Eating Out

Knoxville is noted for its vast and eclectic ollection of restaurants. If there is one thing most Knoxvillians do as a pastime, it is ‘eating out.’

Depending on which source you cite, Knoxville is either ranked #1 or in the Top 10 in America in terms of its ’number of restaurants per capita.’

There is another aspect to Knoxville’s love for eating out. Knoxvillians - East Tennesseans in general - flock to a new place. I wonder if it is this way in other cities (or in other regions). Open up a new place around here and promote it properly (especially one with a national presence) and you can count on large crowds and long waits.

Last night, Lisa and I had plans to meet some friends from our days with the Choppers and we agreed that we were going to go to one of the newer establishments (one that opened last summer, I think). We surmised that, in the new year, maybe the appeal of this place had worn off.

We were wrong.

We were greeted with a full parking lot and cars frantically circling. Our friends reported that there was a 90 minute wait. While we were all excited about trying the new place, we weren’t keen on eating our dinner in two hours!

My former Chopper player - a bright kid with a very bright future - suggested we go down the road to Chili’s. He was always a very good pitcher on the mound for our team and he pitched great idea last night.

We did their call-ahead option and we had a table in 15 minutes. We actually had a couple extra seats at our table and when we saw another couple we knew from the baseball league in the waiting area, we asked them to join us, too.

Chili’s was an appropriate choice, considering it was a baseball-related group at our table. Back in the day, the Chili’s crew was quite generous to FB, Inc. In fact, we all remembered that about 10 years ago, us coaches were back in the kitchen flipping pancakes - with a bunch of baseball boys serving tables - at a baseball league fundraiser hosted at this location.

Naturally, our conversation included some nice reminiscing about our baseball days. We also caught each other up about the various activities of our oldest sons who are all seniors in high school - one at Farragut, one at Bearden and one at HVA.

We agreed they’ve come a long way since the day of that pancake breakfast 10 years ago. They’re looking at college choices and potential majors. They’re enjoying senior year activities in high school - that glorious time when you are 'king of the hill.’

And as proud parents, we were enjoying the conversation about what they’re doing and where they’re headed.

We might’ve been able to have that conversation during a 90 minute wait up the road. But, it was much warmer around the table with some laughter, comfortable seats and a couple bowls of chips and salsa

JG

Originally posted 1/12/2013