Don't Back Down

Now I'm not normally one to stop at a KFC. It's not that I'm above it, mind you - it's just that I don't really like fried chicken all that much. I don't really like bones. Which is odd, because back in the day, I really enjoyed chicken wings. I think it was probably the fact that I ate a ton of wings, while consuming a large amount of alcohol. But I digress.

Since breakfast didn't go too well, having stopped at Connie's Kitchen in Waynesville, and even the cookies we picked up for the ride weren't doing much, and we had spent the day out and about, we were looking for something more. Those of you who have kids know that there comes a time when it's just do or die, and sometimes you have to make a move. We decided we'd go for KFC, mostly because they had a buffet, and we figured it would at least make things snappy. Bad choice. Really bad choice.

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After spending a couple of days in the Maggie Valley area (Do: Check out Santa's Land, Don't: Bother with the reopened Ghost Town), we were on our way home and just had to stop and grab a bite to eat. As seems our custom lately, we follow a sign from the freeway that directs us to food and... there's absolutely nothing. We did it a while back for pizza and drove for what seemed like an hour before we actually found the pizza.

In this case, we never really did find what we were looking for - I don't even really remember what it was we started off to find. But we eventually found downtown Waynesville. At least, I think it was downtown. There wasn't much else around, so I'm assuming that it was downtown. And there, we eyed a small restaurant. Perfect, because with not much around - not even a chain restaurant in sight - we were getting pretty hungry.

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Let's face it - there are slim pickings inside any mall's food court, and the Eastland Mall food court is no exception. In fact, as the stores around the mall start to fall like so many dominoes, the boards go up around the food court as well, and there just aren't that many options left.

Still, there are a few places operating, so when you're there with the family and looking for a bite, you have to get something. So we decided to give Charley's a try. The difficult part is trying to convince the kids that there is actually something on the menu that they will eat.

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There aren't too many lunch counters left in this world, and when you manage to find one, it's not always a good thing. Sometimes the place is run down. Sometimes the food just isn't very good. So more often than not, you might just be better off walking on past to the next place that serves food. This isn't the case with Hap's.

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There isn't always a lot to say about a Japanese steakhouse, is there? They are pretty much the same. Sure, you get a bit of variety in what you get as far as the decor goes - sometimes the room will be simple, and sometimes you will get a bit of a fancy room, with carved wood or the like.

After that, you generally have a selection of chicken, steak (sometimes more than one) or shrimp. Then you will usually have a choice of a combination - steak and chicken or chicken and shrimp or the like. Every once in a while you will encounter a place where you can get all three.

On that front, Ichiban is no different.

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The number of steak houses in Charlotte isn't exactly overwhelming. Until a few years ago, if someone asked me where to go, I probably would have sent them to the Hereford Barn. But since they closed, there weren't really a lot of options.

Recently even the chain places have begun closing, which isn't really a huge loss, but it does leave a certain opening for a good place to find a steak. About the only option are the "old time" steak houses, such as Beef and Bottle and The Ranch House - and neither are that great.

Perhaps it is because of all this that I don't often look for steak in Charlotte. It's just not a steak sort of town. But one night while partaking in the manager's reception at the Embassy Suites, we weren't sure where to go, and decided that we'd try the Omaha Steak House, simply because it was raining and we were a bit pressed for time. It was one of the best decisions we had made in a very long time.

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For years, the Knife and Fork occupied this small building near the corner of Sharon Amity and Independence. Then an upscale bistro came in, but it was still named the Knife and Fork. Who wants to eat at a place called the Knife and Fork, but the prices are higher? That makes no sense.

A short while ago, another family reopened the restaurant under the name Oasis Place, and I really didn't know what to think. It seemed to have some sort of island feel, I suppose, but had no real reason to go by, but it was close, so figured we'd drop in for a mid-day Sunday meal.

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Found in the same shopping center with Jo Jo China Bistro (and another several dozen shops), the location is great. It's right next to the fountain, and on a warm spring night, the ability to pop in for a single-serving dessert and a drink, then sit on the patio by the fountain, or even around the corner and listen to music, is perfect.

What is missing is that the market cafe concept isn't quite the same as the full-fledged grocery store of other locations, such as Philips Place. That's not to say that the other locations are actually full-fledged grocery stores, but if you've ever been, you should know what I mean.

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Nestled in the shopping center, you may not immediately notice the place - it's not like the restaurant jumps out at you, being that there are only another hundred or so shops in the development. Right there around the fountain have to be another dozen or so shops, and on any given weekend night, it's pretty packed.

But it's probably worth stopping in, as the atmosphere is good and the food is quite decent. The service is solid, approaching excellent. The only downfall that we really found was that the drinks weren't really maintained.

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They always say that the third time is the charm, right? So after what was probably the worst meal experience in recent memory at the Old Mill, and an utterly average experience at Duff's, I was hoping beyond all hope that the third time was indeed the charm here at Applewood.

Alas, it started off by waiting in line. I so hate waiting in line. It wasn't a good start. What really baffled me was that, unlike at the Old Mill, there was no apparent way to determine when the name of your party was called. Though we sat outside on the porch (which was a nice porch) for at least half an hour, I don't think I heard a single name called during the whole time. It was just odd.

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After last night's debacle at the Old Mill, we were looking for something - anything that would a: mean that we didn't have to wait for an hour just to get seated and b: hopefully have some semblance of decent food. Duff's did well on the first point, and performed adequately on the second.

I'm not quite sure if Duff's is always less-than-crowded. When we arrived, at somewhere around 5pm, the place was almost empty. Perhaps four or five tables were occupied, and we quickly took over a small section in the back room, which was necessary for our party of eight in order to sit together. It meant that we were farther from the "smorgasboard" than we would have liked, but it wasn't far.

Read "Duff's Famous Smorgasbord of Pigeon Forge" »

This was my first visit to Pigeon Forge, and more than one person suggested visiting the Old Mill (the restaurant, I mean - there seem to be dozens of places in the general vicinity that start with "Old Mill", so don't get confused).

I'm not typically one who will wait for much time at all, but it was vacation, and I'm usually game for one of those must-see (or must-eat, as the case may be) places, so I figured I would wait. Unfortunately, it was also about 7, and the wait was said to be about 45 minutes, which would place us getting seated at almost 8pm, and that's really pushing my tolerance for dinner. Sorry, but I like to eat earlier than some. So that already put me in the wrong frame of mind. It got worse.

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