Vietnamese Bistro Redux...

Once again we found ourselves in the Farragut Tennessee/Turkey Creek Shopping area at lunch time. Lucky us!! We returned to the Vietnamese Bistro for another helping of their special cuisine.

Unfortunately, we forgot to photograph our appetizers before wolfing them down. We had Summer Rolls (4 pieces) and Shrimp Dumplings (5 pieces) The Shrimp Dumplings were fried/browned on the outside and were just great! The Summer Rolls, (Goi Cuon), included shrimp, pork loin, vegetables, herbs and vermicelli noodles wrapped in thin rice paper and served with peanut and/or citrus dipping sauce.

Laurie ordered the Spicy Noodles, (Bun Gao Xao Kho), which consisted of sauteed vermicelli noodles, egg, onions, bean sprouts and chicken. She could have chosen beef, pork or shrimp in lieu of chicken. It was very tasty!

Of interest...for our future consideration...were 5 different Pho Soups (Rice Noodle Soups) These include a chicken noodle soup, a couple of beef based soups, a meatball soup and Pho Dac Biet...beef, tripe and tendons.

I ordered the Pan Seared Thick Noodles. (Hu Tieu Ap Chao) These were wide rice noodles seared with beef, broccoli and bean sprouts. As with Laurie's entree, I could have had this dish with pork, chicken or shrimp. Very nice!

In keeping with the history of Vietnam, the expanded dinner menu offers a number of French Bistro items...Duck Breast, Quail, Trout, Roasted Free Range Chicken, Salmon and Filet Mignon.

One of the owners wanted us to try a luncheon special that wasn't on the menu. This is a Vietnamese version of pot roast. It's a soup dish, which contained tender pot roast, carrots, onions and spices served with bean sprouts, Jalapeno peppers and lime. We shared this dish and it too was very good! I especially liked it with a bit of the lime squeezed into the bowl.

Vietnamese Bistro now serves beer and wine. It's located at 11605 Parkside Drive in Farragut, Tennessee. Phone: 865-675-1310. The restaurant is open from 11 am to 9 pm Monday - Thursday and from 11 am to 10 pm on Friday & Saturday.

Old Time Railroad Depots - NY & PA

Time for a few more railroad passenger depots from our travels last summer... This is the North Girard Station...which is located in the middle of 'downtown' Lake City PA. (The town changed it's name in the mid-50's) The depot was built, (date unknown), by the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern. North Girard had passenger service until the late 1940's with service from both the New York Central and Pennsylvania Railroads.

This is the former Erie-Lackawanna Railroad passenger depot, located on 2nd Street at the foot of LaFayette Street in Jamestown, NY. As you can see, the building definitely needs help! It was built in 1931 - 1932 and rail service continued here until 1969. One end of the building suffered some fire damage in 2009. As a part of an overall downtown revitalization plan, the depot would be converted to a visitor center.

Finally, this is the former Pennsylvania Railroad depot in Mayville, NY on Lake Chautauqua. This 1 1/2 story building was built in 1925, with the last passenger train stopping here in 1949. Both this building and the depot in Jamestown are listed on the National Register for Historic Places. The railroad abandoned this depot in the early 1950's and Mayville purchased it in 1968. Half of the building is now being used as the Chautauqua township museum and two other rooms are being used by 2 not-for-profit organization.

Upscale Dining - Knoxville

This is an interior photo of the central hallway at The Orangery, an upscale restaurant that's reputed to be one of the best in the Knoxville, Tennessee area. As anyone can see, the interior of the restaurant is really beautiful.



This was our first visit to The Orangery. We came with a group of roughly 64 diners. We were working off a fixed price preset menu...with a chicken, fish, beef or vegetarian entree. We placed our order for dinner weeks in advance of the event. It should also be noted that the group descended on the restaurant on the evening after Valentine's Day.






This very handsome room is the Banquet Room...and it's where the group met and dined. The evening started out with a cash bar... Three different wines were available as were 3 or 4 different varieties of beer. The special price was right! It was $3.00 for a beer and $4.00 for a glass of wine. Everyone had a chance to chat, exchange world views and catch up on any local news...

