Family Visit - Back to Tellico Plains

Once again this post will be about our activities during the recent visit by Laurie's sister and her husband, Bill.  We wandered the countryside, browsed and shopped here and there...and of course, food was involved!  In this post, we returned to a familiar area, eastern Monroe County along the edge of the Smoky Mountains and near the border with North Carolina. 

If you've followed my blog for any length of time, you might recognize or remember my previous photos and comments about this terrific bakery and luncheon location in Tellico Plains Tennessee.  Tellico Grains was packed when we stopped by but it was early enough that we managed to score some baked goods for dessert later in the day.  We love the breads too but Laurie's current regime has led to limited intake of bread of any sort, which of course leads to stale bread and sometimes...waste.  

I did notice one big change at Tellico Grains Bakery...the red brick is now gray.  It did freshen up the look of the building.  Tellico Grains is located at 105 Depot Street in Tellico Plains.  Website: https://tellico-grains-bakery.com/.

I found this old photo of the building now occupied by Tellico Grains Bakery.  It wasn't dated but that bus has to be at least from the early 1950s.

We still haven't stopped at Trout Mountain Coffee House and Inn.  We just haven't gotten past Tellico Grains Bakery to give this place a try.  Trout Mountain is basically located right across the street from the bakery.  It's a boutique hotel or inn with a coffee shop and some sweets or other special items for patrons.  Address: 100 Scott Street, Tellico Plains Tennessee.  They are on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/p/Trout-Mountain-Coffeehouse-Inn-100057044546507/. 

Once again, we returned to the compact shopping area in the center of Tellico Plains.  Once again our first stop was at Wren Rock Mercantile, which has a nice mix of actual antiques and collectables.  This store is located across the street from Trout Mountain Coffee House and Inn...which is just to the right of the photo shown above.   The building dates back to 1915.

Laurie and I both love browsing through Wren Rock's eclectic mix of mostly old objects, mixed with repurposed and new items.  There are always enough quality antiques and other interesting fun items to hold our attention. 

We've always loved pottery and Wren Rock Mercantile has a nice display of new pottery for sale.  Our problem is that we have so many collectable items in our house, that we really don't have shelf/display space for any new creative pieces.  These items were labeled "Mad About Mud" and the artist's name is Heidi Shell from Coker Creek Tennessee.  This store is located at 700 Veterans Memorial Drive and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/WrenRockMercantile/.

So, did you think that I escaped Wren Rock Mercantile without financial damage?  Wrong!  Laurie has been determined to find an old-style hall-tree so she can hang her jackets in the plant room next to the door into the garage.  I do believe that it was a 'nostalgia purchase'.  The photo above shows the antique hall-tree in all it's glory all covered up with coats.  Note: My coats and jackets are still in the front hallway closet.  

Continuing with our shopping/browsing efforts in Tellico Plains, we 'had to' stop by Tellico Goods and Gear, which is at the opposite end of the same block anchored by Wren Rock Mercantile.  This is a big store in a small town but it's been here for a while now.  They must get enough traffic to stay in business from tourists...the hikers, bikers, trout fishermen and tourists that stop in Tellico Plains when visiting the Cherohala Skyway, the Cherokee National Forest, Bald River Falls, local rivers/creeks and nearby campgrounds.  The store also stocks handmade gifts and locally sourced goods.  This establishment is located at 706 Veterans Memorial Drive in Tellico Plains.  Website: https://tellicogoodsandgear.com/. 

I've been unable to determine when this old railway depot was built in the center of Tellico Plains.  However, the Babcock Lumber and Land Company started logging the in the mountains just east of town ca. 1907 and Tellico Plains was incorporated in 1911.  It's a good guess that the depot dates back to at least 1911.  In more recent times the building was occupied by a local farmer's co-op but it currently appears unused.

 

I did find a photo on-line showing the depot back in the day when the rail line hadn't yet been removed.  I'm guessing that the photo is from the early to mid-1970s.

