Wednesday, March 30, 2011

A vegetarian in Gatlinburg

Typically, when I visit a new place, I scour yelp.com, urbanspoon.com and tripadvisor.com to find the best places to eat. I'm looking for that great local place or that hidden gem. So when my husband's family decided to gather in Gatlinburg, I looked to see what my options would be.

Well, it seems the non-chain options in the Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge area are pretty much steak houses and pancake houses. Lots of both. But the steak houses are generally not veg-friendly (unless you like iceberg lettuce salads, which I do not) and the pancake houses aren't open past lunch. So. For dinner one night I had a PayDay and the other night a Clif bar. Though both were enjoyable, they're not photo-worthy. So, instead, I will post a picture of one of the many "entertainment" venues popular in the area.



Yes, it's an upside-down building. No, I don't know why.

So, if you go, I recommend renting a cabin up in the mountains and bringing your food with you. And/or ordering pizza.

This photo--of yet another popular "entertainment" option--is quite representative of when I intend to return to Gatlinburg.
That's right--flying pigs.

4 comments:

ErinsFoodFiles said...

Can you believe I've never been to Gatlinburg or the Smoky Mountains?! Thanks for proving I'm to me I'm not missing out on anything!

Anonymous said...

I'm heading to Gatlinburg on Tuesday. I'm going to see if theppk.com or livejournal can possibly help with suggestions.

Beth said...

Oh boy. You now have me so excited about my trip there in June with my family :-/

Why did I agree to this?? I have no idea. The last time I was in Gatlinburg was for a college fraternity formal 17 years ago. I swore then that I'd never go back.

Oh the things I do for family. Hopefully they will take your advice and we'll cook all meals in our cabin!

Lesley Eats said...

@Erin--the Smokies are beautiful but I recommend finding another way to get there than through Gatlinburg!

@Lacey Oh boy. If you have to eat out, the McAlister's has vegan wraps but they are pretty boring. One of the steak houses has a $13 salad bar, but I (personally) don't prefer E.coli with my meal. Really, the way to go is to avoid going out. That way, you avoid the crowds and the mullets.

@Beth--Yes, the things we do for family...but there ARE pancakes and it's the home of the original Pancake Pantry.