Pal’s Sudden Service, Kingsport TN

Pal’s Sudden Service is known as a drive-thru fast food place. In fact, the small chain is the industry leader in speed, efficiency, and accuracy in its drive-thru. But before it started putting its brand together and constructing identical buildings – beautifully oddball, but identical – it opened a store in Kingsport that is nothing like the others, and that’s the one we went to visit. Continue reading “Pal’s Sudden Service, Kingsport TN” →

Old Lighthouse Diner, Bristol TN

Marie writes… Sometimes you know before you even see the lobby that you won’t want to eat the free breakfast at your hotel. Sometimes you have a place already in mind that wouldn’t change your decision even if the hotel has the breakfast buffet to end all buffets. In this case, both were true. Continue reading “Old Lighthouse Diner, Bristol TN” →

Burger Bar, Bristol VA

For the last stop on our first day of traveling, we visited the incredibly neat twin cities of Bristol, where the state line runs right down the center of the main street. On the Virginia side, there’s a diner that’s been open since 1942 and serves a far better burger than you’d expect to get in a greasy spoon like it. Continue reading “Burger Bar, Bristol VA” →

Blue Circle Hamburgers, Bristol TN

For our first of several stops in the Tri-Cities, an area that I very much want to revisit many times, we pulled into a 52 year-old burger joint. For quite some time, this place was the only survivor of a Tennessee chain that was founded way back in 1931. Continue reading “Blue Circle Hamburgers, Bristol TN” →