That Food Guy
Saturday, August 20, 2016
Cracker Barrel - Alcoa, Tennessee
That brings us to today’s blog, Alcoa Tennessee's Cracker
Barrel. Since we moved here we have met Abbie and Mariano who are also Alaskan ex-pats. We have become good friends and grub mates as we see what is good
to eat in Eastern Tennessee. We agreed to meet at the local Maryville Cracker
Barrel for breakfast. There is an old expression, “if you have seen one you
have seen them all.” That is a close truism for Cracker Barrel stores. They are
not exact copies of what but very, very close in layout, merchandise offered,
the menu and usually the quality of the food. When we were traveling Cracker
Barrel offered known quality, ample portions, and reasonable price.
Abbie ordered the Momma’s Pancake Breakfast® ($8.19 Three freshly made Buttermilk
Pancakes with your choice of any fruit topping or a warmed bottle of 100% Pure
Natural Syrup plus two eggs cooked to order and your choice of Smoked Sausage
Patties, Thick-Sliced Bacon, Turkey Sausage or Turkey Bacon.) On a plate by
themselves there were three large golden brown pancakes with a large dollop of
whipped butter. On a companion plate was the bacon, fried crisp, and eggs done to order.
It was a typical Cracker Barrel presentation, the food looked good and appetizing.
On request Abbie got more maple syrup. Momma’s pancake breakfast is a big meal
and a bit more than Abbie normally eats. She did enjoy her mail but there was a
good portion that went to Mariano and some in a doggy bag.
Mariano
ordered the French Toast ($7.19 Four
slices of our own Sourdough Bread (regular or whole wheat) dipped in egg then
grilled to perfection. Served with any fruit topping or 100% Pure Natural Syrup.)
The serving was on an oval platter and there were six thick slices of sourdough bread,
egg dipped, and they were fried to a nice appetizing golden brown with a dollop
of whipped butter on top. More syrup came as requested. Mario said it was very
good, very tasty but he did have one observation. At $7.19 for four slices of
bread the coffee really should come with it. The French toast at good
appearance, good taste, but may have been a bit overpriced after adding the coffee.
Janis
ordered the Wild Maine Blueberry
Pancakes ($7.39 Three Buttermilk Pancakes loaded with wild
Maine blueberries. Served with Wild Maine Blueberry Syrup.) Served on an
oval platter were three golden brown pancakes topped with an amazing abundance
of blueberries. All of that was topped with a generous helping of whipped
cream. There was more than enough blueberry preserves that no additional syrup
with needed. Janis enjoyed her meal, and set it was very good, very tasty. It
is a serving much larger than she normally eats but she managed to finish most of her
meal. The blueberry pancakes were presented well, were good tasting, and
adequate portion with an abundance of blueberries.
I ordered
a more conventional breakfast, at least for me, I chose the Sunrise
Sampler® ($8.19 Two eggs cooked to order with Grits, Sawmill
Gravy, homemade Buttermilk Biscuits, real butter and the best Preserves, Jam n’
Apple Butter (on request) we could find. Plus Fried Apples and Hashbrown
Casserole and a Sampling of Smoked Sausage, Country Ham and Thick-Sliced Bacon.)
This is a good combination as it includes eggs and breakfast meat along with
hashbrowns, biscuits and gravy and fried apples. I asked for my eggs over
medium and ask for the sausage as my choice of breakfast meat. The eggs were
cooked order just like I asked for. The sausage is fried nicely with good
color, was tender and had a good taste. The gravy was nice and hot, nice and
thick and had that good peppery country gravy flavor. The fried apples were
very good and always make a great end to breakfast meal. They’re kind of like
eating an apple pie without the crust.
That leaves the biscuits and the hashbrown casserole. The biscuits it had
been a loft. They were dense, heavy and one would guess that they had not used
enough baking powder. They were also cold and makes me wonder if perhaps they
weren’t left over from the day before. Without the gravy they would have been
way to dry to eat. One of my favorite parts of the Cracker Barrel breakfast is
the hashbrown casserole. This serving did not live up to what I have come to
expect from Cracker Barrel. It was quite dry and the edges crispy and serving
was way too small-sort of like the kitchen scooped the last remaining drag out
of a long-standing pan to fill my order. I did enjoy the eggs and apples
as well as the gravy. The poorly prepared biscuits and potato casserole severely
detracted from my enjoyment of the meal.
One of the things that kept us going back to Cracker Barrel over the years was a consistency of quality in the food. For the most part the four of us received meals that were up to Cracker Barrel’s normal standard. In my case, however, slight deviations from normal quality made a meal less than totally satisfying. As far as I can recall this is the first time I have been dissatisfied with Cracker Barrel. I am sure we will have breakfast a Cracker Barrel again in future and I hope that this glitch was a one-time event. And the grits.... well I never eat that stuff anyway.
Aug 19, 2011 http://thatfoodguy.blogspot.com/2011/08/cracker-barrel-st-petersburg-florida.html
Cracker Barrel (Old
Country Store)
771 Louisville
Rd, Alcoa, TN 37701
My first experience with Cracker
Barrel was probably more than 20 years ago; long before I started blogging my
food adventures. Back then, Cracker Barrel’s were a mostly Southeast presence
and someone from Alaska would be hard-pressed to find a convenient Cracker
Barrel. The wife and I flew down to Florida to visit her parents and one of the
places they took us was a Cracker Barrel for breakfast. Over the years and many
more trips to Florida to visit the in-laws garnered many more Cracker Barrel
experiences.
When the wife retired we started the
motor home phase of our retirement. We found that Cracker Barrel had expanded
and had stores across much of the United States and they made a convenient
place to stop for a bite one on the road. A bit later, we stayed in Florida to
spend quality time with the wife’s father in his later years. That of course made
a breakfast or even a lunch or dinner a common occurrence. That’s not to
mention that frequent newspaper promotions for daily specials made for an even lower
priced meal.
Since then we have relocated to
Eastern Tennessee. We are located not too far from where the very first Cracker
Barrel company store opened in 1969 in Lebanon Tennessee. In the past Cracker
Barrel has had some rough times with customer relations. Apparently they have
managed to smooth out the rough edges and I notice that the customer base seems
to be a cross-section of the population. They seem to be doing it right because
it has grown to be 630 stores located in 42 states and a bit less than 50
years. All of them are company owned and operated.
That brings us to today’s blog, Alcoa Tennessee's Cracker
Barrel. Since we moved here we have met Abbie and Mariano who are also Alaskan ex-pats. We have become good friends and grub mates as we see what is good
to eat in Eastern Tennessee. We agreed to meet at the local Maryville Cracker
Barrel for breakfast. There is an old expression, “if you have seen one you
have seen them all.” That is a close truism for Cracker Barrel stores. They are
not exact copies of what but very, very close in layout, merchandise offered,
the menu and usually the quality of the food. When we were traveling Cracker
Barrel offered known quality, ample portions, and reasonable price.
It was a bright sunny and unseasonably
warm day in Maryville. We managed to find a parking spot in the shade of a
tree. The coolness inside the store was a welcome change from the heat outside.
The hostess led us to a corner table where Abbie and Mariano were waiting for
us. It was all very familiar, the fireplace and the old-time country decore They
had arrived after us but we managed to pass each other in the store without
noticing.
Our server, Misty Dawn, was there
within moments to take our beverage order. A charming young lady, she would be
at tables frequently to see what we needed and yet never looming. She was a
plus to the dining experience. The menu was familiar. I was trying to juggle
the included side dishes with each selection and Misty knew the menu well
enough for me to order the right selection without having to order it
piecemeal.
Abbie ordered the Momma’s Pancake Breakfast® ($8.19 Three freshly made Buttermilk
Pancakes with your choice of any fruit topping or a warmed bottle of 100% Pure
Natural Syrup plus two eggs cooked to order and your choice of Smoked Sausage
Patties, Thick-Sliced Bacon, Turkey Sausage or Turkey Bacon.) On a plate by
themselves there were three large golden brown pancakes with a large dollop of
whipped butter. On a companion plate was the bacon, fried crisp, and eggs done to order.
It was a typical Cracker Barrel presentation, the food looked good and appetizing.
