Cruze Farm (Knoxville, TN)

445 S. Gay Street, Suite 103, Knoxville, TN 37902

 

Cruze Farm is a local chain of “churned ice cream” with three locations in the Knoxville area. It has daily flavors, usually some 10, some of which you can combine in a swirl, others you can “stack” on a cone.

 

I get a Calf Cake Cone ($3.40) stacked with vanilla and chocolate and dipped in toasted coconut (+$1). The dip is highly original and tasty. The ice cream is good, not too sweet, but not that remarkable.

 

VERDICT: 85/100

Definitely a treat for “churned ice cream” lovers.

Curious Dog Hotdogs & Sandwiches (Knoxville, TN)

200 W Jackson Ave, Knoxville, TN 37902

 

Curious Dog is a pretty large hot dog and sandwich place in downtown Knoxville, which is run by two really nice aging hippies. They have a huge menu of dogs and sandwiches, all original takes on classics.

 

I get the Tex Mex Dog which comes with nacho chips, onion, jalapeños, bbq sauce, pickle spear, chipotle sauce, cucumber, tomato and Texas Pete. All of this covers a big bun and a thick and very tasty Weiner. It leads to a very messy but also very tasty mess. I get the combo ($11), which comes with a soda of choice and hand-cut fries, which are excellent (I would have preferred them slightly more cooked though). The homemade mayo is delicious too.

 

[ I FORGOT TO TAKE A PIC OF THE FOOD 😡]

 

VERDICT: 92/100

Funky and tasty! Love this place!

 

Jackie's Dream (Knoxville, TN)

1008 E Woodland Ave, Knoxville, TN 37917

 

Jackie’s Dream is a fairly large and barren Southern food and hot chicken place in one of the lesser part of Knoxville. As I arrive, they are already closing but I can still get my order in. I get the Hot Knox Sandwich ($5.75) and a Hot Knox Tender ($2.25) as well as a side of slaw ($1.75). They are out of slaw, so I get potato salad (which I’m not a big fan ofy, so I don’t eat it). The sandwich is ENORMOUS! Three big and thick chicken tenders on two slices of white bread with lettuce, tomato and onion. The chicken is AMAZING! Lightly breaded but not crispy and with a serious but not overpowering heat. Some of the best hot chicken I have ever had.

VERDICT: 95/100

Get the Hot Knox Chicken sandwich, and maybe a slaw to cool off the heat a bit, and you’re Golden! Hot chicken as it should be done!

Mini Donut Place (Cherokee, NC)

964 Tsali Blvd, Cherokee, NC 28719

 

 

The Mini Donut Place is actually a very big place that sells mini-donuts, ice cream, and hot and cold drinks at the main street of the highly touristic town of Cherokee, Georgia. The mini-donuts comes in packs (9, 15, 30) and in 16 different flavors.

 

I get a 9-pack ($6.05) with Maple Bacon, Boston Cream, and Caramel Pecan. They are freshly made so it takes a quite a while before they are ready. Each one tastes pretty good, particularly when still warm, but not exceptional.

 

VERDICT: 85/100

Fun snack with original flavors

Hangry’s Grill (Clarkesville, GA)

4739 Highway 115, Clarksville, GA 30523

 

Hangry’s Grill is a small hole in the wall off a highway that serves “burgers and bbq”. Actually, they also have hot dogs and the usual sides. They are known for their Dirty Burger and their Doughnut Burger.

 

I’ve had a doughnut burger at the Indiana State Fair once and was unimpressed, so I go with the Dirty Burger ($6.50) and a Chili Dog ($2.25), which I get with onions and jalapeños. The Dirty Burger reminds me of the Ghetto Burger at Ann’s Snack Bar. Not that it is equally good, but it is also a collection of fairly mediocre ingredients that lead to a tasty burger. The Chili Dog, on the other hand, is disappointing, mostly because of the weak taste of the meat.

 

 

VERDICT: 85/100

Authentic and good old-school burger and dog place.

Creamberry’s Ice Cream (Conyers, GA)

 925 Commercial St NE, Conyers, GA 30012

 

Creamberry's Ice Cream is an ice cream place in the cute "Olde Town" of Conyers, just off the I-20, that sells ice cream, malts, and shakes. Unfortunately, they sell only Blue Bell, although a decent selection of flavors, which you can also get at any grocery story.

I get one scoop of the Banana Pudding ($2.46), which is dense with artificial color and flavor  and small pieces of cake. Meh.

 

VERDICT: 70/100

Decent price for ice cream you can buy in the grocery store.