The Babcock Logging Company built this rail line from Athens and Etowah Tennessee through Tellico Plains and on into area in the Smoky Mountains that is now occupied by the Cherokee National Forest.  The line passed over Bald River Falls and extended right into North Carolina.  When the area was clear-cut in the 1930s, Babcock left the area.  Apparently the Louisville and Nashville Railroad operated the line to Tellico Plains until 1978 when it was abandoned.  I found this old photo of one of the company's logging trains on-line.

So, from Tellico Plains we headed on up the Cherohala Skyway (TN Hwy 165) to check out the scenery.  It was a very pleasant day for mid-summer in Tennessee.

Laurie took this photo of her sister Bonnie and Bonnie's husband Bill at one of the overlooks along the Cherohala Skyway.  The Skyway crosses into North Carolina, becoming NC Hwy 143.  In turn NC Hwy 143 intersects US Hwy 129.  Turn left on US Hwy 129 and you'll be on "The Dragon", a twisting and challenging byway that leads back into Tennessee.  That road is very popular with motorcyclists and sport car enthusiasts.

I'll leave you with one of Laurie's photos from an overlook on the Cherohala Skyway.  The Smoky Mountains/Appalachians with the Cherokee and Nantahala National National Forests stretch on as far as the eye can see.  It's hard to believe that most of this are had been clear cut by the 1930s!  

That's all for now.  Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them...

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

More Shopping and Browsing...Plus Taking a Break

 ...continuing with our visit from Laurie's sister Bonnie and her husband Bill.  It was all about spending time together, shopping/browsing and food.  We revisited places I'd written about previously but that we had liked or enjoyed as well as some new locations.   

Roost, in downtown Maryville Tennessee, is one of those places that we've been to previously.  However this home decor store is definitely worthy of another visit and further blogsite coverage.  

I am generally bored by most home decor and furniture stores but Roost is a definite exception.  But this relatively small store reeks style...in my opinion projecting a truly warm and very tasteful overall 'look'.  Fortunately for my wallet, our home is packed with furniture, wall decor, etc. that we've acquired over the years, so other than an occasional small item, Roost is a 'browsing' experience for us.  In addition, changing out our 'look' for the 'Roost look' would require wholesale change, something we aren't contemplating at this stage of our life. 

FYI, Roost isn't just a store, the owner and staff provide interior design services.  Roost is located at 109 East Broadway Avenue in Maryville Tennessee.  Website: https://roosthome.com/.

There is an ongoing effort to improve downtown Maryville and to make it more of a destination for the area than it already is.  It is challenging because Broadway sits at the crest of a rather narrow hill and parking can be problematic.  Progress is being made but that colorful mural currently serves to distract from a building that needs to be reimagined with a new business. 

The adjoining building with the white storefront at 106 East Broadway contains 2 businesses.  The ground floor is occupied by a bookstore named Neighborly Books while the upper level houses an Art Space Gallery for local artists.  The building was constructed in 1910.

This is the old Post Office/Federal Building at 201 East Broadway in Maryville.  It was built in 1916 and it served as the city's main post office from 1917 through 1962.  From 1962 through 1990 it served as a branch post office.  For many years it also served as offices for other Federal government functions.  The building was the first Headquarters of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park back in 1935.  Most recently, it was repurposed for dental services.

Our next stop was at the Tellico Village Yacht Club in Loudon County Tennessee.  Although it's close to our home, we haven't been here in some time.  FYI, it is a yacht club in name only.  There are docks for lease by Villagers, lots of boats and a gas pump, but not a yacht or any large watercraft in sight.  We knew that the views were great plus Bonnie and Bill had never been here...

Built in 1983, the Tellico Village Yacht Club features the Blue Heron Restaurant, meeting rooms and, as shown above, a bar.  The Yacht Club is the center of many Village activities and live entertainment is common especially during the summer.  It also frequently serves as a wedding venue, shutting down other services for a couple's special day.