On request Abbie got more maple syrup. Momma’s pancake breakfast is a big meal
and a bit more than Abbie normally eats. She did enjoy her mail but there was a
good portion that went to Mariano and some in a doggy bag.
Mariano
ordered the French Toast ($7.19 Four
slices of our own Sourdough Bread (regular or whole wheat) dipped in egg then
grilled to perfection. Served with any fruit topping or 100% Pure Natural Syrup.)
The serving was on an oval platter and there were six thick slices of sourdough bread,
egg dipped, and they were fried to a nice appetizing golden brown with a dollop
of whipped butter on top. More syrup came as requested. Mario said it was very
good, very tasty but he did have one observation. At $7.19 for four slices of
bread the coffee really should come with it. The French toast at good
appearance, good taste, but may have been a bit overpriced after adding the coffee.
Janis
ordered the Wild Maine Blueberry
Pancakes ($7.39 Three Buttermilk Pancakes loaded with wild
Maine blueberries. Served with Wild Maine Blueberry Syrup.) Served on an
oval platter were three golden brown pancakes topped with an amazing abundance
of blueberries. All of that was topped with a generous helping of whipped
cream. There was more than enough blueberry preserves that no additional syrup
with needed. Janis enjoyed her meal, and set it was very good, very tasty. It
is a serving much larger than she normally eats but she managed to finish most of her
meal. The blueberry pancakes were presented well, were good tasting, and
adequate portion with an abundance of blueberries.
I ordered
a more conventional breakfast, at least for me, I chose the Sunrise
Sampler® ($8.19 Two eggs cooked to order with Grits, Sawmill
Gravy, homemade Buttermilk Biscuits, real butter and the best Preserves, Jam n’
Apple Butter (on request) we could find. Plus Fried Apples and Hashbrown
Casserole and a Sampling of Smoked Sausage, Country Ham and Thick-Sliced Bacon.)
This is a good combination as it includes eggs and breakfast meat along with
hashbrowns, biscuits and gravy and fried apples. I asked for my eggs over
medium and ask for the sausage as my choice of breakfast meat. The eggs were
cooked order just like I asked for. The sausage is fried nicely with good
color, was tender and had a good taste. The gravy was nice and hot, nice and
thick and had that good peppery country gravy flavor. The fried apples were
very good and always make a great end to breakfast meal. They’re kind of like
eating an apple pie without the crust.
That leaves the biscuits and the hashbrown casserole. The biscuits it had
been a loft. They were dense, heavy and one would guess that they had not used
enough baking powder. They were also cold and makes me wonder if perhaps they
weren’t left over from the day before. Without the gravy they would have been
way to dry to eat. One of my favorite parts of the Cracker Barrel breakfast is
the hashbrown casserole. This serving did not live up to what I have come to
expect from Cracker Barrel. It was quite dry and the edges crispy and serving
was way too small-sort of like the kitchen scooped the last remaining drag out
of a long-standing pan to fill my order. I did enjoy the eggs and apples
as well as the gravy. The poorly prepared biscuits and potato casserole severely
detracted from my enjoyment of the meal.
One of the things that kept us going back to Cracker Barrel over the years was a consistency of quality in the food. For the most part the four of us received meals that were up to Cracker Barrel’s normal standard. In my case, however, slight deviations from normal quality made a meal less than totally satisfying. As far as I can recall this is the first time I have been dissatisfied with Cracker Barrel. I am sure we will have breakfast a Cracker Barrel again in future and I hope that this glitch was a one-time event. And the grits.... well I never eat that stuff anyway.
Previous Cracker Barrel Blogs:
May 12 2012 http://thatfoodguy.blogspot.com/2012/05/cracker-barrel-revisited.htmlAug 19, 2011 http://thatfoodguy.blogspot.com/2011/08/cracker-barrel-st-petersburg-florida.html
Labels: bacon, Barrel, biscuits, blueberries, crack, cracker barrel, eggs, gravy, grits, maple, pancakes, sausage, syrup
¶ 2:36 PM 0 Comments
Saturday, May 28, 2016
TC's Grill - Maryville, Tennessee
I may be
wrong but it appears that pattern has influenced the advent of TC’s Grill.
There is a church, a few outbuildings, and what was once a busy gasoline
service station. Restauranteurs Shirley and Tom Clark
and Jeff Hodge moved to
present location in 2012 repurposing the old service station (which accounts
for the motif and much of the interior décor). They established a reputation
for good wholesome food at reasonable prices. In 2015 they a placed the
restaurant up for sale. Steve and Audrey Nelson purchased the Grill in December
2015 with plans to continue TC’s Grill much as it has been only seeking to
tweak the menu bit and perhaps add-on to the kitchen to make more workspace. See
the link at the bottom of this article for more information on the evolution of
TC’s Grill.
Abbie and
Mariano ate breakfast there one day. They wanted to tell us about the biscuits;
big beautiful freshly baked biscuits! Apparently a lot of people were impressed
with TC’s biscuits because they were frequently mentioned in food blog
websites. It was only natural that one day Abby and Arturo along with Janis and
I went to TC’s for breakfast to see for ourselves what it was all about..
Their menu
has many selections for breakfast (served 7 AM until 10:30 AM), lunch and
dinner. One of their combos, the Fairview, caught my eye. It consists of two
eggs, bacon or sausage and served with biscuits and gravy for $4.49. I chose
that one; the egg over and sausage. I also like my breakfast potatoes so I
ordered a side order of home fries for an additional $2.50. Coffee was an
additional $1.35. Our server made sure the coffee cup stayed full.
Janis chose
the Shirley’s special; two eggs, bacon or sausage, with a short stack of
pancakes for $7.00. She chose eggs over and bacon. By the time I got the camera
out she was already remaking her plate into an egg and pancakes sandwich. The
eggs were cooked order, the bacon crisp and not soggy. The pancakes well cooked
and with that the ethereal “golden brown and delicious.” She did enjoy her
breakfast very much; all very tasty. Coffee was an additional $1.35.
TC’s Grill
2514 Old Niles Ferry Rd,
Maryville, TN 37801
(865) 980-1905
Open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday
through Thursday, and 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday; closed on Sunday
Our good friends, Abbie and Mariano,
told us about a new restaurant they discovered. Discovered is the operative
word. To find it you either had to be going there on purpose or were helplessly
lost. It all has to do with how the local area has grown over the years. From
way back when, in the horse and buggy days, at small crossroads businesses
would spring up. Perhaps a general or feed store, perhaps a smith or even a
grain mill; quite often there was a church as well. It was easier for the local
farmers to go a mile or so to the local crossroads rather than spend the day in
travel to the big town many more miles away over rough and unimproved roads. With
the advents of the motor vehicle and improved highways, farmers can now
travel to the main town often bypassing the local crossroad businesses they
used to frequent. If you should visit TC’s, look around and ask yourself how you
would attract customers, what would you do to draw them to this seemingly
remote location (albeit just a few blocks from a Walmart Super Store)
surrounded by bucolic acres of working farmland.
Abbie and
Mariano ate breakfast there one day. They wanted to tell us about the biscuits;
big beautiful freshly baked biscuits! Apparently a lot of people were impressed
with TC’s biscuits because they were frequently mentioned in food blog
websites. It was only natural that one day Abby and Arturo along with Janis and
I went to TC’s for breakfast to see for ourselves what it was all about..
The original
renovation from service station to restaurant was well done. But inside of the
restaurant seems more like a purpose built restaurant made to resemble the old
service station rather than an old service station made into a restaurant. The
starkly contrasting black and green tile floors, the shop-green color of the
walls, the murals and pictures tell the story of the servicenbays where we
were now dining.
Their menu
has many selections for breakfast (served 7 AM until 10:30 AM), lunch and
dinner. One of their combos, the Fairview, caught my eye. It consists of two
eggs, bacon or sausage and served with biscuits and gravy for $4.49. I chose
that one; the egg over and sausage. I also like my breakfast potatoes so I
ordered a side order of home fries for an additional $2.50. Coffee was an
additional $1.35. Our server made sure the coffee cup stayed full.
It is a
diner and it was a busy morning. Certainly an acid test of what comes out of
the kitchen. My eggs were cooked to order, over medium, although they were a
bit rough looking somewhat like Army mess hall eggs cooked on a griddle. I will
say they were cooked to order, were not greasy and tasted good. I can’t hold their
rough exterior against them. The sausage patties were well cooked, nicely
seasons, cooked done but not overcooked to crisp. When I ordered the home fries
I took the option of adding onions. The home fries are diced potatoes that are
fried to a nice golden brown. The onions were perhaps added a little late as I
would have preferred them cooked a bit more. All in all it was a satisfying
serving of potatoes with onions. The biscuit gravy was served on its own plate.
True to their reputation, the biscuits were big, lite and tender; easily as big
as two biscuits elsewhere. It cut easily with a fork. The gravy was just the
right thickness, had good flavor and was an excellent pairing with the biscuit.
It was a good breakfast, adequate portions to fill a hungry appetite and tasted
good. It was good enough that I will be coming back to TC’s Grill to try other
things on their menu.
Janis chose
the Shirley’s special; two eggs, bacon or sausage, with a short stack of
pancakes for $7.00. She chose eggs over and bacon. By the time I got the camera
out she was already remaking her plate into an egg and pancakes sandwich. The
eggs were cooked order, the bacon crisp and not soggy. The pancakes well cooked
and with that the ethereal “golden brown and delicious.” She did enjoy her
breakfast very much; all very tasty. Coffee was an additional $1.35.
Abbie and
Mariano’s choices for breakfast with similar to ours. When I asked how their food was they replied that
it was very good, as good as remembered, and they would be back for more. To
return for another meal in the future is perhaps the best accolade you can
bestow on the restaurant.
TC Grill is
just a few moments automobile drive from downtown Maryville. For a nice place
the, serving good food, and a friendly atmosphere, it is not far away from
anyone in Maryville or Alcoa.
There menu is posted below.
For more information about TC's Grill...There menu is posted below.
Labels: bacon, biscuits, eggs, Fairview, gravy, grill, Maryville, pancakes, sausage, Shirley's, TC's, Tennessee
¶ 8:30 AM 0 Comments
Sunday, December 28, 2014
Sam's Club Cafe - I Learned To Read The (Other) Menu
Sam’s Club Café – I Learned to Read the (Other) Menu
Last shopping trip I sampled the Crispy Chicken Sandwich
($1.99). It was a breaded medium-sized chicken breast (not too much breading to
fool you into thinking it was a much larger piece of chicken), deep fried and
served in a round steamed bun. In keeping with the major sales being the hot dog
and a soda combo, self-service dispensers of mustard, relish and ketchup are
self-serve. Onions are available on request. That was not exactly what I had in
mind for the sandwich and found that mayonnaise is also available in those
single-serve packets on request. The edges of the chicken are indeed a bit
crispy and just a bit dry. The rest of the chicken piece was not exactly crispy
but the breaded coating firm, the chicken tender and moist; it did have a good
flavor. It is a basic sandwich, just a piece of deep fried breaded chicken
breast between two pieces of bread. If it fact it had some lettuce and a slice
of tomato it would have been a very good sandwich. However, lacking those
condiments, it was just an ordinary run-of-the-mill sandwich. Not bad but not
exceptional either. At $1.99, it is not as good a deal as the large hot dog and
soda combo for $1.50. On some future shopping foray into Sam’s Club I may want
a change from the dog and soda and will opt for the Crispy Chicken Sandwich
again but not soon.
To digress for a moment; the hot dogs used at the Café are larger than the average hot dogs you find in the deli case at your supermarket. They are much larger, more like a Polish sausage in size. They are made by Nathans and the flavor is not hot dog nor is it sausage but somewhere in between and very tasty. Apparently they are not generally available to the public and are not featured inside the Sam’s Club main store. However, you can buy them by the case from the Café. Likewise, the buns are much larger than the usual hot dog buns to accommodate the larger sausages.
Now, back to the Italian Sausage Sandwich with Onions and
Poppers ($2.69); that was my choice for lunch today. The Italian sausage is a
little bit smaller and firmer in texture than its hot dog counterpart but does
a good job of filling the bun. There was a sufficient serving of grilled onions
and peppers though I personally would have liked a bit more. There was no need
for any dressing. The sausage was moist and with the additional moisture from
the onions and peppers there was no need to smear anything else on the
sandwich. The sausage had excellent flavor it was mildly seasoned, not spicy hot.
The bun had been in the steam cabinet
and was soft and folded around the sausage and filling. I was able to eat the
whole sandwich without the bun splitting on the bottom and spilling the
contents. I was able to really enjoy the sandwich.
See my first blog of Sam’s club Café August 30th, 2011 at http://thatfoodguy.blogspot.com/2011/08/sams-club-st-petersburg-fl.html .
Sam’s Club Café – I Learned to Read the (Other) Menu
The wife and I made several trips to Sam’s Club this holiday
season. As usual, we planned the shopping trip round the noon hour so we could
have a very affordable lunch at Sam’s Club Café. This time it was a bit different than the
usual. During the last few visits I started reading the little menu, the one on
the wall behind the servers, nor the big, garish one over their heads; there is
more available that hot dogs, pizza and pretzels. I learned to read the
entirety of the menu and I found that there are two additional sandwiches available.
One is the Crispy Chicken Sandwich and the other is Italian Sausage with
grilled peppers and onions. It should be noted that these sandwiches are not
part of a combo deal and a soda is extra.
Last shopping trip I sampled the Crispy Chicken Sandwich
($1.99). It was a breaded medium-sized chicken breast (not too much breading to
fool you into thinking it was a much larger piece of chicken), deep fried and
served in a round steamed bun. In keeping with the major sales being the hot dog
and a soda combo, self-service dispensers of mustard, relish and ketchup are
self-serve. Onions are available on request. That was not exactly what I had in
mind for the sandwich and found that mayonnaise is also available in those
single-serve packets on request. The edges of the chicken are indeed a bit
crispy and just a bit dry. The rest of the chicken piece was not exactly crispy
but the breaded coating firm, the chicken tender and moist; it did have a good
flavor. It is a basic sandwich, just a piece of deep fried breaded chicken
breast between two pieces of bread. If it fact it had some lettuce and a slice
of tomato it would have been a very good sandwich. However, lacking those
condiments, it was just an ordinary run-of-the-mill sandwich. Not bad but not
exceptional either. At $1.99, it is not as good a deal as the large hot dog and
soda combo for $1.50. On some future shopping foray into Sam’s Club I may want
a change from the dog and soda and will opt for the Crispy Chicken Sandwich
again but not soon.To digress for a moment; the hot dogs used at the Café are larger than the average hot dogs you find in the deli case at your supermarket. They are much larger, more like a Polish sausage in size. They are made by Nathans and the flavor is not hot dog nor is it sausage but somewhere in between and very tasty. Apparently they are not generally available to the public and are not featured inside the Sam’s Club main store. However, you can buy them by the case from the Café. Likewise, the buns are much larger than the usual hot dog buns to accommodate the larger sausages.
Now, back to the Italian Sausage Sandwich with Onions and
Poppers ($2.69); that was my choice for lunch today. The Italian sausage is a
little bit smaller and firmer in texture than its hot dog counterpart but does
a good job of filling the bun. There was a sufficient serving of grilled onions
and peppers though I personally would have liked a bit more. There was no need
for any dressing. The sausage was moist and with the additional moisture from
the onions and peppers there was no need to smear anything else on the
sandwich. The sausage had excellent flavor it was mildly seasoned, not spicy hot.
The bun had been in the steam cabinet
and was soft and folded around the sausage and filling. I was able to eat the
whole sandwich without the bun splitting on the bottom and spilling the
contents. I was able to really enjoy the sandwich.See my first blog of Sam’s club Café August 30th, 2011 at http://thatfoodguy.blogspot.com/2011/08/sams-club-st-petersburg-fl.html .
Labels: bun, Café, chicken, crispy, fried, hot dog, Italia, Italian sausage, onions, peppers, Sam's Club, sausage, soda
¶ 1:30 PM 0 Comments
