I got a Surprise In The Outback...A Great Prime Rib

This evening (Tuesday) we headed to Johnson City to pick up our ham for Thanksgiving at HoneyBaked Ham we decided to eat next door at Outback Steak House. Now, I normally don't write about chain restaurants that I have eaten out a number of times before, but because I got a really good piece of prime rib I decided to do a quick blog. If you go to Outback you have to start with a blooming onion, which is a deep fried onion similar to onion rings. Then I got the four course meal, which besides prime rib included a soup (I got potato), salad and a baked sweet potato. While all these were good the star of the show was the prime rib. I got it medium rare and it was cooked spot on. It also had a very good Au Jus sauce. While not as good as the Ye Olde Steak House in Knoxville it was better than the one I had at Niemergs in Illinois and the best I have had at a chain. Oh, I also got a dessert in the deal, raspberry cheesecake...nice!

Turkey Sandwich At Mimi's In Turkey Creek

Monday we headed to Knoxville and we had to eat so we went to Mimi's Cafe located in the Turkey Creek development. Mimi's is a French inspired restaurant chain, but this was my first trip to one, so here is a blog. I decided to eat lite and went with a sandwich. Since it is Thanksgiving Week I went with a turkey and brie melt with apples and apricot chutney on a all-butter croissant. With it I had a tomato and basil soup and both were very good. I would definitely go here again.

Quick To Day A Change In The Blog

As of today I am changing the label of Quick Blogs to Day Blogs. The main reason, sometimes when I get back from an outing I am just tired and can't get that blog up that day. If I don't get the blog posted quick it is not really a Quick Blog. I just think Day Blogs will better reflect these post and I won't feel as much pressure to get them up. Anyway, the blog from yesterday will be the first true Day Blog.

By Coalition Hiking On Clinch Mountain To The Great Channels Of Virginia

It was the Saturday before Thanksgiving and what better time for a hike. I had thought of going out because today was on tap to be the calm before the storm as the weather is supposed to get a bit cooler Sunday. Anyway, earlier in the week I came across a post that the Clinch Coalition was planning a hike up to the Great Channels of Virginia. My Dad is a board member with the Coalition which is a grassroots non-profit organization in Southwest Virginia conserving the Jefferson National Forest, Clinch Ranger District with a focus on the High Knob area. The hike to the Channels I first found out about in Johnny Molloy book Five-Star Trails-Tri-Cities of Tennessee and Virginia. The trailhead for the hike is at Hayters Gap on VA-80. This is where I was meeting the group who were all coming the from the other side of Clinch Mountain as I was coming up from I-81. We had a group of 10 including five Job Corps students from Flatwoods.

The first part of the hike use an easement on a private road, but with special permission, Jim Moran took us up the first seven-tenths of a mile up through the gate to an upper parking area. From here it was a well marked road bed hike up a slightly steeper trail than Molloy described in his book. About the time you see the Hayters Knob Fire (also known as Middle Knob) the trail splits to the right the Brumley Mountain Trail continues  and the left headed to the Channels. On the way up I spotted the first icicles of the season, which means winter is just around the corner.

Once at the top the first thing that comes into view is the fire tower and then the ruins of the old live-in cabin, which has seen better days. The tower is closed to the public and the bottom of the ladder removed. While I think some thought this was the end of the journey, I knew better, because the Great Channels lie ahead. A couple of the Flatwoods crew followed me down into the Channels. They are a natural rock maze of huge sandstone monoliths that is a wonder to behold. It is great that this spot is now in public hands. The rest of the group eventually joined us and after exploring below we headed to the top of the Channels which offers a fantastic view back to the Roans & the other Unaka Mountains, Tri-Cities, Powell Valley and the Cumberland Mountains (including High Knob). It was here where we had a group picture taken.

As with any outing it was time to go back and I will say the trip down was much faster than up. When we finally reached the vehicles, I decided to hike back to my car, which made the hike about five and a half miles. I will say that this is an excellent hike that I recommend to anyone. Well on the way back I was driving down VA-80 and to my surprised to the left was a really nice waterfalls. There are three cascades that make up the Falls of Logan Creek, but the largest is a 35 footer that is a really nice falls for not much effort.

Hot Chicken Time At Rocky's!

Whether going there for a reason or just passing through I love my visits to Asheville. One of my favorite places to eat in "Beer City USA" is this place off Patton Avenue called Rocky's Hot Chicken Shack. I discovered this place the first time I came up through Dillard, GA from the ATL in 2012. It was a few months later, January of 2013 at the West Asheville location in fact, that I first ate here and it was love at first bite. So, when heading though Asheville on Thursday it was time for another visit. I will say that since I love hot chicken and that is what I always get. My go to order is the two piece leg and thigh plate, it is the amount of heat on my chicken that is always in question. In the past I have got them medium, but today I opted for the mild, but trust me that is not the best way to describe them (mild). At most other places the mild would be at least medium. It is here, the medium, that is the start of the climb up the latter of heat ending at XX-Hot also know as Mount St.Hell No! (see chart below). Anyway, besides the spice the fried chicken itself is delicious. They have a number of sides but my two favorites are the mac & cheese and collard greens, which are some of the best outside of Atlanta. On this visit I had my first desert from here, the homemade pecan pie...a la mode. While not as good as Deb's it was better than the average restaurant one. I have to say if you are in Asheville you can do no better than a trip to Rocky's.

Back In Atlanta...Again

Yesterday Deb and I headed to the ATL as I had a doctors appointment Wednesday and Deb had one today. We survived the wind and a mobile home being moved on I-40 through Davenport Gap. Then we had to, literally, wade through a monsoon outside Total Wine and REI in Kennesaw. Clint and Cindy put us up for the night and bought us dinner. The weather today was a 180 from Wednesday, but traffic at the Braves Stadium build almost did us in but I got Deb to her appointment on time. On the drive back we made a few stops at some favorite places.