Rainy day in the city...

We slipped in  Harry's Delicatessen ,  just before a heavy rain began falling.  We had read several articles about this newly opened deli and all the reviews were good.  The deli is billed as Jewish/Italian with emphasis on the locally grown and homemade.  Harry's is located in the space  once occupied by Harold's Deli.  Harold's was a Knoxville institution for over 55 years, serving kosher overstuffed sandwiches, crunchy oversize pickles and many Jewish delights. It closed in 2005 and the building stood empty until Harry's opened.   

As we stood in line to order, John's boss and his wife appeared from seats at the end of the counter and warmly greeted us.  He told us his son and daughter-in-law, both professionally trained chefs, moved back from Vermont to open this deli.  He is one proud "papa"!  We chatted a few minutes, ordered and grabbed two stools in the front window. A steady rain continued to fall as we watched people dash about on Gay Street.

Our food arrived quickly.  I ordered a traditional corned beef and John ordered a patty melt.  In the basket with each sandwich was a side of pickled cucumbers, cauliflower and beets.  I normally won't eat off a plate if a beet has touched the surface but these beets were delicious!  I am now a big fan... of these beets anyway.

Corned Beef

Vinegar based coleslaw and roasted fingerling potatoes were our sides of choice

Patty melt

The rain had slowed to a trickle by the time we finished lunch so we walked a few blocks south to explore Union Avenue Books.  The bookstore, which opened a week ago, was hosting a grand opening event.   Nice to see a bookstore in downtown.  

John in front of just ripe, a new grocery and prepared foods store located next to the bookstore

Flowers purchased at today's Market Square Farmer's Market

We finished our day back downtown for the final performance of "Forbidden Knoxville" at Theater Knoxville Downtown.  Like everywhere else in Knoxville, the road in front of the theater is shrouded in orange construction barrels and we had to make our way through the rubble to the entrance.

The play is a locally written satire touching on such topics as the Road Kill Bill, Lane Kiffin, Bruce Pearl and other UT sports figures, road construction, Tim Burchett, the Hillside Task Force, Pilot and the Haslam family, Pat Summit and so on.  We laughed till we cried.  Another good day in downtown Knoxville...

Fish tacos and friends...

Thursday night John and I met friends, Will Skelton and Kim Robinette at Soccer Taco on Market Square for dinner and lots of catch up conversation. Will and Kim have been doing such exciting things (together and/or independently) as skiing in Utah, paddling in the Everglades and exploring Jordan and Israel. Whew, those of us who work can only enjoy the stories and wonder what travel will unfold for those two in the coming months.

We had agreed to meet the Will and Kim at 6:30 PM and were running marginally late. As we hurried in the cold toward the south end of the Square, (Market Rectangle as noted by Norris Dyer in this week's Metro Pulse), we glanced through the windows of several popular restaurants.  Most had only a handful customers seated around a few tables.  It was after all, a winterish Thursday night and most folks were warm and cozy at home.  But as we opened the door to Soccer Taco (our first visit), we were greeted by a totally different atmosphere.  Every table was full.  Fresh faced, young professional chatted over drinks and dinner. The restaurant literally hummed with activity.  Hmmmm, this is fun.

Will and Kim arrived about the same time and we were ushered to a booth in the back.  Perfect!  For first 1/2 hour, John sipped on a Doseki while the rest of us drank water (tea), worked through a bucket of warm chips and spicy salsa and talked.  I am sure our waiter would have appreciated our order much earlier but we finally got around to the menu and our selections, fish tacos for me and shrimp quesadilla for John. 

I don't know if it was the company, the conversation or the lively atmosphere, but the food was delicious.  John spent a lot of time transferring fish taco tangy cheese sauce from my plate to his quesadilla but I pretended not to notice. Will and Kim seemed pretty happy with their fish tacos and vegetarian buritos too.  We sat and ate, talked and talked...a waiter's worst kind of table. 

Finally around 8:40, some 2 hours after we walked in, I started to get sleepy.  We broke up the conversation, paid our check and the four of us walked back to the State Street garage.  John and I headed home to get ready for work, while Will and Kim headed toward Gay Street and the Rivera Theater to catch a 9:00 PM film.  Another great night in the books with a couple of our favorite people.  

Meat and two, Thursday night out...

This week is restaurant week in Knoxville.  Participating restaurants are offering special 3 course meals for $25-35/per person and donating $5/per meal to Second Harvest Food Bank of East Tennessee.  Restaurant Week has been planned for a long time, but unplanned was Monday's monsoon that flooded the Second Harvest building.  The Food Bank lost just about everything and money is in short supply.  

Instead of spending $50-70 for a fancy dinner with $10 going to Second Harvest, we mailed a check for the entire cost of a 3 course meal for two and  joined friends Sonya and Mac Cissna at Sweet P's  for BBQ meat (loaf) and two. Sweet P's is an interesting BBQ joint/weekend music venue on Old Maryville Pike within spitting distance of  the Tennessee River.  The atmosphere is funky (campy some might say) posters, neon beer signs,  indoor/outdoor carpet, rickety chairs, sports on TV and the best barbeque (and sauce) in town.  In another word, heaven...

We slipped in the front door just behind a rowdy birthday party of 30 or so.  The line moved quickly as the proprietor dished up plates of  food from a buffet set-up behind the counter.  The menu is limited to a choice of 5-6 different meats and 5-6 sides, with a nightly special. BBQ meatloaf is only served on Thursday night and we considered nothing else!  

We were not disappointed.  Our two sides,  mac and cheese and cold slaw were excellent.  But the meatloaf was perfection, smoked on the grill and smothered with a tangy BBQ sauce.  We added a squirt of hot sauce and savored every bite.  Mac and Sonya ordered the same and also raved about the meatloaf (and mac and cheese).  We agreed another Thursday at Sweet P's is in order! 

Yum-yum!

House Mountain and Dinner at Latitude 35, Take 2...

This past Saturday morning was a casualty of poor planning.  We had had several conversations about hiking but nothing nailed down so we got distracted and ran errands.  In an effort to salvage the afternoon and arrive on time for dinner with friends, we headed back to House Mountain to hike the east side.

The weather was a little colder than perfect but it was the wind that gave us pause!  While lacing our boots up in the parking lot, we stopped to watch a stand of spindly hardwoods sway in the stiff  breeze.  About that time we heard a loud crash as a limb from one of the trees broke and fell to the ground. Not a good sign for hiking in the woods!

We hiked a short distance on the main trail before turning right on the Mountain Trail.  Shortly after turning off, we fell into the shadow of the mountain where we were protected from the wind.  Without the wind, we warmed quickly as we climbed 1600'.      

 

Another right at the end of the Mountain Trail and we were on the Mountain Crest Trail headed toward the East Overlook.  No question the east side of the mountain is the prettiest side.  Much of this side is private but the owners allow hikers to use the trails.  

We stopped at this north facing overlook and stepped into the wind.  We assume the flag is compliments of the property owners but we don't remember it being here last time we hiked this trail.

In the above photo, John is videoing the flag.  He is attempting to steady himself with his foot stance but truth be told, the wind was rolling up the mountain and over the rocks in strongs gusts. One of those gusts slammed into him and knocked him back toward the trail.

We made it to the East Overlook and took advantage of the photo op (above photo and below 2 photos).

On the way out, we stopped at the northern overlook again for a "together" photo.  We took about 5 photos and this is the best of the group.  The wind grabbed my hair and sent it flying like an airplane. 

Mountain Crest Trail

Whoops, someone pocket dialed their mother! :-)  Reception is good on the mountain

This is the video John took of the flag.  Turn up the sound  for the full effect of the wind at the north overlook.

Our evening plans included a double date with friends Sonya and Mac Cissna.  I guess we would actually call it a triple date because their son, Micah came along too. Earlier in the week we had decided to meet at Latitude 35 on Market Square Mall for dinner.  If you remember from my post several days ago, our first impression of the restaurant was good service, atmosphere and food (although we thought our meals had been sitting for a while). 

This time we were seated in the backroom in a booth overlooking the kitchen and 7 TVs, all showing the UT-Alabama basketball game.  We ordered an assortment of salads, sandwiches and a tray of salsa and chips.  The appetizer came quickly and we snacked (great spicy salsa) and watched the game.  Everyone was glued to the TVs, including the wait staff, no one could peel their eyes away. At some point Sonya leaned over the table and asked if I thought our food was sitting under the heat lamp waiting.  Indeed it was and we watch the food sit, and sit, and sit.  Finally our waiter grabbed the plates and brought them to the table. 

To sum up the evening, the food was a bit tepid. We wished it had been hot and fresh tasting but our experience was otherwise good and we enjoy the vibe of Latitude 35. The best part of the evening, our dinner companions..another great time Sonya, Mac and Micah!!  You are the best.  

Spring in January...

This morning rolled in gray and gloomy.  Sometime before 7:00, Mike Witcher our local WBIR weatherman,  flashed across the TV screen predicting ridiculous amounts of snow for much of the country.  But here in the south, he says, we will see only cooling temperatures and rain.  That's okay, because for a brief few days over the weekend, winter took a pause and we had an incredible taste of spring. 

We were out of bed early Saturday morning totally motivated to get out and enjoy the warm, sunny day.  Our first destination was House Mountain for a quick  3 mile hike to the West Overlook.  House Mountain is about about 20-25 minutes from our house and provides the opportunity to hike without taking up the entire day. a nice benefit when a person has other things to do. 

Beverly and John at the trail head

The .8-mile hike to the rock outcrop known as the West Outlook is a nice climb with switchbacks. We noticed the quaint log fences that lined some sections of the trail in disrepair and in many places, replaced with red plastic barriers (above photo-right side).

The West Outlook was crawling with Cub Scouts so we stopped a little below the rocks to take a few photos.  A stiff breeze blowing up the side of the mountain put a bit of urgency in our step as we hit the exposed rock outcrop.  We barely paused before continuing across the ridge top, down the mountain and back to our car.

                                                                      Ridge top trail

                                                        View from the West Overlook

                                            Great Smoky Mountains from the Overlook

Sometime after lunch, I decided to go for a run.  I haven't been running much recently so I knew it would be painful....it was.   I ran away from the house for several miles.  Since I am not a fan of exercise walking I knew that I would run home from the turnaround point just to avoid walking.  It worked, it always does.  The run reminded me just how much I miss doing it on a regular basis.

Evening arrived and we had some decisions to make, movie and dinner or dinner and early sleep.  Dinner and sleep won (although I really want to see The King's Speech)!! We went downtown, parked in the Market Square garage and strolled the city streets.  Everything was busy.  Crowds were waiting to get in the Bijou and the Riviera Theater.  Most restaurants had patrons sitting outside enjoying the nice weather, while others waited for a seat.  Coffee shops were busy, people strolled hand in hand, groups  chatted and laughed  and everyone seemed to enjoy the beautiful evening in downtown Knoxville.

We stopped at Latitude 35 for dinner, our first visit there.  Food, service and atmosphere were good.  This was a pleasant ending to a perfectly beautiful day.

Sunday arrived, we were up very early for early church.  Church, coffee, visit with my parents and lunch with the family and it was mid afternoon.  We struggled with our afternoon activity and finally settled on a greenway ride.      

                    John unloading our bikes in the parking lot across from the Lady Vols rowing center

An incredible number of people were out enjoying yet another spring day.  We must have seen a hundred people (and some dogs) walking, running and riding bicycles.  While we thought it fantastic that so many were out, it was hard to dodge and weave through the crowds.  We rode from the waterfront to Bearden and back and returned home to get ready for the week ahead.   

All good things much come to an end and this morning's gray weather arrived too quickly.  That's okay though, it's not time for spring yet, we are only 6 weeks past the winter solstice. But what a memory we will have of the last weekend in January when, just for a brief moment, we caught a glimpse of  spring 2011.   