This was a nice looking place setting. The mixed greens salad with walnuts, feta cheese and a sherry vinaigrette dressing, was very nice. Tasty rolls were served with the salad.


The regular menu at The Orangery includes 7 different 'starters' and 4 different salads.

Laurie had the "Pan seared filet of salmon, with potatoes & asparagus in a spicy Pinot Noir sauce". I tasted her salmon and we both agreed that it was a very nice entree. No one at our table ordered the chicken or the vegetarian entrees.

There are 10 standard entrees on the a la carte menu. They range in price from $24.00 for the "Bacon Wrapped Natural Springer Mountain Bone-in Chicken Breast" to $39.00 for the "Seared Broken Arrow Ranch Venison Chops".

I'd ordered the "Duo of seared filet mignon with house made steak sauce and a lobster mushroom crepe with Grand Marnier cream sauce, fondue potatoes and asparagus". All I can say, is "Where's the beef?!" Filets are small...but usually not this small. It was OK...but not great. Others at the table made the same comment about the steak being so small. I didn't care for the crepe but Laurie tried it and she said that it was tasty.

This photo just didn't come out that well... Nevertheless, this was the dessert that came with our meal. It is a "Palm Beach Brownie, with vanilla bean ice cream and a warm caramel walnut sauce". It was small...but it was good and it was so rich that a whole brownie would have been too much!

The group price for the salmon entree, salad and dessert was $36.00 and the price for the 'steak' and lobster crepe with accompaniments, (plus coffee), was $38.00. Add taxes and a 20% gratuity for the total. On the regular menu, salads range from $4.00 to $9.00 and 'starters' range from $12.00 to $18.00.

We did have a couple of issues. In general the waitstaff was very efficient and unobtrusive. However, the salmon entrees were served long before the steak entrees. Laurie had almost finished her salmon when the steaks arrived. The other thing that bothered us...and I'm sure that it was a logistics issue for the restaurant...is that our checks were delivered to the table before we'd been served our desserts and coffee. It seemed a bit tacky, especially for a high end dining experience.

This was not a particularly auspicious introduction to The Orangery, but we'll probably go back at some point so we can order off the regular menu to fully evaluate the food and service. Almost everyone that we know who'd previously eaten here, had good things to report...

French & Indian War - Tennessee

This photo is of the interior of Fort Loudoun, a reconstructed fort that was originally built in 1756 on the bank of the Little Tennessee River. The fort was built by the British Colony of South Carolina in order to protect their western flanks and so they could ally themselves with the Overhill Cherokee Nation in their fight against the French. However, by 1760, the Cherokee turned against the British and, after an attack by the Indians, the British surrendered. This was the first time that a military unit and fort had surrendered to Native Americans. The Cherokee destroyed the original fort shortly after the British had surrendered and marched off to the east.

In 1917, the Colonial Dames of America placed a plaque at the site in the hope that the site could be preserved. In 1933, The Tennessee General Assembly purchased the land. Subsequently, based on old records and maps, the fort was rebuilt. Because of the damming of the Little Tennessee, part of the site had to be built up in order to raise it above the 'high pool' level of Tellico Lake. The current Fort Loudoun State Historic Area is operated as a unit of the Tennessee State Park System.

Eight times each year, (March, April, May, August, September, October, November and December), on Garrison weekends, volunteer re-enactors populate the Fort. During the first weekend in March, (the 5th & 6th), the re-enactors will kick off the new season. They do an excellent job of portraying and educating visitors as to what it was like to live at the Fort back in the mid-1700's. They actually stay overnight, cooking and sleeping as would have the original occupants of the Fort... We really enjoyed our first visit, as shown here, from March of 2010.

In September, the re-enactors go all out with their annual 18th century 'Trade Faire". There is a small admission charge for the "Faire", but during the rest of the year, admission to the park and the Fort is free. This 1,200 acre park on the shores of Tellico Lake has a free lecture series in the winter and, in season, there is a fishing pier, boat dock and picnic area. Of course, the Fort Loudoun Visitor Center and gift shop is open year around. This historic reconstruction is located just off of US Highway 411 in Vonore, Tennessee. For more information, go to http://www.fortloudoun.com/.

