Locals guide to food in Johnson City

[mtnbmw]

I still can't believe that the rally is here on home turf this year! This list contains my favorite local eating establishments, ranging from near dives to the fanciest we have to offer. All but one are located in Johnson City. In almost no particular order:

Alta Cucina: 1200 North Roan St 423-928-2092

Great Italian food, wonderful specials and Moe is the nicest owner in the business. Nice little bar also

Greggs Pizza: 109 Broyles Drive 423-282-4541

A local tradition. Billed as "Greggs Volcano Pizza" They are the best in town. No place to eat in, but no one will look at you strange if you sit on the sidewalk and make it a picnic.

The Cottage: 705 West Market St. 423-928-9753

Another local tradition. A great historical dive. Cold beer, burgers, fried chicken and club sandwiches

[mtnbmw]

Cootie Browns: 2715 North Roan St 423-283-4723 cootiebrowns.com

Varied and eclectic menu and decor, vast beer selection. check out the web site

Jacks City Grill: 1805 North Roan St 423-928-5225

By the same people as Cottie Browns. Different menu, lots of choices and again the wonderful beer selection.

Cafe Lola: 1805 N Roan St. 423-928-5652 cafelolabistro.com

Next door to Jacks city grill. Billed as a bistro/wine bar. Nice place to take spouse or significant other.

Suchi Blues: 1805 N. Roan St. 423-232-1289

Just steps away from Jacks and Cafe Lola. Good sushi. They also have regular oriental choices, but I always go for the sushi. Try the Tuna pizza!!

Cafe 111: 111 Broyles Drive 423-283-4633

Good sushi and oriental food. A little more upscale than Sushi Blues, often have live entertainment.

Cafe Pacifica: 1033 West Oakland Ave 423-610-0117

This is the best. Expensive, but worth it. This is my very special ocassion place. Dressier than the others on the list and the only one that I would say call ahead and get reservations. This is fine dining, on par with some of the best that you would find in much larger cities.

Freibergs: 203 East Main St 423-928-4106 eatbrats.com

Great German food in a neat old building in downtown

The Firehouse: 627 West Walnut st. 423-929-7333 thefirehouse.com

Good barbecue, burgers and more. Actually is an old firehouse with a vintage firetruck in the lobby.

Ridgewood Barbecue: 900 Elizabethton Hwy. Bluff City TN 423-538-7543
http://www.roadfood.com/Restaurant/Reviews/446/ridgewood-barbecue

Don't miss this if you like barbecue. Once voted best barbecue in the U.S.!! Out of the way location and varied hours. Call ahead. If you go and shame on you if you don't, As you face away from the restaurant, turn right and enjoy the nice backroad that will eventually get you to Johnson City.

I may add to this thread if I think of any that I have missed. For its size, Johnson City is blessed with lots of choices. Hopefully this will help you avoid the chains and get a taste of what the locals have to offer.
Bottom line, my don't miss list is:

Alta Cucina Say hello to Moe for me
Greggs Best way to get all of your calories for the day/week
Ridgewood You can say you've dined at an icon
The Cottage You may have come of age in a place just like this

See you at the rally

[tessler]

hey mtnbmw, thanks much for this list! I'm definitely into local food and will try to catch some of these highlights. :thumb

[37071]

This is great rally info. I will consult the wif aand put a couple of addresses in the zumo. Thanks again.:bow:heart:D

[realmccoy]

mtnbmw,

Thanks for the info. How about breakfast places in the area? Nothing like a good hometown breakfast before a day out riding.

Rich

[alabeemer]

Great list...thanks!
But be sure thatthe rally team has heard the complaints about food. There will be a wide selection of vendors on site...plenty of em and open late too! :dance

[bicyclist]

So, where are the best grocery stores in the area? I like to do my own cooking.

[nevada72]

Thanks for the tips. How 'bout some good (not Starbucks) local coffee?

[osbornk]

So, where are the best grocery stores in the area? I like to do my own cooking.

I don't know about the best but the local Food City stores work very hard to use locally grown food. They contract with local farmers for meat, fruits and vegetables. Grainger County, Tennessee tomatos are claimed to be the best tasting and are normally available almost anywhere locally.

[bicyclist]

I don't know about the best but the local Food City stores work very hard to use locally grown food. They contract with local farmers for meat, fruits and vegetables. Grainger County, Tennessee tomatos are claimed to be the best tasting and are normally available almost anywhere locally.

Thanks, that's a strong recommendation. Grainger County tomatoes may be the best in Tennessee, but nothing is as good as a New Jersey tomato, with the possible exception of a Maryland one.:nod:lol

[bicyclist]

Thanks for the tips. How 'bout some good (not Starbucks) local coffee?

Anybody?

[kltsteve]

Well, me and my buddies just got back from a trip south from Michigan to Canada today, down to Leamington, ON, Point Pelee, a peninsula dipping into lake erie. The local tomatoes on the salad bar were excellent, a perfect compliment to the lake Erie Pickeral (we call em Walleye in the motor) and lake perch. A Heinz plant was busy canning the world famous tomatoes.
I haven't had NJ or Maryland tomatoes, so can't rightly judge, but ON tomatoes were mighty good, eh?!