Our objective was to imbibe in an adult beverage and enjoy a couple of appetizers while taking in the magnificent scenery along Tellico Lake.  We ordered House-Made Crab Rangoon Crispy fried wontons that were filled with lump crab meat, cream cheese and herbs, then served with sweet chili sauce. ($14.00) Everyone else seemed to enjoy them but I much prefer the version that many restaurants serve that doesn't include real crab meat.

Our second appetizer/mid-day snack was this order of Thai Chili Shrimp Eggrolls stuffed with shrimp and accented with sweet chili sauce...all wrapped in a thin pastry sheet before frying. ($14.00) I thought that it was OK but not great...not distinctive, but everyone else said that they liked them.

When it really right comes down to the main attraction at the Tellico Village Yacht Club, its all about the views.  This was what we saw from our table in the bar.  The views from the restaurant are even better as it is situated to the left of this photo and it sits closer to the lake with big windows on 3 sides. 

The Yacht Club in Tellico Village is open to the public.  It's located at 202 Chota Road in Loudon Tennessee.  For more information about the Tellico Village Yacht Club and the Blue Heron Restaurant, including the menu, just go to https://www.tellicovillageyachtclub.com/. 

Now to our changing neighborhood...

As I've mentioned before, the lot diagonally across the street from us is the site of a new house.  After the lot was graded and the foundation set, it was time to rough in the framework.  At the start of this particular day, there was no framework, only the foundation.  With the day not quite over, this was what the construction crew had accomplished.  A few of them were still working on the build after 5 PM.

On the next work day after the previous photo was taken, a crane showed up and the joists went up...then the outer wall board and about 80% of the roof was covered.  It stuns us both at just how fast this phase of a new build can progress...from foundation to this stage of construction in just two days! 

That's all for now.  Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them...

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

Shopping and Seafood!

 ...continuing with Bonnie and Bill's visit from St. Louis Missouri.  We're always happy to have them come and stay for a bit.  Laurie really enjoys spending time with her sister but, as you'll see in the next few blog posts, they do love to shop, or at least browse a lot!  At least I get some exercise by just wandering around the selected stores.

I do participate in these shopping/browsing excursions in that I do some research in advance, in an effort to find stores or outlets that might be interesting to everyone.  Bargain Hunters Antique and Flea Market Mall was chosen even though we'd visited it about 2 years earlier.  I knew that there was a lot of variety re: merchandise for sale and that does enhance the browsing experience. 

As the preceding 3 photos show, you can find something for almost every taste and/or need at Bargain Hunters Mall.  This booth style mall is loaded with variety...from clothes and boots to metal roosters, signs, socks, scents, art, crafts and more.  I did feel that there were fewer antiques being offered for sale then we'd noted on our last visit.  In any case, the key item of interest many males accompanying their spouses, were the benches and seats at the front of the store where the guys can chill while the ladies do their thing. 

The good news for me is that Laurie only made a couple of small purchases.  The good news for this bit of older retail space, actually a former Big Lots Store, is that Bargain Hunters has occupied and repurposed the space...paying rent to the property's owners.  This mall, with its 300 booths, is open from 10 AM to 6 PM daily.  It is located at 4006 Chapman Highway in Knoxville Tennessee.  Website: https://www.bargainhunterstn.com/knoxville-tn.  I did note that Google Photos for this mall still features 18 or so photos from our last visit... 

The browsing wasn't complete though... E-Clec-Tique (cute) in Maryville Tennessee was next on the agenda.  We'd been here several years ago so it was time to take another look.

E-Clec-Tique is much smaller than Bargain Hunters but the quality of their antiques is significantly superior.  They also feature gift and home decor items.  I managed to escape any purchases but Laurie did spot a couple of items that had me sweating...

This retailer is located at 746 West Lamar Alexander Parkway in Maryville Tennessee.  They are closed on Sunday but the store is open from 10 AM until 5 PM all other days.  Their website is under construction...but when finished it will be at https://e-clec-tique.com/.  

