We were on a week long trip to Gatlinburg… to celebrate our 40th anniversary… and decided to take a drive out through the Gatlinburg Artists District. Book Stores… Wood Carvers… Antiques… Painters… Leather Workers… it was a fun day… and by mid day… we wanted a nice meal. We drove just a few miles… saw a British Pub (there is a lot of British influence due to the colonial history period in this area)… and we saw a Beer Bar with several pick up trucks … usually indicating good food… or cold beer. Given that this is rural East Tennessee… and the look of this place…our bet was cold beer.

I checked the Garmin GPS and low and behold… 1.1 miles away was the “The Wild Plum Tea Room”. Now I had set up several way-points for BBQ… Catfish… Biscuits and Gravy…. and I had seen this restaurant on the map software… but… a “Tea Room”… I had mentioned to Terri that there was one in the area…. but had not pushed the idea. I had in mind a Chili Burger… and homemade fries… but… the Beer Bar with wet tee shirt contest was not going to work for Terri :-)

So…. down the road to “The Wild Plum Tea Room”. It’s very picturesque… looked good… and here came a couple out the front door…

“Anything in there for a hungry man”? I asked the guy… they both smiled… suggested the “Shaker Popcorn Soup” and the “Turkey and Pepper Jelly Grill”… Maybe a Tea Room wasn’t so bad?

It’s Quaint… It’s Charming… It’s Classy… It’s Romantic… and the food is fantastic. We accepted the suggestion of Wild Plum Tea…. And as our waitress told us of the daily specials… I started grinning… Terri started grinning… I had to pinch myself… this place sounded just too good to be true. But it wasn’t…. it was true… it was absolutely the highlight of our week long trip to Eastern Tennessee… and a treat we will never forget.

Shaded Screened Porch dining area… drop dead natural beauty… Spectacular Friendly Service… and truly Gourmet Food…. We had arrived in the South! And the prices are very fair… in fact a bargain. Buy their cook book… just reading it will make your mouth water. I wondered how on earth hidden in the Smokey Mountains a Tea Room could make it… how naive of me… This is the home of Southern Hospitality… and this treasure gave me just a hint of what the Antebellum South must have been like. Gracious… Elegant… yet Casual and Comfortable… honestly… I didn’t quit grinning until the food came… and occupied me … you can’t grin and smack your lips at the same time.

So… if you are just East of Gatlinburg… turn North off of 321 on Buckhorn Road and give yourself a treat. I would drive a hundred miles out of my way to eat here again.