Whew, done...

Dinner tonight at Barley's in the Old City with John's boys.  Barley's pizza is always good and it's nice to catch up with Daniel and Lee, listen to their stories about school and work.

Finally, the cupcakes for tomorrow's party are done.  I started out with the idea of swirling the icing but decided random peaks would go faster.  While I have a ways to go on food photography, the pics below reflex some hours of mixing, baking and frosting! 

Another fabulous weekend in the mountains, in TN this time...

Friends Sonya and Mac Cissna and their son, Micah hosted us in their mountain home this weekend.  Like our usual mountain trips (backpacking), this one had a beautiful sunset, a colorful sunrise, a nice blazing  campfire and memorable time spent with friends.  Unlike our usual trips, this one had a warm king sized bed, a nice couch for sitting, dinner in downtown Gatlinburg and a rollicking game of hearts.

Sunset over the Smoky Mountains

We arrived at the Gatlinburg Visitors Center around 4:15, delighted that traffic through Pigeon Forge on a Saturday afternoon had been quite reasonable.  Mac met us at the Center and led us through the winding roads up the mountain behind the Center (spots still showing signs of last week's ice and snow). The temperature dropped about 8 degrees between the foot of the mountain and their beautiful  home.  We were happy to see a warm fire blazing in the fireplace and Sonya waving on the deck!  After some catch up chatting (re: everyone talking at the same time), we watched the sunset over Mt. LeConte.  Beautiful! 

       From left, Mac: Sonya and Micah Cissna, me and John at No Way Jose's in Gatlinburg

Sometime after sunset, we headed down the mountain to downtown Gatlinburg for dinner.  No Way Jose's was our restaurant of choice and we were not disappointed.

         My dinner selection, Jalisco Trio,  included 3 corn enchiladas - shredded beef with ranchero sauce, chicken w/ tomatillo sauce and white cheese with onion and green tomatillo sauce.  

After dinner we strolled through The Village in Gatlinburg and enjoyed the holiday lights.  Then we  headed back to the car and up the mountain for a game of heart, yep, 500 points of testing our brains.  John and I haven't played hearts for several years and we required a pre-game refresher.  On top of our rusty skills was the fact that we were playing with a deck of pink (save the ta-ta's) cards.  Diamonds and clubs were fairly easy to distinguish but the hearts and spades caused me a couple of screw ups.  Finally we got to bed and watched a few minutes of Saturday Night Live before falling into a restful sleep.

                                          Sunday morning sunrise from our bedroom window

 We woke to the sounds of Mac stoking a fire.  When we finally extracted ourselves out of our cozy bed we enjoyed coffee by the fire.

                          The wall of windows reflect the morning view of the mountains and trees

                  Inside looking out from the wall of windows, Mt LeConte is visible in the distance

                                         View of LeConte and the snow covered mountains

The trip ended all too quickly and we headed back to Knoxville to start thinking about the week ahead.  Sonya, Mac and Micah, thanks so much for your invitation, your warm hospitality and your friendship over the years!  We had a great time!

1st Anniversary Weekend...

We had a busy 1st anniversary over MLK weekend.  Friday night we joined friends Will Skelton and Kim Robinette at the Sunspot for an early celebration.  We had expected a smaller dinner crowd based on the long weekend but, much to our surprise,  the restaurant was busy and we had to wait for a booth.

As usual, we over indulged in appetizers-oh so good chips, verde salsa and chickpea fritters before our meal so we struggled a bit to complete our main courses.  Time flew, we finished dinner, ate dessert, laughed a lot and realized 3 hours had passed. Time to grab our coats and head out into the cold, the place was closing and we had overstayed our welcome.

On Saturday we were off on our 3 day anniversary get away to Asheville and the elegant Inn on Biltmore Estates.  We had been planning a celebration for several months, ruling out the Snow Inn at Yellowstone and Yosemite.  The Biltmore Inn suited our criteria, close (so we could maximize our time off), elegant and relaxing.

We stopped in Asheville at the REI and  Liberty Bicycle then headed to the Inn.  Apparently the reservations office and I had some confusion with the package we thought we had purchased but we ended up in a  beautiful 6th floor room with an incredible view of the mountains.

Inn at Biltmore Estates

Once we drove through the Biltmore main gate and a hotel guest sign was placed in our front window, we were saluted and ushered  through various guards. The 2+ mile drive along winding estate roads instilled a real sense of a get away from city life.   Through our car windows we gazed at partially frozen creeks and pristine snow covered grounds. It was all very beautiful.

Our room, subtle and elegant

Our 6th floor room was low key and elegant.  The bath was marble and tile and quite large.  If we had any real complaint, the hotel seemed to pump in warm, dry air in massive quantities ...in the room, in the lobby, in the hallways, the restaurants and elevator. Sorta felt like visiting a nursing home. During the 2 days we were there, we could feel our skin and hair dry out.  Turning on the a/c made very little difference.  John's other biggest complaint was the fact that he was address as "Mr. Smith" the entire trip.  I had make the reservations in my name and the hotel had no way of knowing our names are different.  It made me smile but him, not so much.

Sunset watching from the large bay window in our room was sacred time, we didn't miss it either night.

Sunset the first night was the best!

Our room overlooked Antler Hill Village with the lights of Biltmore Village visible (to the right of above photo). After sunset, we headed to Antler Hill Village for dinner at Cedric's Pub. 

The hotel concierge did not think we would need reservations on a slow weekend in January but he was wrong.  Biltmore has a very captive crowd with the on property Inn, wait times and prices reflect this.  We finally settled into a first come, first serve table at the bar and dined on salad and fish and chips.  The food and the service was very good.

 Sunday was Biltmore Day

Us on the grounds in front of the house...estate...mansion...

We took the basic Biltmore audio tour, it was so nice.  I haven't been to Biltmore for 11 years, John hasn't been for over 20 years.  We both saw new things and learned a lot through the tour.

One of many elegant windows framing the greenhouse

If you know me, you know I love flowers, gardens and just about anything outside.  So after the house tour we walked down to the greenhouse and strolled through the rooms and aisles.  Pots of Amaryllis and Christmas cactus had been planted among the greenery, it was all quite beautiful.

John looking at the lush greenery

Can't you just imagine having this in your backyard?

Amaryllis, one of many varied and beautiful blooms

The Library at the Inn on Biltmore Estates, where tea and drinks are served

View from The Library windows

After the tour, we headed back to the hotel for a drink in the lobby, sunset view in the room and a delicious 1st anniversary dinner at The Dining Room.  Can you believe that last year, at this same time on our wedding evening, we had stopped to eat dinner at a gas station Arby's on the way to Berea, KY? Anyway, back to this elegant dinner, the dress is jacket and collar shirt for men and business or dressier attire for women.  Some guests conformed to the rules, others did not. 

We had a delicious, 3 course meal.  For the course, I had she-crab soup, John had duck terrine with a glass of Biltmore wine.  For our second course, I had a seared King salmon fillet and John had a fillet.  We finished dinner with coffee and seven layered chocolate cake.  It was all delicious!!

John in the lobby reading the Monday morning paper

         The lobby of the Inn on Biltmore Estates

Monday, after checking out, we went back into Asheville.  We had a light breakfast at City Bakery and went shopping at Tops, Malcrops Bookstore and the New Morning Gallery.  Overall, we had a great trip and loved the Inn on Biltmore Estates and would recommend it to anyone interested with one concern noted below.

Aside from the confusion with the reservations, we had one incident that really left us feeling a little sad about the experience. Today, I received a "thank you for your business" email with a note at the bottom about a $300 smoking charge added to our bill.  Neither John or I smoke!!  After a phone call with Lyle Stover, assistant housekeeping manager and a few accusations about smelling smoke in the room and cigarette butts in the trash, we were finally credited with the $300.  We still have lingering issues with being accused of smoking and the fact that we did not receive an apology for the accusation.  Your guess as to what happened is as good as ours, we are mystified.