This is The Shrimp Dock, a fresh seafood store in Alcoa/Maryville Tennessee.  Two other Shrimp Dock locations can be found in our area, one in Farragut and the other in the Bearden neighborhood of Knoxville.  

A fisherman from New Orleans started the Shrimp Dock in 1993.  He is a shrimper and fisherman.  He started driving to the Knoxville area and selling shrimp from the back of his truck on a weekly basis.  After a bit that evolved into a storefront operation.  With the involvement of new owners, the Shrimp Dock expanded into what it is today.  The original owner...that shrimping captain from New Orleans...is still operating fishing and shrimping boats out of Louisiana, and the Shrimp Dock stores are still the recipients of much of his watery harvest.  Other suppliers also replenish the fresh seafood inventory for the stores on a daily basis.     

Not only can customers buy a wide variety of seafood to take home, but they can also purchase meals and sandwiches to go or they can eat in the Shrimp Dock.  They do have a dining area.  The menu boards above are a little tough to read even when enlarged.  There is a whole series of items that can be served fried or grilled with a variety of seasonings all accompanied with 2 sides.  You can order a Po' Boy, a number of Signature entrees, appetizers and small plates...and even a Low Country Boil.

I've included a photos of a couple of the seafood display cases just to show some of the variety of seafood products available.  The top shelf in the top photo contains soft shell crab, king crab, claw crab meat, lump crab and crab roe.  The bottom 2 shelves are all about lobster, warm water and cold water lobster.  The items in the middle photo are easy to read and include salmon from Scotland.  The bottom photo is all about different size/types of shrimp plus crab cakes and a number of seafood dips and spreads.  We bought the shrimp dip and everyone loved it!  We also purchased a couple of quarts of New England clam chowder.  Laurie loved it but I like my clam chowder creamier and thicker than she does.

Our primary purchase at The Shrimp Dock was these 12 big and beautiful fresh sea scallops!  When we got home, Laurie and Bonnie went to work preparing the fresh scallops as our entree for dinner.  Despite claims that this is a simple recipe, only the ingredients were 'simple'.  The preparation involved a number of steps or actions and it was all about timing.  The ladies were scrambling to get it right...stress levels were high!  In the end however, our meal of Pan-Seared Scallops with Lemon Caper Sauce served with linguini was perfect!  A fine seafood restaurant couldn't have produced a more delicious meal!  Kudos to the chefs...

To view the recipe as well as the process required to provide this seafood masterpiece, you can just go to https://bakerbynature.com/pan-seared-scallops-with-lemon-caper-sauce/.  

That's all for now... Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them.

Thanks for stopping by to see what we've been up to!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

An Upscale Breakfast in Knoxville Tennessee

Laurie's sister Bonnie and Bonnie's husband Bill recently flew into Knoxville for a visit.  They are happy that Allegiant Airlines now flies directly to Knoxville from the St. Louis area's Bellevue Illinois Mid-America Airport.  We all love breakfast and the decision was made to start their first full day in East Tennessee by going out for an upscale breakfast...or in this case, really a brunch.

This is Scrambled Jake's on Northshore Drive in Knoxville.  Laurie and I have eaten here 2 or 3 other times over the years we've lived in the area... First of all, the restaurant is at least 45 minutes from our house, a long way to drive to start one's morning.  Then of course, it must also be said that breakfast at Scrambled Jake's is not inexpensive, at least for the Knoxville area.  Bonnie and Bill thought that the pricing was very favorable compared to similar fare in the St. Louis Missouri vicinity.

We were greeted by a cheerful group of servers at the entrance and our waitress, Laci was just fine.  Our only service problem was that the kitchen was quite slow and it took us too long to get our food. 

We do like the pleasant and warm atmosphere at Scrambled Jake's.  There is a variety of seating in the spacious dining areas including a couple of breakfast bars.  Even better, the tables are spaced well so customers aren't on top of each other. 

