Update on the Kingsport Food Scene – Part 3

In this post, I’d like to rate my favorite restaurants in various categories.  Keep in mind that if a restaurant isn’t listed, it doesn’t necessarily mean I don’t like it.  This is just a list of my personal favorites.  Some restaurants might be listed more than once if they fit into more than one category.  Most of these are in Kingsport, unless otherwise noted.

Mexican

1. La Carretta
2. Molcajates
3. Taco Bell

Chinese

1. Plum Tree
2. China Wok
3. Golden Dragon
4. Great Taste Buffett

Japanese

1. Tamiko

Italian

1. Olive Garden
2. Fazoli’s
3. Italian Village
4. Guiseppe’s

Steakhouse

1. Chop House
2. Bonanza (Wise, Va.)
3. Texas Roadhouse

Pizza

1. Domino’s
2. Pizza Hut
3. Chef’s

Fast Food

1. Pal’s
2. Chik-Fil-A
3. Five Guy’s
4. McDonald’s
5. Taco Bell
6. Arby’s

Variety Restaurants

1. Cheddar’s
2. Nick’s
3. Shoney’s
4. Applebee’s
5. Chili’s
6. Rush Street

Note:  Restaurants that serve a variety of different types of food and don’t fit under any other category are listed here.

Top 5

1. Chop House
2. Plum Tree
3. China Wok
4. La Carretta
5. Cheddar’s

Note:  These are my top 5 out of all the restaurants I ranked.

Update on the Kingsport Food Scene – Part 2

In this post, I’d like to discuss some of the new restaurants that have opened in Kingsport since my last post on the subject.  Some of these have been open for quite a while – it’s been a long time since I last wrote about new restaurants in town.

The Golden Dragon is located in the former Ryan’s and Red Apple building near Robinson Middle School.  In a previous post, I gave Red Apple an 8 out of 10 rating – and Golden Dragon is even better.  I’ve eaten there many times, and they seem to get a great business.  I don’t know if the restaurant is owned by the same people who owned the old Golden Dragon on East Sevier Avenue.

Henry’s Downtown Grill recently opened in the former Sharon’s building in downtown Kingsport.  I haven’t heard anything more about it yet.

Stir Fry Cafe in downtown Kingsport offers sushi, as well as American food (I think).  I haven’t tried it, but they seem to get a great business, especially on Wednesday and Saturday nights, when sushi is half-price.

Olive Garden has been open for probably a year or two on the former Cootie Brown’s lot.  I really like it.

Longhorn Steakhouse opened just a few days ago on the lot where the original Fisherman’s Dock was located.  I haven’t tried it yet.

El Campina Mexican restaurant has opened downtown.   It hadn’t yet opened the last time I wrote about it.  I haven’t tried it.

Tamiko Japanese Restaurant is located in the former Schlotsky’s Deli/Back Yard Burgers building.  It is very nice, the food is great, and you get huge servings.  They also offer side dishes that a lot of Japanese steakhouses don’t have, such as egg rolls and crab rangoons.  They also include a free scoop of ice cream or sherbet for dessert.

Sweet Cece’s is an ice cream parlor where you get your ice cream and put the toppings on it yourself.  They then weigh your creation and charge you accordingly.

There are probably more new restaurants in town that I’m forgetting, but these are all I can think of right now.

Update on the Kingsport Food Scene – Part 1

It’s been quite a while since I’ve written about restaurants in Kingsport.  I decided it is time for some new posts on the subject.  In Part 1, I’ll re-examine some of the restaurants I have mentioned in previous posts over the years.  In Part 2, which is coming later, I’ll discuss some new restaurants that have opened in Kingsport.  In Part 3, I’ll rank some of my favorite Kingsport restaurants in various categories.

When I was reading my previous posts about restaurants, one thing that I noticed is that 3 of the restaurants I had in my list of “Top 10 Local Restaurants in Kingsport” have gone out of business.  One of these is Fisherman’s Dock, although they recently re-opened in Colonial Heights after being closed for an extended period of time.  I haven’t eaten there since they opened in their new location, but when I’ve driven by there, it’s been packed.  Another restaurant on my list that is now closed down is Kingsport Grocery Company.  I heard that the year it closed, the winter was so bad that they had several bad weekends due to people not travelling in the snow.  They had announced plans to reopen the following Spring, but it didn’t happen.  Yet another place that went out of business was Tomoko’s Japanese Restaurant that was located in front of K-Mart.  I heard that either some of the staff or the original owners left to open the similarly-named Tamiko on Eastman Road.  After being closed for a short time, Tomoko reopened, only to close again a few months later.  The restaurant has once again reopened as of mid 2011, this time under the name Sakura.

