I Have Been to Pigeon Forge 200 Occasions, Right here Are My Prime 3 Favourite Eating places

Do you know that there are over 100 eating places within the tiny city of Pigeon Forge, Tennessee? Regardless of this metropolis’s seemingly tiny inhabitants of lower than 7,000 residents, due to the likes of Dollywood – Dolly Parton’s namesake theme park – and the Nice Smoky Mountains Nationwide Park, it’s estimated that Pigeon Forge sees greater than 14 million guests go via annually on their technique to certainly one of these main points of interest.

And evidently, these guests are inclined to pack their appetites. For this reason, over the course of the final three a long time, restauranteurs from all around the United States have come to Pigeon Forge to check their culinary wares.

With so many eating choices obtainable, it may be tough for first-time company to type via the noise and uncover the must-try foodie havens.

As a journey blogger who was born and raised within the foothills of the Smoky Mountains, I’ve made extra journeys to Pigeon Forge all through my life than every other metropolis on the planet. And I can confidently say there are constantly a handful of eating places that stand head and shoulders above the remaining. In truth, if you happen to solely had a 24-hours to spend within the space, these are the three eating places I might advocate.

The Previous Mill Restaurant

Positioned in a grist mill initially constructed within the 1780s, The Old Mill serves up true Appalachian flavors from time-tested recipes which have been handed down from generations. Stepping inside The Previous Mill will make you are feeling such as you simply walked into your great-grandmother’s nation cabin. Their menu options all the things from buttermilk biscuits and gravy to Southern fried rooster and comfort food classics like rooster and dumplings, BBQ, and nation ham. I can personally let you know that their rooster and dumplings and melt-in-you-mouth biscuits are the most effective you will discover in a 60-mile radius of the Smoky Mountains. 

However if you wish to dine right here, you need to plan forward. There’s an inheritor of exclusivity at The Previous Mill. Within the spirit of a real old school restaurant, they do not settle for call-ahead seating or reservations. If you wish to get in, you will should put your title down on web site, stand in line, and wait on your title to be known as. And wait instances will be as excessive as an hour or extra within the busy season. However for my part, it is value it.

Mama’s Farmhouse

Of any restaurant I’ve ever skilled within the Smokies, solely Mama’s makes me really feel like I am again in my grandmother’s kitchen, consuming at her previous wood desk, particularly once I’m diving right into a bowl of Mama’s award-winning banana pudding.

Owned by the native family-operated restaurateur group generally known as The Johnson Household, Mama’s Farmhouse options dishes ready within the model and spirit of the household’s great-grandmother, whose portrait hangs above the hearth within the lobby. They merely consult with her as “Mama”. 

In that spirit, eating at Mama’s is finished “family-style”. Every meal kicks off with their award-winning biscuits and includes a alternative of two entrees for lunch, and three for dinner, together with a alternative of 4 sides. The entrees, merely known as “Meats” on the menu, alternate seasonally however are inclined to function a collection of all of the traditional dishes you’d count on any self-respecting Southern mammaw to make, together with fried rooster, meatloaf, honey-glazed ham, turkey n’ stuffing, country-fried steak, and Salisbury steak. Dessert choices function banana pudding, peach cobbler, and apple crunch.

Pottery Home Cafe

Lastly, my final decide must be the Pottery House Cafe, situated straight throughout from The Previous Mill. It, too, is steeped in native historical past. The construction the restaurant now occupies was initially constructed as the house of an area craftsman who based Pigeon Forge Pottery in 1954.

As we speak, The Pottery Home Cafe serves made-from-scratch entrees with a up to date Southern flare. It is grow to be considerably well-known domestically for its contemporary baked bread made each day utilizing grains from the on-site mill. 

Their wide-ranging menu options a wide range of plates, together with all the things from fried inexperienced tomatoes to seafood to pasta to sandwiches and burgers – every with a little bit of Southern aptitude sprinkled in. However do not forget to pattern a collection of their contemporary baked items and artisan breads earlier than you go.

Like its sister restaurant, The Previous Mill, the Pottery Home Cafe doesn’t settle for reservation or call-ahead seating. 

My Technique

Here is my recommendation. In the event you solely have 24 hours in Pigeon Forge on your culinary tour, begin out at The Previous Mill for breakfast. Try the encircling retailers in The Previous Mill District and put your name down for lunch on the close by Pottery Home. There are many issues to see and do within the space when you wait. After lunch, name forward or make a reservation on-line for a dinner at Mama’s Farmhouse and go to a number of the museums alongside the Parkway to kill time earlier than dinner. Belief me, your abdomen will thanks.

This text was produced by Media Decision and syndicated by Wealth of Geeks.