# ISO Restaurant & Sightseeing Recommendations



## Kaneohegirlinaz (Apr 16, 2018)

WAHOO!!!

DH and I have decided that we will be driving across the country
from Arizona to Virginia.
The In-laws (DH's fam) are all gathering this Summer for a week and we've made the huge commitment to join them.
I say this because it's, what, about 2100 miles, EACH WAY!!! 
And of course, the gasoline prices are starting to rise, I just hope that they don't get too high during our travel month.

We like to make a few stops and do/see stuff along our long journeys; not just make a bee-line from point A to point B and back again---where's the fun in that.  (If anyone has read my blog of late, I shared our Great Western Adventure---fun!)

So ... 
I'm looking for any recommendations for good eats and/or attractions at or very near to our stops in:

Fort Smith Arkansas
Cookeville Tennessee 
Louisville Kentucky
Savannah Tennessee (we're stopping at Shiloh N.P.) 

We prefer not to go to "chain" type restaurants, we like Mom & Pop local joints; we're not fancy-kinda folks.

We're history buffs, so that's a plus.

We'll be at each locale 1-2 nights, depending on what there is to see and do.

This is starting to sound like a really fun road trip!


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## Rocklobster (Apr 16, 2018)

BBQ.....can't help you there, but I would go for that


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## GotGarlic (Apr 16, 2018)

Where exactly are you going in Virginia? We're here in the southeastern corner at the confluence of the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. Is there a chance we could meet up?


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## Steve Kroll (Apr 16, 2018)

I've actually spent a lot of time in Ft. Smith, and I was going to send you to one of my favorite places, Neumeier's Rib Room, but it looks like they are no longer in business. 

Let me check with some of my friends who live there and get back to you.


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## Cooking Goddess (Apr 17, 2018)

Kaneohegirlinaz said:


> ...So ...
> I'm looking for any recommendations for good eats and/or attractions at or very near to our stops in:
> 
> Fort Smith Arkansas
> ...


I hope this isn't your actual route - it's got a bit of back-tracking there. 
If you will be passing through or near Knoxville TN, stop in to see the *"Golden Girls" * Family Restaurant in Clinton TN. We ate at the restaurant when we did the eclipse thing and really enjoyed the food. Authentic, down-home southern cooking, if that's OK with you.

About an hour SE of Louisville is Bardstown, KY. Home to a number of Bourbon distilleries. We did the tour at Willetts. Not too far from there is another southern cooking establishment, *Mammy's Kitchen*. Himself had some sort of KY Hot Brown platter. I thought he was going to burst! He kept saying "one more bite" until there were none left. I don't remember exactly what I had, but it was delicious too.




Kaneohegirlinaz said:


> ...we've made the huge commitment to join them.
> I say this because it's, what, about 2100 miles, EACH WAY!!!...


Oh. Big. Deal.  You're retired, so you can take an extra day here or there if you need to - and you can fit it into your budget. We did "Cleveland to MA to Cleveland to Tempe to MA" in two weeks when we moved from OH but had to get back to take our son to college and get back to MA for Himself to get to work. 5800 miles in two weeks. We lived. We _felt_ dead for a few days, but we lived. 

Have fun. Drive safe. And you must post your dinner every night. Got it?


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## Whiskadoodle (Apr 17, 2018)

I think you should travel part of your trip along the old Route 66.  Although it may be quite nostalgic- touristy now-a-days.  I like truck stops, diners and small town cafes when traveling.  (It's usually only a few hundred miles these days for us, but we need to stop anyway to keep our strength up. LOL)

By all means eat real Texas bbq, so you can compare with both Tenn and Ky bbq.


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## Kaneohegirlinaz (Apr 17, 2018)

GotGarlic said:


> Where exactly are you going in Virginia? We're here in the southeastern corner at the confluence of the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. Is there a chance we could meet up?



*GG*, being able to meet with you and yours would be wonderful, but we are headed to Western VA 



Steve Kroll said:


> I've actually spent a lot of time in Ft. Smith, and I was going to send you to one of my favorite places, Neumeier's Rib Room, but it looks like they are no longer in business.
> 
> Let me check with some of my friends who live there and get back to you.



*Steve*, that would be great if your friends could point us towards a lovely meal and possibly sights to see too.



Cooking Goddess said:


> I hope this isn't your actual route - it's got a bit of back-tracking there.
> If you will be passing through or near Knoxville TN, stop in to see the *"Golden Girls" * Family Restaurant in Clinton TN. We ate at the restaurant when we did the eclipse thing and really enjoyed the food. Authentic, down-home southern cooking, if that's OK with you.
> 
> About an hour SE of Louisville is Bardstown, KY. Home to a number of Bourbon distilleries. We did the tour at Willetts. Not too far from there is another southern cooking establishment, *Mammy's Kitchen*. Himself had some sort of KY Hot Brown platter. I thought he was going to burst! He kept saying "one more bite" until there were none left. I don't remember exactly what I had, but it was delicious too.
> ...



*CG*, we hadn't really planned on taking this road trip, as we have other irons in the fire so to speak.  As to long road trips, check, so far our little Honda C-RV has over 100,000 in less then 5 years  That reminds me, gotta get the car checked over before hand.


And guys, thanks for these recommendations, BBQ is tops on our list.
We've had TX, Carolina and KS-Q before but not TN nor KY.  These are States that, I, myself have not been to and I'm really stoked.


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## GotGarlic (Apr 17, 2018)

Kaneohegirlinaz said:


> *GG*, being able to meet with you and yours would be wonderful, but we are headed to Western VA
> ...
> And guys, thanks for these recommendations, BBQ is tops on our list.
> We've had TX, Carolina and KS-Q before but not TN nor KY.  These are States that, I, myself have not been to and I'm really stoked.


Darn. Well, depending on where out there you'll be, Natural Bridge is a great place to visit. It's a bridge of rock over a stream that's pretty famous in Virginia. It was surveyed by George Washington. Thomas Jefferson owned property near there. There are also caverns in the same area you can go inside. It's kinda near Blacksburg.

Nashville is about an hour west of Cookeville. If you have any interest in country music, it would be a fun place to visit.


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## Steve Kroll (Apr 17, 2018)

Steve Kroll said:


> I've actually spent a lot of time in Ft. Smith, and I was going to send you to one of my favorite places, Neumeier's Rib Room, but it looks like they are no longer in business.
> 
> Let me check with some of my friends who live there and get back to you.



One of my friends says Neumeier's Rib Room in Ft. Smith is still open. In his words, it's "the best in town."

Neumeier's Rib Room : The Best Damn BBQ in Fort Smith, AR!

I haven't been there for a long time, but it's not a fancy place. Just good food. My friend also recommended Taliano's for Italian, R. Landry's for Cajun, 21 West End for a variety, Rolando's for Spanish, and Emmy's for German. All in the old downtown area.

As far as things to see, there are a few little museums and so on. TripAdvisor usually has some good recommendations, too. My personal suggestion would be to take a side trip to Ozark National Forest, which is just northeast of Ft. Smith. Lots of beautiful scenery around the area.


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## Cheryl J (Apr 17, 2018)

I'm not familiar with any of those areas you noted, kgirl, but your trip sounds like a wonderful experience!  I LOVE road trips....!

I'm with ya on the mom and pop local restaurants - why go somewhere that you can go to in your home state...? 

Are you going to be packing coolers with on-the-road eats like you did last time?


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## Kaneohegirlinaz (Apr 17, 2018)

Yes, Cheryl, I'll pack up some grub for along the way.
At the least, our first night on the road, I make sure that I bring along a meal that can be re-heated and enjoyed in our hotel/motel room.
And then there's sandwich makings for along the way.