Besides the places mentioned above, there is yet another Kingsport restaurant that I’ve written about in the past that closed down – The Red Apple Chinese Restaurant, which was located in the former Ryan’s building near Robinson Middle School.  An infamous event occurred at Red Apple shortly before they closed down.  One day, they advertised free buffets for all diners, with no purchase necessary.  I heard people were lined up around the building at lunch.  By supper, they had to close because they were out of food, and many people were turned away (myself included).  I’m not sure if this is what led to the Red Apple’s demise, but they went out of business soon after.  An event that was undoubtedly meant to get people to try their food and increase their future business backfired and alienated all of the customers who didn’t get their free  meal.  A new Chinese Restaurant, The Golden Dragon,  has since opened in the same building, and seems to be getting a lot of business.

But the list of restaurants that have closed since I wrote about them doesn’t end there.  I have another one to discuss – Sharon’s Burgers.  After being in business as Sharon’s Barbecue for several years, the restaurant briefly closed before reopening as Sharon’s Burgers.  The new Sharon’s only offered burgers, fries, and drinks.  But the food was delicious, and they continued to get a good business.  Then suddenly, they announced they would be closing down.  Sharon’s was owned by the same company that owns the many Pal’s restaurants in East Tennessee and Southwest Virginia.  When they announced the closing, they said that Sharon’s Burgers had been an experiment to help them improve the Big Pal burger sold at Pal’s restaurants.  I believe they might also have admitted (or strongly implied) that they never intended to keep Sharon’s Burgers open for the long-term.  A new restaurant named Henry’s Downtown Grill has opened in the building very recently.

That’s all for now.  I’ll be back with Part 2 soon, where I’ll talk about some new restaurants in Kingsport.

Dollywood – Something I noticed…

This post isn’t part of my “official” Dollywood series, but I noticed something interesting when I was looking at the park map at Dollywood.com – Daredevil Falls and the Slidewinder aren’t on it!  This might be because the map that is currently on the site is the Christmas Season map, and these rides probably don’t run because it’s too cold.  But, it’s also worth noting that the location for the new Wild Eagle rollercoaster is shown on the map, and it looks like it is very close to – and maybe even on top of – Daredevil Falls or Slidewinder.

I haven’t heard anything about any rides closing to make room for the Wild Eagle, but I found it strange that two of the park’s major rides were missing from the latest map.  If you have any knowledge of what’s going on, post it in the comments section.  I’m particularly interested to learn if anyone can confirm whether or not Daredevil Falls and/or Slidewinder are being removed from the park.

Dollywood Part 4 – Rating the Rides

In 2008, I started a series of posts about Dollywood. At long last, I’m finally getting around to writing Part 4 of the series.

I thought it would be fun if I rate all of the rides in the park. I’ll use a 5-star system:

***** = Awesome
**** = Great
*** = Good
** = Fair
* = Bad

Note that I decided not to include kids-only rides, since I haven’t ridden many of them.

Country Fair Area

Dizzy Disk (**** 1/2):  This spinning disc that travels up and down a sloped track was the best of the new rides added in the Country fair expansion a few years ago.  It’s a fun and unique ride.

Lemon Twist (**1/2):  This ride is similar to the famous teacup ride.  Riders control how fast the cars spin by using the wheel in the middle.  To me, this ride is too much work.  It’s like a stripped-down Tilt-a-Whirl where the cars don’t spin on their own.

Sky Rider (***):  This ride is similar to a swinger, except it goes much higher in the air and hold two riders per seat.  Riders have limited control over how much the seats swing back and forth by using a lever to move the wings on each side of the seats.  I would give the ride a higher rating, but I’ve always been a bit uneasy riding the rides where the seats are hanging from chains.

Swinger (** 1/2):  This is a more traditional swinger with both single and double seats.  I rate it a bit lower than Sky Rider simply because it doesn’t go as high.

