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Staying in Pigeon Forge / Gatlinburg. What to do. Where to eat.

Isn't there a Titanic museum near there? Dollywood?

Regarding the latter, i can only share on a perhaps similar note that I DO NOT regret visiting the Liberace museum low those many years ago in Vegas. Not necessarily a bucket list thing, but when in rome ...
 
Curmudgeon status...confirmed.

Gatlinburg is fun. It's an amusement park masquerading as a town.

My my Mom, sister, and I spent a few days at an Airbnb near Ashville, NC back during covid. You know, to see Biltmore and whatever.

What a massive, pretentious, sanctimonious and mask-scolding stick that place had up its...

On the way home, we detoured a bit to drive through Gatlinburg. Streets were packed with everyone having a good time and living like normal people.
 
Bryson City and Cherokee sound like some real boring cities. I'd leave ASAP.

If you visit Bryson City, consider visiting Jimmy Mac's for lunch or dinner. Good steaks and seafood to be had. They hand cut their beef.

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Bryson City hosts the Smokey Mountain Railroad. Right now they are offering their polar express trips.

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While in Cherokee, I stop by for lunch at Rancho Viejo, they are located in the shopping center behind the McDonald's.

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And, this how much I paid for it.

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Best deal in town!
 
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Toothpick

Needs milk and a bidet!
No offense, but that looks like an 8 dollar meal. I can get that here in town at about 10 Mexican places. Of course it will be 15 but I'll pass on both.
 
No offense, but that looks like an 8 dollar meal. I can get that here in town at about 10 Mexican places. Of course it will be 15 but I'll pass on both.

In Cherokee, where the casino is, there are mostly fast food places around it.

This is a large lunch for $7.49. The ingredients are quality and freshly made.

This is real food for less than a lunch at BK or Mickey D's.

Salad with guacamole dressing, large taco, big chili relleno, refried beans, served with chips and salsa. Can't do much better for the price.

Try ordering Mexican food in Gatlinburg or Pigeon Forge and see what your lunch comes to.
 

Toothpick

Needs milk and a bidet!
Try ordering Mexican food in Gatlinburg or Pigeon Forge and see what your lunch comes to.
I won't be doing that either. I guess it's hard to make Mexican food look good on a plate. All the Mexican places serve food the same. A plate covered in white sauce or red sauce and a heaping scoop of unappetizing refried beans. If you get anything other than rehydrated beef in your taco you're lucky. I'm very jaded when it comes to Mexican food :lol:. I moved from the Chicago area where good Mexican food was on every corner to Middle TN which is a Mexican food wasteland.
 
I moved from the Chicago area where good Mexican food was on every corner to Middle TN which is a Mexican food wasteland.

Understand. This is good Mexican food. I cook professionally. If it wasn't good, I don't care how inexpensive it would be. I don't eat at Taco Bell.

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This is my made from scratch enchiladas, rice and refried beans. I make the enchilada sauce and the hot sauce.
 
We stayed in a house above Gatlinburg with a view of the gondola and a hot tub. The best part: Bears. You are guaranteed a bear visit. It happened to us twice.
Golden Corral. I would sell my soul to Santa before I went to a GC for a treat.
 
Golden Corral. I would sell my soul to Santa before I went to a GC for a treat.

Golden Corral is certainly not the best food going. But, it is far from being the worst.

This is a tourist area. Like most tourist areas, most restaurants serve very unimpressive food for high prices. One of these places, serves an ordinary side salad for $11.

HC offers seniors a complete lunch for $10 plus tax. They have a complete fruit and salad bar where you can eat all of the salad you desire for less than this.

The senior early bird lunch includes a drink at no additional charge. The $11 salad does not. So tack on another $4 for a salad and ice tea. Your frugal lunch is now 50% more than GC.
 
I used to live in Murfreesboro TN and my wife and I went to the Gatlinburg area twice a month for three day weekends. We liked eating at the Cherokee Grill, Calhoun's and The Smoky Mountain Brewery. All three are located near each other at the eastern side of Gatlinburg. Calhoun's has the best prime rib you'll ever eat. It's lightly smoked where you just get a hint of smokiness.

I haven't been back in 20 years, but we loved the area outside of the tourist traps. Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge not so much.
 
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