More Food - Dining with Friends

Laurie's sister and brother-in-law have flown the coop back to St. Louis Missouri... So what did we do to keep busy?  To no one's surprise, it's more food and dining out.  

One of these days, I may actually publish a blog post that isn't food related but almost every social event these days seems to involve food!  We'll have to get back on the road again in order to interchange history, architecture and countryside views with restaurant visits.

But for now, get out the Pepcid, Rolaids and Tums as we eat our way through parts of East Tennessee.   

Once again, we returned to the Blackhorse Pub and Brewery in Alcoa Tennessee.  This time we brought our neighbors, Sue and Steve, with us.  I can assure you that East Tennessee is a big and welcome change for them after living in California for many, many years.  Laurie and I are hard at work introducing them to a number of the area's dining sites...

As you can see, Blackhorse Pub and Brewery is a big place!  You might also note that when we arrived, the restaurant and bar were not very busy.

While we did imbibe in a nice mild Blackhorse Blonde Ale ($5.00), we really don't drink much beer.  However, for the beer lovers out there, you should know that the Blackhorse Brewery offers 6 'standard' beers, an apple cider and something called the Side Hustle Sour.  In addition, they also brew 5 seasonal beers and 10 'specialty' beers.  You can learn more about these offerings at https://www.blackhorsebrews.com/our-beers.  

As usual I forgot to take photos of the appetizers until after they'd been ravaged... This was the Spinach and Artichoke Dip. ($10.75) It consisted of fresh spinach, artichoke hearts and cheese...accompanied by pita bread.  It was OK.

We also ordered Chips and Beer Cheese for the table. ($9.00) The beer cheese had a decent twang to it but it was too thin and there wasn't enough of it for all the chips. 

Both Steve and Sue had hamburgers but I'm not sure which one of the 10 available burgers is shown in this photo.  They seemed to enjoy their meals.  Blackhorse's basic burger with American cheese, lettuce, tomato and pickle is $13.95.  All burgers come with one side.  It was reported that the onion rings were quite good...and there were plenty of them!  

Probably the most interesting hamburger...which also has to be a challenge to eat without wearing it...is the Hangover. ($15.95) That particular burger includes bacon, pepper jack cheese, a fried egg, Bloody Mary aioli, lettuce, tomato and onion.  

Laurie decided to order a Flatbread creation for her meal.  In addition to the 7 'standard' flatbread offerings on the menu, patrons can design their own. ($13.00 with 4 toppings) Laurie went for mushrooms, artichoke hearts, onions and mozzarella cheese with red sauce.  She said that it wasn't that great but since it was her 'design', she said that the outcome was her fault.  

FYI, there are 11 'specialty' pizzas on the menu as well.  Plus, as with the flatbread entrees, you can design your own.  A 7" specialty pizza is $11.75 and a 12" pizza costs $18.50.  We would design our own 12" pizza...typically sausage and pepperoni...and it would cost $16.75.

I just didn't feel like a hamburger, a flat bread creation or a pizza.  I dismissed the entrees on the menu as well.  It was the sandwich...non-burger choices...that drew me in.  I settled on the Prime Rib Sandwich...with shaved beef prime rib and Monterey jack cheese served with au jus and a horseradish sauce. ($16.95) For my side...12 different choices...I went for the 'pub chips'.  I finished my meal but I wasn't too impressed with any of it.  The 'shaved prime rib' was a bit tough and lacked much flavor.  The au jus didn't help.  I guess I should have ordered a burger.

Our previous visits to Blackhorse Pub and Brewery had been more satisfying so we aren't deterred from returning for another go at the menu.  This restaurant is located at 441 North Hall Road in Alcoa Tennessee.  Phone: 865-448-5900.  Website: https://www.blackhorsebrews.com/menu/alcoa-menu. 

So what does one do shortly after having a sizable meal?  Of course the answer is seek out more food!

Therefore, our next stop was for dessert.  the good news was that it takes over 45 minutes to drive from Blackhorse Pub and Brewery in Alcoa to the Tic-Toc Ice Cream Parlor in downtown Loudon Tennessee.  Tic-Toc makes fine ice cream and it's a popular local feature in Loudon County.  We've been patronizing this ice cream parlor since we moved to the area more than 15 years ago.  Of course, they can't rely on our business for survival as our visits are limited to 2 to 4 times a year during Tic-Toc's open months.

As you can see, Tic-Toc was very busy.  It was a warm day...but not miserable... and it was in the early evening when we stopped by.  Customers were lined up, both inside and out.  Living in a community that caters, but is not limited to retirees, we hadn't seen so many young folks in one place for a while.  Nice...

I didn't take photos of the treats we purchased for our dessert.  A photo of ice cream in a cup or in milk shake form doesn't quite capture the glory it imparts to one's flavor buds... But here is the menu just for your consideration.  Note: This is not discount ice cream...

Tic-Toc Ice Cream Parlor doesn't seem to have either a website nor is it on Facebook.  This establishment is located at 504 Grove Street in Loudon Tennessee.  Phone: 865-408-9867.  You can learn more and check out the reviews on both TripAdvisor and Yelp. 

I started to say that this post isn't all about food...but then I realized that it really was!  Nice doggy!  This husky is named "Shadow" and it turns out that he is a frequent visitor at Tic Toc.  He lives just across the railway tracks behind the old depot in Loudon.  However he has learned that folks like him, (he is a charmer), and therefore they give him treats, bits of ice cream cones, a little ice cream, etc.  He wasn't with anyone...he just drops in and enters the store with customers as they open the door.  The staff got him to leave at one point but he was back inside within a couple of minutes.  We petted but didn't feed Shadow.  He is a bit of a 'chunk' and is in no danger of starvation.  Probably needs to go on a diet.  Once he got his quota of treats and attention, he just headed home.  We saw him crossing the tracks and going up the hill... 

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them.

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave