Travels in Tennessee – part five

Spence and I stay in a secluded log cabin in the mountains of Wears Valley when we travel to Tennessee but love that within ten to fifteen minutes we can be in Townsend, Sevierville or Pigeon Forge and within twenty minutes, Gatlinburg.

We’ve found several fun spots to enjoy a cold adult beverage, people watch, talk to locals and other tourists.  If you’re traveling in the area, these places are worth checking out.

Dick’s Last Resort – Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg – From outlandish decor and servers with “attitude” this is a fun bar with tasty eats such as the Wicked Gator bites (yes gator – tastes like chicken) accompanied by deep fried jalapenos.  And yes, there are numerous bras hung over the bar.  Hilarious.

No Way Jose’s Cantina – Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg – Spence and I love Jose’s with ice cold beer and their outdoor cantina (in Gatlinburg) which overlooks the river.  Food here is excellent as are the complimentary chips and salsa.

Loco Burro Fresh Mex Cantina in Gatlinburg – On a sweltering day, we walked by a doorway and felt a swoosh of cool air – that was all it took to lure us in. We hopped on the escalator to the second floor bar and restaurant (forgoing the rooftop bar one floor up).  When we saw the funny barstools, we decided we’d sit there.  Chris, our bartender, whipped up the most refreshing frozen banana dacquiris for me while Spence had beer.  Chris was entertaining as were the tugboat captain and his wife from New Orleans that we bantered with.  The menu looked great but we weren’t hungry – next time….

Crawdaddy’s Restaurant & Oyster Bar in Gatlinburg – While they have indoor seating, this second floor venue has a wrap-around-the-corner outdoor balcony, overlooking a main street in Gatlinburg which is a people-watchers dream – we always sit out there. I love their pina coladas and we typically order 1-2 dozen oysters as well as oyster shooters. Great service and a full menu of Cajun and seafood selections.

Friendly Falls Food & Stuff in Sevierville – This quaint place borders the Little Pigeon River as you drive along the curving mountain roads.  Not only can you sit and have a cold beer overlooking waterfalls, you can walk down to Norbert’s Gem Mine and pan for gems and crystals (watch for a future post).  It’s a fun, quirky, friendly place that is always on our list of things to do when in Tennessee.