A few Southern AT restuarant reviews

[The Phoenix]

Jumping from thread to thread, but as promised in my last post (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php/115610-Rating-my-town-experiences-on-my-section-hike), I was planning to add a few more reviews... (also see this list of favorite AT restaurants (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php/114487-Best-restaurant-on-the-AT) for many more options...

MI RANCHO (Waynesboro, VA): Yes, I betrayed my inner thru-hiker, neglecting the urge to go into Ming's and eat like a gluttonous bear awakening from a long hibernation... I opted to go to Mi Rancho instead. Traditions and over-consumption be damned... I made a good decision. While this may not win any awards for "Best Mexican" in the USA... it's still pretty freakin' good! The prices can't be beat, the authenticity of Mexican for Appalachian VA can't be beat, and the atmosphere + service are both rock solid. I've been here twice now during AT hikes and both times I left satisfied. This could be my hiker appetite speaking, but in terms of bang-for-buck... this is one of the best Mexican establishments I've been to... outside of maybe Red Iguana in Salt Lake City & a few dive joints in Arizona & CA... this is right up there.

If you don't want to gorge yourself at Mings... this place is a nice cheap alternative.

Bottom Line: 8.5/10

SPELUNKER's FROZEN CUSTARD and CAVERN BURGERS (Front Royal, VA): Fast food look, high quality family taste! This place really hit the spot. My stomach could write poetry about the burger I consumed in this little local joint, but I'll spare you all. The moral of this story is... if you're hiking thru Front Royal... hit Spelunker's! It's a great spot to take care of all the cravings you have while hiking on the trail.

They have a daily special, which features a ton of food, even by our standards, for $5-7... tough to beat.

Bottom Line: 9.5/10

WILDWOOD GRILL (Fontana Dam, NC): I started runnin' (hiking) with a great group of people while trekkin thru the Great Smoky Mountains, and we decided to spend a day at the Fontana Resort. Naturally, that day turned into 2.5 days at the village... it was awesome! The main restaurant was undergoing renovations, and thus, the Grill was the one show in town. It worked.

I could talk about the burger and wings I consumed here all day, but since y'all don't want to read it and I have things to do, I'll be brief... the Wildwoodie Burger with double meat & ghostpepper cheese was one of the best things I've ever tasted. Sure, hiking several hundred miles probably factors in... but really... this thing was outrageously good!

Then, as a self proclaimed "Chili-head", this place advertised some dangerously hot buffalo wings. I am always extremely skeptical when a menu highlights wings as daunting, not for the faint of heart, etc... good marketing?... sure. Bite to support the bark?... rarely. Well... this place backs it up! Those dragon breath's wings are still on my mind... they hurt so good! All 4 of us decided we were going to consume a few of these bad boys and it was quite the show!

Pizza and everything else was also pretty good... Service was friendly & accommodating.

Bottom Line: 10/10

Rivers End (Bryson City, NC): Great pub food at a fair price for the touristy location. I had the "trout cake" sandwich which was pretty awesome, great tatter-tots, great pizza, and a hiker's sized dessert! The waitresses were very sweet, offering our friend who was hours behind us a free drink and burger... as he made it in moments before they closed!

I always bypassed this place in the past, fearing steep prices for mediocrity... that hunch was dead wrong. Great spot, will visit again down the road.

Bottom Line: 8.5/10


More coming... but thinking about food has got me hungry... time to prepare supper.:D

I'll finish up with a few more reviews tonight

[Gambit McCrae]

Man I am really enjoying your reviews! Great work put into them, fair and concise. Also like reminiscing my past experiences at these places. Makes me miss my past trips as much as I look forward to future ones

did you eat in Hot Springs? I am a huge fan of Iron Horse there

Keep the reviews going!

[daddytwosticks]

I've got to agree about the pizza at River's End (NOC). I've eaten all types of pizza from around the country, including my native New York style. One would probably not expect a great pizza to be served at this establishment. Try one. You will be pleasantly surprised. :)

[Coffee]

+1 on Spelunkers in Front Royal!

[Gambit McCrae]

+1 on Spelunkers in Front Royal!

