aka Romantic Couples Getaway – Part 2
After spending a day and a half exploring Greeneville, TN (Romantic Couples Getaway – Part 1), we headed west on our quest to find 10 places Food Nerds shouldn’t miss in Sevierville, TN. There are a couple routes from Greeneville to Sevierville. One takes you on major highways north of Douglass Lake, and one on smaller roads on the lake’s southern side. Both take just over an hour, and both offer pretty scenery. We took the “southern” route in the 2019 Chevy Blazer we were test driving. In addition to lots of countryside, farms, and rolling hills, we saw quite a few interesting birds. Tom has an uncanny knack for imitating all kinds of bird calls, which also kept us entertained.
Even though we were in town two full days and two nights, we barely made a dent in Sevierville’s culinary scene!
Food Nerds, we did the research – in this order. Here are 10 places in Sevierville you shouldn’t miss:
BUSH’S VISITOR CENTER, CAFE & MUSEUM
I’ve driven past Bush’s Visitor Center more times than I can count, but never had the time to stop before now. We planned to have lunch at the Cafe, watch an all-about-Bush’s movie, go through the interesting & subtly humorous Museum, and wander through the Gift Shop. Give yourself a couple hours for a meal and tour.
Bring your appetite and be prepared for a hearty, Southern-leaning meal at the Cafe. We sampled Fried Catfish, Grilled Pimento Cheese Sandwich, Cornbread, Chili Dogs, and the pièce de résistance, house-made (as all pies are at Bush’s) Pimento Bean Pecan Pie, and more. Whatever you do, save room for that pie! If you want to make it at home, here’s the Bush’s Pinto Bean Pie Recipe. A word about the Chili Dogs. They were topped with chili made with BUSH’S® Chili Magic® Chili Starter. All you do is add your own meat and diced tomatoes when you need to make a quick batch of chili.
A word about the staff – friendly and fun! Guess that’s two words, but I was impressed with every member of staff we met. The woman who bakes all the pies even came out of the kitchen to talk and answer some questions we had.
PEPPER PALACE
Whoa! You haven’t explored hot sauce until you’ve been to the Pepper Palace! Every type of sauce and every bottle on their shelves is made right there at their Sevierville location. We were lucky enough to watch the magic happen in their production area. The seasonings were in huge buckets and too numerous to count. See the picture of the “label room” in the collage. They also have a great sense of humor. Evidence of a pepper fatality remained outside a walk-in cooler.
FIVE OAKS FARM KITCHEN
Serving Breakfast, Lunch, and Supper, Five Oaks Farm Kitchen is in a huge stand alone building that’s absolutely gorgeous inside. Bring a hearty appetite because portions are huge. Now that I think about it, Five Oaks is a good place to bring teenagers that never seem to get enough to eat. Seating is at tables with benches, so if you need a back on your chair, don’t plan on lingering over your meal. See all their menus HERE.
APPLEWOOD FARMHOUSE RESTAURANT
Applewood Farmhouse Restaurant, celebrating 100 years for the farmhouse and 33 years for the restaurant next year, is part of a complex that’s grown organically in response to demand over the years. Some just call it “The Apple Barn” place. There’s also a Grill (pictured above), Cider Mill & General Store (aka Gift Shop) and Winery. Be sure to check out the Gift Shop. It used to be a barn and they left the stalls in place when it was converted. The entire complex, but especially the Farmhouse Restaurant is beloved by generations of locals and visitors that return every year. Featuring “traditional Southern home cooking like Grandma used to make”, their Breakfast menu has something for everyone. They’re famous (for good reason) for their Applewood Fritters. Everything we had was delicious, including new this year – fresh squeezed orange juice. Don’t tell anyone, but I admit to consuming more than my share of those fritters! Almost forgot, another fun drink is their Applewood Julep (non alcohol): apple, orange, pineapple, and lemon juice.
We were fortunate that Executive Chef Roman Campbell had so much time to spend with us. He’s such a gem! He’s been on board for 7 years, as the new kid on the block, since most staff have been at the restaurant for 20 to 40 years! Heidi has a catering company and teaches cooking lessons, so we just about leapt from the table when Chef invited her to try her hand at making Applewood Fritters. Of course we were all invited in to the kitchen. Fun Fritter Fact: they make approximately 2,400,000 fritters per year!
Below is a long Facebook Live Video, so if you just want to watch Heidi making fritters, fast forward to about 5:34. We had so much fun in their kitchen!
Seating types are varied and comfortable. If you’re a swinger, there’s actually one or two tables out toward the Grill that have porch swing type seats on either side.
HILLSIDE WINERY
Processing more TN fruit than anyone else in the state, Hillside Winery processes over a million pounds per year, and produces 180,000 bottles per year. We were surprised to learn that they’re the proud maker of the most awarded Muscadine Wine in the world! I was intrigued by the use of lemon and honey as an aide in defining flavor during a free tasting of a broad selection of their wines.