Gyros To Go (Conyers, GA)

 1191 Irwin Bridge Rd, Conyers, GA 30012

 

Gyros To Go is a hole in the wall gyros place on the outskirts of Conyers that does remarkably good business. They serve burgers, chicken, gyros, and souvlaki (although today they are out of both burgers and souvlaki) as pitas or plates — the latter come with fries or Greek potatoes. They have no inside dining, you order outside, but there are some tables outside.

I get the Gyros Platter ($10.99), which come with Greek potatoes, Greek salad, one pita, and “special sauce” (it's a fairly typical if somewhat lighter garlic sauce). The gyros is the standard US, an oddly grinded mix of meats (by Kronos?), which is fat and salty. The portion is large and the pita is nice and thick. The Greek potatoes are herbed slices of potato, which are unfortunately undercooked and oversalted.

VERDICT: 83/100

As far as basic US gyros goes, Gyros To Go does it better than most. If crispy, and a bit less salted, the Greek potatoes could be quite delicious.

Pita Corner (Lawrenceville, GA)

911 Duluth Hwy Ste C1A, Lawrenceville, GA

Pita Corner is a new Mediterranean fast food restaurant in a sprawling strip mall in the northern Atlanta suburb of Lawrence. While it looks like a chain, it has only one location. They serve kabobs and shawarmas from different meats (beef, chicken, lamb) as pitas, platters, salads or bowls.

 

I want the Humus Chicken, which is advertised on the website but not in the store. This might explain why he rings me up for a pita chicken shawarma ($9.40), which comes with one side — I choose the Fatoush salad. I also add an extra pita ($1) and a small Humus ($3.70). All taste quite authentic but also a bit rushed. The Fatoush and humus are drenched in dressing/oil, while the pita is a bit too soft and undersauced.

VERDICT: 86/100

Nice fast food Mediterranean option that does it better than some restaurants.

The Ultimate Ice Cream Company (Asheville, NC)

195 Charlotte St, Asheville, NC 28801 

 

The Ultimate Ice Cream Company is a pretty standard homemade ice cream shop on the outskirts of Asheville (close to UNC-Asheville). It has a decent range of the usual (US) flavors. A single scoop is big and costs $3.60 (two scoops are just $4.75), which is not bad.

 

I get one scoop of the Salted Caramel, in a sugar cone. It is very creamy and a bit too sweet for me, but overall quite tasty.  I guess lovers of really creamy ice cream will appreciate it a lot.

VERDICT: 84/100

Solid but unremarkable.

Rocky’s Hot Chicken Shack (West Asheville, NC)

1455 Patton Ave, West Asheville, NC

Rocky’s Hot Chicken Shack is a hot chicken place with three locations: Greenville, SC, Asheville, NC, and West Asheville, NC. It’s more a hipster place than a shack though. It’s menu consists predominantly of fried and grilled chicken and some sides.

 

I start with the Fried Coconut Shrimp ($8.25), which are five juicy shrimp breaded in sweet and spicy coating, spiced "Honey Mild". They are very juicy and with a kick, which is somewhat smoothed by the creamy mango-habanero aioli. 

 

I also order 3 Chicken Tenders ($8) and get them Rocky’s Hot. It is the second hottest and the woman who takes my order tries to talk me out of it, but I’m stubborn. The tenders are huge and coated rather than breaded. That also means that much of the spices are on top of the chicken, which is a bit gross. I cheat a bit, by taking some of the coating off (more for the consistency) but this is a truly spicy chicken. Next time I’ll probably go one down, to also taste other things — my dip of the starter and side of coleslaw ($2,75) help me handle the heat though.

 

VERDICT: 93/100

This is great hot chicken, although the thick dust is not my thing. The shrimp were absolutely delicious! I'll be back!

 

Celebrity's Hotdogs (Asheville, NC)

1409 Brevard Rd, Asheville, NC

 

Celebrity's Hotdogs is a NASCAR-themed hole in the wall in the Trump outskirts of hipster Asheville. It mainly serves hot dogs but also some other sandwich (including the new Bolo-Burger (fried bologna) and sides (eg fries).

 

I get a Chili Dog (1.98) and an All The Way Dog ($1.98). The Chili Dog is a soft steamed bun, small snappy wiener, mustard, chili and onion. The chili is tasty and so is the dog. The All The Way Dog has all the same with coleslaw, which makes it a bit more creamy and sweet.

 

VERDICT: 90/100

Old school hot dogs for fair prices. Great hot dog spot!