norm and Linda chose the restaurant on this occasion.  This is the front of Big Ed’s Pizza in Oak Ridge Tennessee.  Big Ed’s has been in continuous operation at its current location since it was founded by “Big Ed” and his wife Ginger, back in 1970.  They took over Oak Ridge’s old Service Drug Store…and the rest is history!  Big Ed passed away in 1998 and his son David took over.  David passed away in 2013 and today, 50 years later, the restaurant is run by David’s wife Melissa and the restaurant’s general manager.

The above photos show the interior dining area at Big Ed’s.  ‘Unique’ would be the best word to use when describing the décor in this beloved pizza joint.  The booths came with the building when it was a drug store.  As you can see, the walls are covered with portraits, trophies, flags, military photos and souvenirs from all over the world.

Even the kitchen is unique!  It’s an assembly line affair as the pizza makers make the pizzas by hand, then slide them into the stone floor gas ovens to bake.  When they’re ready to serve, the pizza making crew cut the pizzas into slices using large scissors.  Big Ed had determined that this was the best way to cut a pizza.

As you can see in the 2 photos above, Big Ed’s menu is about as simple as it can be!  Customers can order pizza, pizza or pizza.  Beverage choices are soda/pop/soft drinks or beer.  The only real decision patrons have to make is the combination of ingredients they’d like on their pizza…

When we arrived on a Saturday, well before 5 pm, the lines had already begun to build.  We had about a 20 – 25 minute wait in front of the restaurant for a table.  By the time we finished our meal, the line was remarkably longer!

Norm and Linda ordered the classic “Big Ed’s Special” with ham, sausage, mushroom, onion and green pepper. ($22.68) They really enjoyed it and they ended up taking home almost half of this pizza pie for a future meal…

Both the dough and tomato sauce are made fresh each day using Big Ed’s original recipes.  They also make their own sausage and grind their own lean hamburger too.  The mozzarella cheese, made with Big Ed’s specifications, is shipped directly from Wisconsin and its shredded daily.

For our pizza, we stuck with our standard, a Large Pizza with sausage and pepperoni. ($17.49) Unfortunately, our pizza didn’t arrive when Norm and Linda’s did.  Apparently, another waiter picked up our pizza and gave it to another table.  We were told that the pizza would be ready in about 7 minutes.  Fifteen or more minutes later, our pizza arrived.

Pizza is a personal thing… Laurie and I think that while Big Ed’s restaurant is fun, and has a lot of character and tradition going for it, the pizza is just average.  The crust was thin enough for us and the texture was right.  However, the pepperoni doesn’t have much ‘pep’ and we couldn’t really taste the sausage.  FYI, when Laurie asked for a knife to cut the pizza slices into bite size pieces, the waiter brought her a pair of scissors... 

Taking out Big Ed’s Pizza or taking home leftovers?  No box here but rather a big bag & the cardboard the pizza arrived to the table on…low overhead and less waste.

FYI, the downstairs men’s bathroom reminded me of a decrepit medieval dungeon.  Use the upstairs family restroom.

Big Ed’s Pizza is located at 101 Broadway Avenue in Oak Ridge Tennessee.  They are open for lunch and dinner Monday through Sunday.  Phone: 865-482-4885.  Website: http://www.bigedspizzaoakridge.com/.

After dinner, we went back to Norm and Linda’s house for an after dinner adult beverage and a slice of cherry pie with ice cream… But was that the real reason for us to visit their home? 

While further visiting and dessert were important and appreciated, a visit to our friend’s home also allows us to get our periodic ‘cat fix’!  This sweetie is Molly.

Since Laurie is allergic to cats, visiting friends with cats is the best way to satisfy our love for these critters!  Laurie just washes her hands and takes a Benadryl when she gets home.  FYI, this big boy is Morris!  He’s Molly’s brother…

This pretty little lady is Miss Kitty!  She was an outdoor feral cat that hung around Norm and Linda’s home for a number of years.  They fed her so she was a regular.  Last year, she moved in and now she looks outside but, smart cat that she is, she no longer has any interest in foraging the great outdoors!

That’s about it for now… Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them.

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave