Visitors – Out and About

Nothing too exciting going on lately.  So we were happy to learn that Laurie’s sister Bonnie and her husband Bill were once again coming to pay us an extended visit!  It was a great way to celebrate the beginnings of the Spring Season.

Some of our early spring blooming plants had already showed themselves, and, with the mild late winter weather we were experiencing, life was once again proving resilient despite some truly damaging freezing temperatures back in December.  The daffodils and grape hyacinths were among the first blooms to appear.   We love spring, don't you?!   

Laurie doesn’t get much satisfaction shopping with yours truly…mainly because I don’t like to shop for much…except groceries.  So, when her sister visits, she and Laurie are off and running.  We needed a new towel set and new bathroom rugs for the primary bathroom and Laurie was also looking for a replacement carpet for our living room area.  Homegoods, in Maryville Tennessee, was the first of many stores visited over the next few days… They were ready for Easter business and even I think that this store was well organized and stocked.

Of course we stopped at Homegoods’ carpet display to see if we could find something that had the right colors…and of equal importance…the right dimensions to fill our need.  The width and colors of the carpet shown above would fit our needs but it wasn’t quite long enough.  We may go back and pick it up and make it work if nothing better comes along.

Note: We did find a towel set that fit our needs.  Time to retire the old ones!

Next, the ladies stopped in at the Rack Room Shoes adjacent to Homegoods…but I (we) escaped without making any purchases.

What to do next?  In the depths of my memory, such as it is these days, I recalled reading about a new brew pub in Alcoa Tennessee…which is right next to Maryville.  Bill loves a good beer plus Laurie and I are always looking for a new place to bring visitors and/or just to have dinner.

This is Black Horse Pub and Brewery.  Jeff Robinson was a helicopter pilot for the 101^st Airborne Division during Operation Desert Storm.  After returning from Iraq and Kuwait, in 1992 Jeff and his wife Sherri opened a small pub in downtown Clarksville Tennessee.

Then in 1995, the couple completed construction of their own brewery.  They chose the name “Blackhorse” in honor of the 11^th Armored Cavalry Regiment.  Jeff never served in that unit but he admired the Cavalry’s spirit and energy.  The “Blackhorse” Regiment has served in the Philippine-American War, the Pancho Villa Expedition, World War II, the Vietnam War, Gulf War and the Iraq War.

This is a big restaurant and pub with a very large bar and a variety of seating…the latter ranging from low tables to booths to high stools and tables and, of course, stools at the bar.  The ambiance is industrial but the ‘look’ is tempered by the wooden beams, wood covered ceiling and those big circular lighting fixtures.  Thanks to the server for her big smile!

At my stage and age, I opt for a standard table if one is available.  Booths are too hard to slide in and out of and if I sit on one of those high stools for very long, my legs tend to go to sleep…awkward! 

It wasn’t time for dinner so we just ordered this large Charcuterie Board with crusty bread, some unleavened crackers, cheeses, fruit, nuts, pepperoni and salami…all drizzled with honey. ($17.50) It was a very good charcuterie board with lots to nibble on for the money.  Everything was nice and fresh.  We proclaimed the Blackhorse Pub and Brewery as a “winner” and vowed to return soon!

I stuck to a nice Lemonade ($3.25), Laurie had the Vanilla Cream Ale ($6.00) which she loved, Bonnie had McGee’s Pale Ale ($6.00) and Bill had the Beer Sampler. ($7.50) He really liked their ‘Warhorse’ brew!

The Blackhorse Pub and Brewery in Alcoa Tennessee is located at 441 North Hall Road.  Phone: 865-448-5900.  The Blackhorse Pub and Brewery’s website is at Blackhorse - Blackhorse (blackhorsebrews.com).

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

Tried a New Place for Dinner…New for Us at Least

At this point in time we’ve lived here in East Tennessee for over thirteen and a half years.  One would think that we would have tried every restaurant/dining opportunity for miles around where we live.  The fact is, that for one reason or another, we haven’t chowed down in all the restaurants…even ones that have been around longer than we have…

Asahi Japanese Grill was in business when we moved in those many years ago.  There were 3 reasons why we hadn’t eaten here previously.  First of all, I’m not crazy about Japanese food…but admittedly I hadn’t been to a Japanese Grill.  Secondly, for quite some time, the landscaping wasn’t taken care of…and that turned off my better half.  The third reason was that none of our friends ever mentioned it so it wasn’t on our mind.  In any case, I decided that we had to give Asahi’s a try!