The public is welcome to tour their winemaking facility Thursday – Saturday from 1:00pm – 5:00pm. The tours are complimentary and start every half hour. The last tour of the day begins at 5pm. Please call ahead with groups of 10 or more.
Want more Great Smoky Mountain made wine? Hillside is one of five area wineries on the free self-guided Rocky Top Wine Trail. Ask for a Wine Trail rack card. It includes an easy to follow map.
GRAZE BURGERS
I cringe – just a bit – when people say, “this is the best ______ I’ve had in my life!” Well, I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but the burger I had at Graze Burgers was the absolute best burger I’ve had in my life. Don’t ask me why. I won’t be able to break it down to specific meat, seasonings, cooking technique, whatever. I just ate the thing and my eyes rolled at the incredible flavor between the buns.
If you know me, you know I’m all about Root Beer Floats. Well. They make theirs with Louisiana-made Abita Root Beer. Delicious! They have a great lineup of drinks, including Spiked Shakes.
Graze opened this past February in a beautifully remodeled interior space that pays homage to its past. A killer patio with fire pit can be found out back. They’re located in the heart of downtown Sevierville. Garage door type windows open behind the bar in nice weather for sweet counter-top service in what feels like an especially nice short cut to the back. See the picture in the collage.
When you’re in Sevierville, Graze Burgers is a must stop!
COURTHOUSE DONUTS
Co-founders Jeff and Jennifer Dyer created something special with Courthouse Donuts. It’s a “design your own donut shop”, as well as a coffee shop, bakery, and deli. And it’s become a favorite local spot to meet up with friends or just hang out for a while. Jennifer and her sons run the shop, which is directly across the street from Sevierville’s gorgeous historic courthouse, and seemed to me to be at the epicenter of lots of law offices. When we walked in, a customer struck up a friendly conversation with us. Turned out he was a judge.
Of course, Heidi ended up in the kitchen again. Jennifer gave her a lesson on how to make their two most popular donuts: the Yabba Dabba and Terri’s Turtle (pictured above). Gliiide, Heidi, gliiide.
https://www.facebook.com/HLBillotto/videos/477945689651170/
Taken all together, there’s something like 90+ combinations you can create. Fill in your “ring”, toppings, and sauce picks on a form at the counter and they’ll put your order together for you in a jiffy.
OLD TENNESSEE DISTILLING CO
All I saw when we walked in to Old Tennessee Distilling Co were stacks and stacks of Moonshine in just about any flavor you could imagine. I’m not a huge moonshine fan, but I’ve been told theirs is very good. It didn’t take long to realize they produce so much more than Moonshine, and believe me when I tell you their products are delicious.
The four of us had a lot of fun doing a tasting after an extremely informative tour by one of the owners. My favorite was their CAL Johnson Black Mountain Rum. So good! I didn’t leave with any bottles, but absolutely HAD to take home a jar of their incredible Butcher’s Bourbon Cherries. They’re fantastic in Old Fashioned cocktails, as well as an ice cream topper. See all their spirited products HERE.
SEVIER DISTILLING CO
Sevier Distilling Co is tucked away from the main road, but not hard to find if you put their address in to your GPS. I’m happy we decided to check this one out. Not only are their products tasty, I learned a few new things about spirits in general.
Because they can’t call their non-Tequila, Mexico-made 100% Blue Aguave nectar product Tequila (like Champagne made outside the French Champagne region can’t be called Champagne), they’ve named it Tennekeela.
The colored “tasters” pictured are creative mixes they made up using their products and juices, flavored coffee creamer, and more. This definitely gave me some ideas. These mixes can be dangerous. They’re so tasty, it’s tempting to drink more than you would normally, and then the spirits sneak up on you.
They’re currently producing four spirits: Yeoh. Honey spelled backwards, it’s a wildflower honey liquor – not mead or wine – named after a “late night scrabble game that went terribly wrong”. Tennekeela, Yetti Vodka, and Real Deal Shine.
NOTE: They are open for business and doing well, but are going through some changes in their online presence. Their website is a little hinky, but the Home page is a good reference. They also tell me their Facebook Page will be updated soon.
TONY GORE’S SMOKY MOUNTAIN BBQ & GRILL
Southern Gospel, Southern Cooking, Southern Hospitality. After 20 years as a singer on the Southern Gospel circuit, Tony opened Tony Gore’s Smoky Mountain BBQ & Grill. His “process is all-natural pit BBQ with 100 percent hickory smoked meats that are slow cooked for hours. All of his sauces are original recipes starting with the one handed down to him from his Granddaddy.”
Know three things; from the moment you step inside until you leave, you’re in for some great BBQ and fixins; you will be listening to Southern Gospel playing gently in the background; and you will NOT leave hungry! Just take a look at those T’s Loaded Tater Chips smothered in their legendary Pulled Pork, Melted Cheese and BBQ Sauce! Oh my word.
And there you have it, 10 places Food Nerds shouldn’t miss in Sevierville, TN. Of course, we only had two days . . .
