Five Guys Burgers and Fries

Speaking of food, this is about as good as it gets when it comes to eating a Cheeseburger at a chain restaurant. Now admittedly there are a lot of hamburger places I have not eaten in yet but be patient I am trying to get to them all as fast as I can...lol! 

But when it comes to fast food chain restaurants that specialize in hamburgers I have just about tried them all... In fact I have tried them all a lot. I like to joke that I am personally responsible for a few million on the McDonald's sign. Believe me, it is barely and exaggeration...

I will say that Wendy's new and improved hamburgers are pretty good. They are much better than they were and you can have a Frosty to top it off. That's not bad at all.

In-N-Out which is all out west and slowly and carefully creeping east serves a very good burger. They always serve them hot and fresh and can move a crowd through in style. All of the other places could learn a thing or two from them in management. The employees are nice, the restaurants are clean, the food is hot and the over all experience is always good. Every time I have been there in several different cities it has always been great. Plus the owners are not ashamed of their Christianity and that is tremendous. I give them bonus points for that.

I really like the burgers at In-N-Out but I have to give the edge to Five Guys in my personal opinion. They are a little pricey but every thing is pricey now days. The fries are really good, the burgers are fresh with a little grease left in (Regular readers know how I feel about the necessity of grease!) and all of the toppings are free.

Now, I would not consider Ron's Hamburgers and Chili a big chain even though they have more than one location. Everybody in the world should have a chance at a Double Big Daddy. There is no way fast food can compete with that.  But for fast food chains Five Guys gets my vote.

A Double Cheeseburger with grilled onions, mushrooms, mayo, ketchup and mustard is a great way to start the day. If you haven't tried it, I encourage you to do so. If you have tried it, let me know what you think. You can click on the title of this blog for a link to locations.

Stay warm,

Davy

Food In Tourist Towns

I gave my opinion of restaurants in tourist towns in THIS post last year but I guess its worth repeating. I am usually not impressed at all. Most local restaurants in touristy type towns are overpriced for dinky portions of less than delicious food. I realize that statement is a pretty broad and is certainly not true in every case. The post I referenced above is proof that I know there are exceptions to the rule.

We began thinking about this again while in the Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge area last week. It is definitely tourist mecca and restaurants abound all over the place. We didn't think about it ahead of time but we find ourselves NOT eating at the many local restaurants much while there. With very few exceptions we gravitated to the chain restaurants that we can find almost any where.

I am not saying that there are no descent local restaurants there but most of them fit the pattern of typical tourist town diners. Although we have had good food at some of them through the years (For example The Apple Barn, The Old Mill, The Wood Grill and various local and regional BBQ joints) but none of them call my name as do MANY local places across the country in non tourist towns. A few examples would be Ron's in Tulsa, Jantz Cafe in Atwater, California, Humberto's in El Mirage, Arizona, Chelino's in Oklahoma City, The Boiling Pot in Mobile, Alabama, assorted Catfish buffets all across the south and even the gas station deli in Riverdale, California.

(I actually had to make myself stop listing the great local and regional restaurants all over this country that reach out and grab me as I am driving within 50-100 miles of their parking lot! lol)

We did have a good meal at the Apple Barn last week. It seems to be pretty consistent and they are usually very busy with lots of tourist traffic. But I couldn't remember what I ate there the last time to save my own life. That is further indication that it isn't calling my name even though it is always a good experience. I would remember EXACTLY what I had before if it was REAL good for me. I guess two ounces of their special fruit juice and an apple fritter isn't enough for me...

It is not that we loathe tourist towns. We love the whole Gatliburg/Pigeon Forge/Smoky Mountain area. It is probably my favorite place to relax and unwind. But as much as I love the place I do not go there for the food. For a guy that loves to eat as much as I do that's pretty unusual!

We went to our home church today both services and we sure did enjoy it. It was great to get to hear our Pastor preach twice and to experience the love and warmth of our home church. These folks have loved us through thick and thin and back to thick again! It was so good to be home.

It is definitely winter in Ohio. It was 17 degrees when I checked my phone at 8:00 this morning. That is not a very encouraging way to begin a day but we made it OK. Spring will come and soon we will be sweating under the tent. I can hardly wait!

God bless all,

Davy

Our Place

This morning (Saturday) is our last morning in the mountains for a while. We are checking out in a few minutes and then we will begin our relatively short journey home.

The pictures below were taken our first day here when the weather was quite a bit warmer than it is today. We drove up to a place that Kelly Jo and I found a few years ago. We marked it on Bro. Garmin (GPS) as "Our Place" and we have been coming back ever since. It is a beautiful place for a home on the side of a curvy mountain road.

There is not much room to park the BoggsMobile though which is OK because it couldn't make the curves anyway. I wasn't even sure that the General could make all the curves and hills up to this place! It is quite a ride up and down and would be almost impossible with much snow or any ice. Kelly Jo says that's OK. She thinks it would be no problem at all to stay up there all winter.

We spent a little time up there enjoying the view and thought you might enjoy it too.

God Bless you all...

Davy