Scrambler (***):  I have to give the Scrambler at least 3 stars because it’s one of my all-time favorite Carnival rides.  The reason I don’t rate Dollywood’s Scrambler higher is because it lacks the lighting assembly in the middle that most Scramblers at travelling carnivals have.  As a result, Dollywood’s Scrambler has an underwhelming, incomplete look.

Bumper Cars (****):  I’ve always liked Bumper Cars, so this ride was guaranteed to get a good rating from me.  The reason it isn’t rated even higher is because the cars are a bit under-powered.  However, that seems to be the case with all Bumper Cars at amusement parks and carnivals these days.  It seems almost everyone has reduced the power of their cars, probably because they were afraid someone would get hurt.

Carousel (**** 1/2):  I consider the Carousel more of a kid’s ride, although anyone can enjoy it.  I give it a high rating because Dollywood’s Carousel is absolutely beautiful.

Timber Canyon

Thunderhead (*****):  Quite possibly the best wooden roller coaster I’ve ever ridden.  It may not be as fast as some coasters, but the curvy track makes up for that.  Except for the lift hill, all of the track is curved.  This sets Thunderhead apart from other wooden coasters, many of which include long straightaways.  The continuous curves make Thunderhead a lot of fun, and it also makes the coaster seem faster.  It’s hard to find a better ride than Thunderhead.

Timber Tower (no rating):  This ride has been closed frequently during its time in the park due to maintenance problems.  I even heard that due to a dispute with the ride or parts manufacturer, Timber Tower hasn’t operated at all in 2011.  The reason I didn’t give it a rating is because I’ve never ridden it.  I tried once, but I was either too tall or too heavy and the restraint wouldn’t close all the way.

Mystery Mine (**** 1/2):  This is an excellent steel rollercoaster that is part inside and part outside.  The track has lots of twists, turns, and loops.  One of the more unique features of the ride is that the two lift hills are at a 95-degree angle.  You’re not just going straight up, you’re actually leaning back a little.

Wilderness Pass

River Battle (*** 1/2):  I haven’t ridden this ride, but I know it’s fun because I have used the water cannons mounted around the ride to blast the riders with water.  Both the riders and bystanders have water cannons, so you can get in on the fun even if you don’t ride.

Craftsman’s Valley

Tennessee Tornado (****):  A great steel coaster with multiple inversions.  I would rate it higher, but I always thought the ride was a bit short.

Blazing Fury (*****):  Although this coaster is admittedly dated by today’s standards, I still give it 5 stars because it’s such a unique and fun ride.  The train goes through a burning town before moving on to several downhill drops.  It’s a classic.  It’s one of the few rides still in the park from the Silver Dollar City days, and I hope it stays.  I was disappointed to hear that the water splash has been removed from the end of the ride due to a new braking system.

Daredevil Falls (**** 1/2):  A really fun log flume ride with a huge drop at the end.

Slidewinder (**):  This ride was hard for me to rate, because my experiences on the ride vary greatly.  Sometimes I really enjoyed riding it; other times, I was scared because it felt like the raft might turn over at any time.  I’ve rarely felt safe on the Slidewinder, which is why I gave it such a low rating.

Wild Eagle (***** – I hope!):  Wild Eagle is Dollywood’s new rollercoaster that is being built for the 2012 season.  I hope it’s a great one!

Owens Farm

Barnstormer (no rating):  I didn’t give Barnstormer a rating because I haven’t seen it in person yet.  It opened this year, but I haven’t been to Dollywood yet this season.  It’s rare for me not to have visited this late in the year.

The Village

Train (**** 1/2):  Some of my friends won’t agree with this rating, but the train has always been one of my favorite rides.  I do miss the days when the train would stop at the top of the mountain and actors would act out a train robbery.  They stopped doing that several years ago.

Rivertown Junction

River Rampage (*****):  A really fun river rafting ride.  One of my favorites.

Adventures in Imagination

Imagination Cinema (****):  This is a combination movie theater and motion simulator ride.  They change the movie they show several times throughout the year.  Some are better than others.  I like Thunder Road better than Dolly’s Wilderness Adventure, for instance.

Jukebox Junction

Rockin’ Roadway (*** 1/2):  This is a ride that is hard to classify as to whether it is exclusively a kid’s ride or not.  Miniature vintage cars travel around a track.  One of the coolest features of the ride is the 50′s music playing on the car “radio”.

I think I’ve covered all of the major rides.  Feel free to post in the comments section and let me know which are your favorite rides!