Okay, so everybody’s toddler says hilarious things. But ours really impressed us as we drove into downtown Florence. We crossed the Tennessee River via the completely terrific and beautiful O’Neal Bridge and went looking for the offices of Florence Main Street. This organization had invited us to spend the weekend in their good city to kick off Florence Restaurant Week, as I’m sure all y’all who follow us on Facebook and Twitter already know, and treated us to four meals in the city. Continue reading “Poplar South Deli & Grille, Florence AL (CLOSED)”
Tag: standout fries
Litton’s and Denton’s, Knoxville TN
Our son fell asleep, finally, on the road back from Johnson City as we returned to I-40. He snoozed and Marie and I braced ourselves for Knoxville’s Friday 5:00 traffic, which never came. We lucked out, I suppose, and our route, which brought us into town from the east and around the top of the I-640 half-a-loop to I-75, is outside whatever the local rush hour crushes. So we checked into our hotel without trouble, and carried him, sleeping, up to our room, where we kicked back for about an hour while he finished his nap. Continue reading “Litton’s and Denton’s, Knoxville TN”
The Original Ridgewood Barbecue, Bluff City TN
Last month, the girlchild went to Knoxville for a week to spend her spring break with some of her other family up there. When it came time to retrieve her, I proposed a fun little two-day trip. We had originally planned to spend a long family weekend in Memphis when she returned, but some unplanned expenses killed that idea. We still needed to pick her up from her trip, but instead of a quick there-and-back day trip, I suggested that we take a little of the money that we didn’t spend and go visit northeastern Tennessee, come back to Knoxville in the evening and stay one night. We’d only driven through the northeastern region in a rush about five years before, on a long trip down I-81 from Baltimore to Asheville on our honeymoon. Continue reading “The Original Ridgewood Barbecue, Bluff City TN”
Grecian Gyro, Dunwoody GA
As soon as I realized that one of the five Grecian Gyro locations was just one exit away from Marie’s work, I schemed to get over there and have supper. Every once in a while, I like to go pick her up from work and spare her the awful, lonely, Friday evening commute home. She certainly seems pleased to have me and, often, at least one of the children pull up to give her the break. Unfortunately, on this instance, the toddler fell asleep on the way to Dunwoody. We had a bad feeling that he was going to be a Mr. Crankypants when he woke, and we were right. Continue reading “Grecian Gyro, Dunwoody GA”
Allen & Son Barbeque, Chapel Hill NC
Allen & Son was the farthest east that I ate on this trip to North Carolina, and that’s still not east enough to actually be Eastern North Carolina barbecue. Like the restaurants in the Piedmont Triad, they smoke pork shoulders. However, the sauce is proving to be a little bone of contention. Continue reading “Allen & Son Barbeque, Chapel Hill NC”
Wingstop, Kennesaw GA
Not too many weeks ago, I was idly clicking around one of those Wikipedia boxes about, ahem, “chicken-based restaurant chains” – how glamorous does that sound? – and read about the Texas-based chain Wingstop for the first time. The first store in the chain of 600-plus stores opened in Garland twenty years ago. I was surprised to learn they had a presence in Georgia, and even more surprised that there was one just on the other side of I-75 across from Kennesaw State. Continue reading “Wingstop, Kennesaw GA”
Hours and Hours in Hapeville
Marie’s mother was coming to visit. One of her friends on Saint Simons Island was coming to Atlanta to address the Rotarians or the Rosicrucians or the Romulans or somebody at an airport hotel, and she caught a ride. I volunteered to go pick her up, since, downtown, I’m closer to the airport than Marie is. Plus, there was a restaurant in Hapeville that I had been wanting to try. Continue reading “Hours and Hours in Hapeville”
Marie, Let's Eat! 