Hot Pastrami Search!

Since moving to East Tennessee from Chicago, we've been searching for a number of food items that we were used to, but that are hard to find here in paradise. (This is a way nicer place to retire than Chicago...which is a terrific Big City!)

One food item that we crave is a hot pastrami sandwich! In Chicago there was Manny's. In East Tennessee so far, we have Jason's Deli and we now have Webster's Deli.

This is Webster's Hot Pastrami. It was a nice sandwich. Laurie thought that it was better than Jason's. I thought that Jason's was better. We'll have to do another taste comparison to determine the winner!

The swirled rye bread was very nice but softer than the rye that usually comes with hot pastrami. Laurie thought that the meat was sliced just right...and I thought that it was a little too thinly sliced. We both agreed that it was much leaner than we're used to, therefore healthier but not as flavorful. Still, this was a nice sandwich...the staff was eager to please...and we'll be back!

Webster's Deli is is a local operation located at 12744 Kingston Pike in Farragut, TN. Phone: 865-675-2242. They also serve breakfast, make paninis and subs. Their hot pastrami competition, (so far), is Jason's Deli. (part of a large chain) The Jason's location where we've eaten is located at 133 North Peters Road in Knoxville. Phone: 865-357-3354. Website: www.jasonsdeli.com.

Any other leads on a great East Tennessee Hot Pastrami sandwich will be appreciated!

Chattanooga Choo Choo!

During our recent visit to Chattanooga Tennessee, we came across the Chattanooga Choo Choo Hotel. This 390+ room hotel occupies the former Terminal Station and it's a member of the Historic Hotels of America. It was built in 1908 - 1909 and it was in the passenger train business from 1909 until August 11, 1970. The last train out was the Birmingham Special, on it's way to Washington, D.C.

The photo is a bit dark but if you expand it, you can see the terrific arched window with all the beautiful details that are built in. At least 3 Presidents came through this depot...Teddy Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson and Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The ceiling at the peak of the dome is 85 feet high. The building cost $1.5 million to build.

I especially like these doors...each with a train & track designation. There were 14 tracks feeding this passenger depot. At it's peak, almost 50 trains per day stopped here. By 1948, that count was down to a steady 35 per day.

Looking for something special!? There are 48 Victorian Railcar Rooms available for guests...all set in the period with the modern conveniences.

Behind the Terminal/Hotel are several tracks still in use. One of them is used by Terminal Station Trolley #36. This trolley is open for business and it takes you for a old time narrated ride. This particular unit was built in 1924 by the Perley A. Thomas Car Works, Inc. in High Point, NC. It served for many years in New Orleans before being relocated to Chattanooga.

This is a 1906 Baldwin Locomotive, also on display behind the Hotel. It is a 2-6-0 'Mogul'...named for the Mohammedan Empire (India), where they were first built. Worldwide, over 11,000 of these engines were built between 1864 and 1910. For more information on the Chattanooga Choo Choo Hotel and entertainment complex, go to www.choochoo.com.

Chattanooga Railroad Classic!

While touring Chattanooga Tennessee a couple of weeks ago, we came across this great old railroad depot! It's hard to believe but the oldest portion of this building began life as an iron foundry back in 1871. Then, in 1894, the structure was converted to a freight depot by the old Eastern Kentucky and Georgia Railroad.

The E.K.&GA Railroad and this building were subsequently taken over by the Southern Railroad in 1901. In the late 1970's, John's railroad salvage made it's home here.

Then, in 1983, the building was designated as a National Historic Landmark and was entered in the National Register of Historic Places.

The building was purchased by Henderson, Hutcherson and McCulloch, PLLC, CPA's. HHM is an accounting, consulting and investment firm. They tore down external walls that were not of historical value and then preserved as much of the interior as possible, including their use of the old wood for such items as doors and conference tables.

One quirky design item that was preserved was the slightly slanted floor which apparently made it easier to load or off-load the boxcars. Leaving the track along the back of the building was another nice touch that adds to the authentic ambiance of the structure. Renovations were completed in 2007. This handsome depot is located at 1200 Market Street in Chattanooga.