[cruisincruzan]

We'll be staying in Kingsport, any food recommendations would be welcome. Thanks

[beemerPhil]

Who's got the best ribs in town? Does anyone make a good crawfish or shrimp etouffe?

:kbasa

Any recommendations from the local experts?

[mtnbmw]

By request, here are some breakfast and coffee locations. Because coffee and breakfast are regularly served at the motorcycle port that I call home, most of these are recommendations from friends.

Gentleman Jim's 2102 Hwy 81 South Jonesborough 423-913-1007
not just for breakfast, very popular

Old Towne Pancake House 142 Boone St Jonesborough 423-913-8111
I can vouch for this one. Good eats!

Pickles 1406 W Jackson Blvd Jonesborough 423-753-2727
I haven't eaten here since it changed names and maybe owners,
but in the past this was a good greasy stop your heart eatery, and
It still draws a crowd

Apex 604 W. Market St Johnson City 423-926-9931
cappysapex.com Lots of recommendations for this one

Java Rush 2304 Browns Mill Rd Johnson City 282-5282
Small Drive/Ride thru Good Coffee

The Coffee Company 444 East Elk Ave Elizabethton 423-543-3438
experiencingcoffee.com
Highest recommendation from a caffiene junkie friend
who's bumper sticker reads "Decaff, I've heard of it
WHATS YOUR POINT?"
Also serves lunch

Hope this list helps those that believe in better living through Caffiene and Cholesterol in the morning!!

[kantuckid]

Well, me and my buddies just got back from a trip south from Michigan to Canada today, down to Leamington, ON, Point Pelee, a peninsula dipping into lake erie. The local tomatoes on the salad bar were excellent, a perfect compliment to the lake Erie Pickeral (we call em Walleye in the motor) and lake perch. A Heinz plant was busy canning the world famous tomatoes.
I haven't had NJ or Maryland tomatoes, so can't rightly judge, but ON tomatoes were mighty good, eh?!

OK, I want to believe you , but as an avid gardeners (huge garden and tomatoes are mostly heirloom, but a few hybrids too) we have yet to pick a tomato(mucho rain and very cool weather) and we are a bit south of ON! Those are hothouse tomatoes and sadly lacking what qualifies as a good tomato.We have hothouse, socalled real tomatoes here too, but they are not the real thing! Much of TN is a commercial tomato area and they are also not the ones you will find at an area farmers market there in east TN. The Grainger tomatoes are for sale @ your local wally world and are kinda hard but better than "tube tomatoes".They are all exactly the same size shape and so on. They had 10/12 cases piled up the other day.The same applies to the tomatoes grown for the canners-they are not the best for table. My point being , that for a truly great taste: There are "maters" and there are "tomatoes"!!!Maters come from a garden, not ON greenhouses or TN fields. Canners are uniform in size and ripen in a certain way and withstand trucking and dumping into a chute, end of story.Yes, search out a good farmers market or road side stand in East TN for a taste of a real MATER!:dance
Green beans are almost a religion in this area and many are handed down from generations past-you will not likely eat those at a local restaurant or food vendor. We raise Mountain Half Runners and they are coming on the past week!

[mamboride]

Thanks for the info! Wife and I will certainly hit the 'not to be missed' spots. Gotta go with the local food before the fast food places.

[realmccoy]

Thanks for the info. I'll be checking these out. When traveling I always look for the local establishments for breakfast. No chain restaurants if I can avoid them.

[bicyclist]

Yum, green beans! Fresh ground coffee beans! I might survive this rally.

(Our green beans are just starting.)

[mtnbmw]

Main Street Cafe 123 E Main St Jonesborough 423-753-2460
Great sandwiches, soups salads and desserts
Located on the main street in historic Jonesborough
This area is just a few blocks long with some interesting
old buildings containing some neat shops

The Farmer's Daughter 7700 Erwin Hwy (Hwy 107) Chuckey TN 37641
423-257-4650 11:30-8:30 Fri & Sat 11:30-5:00 Sun
Family style home cooking, all you can eat, lots of
choices. Often a wait, but large porch with plenty
of seating, and they usually bring you tea or lemonade
while you wait. This one is out near the middle no where
so check your maps and you may find this makes a great
stop on one of your rides.

Down Home 300 W Main St Johnson City 423-929-9822
downhome.com Fri& Sat nights, sometimes other
evenings.
Mexican food and some other choices. A local music
Icon for over 30 years. Ed Snodderly (you might
remember him from Oh Brother Where Art Thou as the
fiddler) started this place. Musicians from Doc Watson to
Webb Wilder are regulars. Check out the web sight for
details

The Marble Slab Creamery 3020 Franklin Terrace Dr #2 Johnson City
423-262-0290
Sinfully good ice cream, more
choices than you can imagine
Reset the suspension after indulging here

[DPeakMD]

Thanks for putting this together for us! :brad

I took the liberty of re-compiling it as a Word document and making the html links live. If it doesn't open open right it probably has to do with Word for Mac. So send your complaints to Bill Gates!

Attached below. PDF version next!

[DPeakMD]

PDF Version

[RTRandy]

For those who use Mapsource or Road Trip for your GPS, attached is a GPX file with waypoints of most of the listed eateries in this post. In addition, I had a few extra BBQ spots throughout the TN area in case you're heading through those areas.:eat

[DPeakMD]

For those who use Mapsource or Road Trip for your GPS, attached is a GPX file with waypoints of most of the listed eateries in this post. In addition, I had a few extra BBQ spots throughout the TN area in case you're heading through those areas.:eat

Thanks, Randy!

Much appreciated! We'll put it to good use I'm sure. Our Indy Club's motto is "Live to Ride, Ride to Eat"!

[kantuckid]

Food/restaurant question: OK, you have 10,000 bikers converge on this sorta rural(not real rural but pretty rural-I am from near there) area and they go out to eat. What happens next? Seriously, I am a newbie at rally attendance and cannot envision that many people( the ones that are not riding , visiting the beer garden or eating vendor food) heading for your local food spot??? It would seem that it might be impossible to get in these places during the rally? I almost wonder if it would be better(peaceful!) to just lay in on the vendors and the garden than to fight the food war?
Lets hear from some experienced big rally folks on this one...:dunno

Hey, crawfish etoufee in east TN?

[TexanRT]

Thanks to all who provided the info and data files --- we try to support local businesses when we travel and always have enjoyed visiting local favorites. :thumb

[mypetersahn]

New Joisey Tomatas?

Fuggheddaboutit

[mtnbmw]

As to the worry that 10K attendees will overwhelm the area restaurants, remember this is just a warm up for the 100K+ that will attend the nascar race next month, a twice yearly event that the area handles pretty well. Of course the locals know the nascar dates, I don't think that very many are aware how many bikes are going to be here next week. Should be fun to watch!!

As to the crawfish etoufe question, a year or so we lost a great little restaurant the Crazy Cajun to a fire, and it has not been rebuilt, very sad

[kantuckid]

New Joisey Tomatas?

Fuggheddaboutit

The "Rutgers" tomato is a popular variety that is grown by many home gardeners for canning purposes and may still be grown commercially too. BTW,where did you learn to talk so funny?
Do the birds in Cleveland eat tomatoes?
RE: Nascar comparison, I have been to those races in other locales and things are pretty well covered up, to say the least, including the hwys for miles leaving in all directions.

[bgeimer]

My wife and I have been working through your list. We cannot thank you enough. With the traffic issues at the rally, its been wonderful to have this list, and with the number of fellow rally rats who have been at the same places last night (4 other bikes) and tonight (closer to 14) would think a few restauranteurs should owe you a free meal.

Tuesday - Cootie Browns - Maytag Bleu Cheese Chips; Jerk Chicken with extra sauce for dipping.

Wednesday - Firehouse - ribs were great

Jack's City Grill - steak for two and really good Key Lime Pie to share for desert.


And by the way, your neighbors in Johnson City have been great. The tolerate us on the road, seem to keep their eyes open for us, flatlanders that some of us may be, and in the shops could not be nicer.

Bill :usa

[mtnbmw]

Bill,

I'm glad you are enjoying the list. It is so much fun being able to share my local favorite spots with such a great group. I have been going to the fairgrounds since I was about 6 years old. Riding there yesterday and seeing Beemers stretching to the horizon was one the the coolest things I have ever seen. I am already going to miss the rally when it is over.
Does anyone else see the humor in the shower trailers being so close to the Livestock Washing Area!!!
My better half and I will be there most of the day today and tomorrow. If any one needs any local info, or want to have a beer with us, give me a call 423-341-1061

Mike

[DarrylRi]

Just returned from dining at the Ridgewood BBQ. The place was packed when we got there with a lot of people hanging out in the large and completely full parking lot, and yet they seated us within about 20 minutes. Service was quick and very friendly. The portions were enormous, I think I may have hurt myself finishing off the pork plate (shaved smoked ham). It was delicious! The beans and slaw were both made on premises and also were excellent.

Great recommendation!

[KevinH]

[QUOTE=mtnbmw: Freibergs, The Firehouse[/QUOTE]

Awesome - two of the best places we had eaten at - Thanks for the info.

-Kevin

[DarrylRi]

Just two more comments.

We had dinner at the Dixie BBQ on Roan St. I ordered half a slab of ribs, but it turned out to fill a big oval plate. Smokey and delicious.

We went to breakfast on Sunday at Gentleman Jim's. I'm afraid that I was disappointed, perhaps because I ordered the wrong thing. I asked the waitress if the corned beef hash was made there and she said yes, but it was clearly the usual canned stuff that looks like dog food. (I love home made corned beef, hate the canned stuff.) If she would have said it was canned, I would have tried something else. Oh well.