If you've ever had beignets in New Orleans at Cafe du Monde, you always remember them and crave them!  So, when we saw Ben-Yah's on the menu ($10.00), we just had to order some as a 'starter' to go with our late breakfast/brunch.  We did some serious damage to our order of Ben-Yah's before I remembered to take a photo.

This was selection was from the "Eye Openers" section of the menu.  It was a good starter but as a real beignet, it just didn't measure up.  We did like them just fine despite our conclusion.  Other "Eye Openers" include such items as the Pineapple Express, a half pineapple filled with Greek yogurt and seasonal cut fruit then topped with granola and local honey. ($11.95) Another interesting item among the options was the Deep Fried Deviled Eggs. ($5.95) 

Time for breakfast itself!

This was Bonnie's breakfast selection.  She ordered the Two Cage Free Eggs Breakfast. ($11.95) A choice of sausage or pecan smoked bacon, creamy grits, a serving of breakfast potato casserole and a choice of a biscuit or toast complete this selection.  She enjoyed her breakfast although with both potatoes and grits...supported by a big but tasty biscuit, does create a carb overload.  

A variety of 'Scrambles' are also on the menu.  An example is the Florentine Scramble with spinach, crimini mushrooms and Duroc pit ham topped with Swiss cheese and then baked on a serving of Scrambled Jake's breakfast potato casserole. ($13.25)

Bill ordered the "All-In" Omelet. ($12.45) It consists of 3 whipped cage free eggs folded with pecan smoked bacon, summer sausage, Duroc pit ham, mushrooms, onions, tomato confit and sharp cheddar cheese.  It is accompanied with an serving of Scrambled Jake's potato casserole.  In addition Bill loves pancakes so he ordered one pancake as a side dish.  This beast of a pancake covered an entire dinner plate.  Bill did indeed like his breakfast...

Scrambled Jake's menu is quite extensive and it doesn't lake imagination.  Other egg dishes include 5 different "Bennys"...or Eggs Benedict.  In addition to the basic version, others included a slab of bologna, another featured summer sausage, grilled peppers and onions and yet another is listed as a "Knox Lox".

For my breakfast I ordered the Chops and Eggs. ($16.00) It consisted of 2 grilled breakfast-style pork chops, 2 over medium fried cage free eggs and the potato casserole.  I also had a choice of either a biscuit and gravy or a pancake.  I should have known better than ordering breakfast-style pork chops as they are thin and, as a consequence they were overcooked and tough.  My other problem is that I'd much rather have hash brown potatoes with breakfast.  The potato casserole concept (also used at Cracker Barrel) is an easy way for restaurants to provide breakfast potatoes without repeatedly cooking potatoes on the grill.  At Cracker Barrel I can at least order hash browns for an upcharge... 

I will say that the pancake that I had as my side...same size as Bill's shown above...was indeed excellent.

Laurie surprised me by ordering something she rarely eats.  This was her Coffee Infused French Toast. ($11.95) Four slabs of baguette style bread was soaked in coffee infused custard, then fried in butter and topped with caramel, powdered sugar and real whipped cream.  She really liked it and...lucky for me she couldn't finish it all so I had to "help" out!

The menu goes on to include waffles, a breakfast pizza, a breakfast burrito, a Croque Madame topped with an egg, a variety of toasts with a variety of toppings and a giant Sin-O-Man Roll topped with cream cheese icing. 

Scrambled Jake's is located at 7428 South Lakeshore Drive in Knoxville Tennessee.  It is part of the KBS Restaurant Group, which has a total of 13 restaurants under different brand names and food themes that are located in Gatlinburg, Sevierville, Morristown, Pigeon Forge and Knoxville Tennessee.  Scrambled Jake's is open daily from 7 AM until 2 PM.  You can learn more about this restaurant and the other restaurants in the KBS Restaurant Group at https://scrambledjakes.com/store/. 

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them...

Thanks for stopping by to see what was for breakfast! 

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave