June 2023 Gatlinburg Trip Report, Part 1: The Food...and Drinks
Gatlinburg will never be confused with places with high-end, fine dining. This tourist town will also give diabetics, and people who try to live life consuming as little sugar as possible, a reason to fall off the wagon. I belong in both of these categories, and while I denied the sweets for a few visits, I don’t exactly go off the rails, I do indulge a bit. This is just a small morsel of our visit. Keep reading to find out where we spent our money on food and drinks.
On Thursday, our first day in town, we followed our itinerary by visiting Howard’s Restaurant. We believe they have the best burgers in Gatlinburg and we left with that same feeling. A cheeseburger with bacon, lettuce, tomatoes, and onions will “only” set you back $14. If you’ve been to any other establishment in town, this is the bare mininum you will spend on some ground beef between bread. The teriyaki vegetables as a side item is delicious, and probably something you don’t expect on the menu.
Overall Rating: 9/10
Friday morning was a semi-successful donut run to The Donut Friar, of course. What do I mean by semi-successful. Well, my favorite donut was not ready at 7 in the morning, which never happens. The Chocolate Cruller is what I’m referring to, so I went with the old #2, the Cinnamon Cake. I will say I went back to the Friar on Sunday to get me the circular grooved delight. Needless to say, it was everything I knew it would be—fantastic!
Overall Rating: 9.5/10…only because my #1 wasn’t available upon arrival.
Our late lunch on Friday was eaten at Bennett’s Pit Bar-B-Que. It’s one of our old favorites that’s fallen out of favor a bit in recent years, so we decided to return. Still not as amazing as we remember, but quite solid nonetheless. My wife had their Burnt Ends, which has always been good, and I went with an old standby, Pulled Pork Platter. Their signature BBQ sauce remains a no-fail option they bring out with the meal. I tried Collard Greens for the first time in my life, and I was not disappointed with this traditional Southern barbecue side.
Overall Rating: 8.5/10
After what seemed like miles—I’m sure it was—walking around Gatlinburg, I made a solo visit to Chicken Guy. We ate there as a family once before, and thought it was fine, but not better than other chain chicken choices. More of the same with this visit. It served a purpose: to eliminate my hunger. I had three chicken strips with two of their Signature Sauces: Ranchero and Chipotle Ranch. I really enjoyed the former. It tasted like an elevated marinara sauce. Again, not exceptional, but definitely not bad.
Overall Rating: 6.5/10
Saturday morning was breakfast with the boys at Pancake Pantry—my wife did not participate. Last time was a long-anticipated return to the original pancake house. On that trip I had the fabulous French Toast, but this time, upon recommendation from my son, I had a basic cheese omelet with toast. The eggs are just better here. I don’t know what they do, but they’re so much better than Crockett’s and Log Cabin’s eggs. I may catch a little flak from that, but it’s just my opinion.
Overall Rating: 9.5/10
Our mid-afternoon meal was at Smoky Mountain Brewery. While I love their Brewmaster Club Salad, I also can’t deny the tastiness of their pizza, so I ordered a personal pepperoni. It was nearly perfect, and it tasted like a carbon copy of the first personal I ordered 6 years ago. It’s crazy how inexpensive their beers are compared to what other places charge for bottles and drafts of standard domestic suds. $4.25 for a pint! My favorite is the Helles, a German light lager, but I returned on our final day to have a 4 beer sampler: Cherokee Red, Black Bear, and two summer selections—Summertime Wheat and Pina Colada Cream Ale. The first two I knew were good, but the other two were even better than I expected. Cheers to the Brewery!
Overall Rating: 9.5/10
Wow! I just realized how much food I ate on Saturday. I had a late dinner at Calhoun’s after we split up in the evening. Service was a bit slow, but she was friendly, and I surely can’t complain about my meal. The “Ale” Pork Chop ordered on this visit is my favorite entree here, not counting their meat sweat-worthy Smokehouse Salad. Along with the Spinach Maria side, the food gets two thumbs up!
Overall Rating: 8.5/10
Breakfast on Sunday was at Log Cabin Pancake House. Yes, there’s room on our trip and my belly for both them and the Pantry, despite the rivalry displayed from other tourists. I had to get the French Toast here, because on our last visit in February, I had the best I’ve ever had at Pancake Pantry. Well, LCPH gave me the second best. I mean, they’re pretty close. Factor in theirs is $3 cheaper than the Pantry’s, it’s actually a better value. I was pleasantly surprised how much it delivered for less than $8. Service was outstanding, but that shouldn’t shock you. I wish their coffee was better, but that’s small beans…pun intended.
Overall Rating: 9.25/10…only because I gave away too many 9.5s. Hey, it’s my review:)
Dinner was eaten at Cherokee Grill, our splurge meal during vacation. Everyone else in the family gets the Prosperity Steak, and while I’ve also enjoyed it, I like to stray, so I had the Grilled Chicken Salad. At $15, it was worth every penny. The chicken was tender and tasty, and I loved the garlic roasted tomatoes in it. It was excellent, and I didn’t expect it to be filling, but it was. Our server was polite, but things weren’t ideally executed. There were minor errors, and I did feel a bit sorry for him. He was trying but sort of admitted he’s struggling with the whole experience being in a tourist town. I don’t know what brought him here from Charlotte, North Carolina, but I do wish that young man the best.
Overall Rating: 8/10
Our last breakfast before leaving for home is traditionally Little House of Pancakes, and that’s where our vacation ended once again. If you know a little about me, I stay away from pancakes mainly because of the excessive carbs and sugar that’s too destructive for my blood sugar. Instead, I opted for the #5 meal, which is two eggs, bacon, with toast and gravy. Toast is toast, but the rest was extremely satisfying—crispy bacon, creamy gravy, and eggs with a nice, rubbery texture. But yes, the eggs tasted great. It’s a local favorite, and it’s easy to see why.
Overall Rating 9/10
Bonus
Slice Pizza Bakery can really only be reviewed on the basis of taste, timeliness, and treatment, since it’s not a sit-down restaurant. Located in Arcadia at the bottom of The Space Needle, it was delicious New York-style pizza. I thought that their crust had changed for the worse on my last visit, but this time was met with a return to form. A perfectly floppy, folded-over crust with a zesty sauce and generously seasoned on top was what we were given. Job well done! Even though it’s not my favorite pizza in Gatlinburg, it’s usually an ideal quick stop for us when were feeling something savory to share. Better than anything we can get at home!
Overall Rating: 8.75/10
I hope you enjoyed Part 1 of our extended weekend visit to Gatlinburg. I made myself hungry again for all the food I just wrote about. Please consider subscribing if you haven’t already. You will get all my posts via email once I publish them. Thank you so much, and stay tuned for Part 2!