This summer, the kids and I visited Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, for the first time. The kids were excited about visiting all of the attractions, like mountain coasters and Ferris wheels, but I was really looking forward to checking out the local restaurants. Here are the results of our foodie tour of Pigeon Forge.
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Foodie Tour of Pigeon Forge
It wasn’t all fun and games during our visit. Although we had so much fun riding mountain coasters, watching lumberjack feuds, and doing indoor snow tubing, we made time for a mini-foodie tour of Pigeon Forge. Due to coronavirus, most restaurants were operating at 50% maximum capacity. So, when you visit Pigeon Forge, be sure to budget extra time for meals because the wait times can be an hour or more at peak times.
Some restaurants are closed on certain nights of the week, so plan your meals accordingly. For example, we missed out on visiting Bennett’s Pit Bar-B-Que because they are closed on Wednesday nights. For a list of all of the local restaurants, visit the Pigeon Forge Department of Tourism’s website.
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Frizzle Chicken Farmhouse Cafe
This was, by far, our favorite meal during our trip. Frizzle Chicken Farmhouse Cafe is a breakfast-only restaurant that closes at 1 pm every day. We enjoyed delicious pancakes for breakfast, but that’s not the main reason to visit.
Inside, there are over 100 animatronic chickens lining the ceiling that put on a show every 15 minutes. We had such a fun time watching the show that it was hard to get the kids to concentrate and finish eating their food. I highly recommend stopping by before heading out for the day.
Mellow Mushroom
Mellow Mushroom is a chain pizza restaurant that’s more upscale than most pizza joints. They have a nice bar with local brews, a huge fireplace in the middle of the dining room, and tasty pizza to nibble on. We ordered pepperoni, of course, and an order or garlic cheese bread. After a full day of attractions, we ate everything in sight.
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Breakfast at our hotel – Black Fox Lodge at Pigeon Forge
Eating out for every meal can be expensive when you travel. To keep our costs low, we try to pick hotels that include breakfast for everyone or that offer complimentary breakfast as an elite status benefit. I’m a Hilton Diamond member, so we received complimentary continental buffets during our stay at the Black Fox Lodge.
Instead of a normal continental buffet, everything was pre-packaged to reduce the spread of germs and the virus. Since I knew that we’d be on the go all day and lunch would be later, we opted to pay a few dollars extra to upgrade to pancakes and sausage. The portion sizes were large and the pancakes were yummy.
Calhoun’s
Since we missed out on Bennett’s, we searched for another restaurant to try some local BBQ. Next to the Lumberjack Feud is Calhoun’s, which features an upscale lumberjack atmosphere. The sign outside advertised “the best ribs in America” and Timmy loves ribs, so we gave it a shot. As an appetizer, we ordered the Bacon Wrapped Beef Brisket Burnt Ends.
They were absolutely incredible! The meat was so tender it juicy, that they melted in our mouths!
Timothy ordered the ribs, Scarlett had chicken tenders, and I had the Hickory Smoked Beef Brisket Sandwich. Timothy really enjoyed his ribs, but my brisket was too fatty for my liking. Next time, I would order something different.
Smoky Mountain Brewery
I love to try local brews, so we had to make a stop at Smoky Mountain Brewery. They had a lot of varieties to choose from, and our server let me try samples of a few. Although several were interesting, I picked the IPA. The restaurant offers a lot of food options and a live band while we ate.
We were tired and couldn’t think, so we chose our default option of pizza and “cheezy” garlic bread. Scarlett can be picky, especially when she’s cranky, so she didn’t want to try the garlic bread at first. But, once she had a couple of bites, she quickly devoured half of the garlic bread making me wish that I had ordered the larger size. I’m making a mental note for the next time we visit Pigeon Forge.
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The Bald Thoughts
We can’t wait to visit again to try even more restaurants and experiences to add to our foodie tour of Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. This popular tourist destination is only a few hours away from Nashville, so it’s an easy weekend getaway. We liked our time in Pigeon Forge so much that Scarlett wants to return for her birthday.
What’s your favorite meal in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee? I’ll add it to my list for our next visit.
When you’re ready to explore Pigeon Forge, contact their visitor’s bureau to find valuable coupons & discounts, the latest schedule of events & seasonal activities, and info on the latest attractions.