Whisk, we've driven along Route 66 in different portions across the US, we always enjoy it.  I'm trying to remember this one section we took and it was so cool!  I'd bet it comes to me as I fall asleep tonight 

CG, I promise to post what we eat!
DH's Brother is planning a big Pig Roast, that ought to be interesting.

Steve, I pulled up that Rib Room, MMM!

And I forgot, CG, I'll look to see if we go past these restaurants, but I have them noted.

This is starting to sound more and more fun!


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## Kaneohegirlinaz (Apr 17, 2018)

I forgot to mention that _we will be going to Louisville Kentucky too!_
I've planned on going to the Brown Hotel and having a cocktail in the lobby, 
but a Hot Brown is not our cup of tea.


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## Katie H (Apr 17, 2018)

As a Kentucky resident, I highly recommend traveling to the Lexington area, which is fraught with all manner of lovely horsie stuff.  It's a beautiful area, especially this time of the year...or, actually, any time of the year.

You might find The Castle an interesting site.  It's near Lexington by way of Versailles.  Has an interesting history and, if it's not accessible to you on your visit, it's still a fascinating place.

Lots of history in this area.

If you have the opportunity to dine in Louisville, you might like to try the The Oak Room at the Seelbach Hilton.  I don't think you'll be disappointed.

The whole place is straight out of a movie set.


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## caseydog (Apr 17, 2018)

I've done a lot of driving trips in Arkansas, as in, driving fast cars on twisty roads. The _Talimena National Scenic Byway_ is very nice to drive, even at sub-three-digit speeds. It is very pretty. 

Many of our drives were based in Hot Springs, which is a great place.  I always stay at the historic _Arlington Resort Hotel and Spa_. It has old world charm, and as "resorts" go, it is cheap. They also have a great spa, where you can get a complete spa treatment for cheap, too, with hot spring water right out of the ground. Hot springs has nice parks and hiking trails, too, and water fountains are around the town where you can fill up your plastic bottles with natural spring water for free. Very interesting place. 

McClard's BBQ is well known in the area. The BBQ is rib-centric, IMO, but they are also known for their tamales, of all things. Not authentic tamales, but pretty good. Definitely "mom and pop" atmosphere. 

CD


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## Cooking Goddess (Apr 18, 2018)

Kaneohegirlinaz said:


> ...we are headed to Western VA...


Well, in that case...

You said you are history buffs? *GG* recommending Natural Bridge reminded me of a few other sites in that area. 

Depending on whereabouts in western VA you are, I strongly, lovingly, recommend "*Poplar Forest*". It's Thomas Jefferson's retreat house, kind of like a mini Monticello. We happened upon it early in its restoration. We've visited several times, admiring the progress in the work they are doing. It provides a very personal look at our third president. Also in the same general area are *Lynchburg* and, a bit further east, *Appomattox Court House*. We thought we'd just swing by and see one building at Appomattox. Nope, they have a village and very knowledgeable guides. If you go there, plan on spending several hours.

Wherever you end up visiting, I wish I was going along!


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## Kaneohegirlinaz (Apr 18, 2018)

Thank you all, I've adding everything to our running list; we have alot of planning ahead of us... and as I said, we've got other irons in the fire


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## GotGarlic (Apr 18, 2018)

Cooking Goddess said:


> Well, in that case...
> 
> You said you are history buffs? *GG* recommending Natural Bridge reminded me of a few other sites in that area.
> 
> ...



Tons of history throughout Virginia! The western part of the state is a big big place!  There's a really cool frontier farm culture museum in Staunton, which is also a big arts center: Frontier Culture Museum - Bringing the Past to Life

There's a fantastic Shakespearean theater in Staunton called the Blackfriar's Playhouse, where part of the audience is actually on the stage and is part of the play. It's so much fun: American Shakespeare Center

Not to mention the gorgeous scenery of the Blue Ridge Parkway and the mountains.