It’s a nice looking building but all the parking is in the back.  If you’re dining in, it’s easiest to enter through the back door.  The dining area itself is fairly austere…plain with minimal decorations.  It appeared that most regular customers order at the counter.   We hadn’t eaten here before so we asked if we could take the menus to our table.  Shortly thereafter, a waitress began serving us…

To start, Laurie ordered her favorite appetizer, the Crab Rangoon. (6 for $6.99) I went for the Vegetable Spring Rolls. (2 for $2.99)

The Crab Rangoon was not a winner.  Basically it seemed to be pre-packaged and the only flavor was the cream cheese.  No spices of any note were present.  I ended up eating 2 of them…but neither of us thought that they were very tasty.  As for the Spring Rolls, they were pretty mushy…enough said!

For her dinner, Laurie ordered the Shrimp and Chicken Combination with mushrooms, rice, broccoli and carrots. ($15.99) As you can see, the amount of food she was served was huge!  She wasn’t crazy about the chicken…chewy she thought…liked the shrimp and ate them all, loved the mushrooms and the vegetables were OK.  The most significant downfall for her entrée was that it was so bland…no pop at all.  The meal came with "Yum Yum" sauce...which again had little flavor or spice to add.  FYI, little salads came with our meals and the dressing used was pretty tasty.

I ordered the Teriyaki Steak with rice and extra carrots for my dinner. ($12.99) Broccoli usually comes with this meal and I love broccoli.  But, it doesn’t work with my meds.  Again, the quantity of food I was served was pretty impressive.  The steak wasn’t very tender but it wasn’t overly tough either.  The carrots were a bit overcooked.  I was OK with my meal but I had the same problem with my entrée as Laurie did with hers… Bland, lacking seasoning…

Asahi has a drive through window and they seem to have a lot of take out and drive through business.  Someone looking for a large quantity of food for a reasonable price…especially given the inflation we’re experiencing, they will do well at Asahi!  If you are an Asian or Japanese food aficionado, this restaurant isn’t for you. 

Asahi Japanese Grill is located at 704 East Broadway Street/US Hwy 11 in Lenoir City Tennessee.  Phone: 865-816-6668.  They are open for lunch and dinner 7 days a week.  Website: https://www.asahijapanesegrills.com/.

I did experience one real positive from dining at Asahi Japanese Grill.  Leftovers!  There had been so much food that we brought home a pile of rice, chicken and steak.  I had the leftovers for breakfast.  Since it had been hit pretty solidly with soy sauce at the restaurant I couldn’t convince myself to add my usual couple of easy over eggs. 

Sorry Larry…aka Big Dude at https://bigdudesramblings.blogspot.com/.  I know that I’m an ‘egg-less’ disappointment… Nevertheless, this was a very satisfying breakfast, especially after I kicked it up a couple of notches with a combination of spicy Asian sauces we keep on hand.

Just to show that I’m still in the egg business, here is yet another breakfast I put together recently.  We had some mild summer sausage we’d been gifted and I had a bit of feta cheese on hand.  I chopped up several slices of the sausage and heated the pieces in a frying pan with a bit of butter.  Then I broke up quite a bit of the feta cheese, tossed it into the pan and scrambled in a couple of eggs.  It was a very satisfying breakfast sided with that buttered toast, but that ‘mild’ summer sausage managed to hide the flavor of the feta cheese.

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

A Different Take on Fried Chicken + ‘Visitors’

We are always looking for good fried chicken and especially chicken wings.  Then Laurie noticed that the building that formerly housed our favorite Chinese restaurant, had now become a restaurant featuring Korean style fried chicken… We had to check it out!

The outside of the building occupied by CM Korean Style Chicken is attractive.  On the other hand, the dining area is fairly bare bones…plain and simple.  The posters on the front windows showing this restaurant’s offerings are very visually descriptive of what CM Chicken is serving.  FYI, the restaurant also offers take-out service.

We took photos of the 3 primary pages of the restaurant’s menu but somehow we missed a key page.  Our waitress did a good job of explaining the menu to us…especially the ‘spice’ or ‘heat’ levels.  For our first visit, we stuck to the Specialties and Sides page as well as the “Original” offerings.

I didn’t capture the information about ’Tikkudak’ style chicken that CM Chicken offers.  This style involves extra steps.  First the chicken is fried and then it is baked in a charcoal-grill Tikku oven, which makes the chicken extra crispy and crunchy.  I’ll probably try this style when we return for another meal.

We started out with the Fried Calamari from the Specialties and Sides portion of the menu. ($8.99) We chose the ‘original’ over the soy-garlic or the red-hot versions.  As happens when we…or I…are hungry and forget our photographic intentions, we ate more than half of the calamari before remembering to take a picture.  The calamari was nice and tender…good quality…but the batter was too bland for us.  The next time we’ll order one of the other options, probably the soy-garlic version.

Interestingly enough, CM Chicken offers fried chicken gizzards, an item rarely seen on menus in the USA.  We do know folks that love gizzards, but it’s not our thing…

Laurie ordered the Curry Chicken Wings…crispy chicken tossed in their signature golden curry sauce. ($14.99) She liked them a lot despite the fact that we prefer chicken wings that aren’t breaded.  There was just a little touch of spice or heat in her wing seasoning.

I also ordered chicken wings.  My selection should be no surprise for anyone who knows me.  I went for the Red Hot Pepper Chicken Wings. ($14.99) These wings were tossed in CM Chicken’s “addictive” Gochujang sauce.  I can assure you that these wings put out some heat.  However, after the first blast of heat settled down, I really enjoyed both the spice and the flavor of the ingredients. 

Despite the breading, we really liked the wings.  After the calamari appetizer and about half of our wings, we were full so we took the rest home with us, reheating them in the microwave for dinner…still good!

CM Chicken is located in the Kroger shopping plaza at 115 Brooklawn Street in just off Kingston Highway/US Hwy 11 in Farragut Tennessee.  Phone: 865-392-1060.  The company’s website can be found at http://cmchickenus.com/.  Apparently there are about 50 CM Chicken restaurants in the eastern and central portion of the USA.

Now for a couple of wild visitors in our yard.  We don’t see Flickers at our feeder very often but this one has learned that he can access the suet by standing/perching on top of the other feeder, the one full of seeds and fruit.   The second photo is clearer as Laurie had time and the right camera to take the shot.  They are one of our most beautiful birds...

This photo is pretty fuzzy…not great…but it was with a phone through a window and in the rain.  This red fox was just lying there chilling and grooming between its hunting efforts.  The fox family has a den about 2 houses away from ours.

I borrowed this photo from The National Wildlife Foundation... The red fox is the largest of the true foxes.  They can be found across the entire Northern Hemisphere including most of North America, Europe and Asia, plus parts of North Africa.  Introduced by the British into Australia for the ‘sport’ of fox hunting, the red fox is considered a destructive invasive species on that continent.  It is estimated that there are 7,200,000 red foxes in Australia.  The only place where they did not established themselves was on the island of Tasmania…where they were out-competed by the Tasmanian Devils.  As of about 2000, they were accidentally re-introduced on the island and the government initiated an eradication program.  Red Foxes have significantly contributed to the extinction or decline of several native species across Australia.

We love seeing them here however…as they keep down the population of mice, moles and other destructive critters.  Also, they are fun to watch!

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

Mostly at Home…with Breakfast Out

We’re about to experience and enjoy our thirteenth spring here in East Tennessee.  We love this time of rebirth and renewal.  Hope, energy and the desire to travel all become part of our mindset.  What will we experience, what will we see and what will we learn in the months ahead?

The first blooms began popping up just last week.  The Lenten roses led the way with their delicate blossoms heralding the start of something…a season that seems almost miraculous. 

Despite a horrid cold snap in December…one of the worst East Tennessee has suffered in years, Laurie’s favorite blooming bush, her quince, has survived and is beginning to show its bright red colors…

We had a huge forsythia bush…or series of bushes…when we lived in the suburbs of Chicago.  A few years ago we planted one in our yard here in East Tennessee…and true to its normal behavior…it is one of the first bushes or trees to explode with color.  The bright yellow contrasts nicely with the new leaves. 

Now onto one of my favorite topics, food!

I’d purchased some deli style pastrami from our local grocery store.  I’d used most of it with sandwiches but I had a couple of slices left.  I cut them up into small pieces, then lightly frying them in butter.  I added a couple of eggs to the pan and tossed in some sharp cheddar cheese and added pepper.  With my large slice of buttered toast, it made for a satisfying if not terribly imaginative breakfast.

As I’ve mentioned before, if we can find products that a prepared or semi-prepared…requiring less prep and less clean-up, we give them a try.  We repeat with those we like to keep our life simple.  When we try something that doesn’t quite ‘make it’, we just chalk it up to experience.

In this case I’d selected a seasoned pork loin roast wrapped in bacon that was ready to go and could just be popped in the oven.  We also had some packaged pre-roasted potatoes.  We agreed that the potatoes were ‘keepers’ but the pork roast was too sweet…Applewood cured bacon or the seasoning had to be the issue.  We prefer savory vs sweet when it comes to meat.  Laurie magnified ‘the sweet’, accompanying her entrée with pineapple.  I had my pineapple later for dessert.

One recent morning we got up early…anything before 9 AM is early for us…and headed out to a local estate sale.  After spending $1.25 on a photo frame I needed, it was still early enough for breakfast in an actual restaurant!  So we headed over to Little Italy in Loudon Tennessee, also known as “Mama’s Grits” during breakfast hours. 

Laurie ordered 2 eggs over medium, bacon, a biscuit and hash brown potatoes. ($8.95) My order was similar, with the only difference being a sausage patty instead of the bacon. ($8.95) I added a cup of Larry’s famous sausage gravy for the 2 of us to use with our biscuits. ($2.95) That sausage gravy continues to be probably the best we’ve ever had…

The eggs were cooked perfectly as were the plentiful hash brown potatoes.  Laurie loved her bacon and it was fried to her demanding specifications…crisp but not too crispy.  Little Italy / Mama’s Grits is located at 316 Lakeside Plaza, Loudon Tennessee.  Phone: 865-657-6224.  They are on Facebook at Little Italy Restaurant | Loudon TN | Facebook, but there isn’t a breakfast menu on line that I could find.

One of our neighbors took this photo of a tugboat/pusher /tow boat doing its thing on Tellico Lake.  Tellico Lake, Fort Loudoun Lake and Knoxville Tennessee are all at the head or at the beginning of commercial navigation along the Tennessee River.

Commercial navigation on the Tennessee River stretches for 652 miles, connecting to the Ohio River near Paducah Kentucky.  Another connection, the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway connects the river directly to the Gulf of Mexico.  Boaters can even go from Knoxville to Minneapolis, Chicago, the Great Lakes, Canada and the Atlantic Ocean via various other rivers and canals.

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

Checking Out and Heading Home

Our short visit and exploration of Asheville in early October 2022 was about over.  Time to load us all up and head back across the Appalachian Mountains to East Tennessee and our home.  Of course, I didn’t go back the same way that we came and we did make one stop along our ‘new’ route.

This was the view from our window of our hotel room at the “aloft” hotel we stayed in while visiting Asheville.  Great location just a couple blocks off the center of town and the view was decent as well…

A bit more about our hotel in Asheville.  ‘Aloft’ hotels is a division of Marriott International, Inc.  Aloft, with just a little over 200 locations, is one of the 30 brands operated by Marriott.  Marriot has 8,000 properties with 1,423,044 rooms in 131 countries and territories around the world. 

The on-line description of our ‘aloft’ hotel states that “it is a chic, urban lifestyle experience”.  It certainly ‘popped’ as compared to the usual along the highway hotels that we usually stay at when we’re on a road trip.  Not the usual sink in the bathroom and that wallpaper is quirky isn’t it?  Our favorite plus was the walk-in shower…standard for these hotels.  A great amenity for those of us who are just a ‘bit’ older.  It was a great place to stay...

The Asheville North Carolina ‘aloft’ hotel is located at 51 Biltmore Avenue.  Phone: 828-232-2838.  Website: https://www.marriott.com/en-us/hotels/avlal-aloft-asheville-downtown/overview/.

Moving along, we followed I-40 west until US Hwy 74 branched off toward the south west, with our eventual route through the mountains being NC Hwy 28 to US Hwy 129, aka “The Tail of the Dragon”.

This is the Mast General Store in Waynesville North Carolina.  Its part of a family owned group of 11 similar stores scattered across North Carolina and East Tennessee.  We’ve been the downtown Knoxville store and, while in Asheville, we stopped at the Mast store in that city.  The ladies opted to visit this location as well.  Mast General Store’s beginnings trace back to a very small town in North Carolina that opened about 170 years ago.  W.W. Mast bought full interest in the store in 1913…and thereafter it was called the Mast Store.  These stores are indeed ‘general stores’ as they carry everything from clothing to outdoor gear to toys, a huge selection of candy as shown above...and much much more.  Located at 63 North Main Street, this building was built in 1937.  Website: https://www.mastgeneralstore.com/.

The town of Waynesville was founded in 1810 by Colonel Robert Love, a soldier from the Revolutionary War.  He donated the land for the courthouse, jail and Public Square.  He named the town after his former commander, General “Mad” Anthony Wayne.

Waynesville was the scene of the last skirmish in the eastern theater of the American Civil War.  After being attacked in a nearby town by Thomas’ Legion of Highlanders…a Rebel force of Cherokee and European soldiers, a detachment of Union Mounted Infantry retreated to Waynesville, where they were surrounded by the Rebels.  The following day, learning that General Robert E. Lee had surrendered and that the war was over, on May 7^th 1865, the Confederate forces surrendered to the Union troops...

Lots of stores along Waynesville’s Main Street!  The ladies led the way but I usually hung out on the sidewalk watching people and traffic going by.  Bill was more participatory…browsing along with the ladies.  My ‘browsing’ was much more interesting to me than most shopping could be…

In any case, this was one of the ladies first stops.  Logan’s Gift and Home Décor Shop is located at 26 North Main Street.  It was packed with lots of stuff for the determined shopper.  For more information, you can click on https://logans-gifts-and-home-decor.business.site/.

As you can see by this photo, Waynesville is a popular place with tourists!  Downtown was busy…and this was before the fall colors were in their full glory.  The town’s Main Street Historic District is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  Thirty-five contributing buildings in this central business district are included in the listing. 

In addition, Waynesville encompasses 2 other Historic Districts on the National Register as well as 17 more individual listings.  The other Historic Districts are “The Spread Out Historic District” with 67 structures and the “Frog Level Historic District” with 16 structures.  FYI, the latter Historic District is located in a low area near the railroad tracks and Richland Creek…and it frequently flooded…hence the moniker “Frog Level”.

This unusual stone structure at 113 North Main Street was built in 1905.  This Romanesque Revival style one-story building built with river rock is still intact.  I love the windows and the stone work is truly eye-catching.  Originally, this building was constructed for use as a bank, then later it served as the public library and then a gift shop.

Currently this handsome and unusual structure is home to the “WildFlour Blue Bakery”.  To view their menu which is full of sweetness and lots of goodies, go to https://www.yelp.com/menu/wildflour-blue-waynesville.

The Haywood County Courthouse is located at 215 North Main Street in Asheville.  This neoclassical revival style building was completed in 1932.  While the front of the courthouse is 3 stories high, there is a large drop in topography at the back of the building…where it is 5 stories high.

The building is situated on a slight hill so it tends to dominate this end of Main Street.  Several war memorials have been constructed on the property, including the Revolutionary War, Confederate Veterans, Century Vault, All Veterans, Korean War and the Vietnam War.

Waynesville and Haywood county are located in the midst of the Blue Ridge Mountains...including the Great Smoky Mountains in the western portion of the county.  There are several mountain peaks approaching or exceeding 6,000 feet in elevation, the tallest being Mt. Guyot at 6,621 feet (2,018 m).

Two major festivals are held in Hayward County every year.  The annual ramp (Allium tricoccum) convention in May draws as many as 4,000 participants every year.  The first ramp convention was held in 1925.  See Waynesville Ramp Festival 2023, a Festival in Waynesville, North… (festivalnet.com)  

“Folkmoot USA” is an international folk festival that has been held in Waynesville every year since 1984.  This 2-week event has featured folk groups representing from about 100 countries.  The name “Folkmoot” is an old English word meaning “meeting of the people”.  For information about this festival and Folkmoot USA, go to www.FolkmootUSA.org.

Not the first time…but I was faked out again!  This brick structure is the Olde Brick House…but it isn’t old and it’s never been a house.  Built in 1987, it is a ‘non-contributing’ structure in the Main Street Historic District. 

Oh well…time to head on down the road and over the mountains.

When we returned to our home in East Tennessee it was time to celebrate Bill’s birthday.  But wait!  He sure doesn’t look happy does he?  It could be due to the fact that he’d just tested positive for Covid-19, not exactly the birthday present he’d hoped for…

But the situation does get ‘better’ or at least more interesting!

Soon, Bill had company as regarded Covid-19!  Laurie took this selfie.  First his better half Bonnie tested positive, then Laurie joined the group…and I rounded out the party as the last of this happy family group to test positive.  The good news is that all of us had been vaccinated and boosted at least once, so no one was truly miserable except Bill, who felt bad that he’d given Covid-19 to the rest of us.

It wasn’t long before all 4 of us were back to normal…

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them.

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave