Food

Our love of food knows no bounds.... except for tradition, of course. We often go to the same places to eat. Is it that we are just creatures of habit or that we aren't creative enough to search out something different?

Giant Chicken Sandwiches!

On the way to Nashville, we love to stop at the Sugar's Ribs for barbecue. You can sit on a deck outside, if the weather is right, and look at all of downtown Chattanooga and eat the best corn on the cob and grilled okra. (Actually, it's the first time we ever tasted grilled okra, but I'm hooked.) The portions are huge and enough to share, which is helpful because it's a little pricey for a family. After eating, we enjoy petting the goats they have outside.
Downtown Nashville has another favorite place - The Old Spaghetti Factory. The food is pretty good, but the atmosphere is great! Some of the seating arrangements are in giant bed frames, trolleys and "king" chairs. Runners want lots of spaghetti before a big race, so it's packed with runners. Rachel tried Italian meatloaf that was pretty good, but way too much food for one person to eat. I liked the chicken Marsala, but the lasagna is still the best. And it doesn't hurt that every meal comes with ice cream.

After the marathon, we usually go to Johnny Rockets in Opry Mills to eat because Ray loves to eat their giant burgers and shakes. (The girls and I do too.) This year almost the whole mall was closed because of last year's flood, so we took the girls to Caney Fork River Valley Grill which Ray and I had tried before. We had to wait about forty-five minutes to sit by the indoor catfish pond, but it wasn't too bad. Most people were able to walk in and be seated right away. The fried green tomatoes were Ray's and my favorite, but the unlimited baskets of free corn fritters they placed on the tables were the girls'. Sarah ordered the "Cholesterol Buster" and couldn't eat it all. She said she actually liked having an egg on her hamburger.

I didn't really pay close enough attention to Lydia's eating all weekend so ... after three days of eating restaurant food where she ordered chicken fingers nearly every time, she spent all day Monday in bed or hanging over a trash can. She had a real life lesson that eating too much fried food, will actually make you sick.