Where's the BEST restaurants in your opinion? (Johnson City, Kingsport: living in, law)

[ljay42]

Originally Posted by dcommander

Tommy Thai is great asian food! I liked Stir Fry's but Tommy Thai blows them away. Also like Russo's, Sahib and El Torito (JC or Elizabethton), Simply Delicious Deli in Bristol near the racetrack. Ljay - you gotta give us the name or location of the authentic mexican place!

I agree with you on stir fry/ tommy thai. Quite frankly, I thought the stir fry food was very good but the staff was not very bright (they screwed up three orders in a row) and it appeared to me that they were more interested in becoming a happy hour type club. No problem..I'm just to old for that scene ;-)

I forgot to mention simply delicious. It's not a classic NY style deli but overall a very good place to grab a sandwich and take home some dinner from their fresh or frozen sections. Good soup selection (I'm a soup hound..all year..all weather..I can eat soup).

On the Mexican place...i forgot to get the name so I'll go by there tomorrow and post it by the end of the day as well as the address. I might even post a picture or two of the chow


Just a note about 12bones. This has become one of my regular haunts even though it is about 30 minutes from me. Go. Sit. Partake. