Vietnamese Bistro!

Our search for quality ethnic restaurants in East Tennessee has again been rewarded! Although we've only been there once, on January 7th, Vietnamese Bistro is already in line to become one of our top 5 restaurants in East Tennessee.


The restaurant had only been open for two weeks at the time of our visit. We love Vietnamese cuisine, having experienced some great Vietnamese food while living in Chicago for many years.


We were on our way to have a burger for lunch in the Turkey Creek shopping area of Farragut Tennessee, when we came across Vietnamese Bistro. Laurie made a quick 'play call' and we took an fast u-turn!


We immediately liked the clean, contemporary lines and the furnishings of the restaurant. There is a subtle Asian influence in the design. We also noted that all of the waiters were dressed in white dress shirts and black slacks, giving the restaurant another touch of class.


We began our exploration of the luncheon menu by ordering one of Laurie's favorite appetizers, Vietnamese Summer Rolls or Goi Cuon. These appetizers are made with shrimp, pork loin, vegetables, fresh herbs and vermicelli noodles wrapped in thin rice paper with our choice of peanut or citrus sauce for dipping.


They were very good...gone in a couple of minutes!



Both the waiter and the co-owner recommended the Chicken Roti and this was Laurie's choice for her entree. The dish is made with seared lemon grass, marinated pieces of chicken breast, steamed vegetables and two kinds of rice.


Not only is this an attractive dish, it was also delicious! Laurie loved it and, after she let me have a couple of bites, I agreed...a great plate of food!



For my entree, I ordered the Nem Nuong Cha Gio - cured grilled pork and Vietnamese Spring Roll (Cha Gio), served with Jasmine rice, vegetables and Nuoc Cham (Dipping Sauce). As per a recommendation from the waiter, after eating the spring roll, I mixed the other ingredients up with the Nuoc Cham sauce. He was right on the money with his suggestion! He told us that he'd eaten this dish 5 days in a row... It was very tasty!


Vietnamese Bistro is open 7 days a week for lunch and dinner. There is a lunch menu and an expanded dinner menu. The dinner menu includes such French Bistro items as Steak Diane with haricot vert and wild mushrooms demi-glaze, Pan Roasted Rainbow Trout and Pan Roasted Double Quail. Beer is available.


We spoke with Jackie Pham, co-owner of the restaurant. She told us that they'd applied for a liquor license that would allow them to serve wine as well. For now, you can bring a bottle of wine with you. The restaurant will accommodate up to 130 diners.


Vietnamese Bistro is located at 11605 Parkside Drive in Farragut Tennessee. Phone: 865-675-1310.

Streetcars/Trolleys...Six To Go!

As anyone can tell who reads my blog, I'm very interested in rail travel, trains, depots, etc. So, over the years, we've photographed lots of trains and yes, trolleys!


This trolley was photographed in operation along the wharf area of Seattle Washington back in 1984. Trolley #512 was built by the Melbourne Shops in Australia between 1925 and 1930.



This PCC Streetcar operates on a 2 mile route along the Lake Michigan waterfront in Kenosha Wisconsin. PCC is an abbreviation for the design formulated by the Electric Railway President's Conference Committee back in the mid-1930's. 5,000 of these streetcars were built between 1936 and 1952. Kenosha bought 5 units from Toronto Canada in 2000. They are painted in the colors for Toronto, Johnston City PA, Pittsburgh, Chicago and Cincinnati. This photo is from 2008.


This is single-ended cable car # 28, photographed back in 1983, on the Powell -Hyde Street route in San Francisco California. This cable car was built by Mahoney Brothers back in 1887. It has since been replaced with a new #28. The original cable car was retired in 2004. We rode this cable car and others...lots of fun!






Photographed in motion through our windshield back in 1994, this streetcar was rolling down the street in Memphis Tennessee. Streetcar # 187, a Brill designed unit, was built in Oporto, Portugal back in 1927.


Memphis also has 2 U.S. Brill designed units that were built in 1912, a total of 5 Oporto Portuguese 'Brill' streetcars, plus 7 antique streetcars from Australia and 5 replica units.

Streetcar #194 is also one of the Oporto Brill units. It was built in 1935. This photo was also taken in 1994. At peak hours, 11 streetcars are in operation in Memphis...covering 3 different routes. Stops are typically available every or every other block. The current fare is $.60 cents.

In 1908, there were 13 streetcar routes in Memphis and there were over 300 streetcars in operation. At the peak, a total of 236 streetcars passed through the intersection of Main & Madison between 5:30 PM and 6:30 PM... That's one almost every 15 seconds!!









Last but not least, this is a photo of streetcar # 11 as it rolled down a street in Christchurch, New Zealand back in 2000. I believe that this specific streetcar is an import from the U.S.A., although a local manufacturer also built units based on the Brill design. This streetcar was built by J. G. Brill in Philadelphia back in 1903.


In New Zealand, streetcars are called 'trams'. Tram service in Christchurch originally ceased operations back in 1954. Operations resumed in 1995 along a 2.5km route in the city center. The fare is $15.00NZ but the pass is good for 2-days and unlimited rides. Roughly 85% of all passengers are visitors to the city. We haven't seen it, but Christchurch also has a significant collection of restored streetcars and trolleys from around the world.

Wok Star Revisited...

Laurie and I were out and about the other day and we had a craving for some asian cuisine. We knew that we enjoyed the food at Wok Star during previous visits and we were in the vicinity, so we stopped in for a late lunch.


Laurie ordered the Thai Coconut Curry. She ordered the chicken and it was tossed with onions, carrots and fresh green beans with Wok Star's special sauce. It was nice and spicy as advertised! Laurie gave it two thumbs up!


I chose Cherie's Spicy Chicken with brown rice. The chicken was stir-fried in General Tso's special sauce, with fresh green beans, carrots and broccoli. It was excellent. The only fault I could find was that the menu called for sugar snap peas and it came with green beans. It was fine with me but some diners might have complained... Better to let the customer know that the kitchen was out of sugar snap peas... In any case, I personally would order it again...just like it was!


A couple of other items of interest... Wok Star serves beer, and during the work week, they have a 'happy hour' during which beer is $1.00 less than usual and 4 of the appetizers can be purchased for $4.00 each. Of course, nothing is too pricy here. Entrees start at $7.95 and the most expensive item is $9.00!


Laurie and I continue to recommend Wok Star. The food is fresh and very flavorful. Wok Star is located at 149 Kelsey Lane, Suite 108 in Lenoir City Tennessee. Phone: 865-986-0996. Website: http://www.wokstarasiancuisine.com/.

Railroad Depots Along the Way...

It's about time for me to post a few more old Railway Depots. These photos were all taken during 2010.


This first depot is the former passenger station for Michigan Central Railroad in Mason Michigan, just south of Lansing. It's now the Mason Depot Diner...and the owners have done a nice job of fixing it up and maintaining the building.




Here is another view of the Michigan Central Depot in Mason Michigan. This passenger depot was opened for business on November 21, 1900 and it served rail passengers for over 50 years. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

This is the former Michigan Central passenger depot in Leslie Michigan, just a bit south of Mason. The Leslie Depot Diner was opened in 1984 and has been run by the same family for 26 years. We apparently just missed Hugh Jackman and a film crew who had shot scenes for a new sci-fi movie titled "Real Steel" at the depot the day prior to our visit. They were loading up their equipment when we stopped in. They had also shot scenes for the movie in Mason at the City Hall.

This is the former Baltimore & Ohio passenger station in North Baltimore Ohio. The building and rail line are now owned by CSX. That company is building a very large inter modal rail yard just west of North Baltimore and it will employ more than 200 people. This will be a larger rail yard than the big one in Bedford Park Illinois...a close-in Chicago suburb.

This beautiful 18-room passenger depot in Etowah Tennessee was built by the Louisville & Nashville railroad in 1908. The building was renovated by the city and it was re-opened to the public in 1981. It contains a museum, the Chamber of Commerce and the offices of the Tennessee Heritage Overhill Association. Etowah claims to be the first planned community in the USA...designed and built by the L&N railroad.

Thousands of rail passengers frequent the depot from May through early November each year. Hiwassee River Rail Adventures begins it's scenic railway tours at this building.

Santa Claus!

As we began to put away our Christmas decorations, I decided that we should photograph part of our collection of Santa Claus figures and related items. All of the items pictured here were created and assembled by Judy Gustafson, a former Vice President of Human Resources that I worked with at Montgomery Ward.

Montgomery Ward was founded by Aaron Montgomery Ward back in 1872. It grew from a dominant catalog sales operation to a multi-faceted retailer with hundreds of stores and sales volume approaching $10 Billion a year. For a variety of reasons, the company failed and closed the last of it's stores in the spring of 2001. Today the Montgomery Ward name survives as a mail order business owned by Colony Brands, Inc. in Monroe, Wisconsin. (aka: Swiss Colony, Inc.)

During the years that I was with Montgomery Ward, the company held an associates art 'fair' in the lobby of the 1.25 million sq. ft. former catalog building in Chicago...just across the street from the corporate tower. This was an opportunity for our associates to display and sell their crafts and artwork.

For a number of years, Judy's Santa Claus & Christmas scenes were one of the highlights of this arts and crafts display. The Executive Vice President of Human Resources and I would always try to buy the most elaborate or elegant of her works to add to our collections. For some reason, he seemed to score a little better than I did. No complaints though...thanks to Judy and the Montgomery Ward Art Fair, we have some very fine Christmas displays to brighten up our home during the Holidays.

From what I remember, this 'little' hobby of Judy's was what she did during the summer to unwind after pressure filled days at work. Given the detail involved, there is no way she could have put these little displays together...and still have been focused on the myriad of ongoing issues at Wards.

Consider the painstaking detail involved with the design and construction of these vignettes. For example, look at this little wagon. The wagon itself is less than 4" long...plus the pull handle. Judy had to conceptualize just how she wanted it to look, decide what she needed and where it should be placed. Try counting the number of items in the wagon...pretty amazing!

This is a close-up of a mid-size vignette or display. The artist had to imagine the design, search out the dozens of items needed to complete the picture in her mind and then painstakingly put the piece together! The detail involved is quite incredible.

We also have a couple of larger displays or vignettes...to include the top photo with Santa and the Bear. Other large displays include Santa in a Sleigh Being Pulled by a Horse and Santa with a St. Bernard. These little artistic gems have provided holiday joy to many over the years and they'll continue to do so far into the future.

Wok Star!

WokStar is a fairly new restaurant in Lenoir City Tennessee. It serves high quality Asian cuisine at a reasonable price. The format is simple... Go to the counter and order your food from a menu. Then pick up your drinks and silverware from a counter at the back of the restaurant and find a table that you like. The server brings the food out to you when it's ready... We've been to Wok Star on two other occasions, but we always started eating before we remembered to take photos!


WokStar is a chef owned restaurant. From what we understand, the owner/chef spent many years working in other restaurants, most notably P.F. Chang's. The food is prepared right out in the open so, if you'd like, you can watch the cook prepare your food. One other item is worthy of note. WokStar does serve beer...to include TsingTao, Kirin and Sapporo...in addition to several other standard brands.



Laurie, Dawn Marie, (visiting from Miami), and myself stopped by for dinner a couple of days ago. Laurie tried a new menu item, the Cantonese Duck with white rice. This is described on the menu as tender roasted duck, stir-fried with snap peas, red bell peppers & fresh mango in a sweet and sour sauce. Laurie left out the red peppers and added the mushrooms...plus she spiced it up a bit. She reported that it was just right and very tasty!


Laurie also ordered a cup of Hot & Sour Soup. Since they didn't remember it when the food was served, they upgraded her to a bowl instead of a cup at no charge. She couldn't finish it but that enabled me to try it... It was very good...


WokStar also has Egg Drop Soup and Wonton Soup on the menu.


Dawn Marie opted for Chicken Kung Pao with brown rice at a normal level of spiciness. The chicken is quick fried with peanuts, chili peppers, celery and onions. Dawn reported that her meal was very nice...a bit spicier than she'd expected...but very good.





Of course, I went for some serious heat! I ordered the Beef Orange Dynasty with brown rice. The beef was flash fried with sugar snap peas and fresh orange peel. I completely enjoyed every bite of my meal!


WokStar is very good at delivering your entree at the desired heat...but unless you speak up, and a flame is adjacent to the entree on the menu, your food will be spicy hot although not overwhelmingly so. If you want it to be mild, ask when you place your order...


The menu at WokStar contains 21 entrees, 8 appetizers & small plates plus the soups and it includes such items as Lettuce Wraps, Asian Dumplings, Egg Rolls, Spring Rolls, Thai Chicken Wings, Thai Coconut Curry, Fried Rice, Pad Thai Noodles, Sichuan Noodles and Lo Mein.


Laurie, Dawn & I would recommend this restaurant to anyone who likes Asian food. WokStar is a big step up from the usual "Asian" fare in Eastern Tennessee! The restaurant is located at 149 Kelsey Lane, Suite 108 in Lenoir City TN. Phone: 865-986-0996. Website: http://www.wokstarasiancuisine.com/.

Last Stop - Crawford Auto Collection

This will be my last blog regarding the Crawford Auto Collection of the Western Reserve Historical Society in Cleveland, Ohio.



The first of the 5 autos in this grouping is a 1941 Cadillac 60 Special Fleetwood 5 passenger sedan. This car is in unrestored condition. It was owned and driven by Frederick C. Crawford who used it regularly into the 1970's. This car had a 146" wheelbase and a 150 HP engine. It originally cost $2,195.00.


Here is a 1909 Ford Model T, serial number #577. This is the 5th oldest "T" known to exist, one of the 1st 850 built. This is the original color scheme of the early T's. From 1914 to 1927, you could buy Model T's in any color you wanted, "as long as it was black." This 1909 model developed 20 HP and it cost $850.00.

This beast of a car is a 1913 Alco Model 6 Berline Limousine. It was built by the American Locomotive Company, the world's largest producer of Locomotives. When Alco decided to get into the automobile business in 1906, for the first 3 years they built the high quality French Berliets autos for US consumption. In 1909 they started building their own version of a "Berliets" style vehicle. At first, they built them too well...taking 19 months per auto! The company lost $650.00 on every car they built, ceasing production in 1913. This 60 HP automobile was built in Providence RI, and it cost $7,250!

The Chandler Automobile Company was started in Cleveland in 1913. For some years it was a very successful company, producing good cars at a good price. This nifty looking example is a 1926 Chandler Model 33A. It had a 55 HP engine, a 124" wheelbase and it cost $1,695.00. In 1928, the founders wanted to retire and the company was purchased by Hupp Motors of Detroit. By 1929, the Chandler was gone.

This is a 1929 Jordan Speedboy Dual-Cowl Phaeton. Ned Jordan was a terrific promoter of the brand, excelling in advertising and producing autos that were moderately rakish and daring. His autos also had nicely appointed interiors. He advertised life style rather than pushing ads about performance or mechanical advances. In actuality, Jordan Motors didn't build cars, rather the company assembled cars from parts purchased from reputable manufacturers. This particular car was a wedding present for Ned's daughter, Jane. It produced 85 PH, had a wheelbase of 125" and it cost $2,895.00.

The Crawford Auto-Aviation Collection of the Western Reserve Historical Society is open from Tuesday through Saturday. The museum is located at 10825 East Boulevard in Cleveland Ohio. Phone: 216-721-5722. Website: www.wrhs.org/index/php/crawford.