32919
This was my post Harpers Ferry to Front Royal first meal, Later we went to a Chinese buffet in Front Royal for a couple hours lol

The owner of the outfitter in the town near Bears Den, took us down to town to grab some grub. We ended up at a place called Magnolias, Great craft beer, and a gourmet burger.
32921

Other places worth a mention:
Dots in Damascus, (now closed) but they let my pup come in and lay under my table as I get a good beer and burger. (And my first cougar experience,:eek: I thought they were extinct??)

Hot Springs, Iron Horse Saloon another top pick for myself

As well, the Barn in Atkins and my favorite trail Restaurant(actually in Johnson city) is Scratch Pizza (http://scratchbrickoven.com/) My favorite pizza in the entire world :)

[Venchka]

You forgot Hot Springs, NC. The whole town.

Wayne

[The Phoenix]

the Wildwoodie Burger with double meat & ghostpepper cheese was one of the best things I've ever tasted.



I felt guilt for not doing this delicious burger more justice... for those of you planning to hike thru Fontana in the next year or so... this is a must-get. It is loaded with pulled pork, bacon, and BBQ sauce on a huge/juicy burger... if you ask for double meat, as I did... the thing will come out and your jaw will drop. It was nearly the size of my cranium. It was truly awesome.

[The Phoenix]

I owe a few more reviews...

I hit a few spots in Franklin, NC. I got hung up there, because I had to do a series of phone interviews while in town and didn't trust cellular service in Northern Georgia, which was where I was headed next...

Cafe Rel (Franklin, NC): This place was high quality grub. I was shocked to stumble upon it, as it is attached to a gas station and really doesn't look like much from the outside. On the inside, it is a pretty stellar little fine dining eatery... the type of place you expect to find in New Orleans or maybe New York City... but not Franklin. It's a French, Cajun, American hodgepodge and everything looks pretty tasty. I ended up getting a Philly cheesesteak, because I was craving something greasy and good. It hit the spot.

For the high quality, fresh ingredients, overall sophistication of the menu... the prices are reasonable. It isn't the type of place your average thru-hike would seek out on the regular, but it's a nice treat. This is definitely the type of place that you'll want to shower before going to and put on a fresh pair of clothes. It seemed like a lot of folks were in there doing business and celebrating occasions.

Bottom Line: 8/10

FAT BUDDIES RIBS & BBQ (Franklin, NC): I didn't hit this establishment once... but twice in a 36 hour span. To be fair, once was trail magic... can't turn down free BBQ can you? This isn't world class barbecue, but I'd say it is above average. The prices are fair, service was great, and the food was on point for a hungry hiker.

This place was loaded with locals, which is always a good sign in my book... they were friendly, talked AT with us, and showed us a good time. 3 of us split one of their family platters and it was plenty of food... we were full and I think it cost $36 total... not terrible at all.

Bottom Line: 7.5/10

JIM'S SMOKIN' QUE (Blairsville, GA): Like I mentioned in my Neel Gap review, I ended up being "stuck" there an extra day, due to being ahead of schedule. The weather sucking also made it easier to hang there. When a few weekend warriors decided they were going to search for hot food in the area after they pitched their tents in a puddle the night before (:eek:)... I tagged along. Due to a recommendation, we ended up hitting Jim's... wooooah! Good decision on my part...

I am a BBQ addict and this place is the real deal. Everything they made was of the highest quality. It's a mom&pop type establishment that was flooded with locals... I sampled a little bit of everything and it was all mouth-watering good! I will make it a point to visit this place again down the road... I will go on the record and say this was my favorite BBQ spot I've had within 10 miles of the AT. It's damn good.

Bottom Line: 10/10

A few other random notes: I went to Bojangles twice during this hike. I've never been before and I'm not a huge fastfood guy... but the animal named The Phoenix fell in love! I may end up with a heart attack and diabetes... the food is probably that unhealthy, but man... was it good! I ate way too many Cinnamon Pecan Twist and Bo-berry biscuits... it was not a great life choice, but it was so so good!

Also, those blackberry milkshakes are still amazing in SNP... expensive, but worth it, in my book!

I will step off my food soap box now... (fortunately, I lost about 25 pounds despite all my gorging in towns!)