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## Cooking Goddess (Apr 18, 2018)

GotGarlic said:


> Tons of history throughout Virginia!...Not to mention the gorgeous scenery of the Blue Ridge Parkway and the mountains.


I know! We've probably spent more vacation hours in VA than any other state. And driven the spine of the Blue Ridge a number of times. When we took my parents to Williamsburg, we spent a night at the "*Hotel Strasburg*". They had thundermugs under the beds. Mom turned and looked at me and said "they have *real* facilities, don't they??  "  We actually had a shared bath between our bedrooms.  We've also eaten at the *Wayside Inn* in Middletown, VA several times.

*K-Girl*, you can add those two restaurants/hotels to your ever-growing list! Keep in mind that we haven't personally been there for a number of years.

I bet you're sorry you asked us for suggestions!


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## Kaneohegirlinaz (Apr 18, 2018)

As a matter of fact CG, I was just thinking how glad I was that I asked not just for restaurant suggestions.
DH said, "why are you asking a food forum about sightseeing information?" Well, I know that you folks live all over the place, have traveled, have done a lot of stuff... same as us.

And yes, our list is growing.
Thank you guys so much, and please, keep them coming.

We weren't going to go to this family shindig, but thought long and hard about (mostly DH's two sister played, each, their guilt card on him, sucker!  they get him every single time!)
We had other plans, but I suppose they can always change and be re-arranged.  
Come to find out that there's going to be a family photo to be taken during this gathering; more so he's all "I feel bad, we've got to go now."
I'm not sure how many of us there will be, I'm thinking it's 25


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## GotGarlic (Apr 18, 2018)

DH thinks foodies don't travel? [emoji38]We love to travel and find out about new and different foods! [emoji813]

So where is the big gathering? And in what part of western Virginia will you be?


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## Kaneohegirlinaz (Apr 18, 2018)

GotGarlic said:


> DH thinks foodies don't travel? [emoji38]We love to travel and find out about new and different foods! [emoji813]
> 
> So where is the big gathering? And in what part of western Virginia will you be?





Isn't DH funny *GG* ? 

And ...



I'll tell ya later ... for now, 
let's just keep it at "Western VA"


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## GotGarlic (Apr 20, 2018)

Kaneohegirlinaz said:


> I'll tell ya later ... for now,
> let's just keep it at "Western VA"



Gotcha. If you're going to be anywhere near Charlottesville, it's well worth a stop. Thomas Jefferson's home Monticello is there, with the kitchen gardens overlooking the valley. We've taken all six of our exchange students there and we make sure to have a meal at Michie Tavern for Colonial-era food. The countryside around it is full of wineries and the town of Charlottesville is charming, with a restored old town and modern shopping and restaurants. Wonderful place.


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## Kaneohegirlinaz (Apr 20, 2018)

Isn't it a beautiful part of the country?
I think it was back in 1999, our nephew got married, they lived in the Baltimore area and after all the festivities were done, we took off on a short-ish road trip and Monticello was tops on the list.

DH is a HUGE American History buff!
Oh and baseball, so we try to get to some sort of game, 
be it the Bigs or Minors, when its possible.

What was it? three years ago this Summer, we were in Toledo
and went to a Mud Hens game.  What a blast!

Did I tell you guys? Our honeymoon was a month long road trip from Baltimore to Maine and back again, what fun!  We didn't make any reservations, just went and stopped where we liked.  We got to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, he was in heaven!


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## GotGarlic (Apr 20, 2018)

It is [emoji2] I found this blog about places to visit, eat and drink in Virginia and particularly, this page, which describes places to go from the exits off of I-81, the highway that goes down the backbone of the Blue Ridge Mountains. I forgot that we also toured Woodrow Wilson's home in Staunton one year. Beautiful house and grounds: https://blog.virginia.org/2016/04/4-shenandoah-national-parks-entrances/

Ah, baseball. I like it, but DH is a faithful Detroit Tigers fan. There's a minor-league team in Norfolk that we go see every so often. DH was an umpire in college and, after that, for Little League for several years. We saw the Tigers in Baltimore one year. Love the stadium there.

Sounds like a great honeymoon


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## Kaneohegirlinaz (Apr 20, 2018)

WOW!
That's a herd of information, *thanks* GG!


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## GotGarlic (Apr 20, 2018)

You're welcome! Don't blame me your trip skews Virginia!  [emoji38]


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## Kaneohegirlinaz (Apr 20, 2018)

I'm getting so excited!

I've spent most of this afternoon researching places to feed us in some these other _REALLY_ small towns that we're hoping to go to.

I'm thinking that there's still  "Blue Laws"--- it's a darn good thing that I always travel with my own!  I forget where we where, but the entire town was "dry"---no alcohol was sold, and I was *out!*   We traveled over a few towns and found only beer, no wine or hards.


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## GotGarlic (Apr 20, 2018)

Kaneohegirlinaz said:


> I'm thinking that there's still  "Blue Laws"--- it's a darn good thing that I always travel with my own!  I forget where we where, but the entire town was "dry"---no alcohol was sold, and I was *out!*   We traveled over a few towns and found only beer, no wine or hards.
> [emoji38]



You won't find that problem in Virginia, but Pennsylvania has some weird rules, for sure


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## Kaneohegirlinaz (Apr 21, 2018)

GotGarlic said:


> You won't find that problem in Virginia, but *Pennsylvania has some weird rules*, for sure



PA is for sure!
The first time DH took me there, he was trying to explain State Liquor Stores me, completely foreign concept 

** OP's notes: Each and every family member had been calling us EVERY DAY since we made this decision.  They're all more excited about this then we are  **


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## caseydog (Apr 21, 2018)

Kaneohegirlinaz said:


> I forget where we where, but the entire town was "dry"---no alcohol was sold, and I was *out!*   We traveled over a few towns and found only beer, no wine or hards.



Ah, you might have been in North Texas, buckle of the Bible Belt and home of The Southern Baptist Church. Liquor, beer and wine laws very from city to city. Very few are 100-percent dry anymore, but you still need a program to keep up with the laws. 

Of course, no packaged liquor can be sold on Sunday anywhere in Texas, and beer and wine can't be sold until after noon on Sundays. Liquor stores are required to close by 9PM. 

Booze "by-the-drink" is available in most cities, these days, seven days a week. But, there are no "bars" here. A business can not make more than 50-percent of its revenue from alcohol. 

The city of 175,000 people I live in allows booze by the drink, and you can buy beer and wine in grocery/convenience stores. I have to go to one of the neighboring cities to buy liquor -- but not on Sunday or after 9PM. 

CD


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## Kaneohegirlinaz (Apr 21, 2018)

Where DH's older Brother lives, in the back woods of West Virginia
(I can hear the banjos now  actually its a very nice area and neighbors-just very rural)
they have a "bar" --- 
it's this "old lady's house that she has converted the front parlor into an establishment"... they have homemade Moonshine and pickled Ramps. 
No really.  Its a hoot!  We go there with Dear BIL and his pals a coupla times whenever we go to visit.
I personally can only handle a sip or three of the hooch  , but the Ramps are delicious... Granny won't give me the recipe, oh well, no Wild Onions `round these parts. 

HEH!
I just thought of it!
We'll be going there from VA, I hope Granny has a new batch of Ramps.


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## caseydog (Apr 22, 2018)

Kaneohegirlinaz said:


> Where DH's older Brother lives, in the back woods of West Virginia
> (I can hear the banjos now  actually its a very nice area and neighbors-just very rural)
> they have a "bar" ---
> it's this "old lady's house that she has converted the front parlor into an establishment"... they have homemade Moonshine and pickled Ramps.
> ...



Well, you can just stop in and see the Baldwin sisters, and enjoy some of "the recipe." 

CD


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## Kaneohegirlinaz (Apr 22, 2018)

We always have a good time in WV!


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