i recently went to tennessee (pigeon forge, specifically) to visit my parents while on vacation. pigeon forge is a very tourist-heavy town, so it was tough to scope out restaurants that got to the real culture of the town instead of tourist traps. but we tried. saturday the old mill creamery - we went here mostly because we had a long wait for our dinner. but there were a dozen or so options in the form of bowls, cones or shakes. i got a two-scoop cone with a peanut butter moose tracks sort of ice cream and another that i can't remember. but overall, pretty tasty! grade: a the old mill restaurant - this is where we chose for dinner my first night there. while our wait was incredibly long, once we finally got in, service was quick. a house salad and some corn fritters were rushed to our table. i ordered the meatloaf, with a side of macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes (which were served family style) and a pecan pie. the price was about $20 all inclusive. it comes in a nice set. and it was also pretty tasty. the meatloaf was ground pretty fine, so it was crumbly. but the top had a nice tomato flavor. the corn fritters, mashed potatoes and macaroni and cheese were all good. average-ish. the pecan pie was good. overall, a decent meal. love comfort food, but the wait was so incredibly long. and nothing was totally mind-blowing. grade: b sunday alamo steakhouse - this is one i wanted to go to because i heard really good reviews. in an act of luck, we ended up going for lunch, so it's a good bit cheaper. i ordered the horseradish-crusted sirloin with a side of mushroom risotto and their potatoes. i ordered it medium, and it was definitely overcooked. i saw no pink. but flavor was on point. the horseradish-parmesan crust wasn't so much a crust as it was melted cheese with just a tiny tang (don't be scared by the horseradish - not potent). mushroom risotto was flavorful, and the fried potatoes were average. overall, though, very good lunch. grade: a monday big daddy's pi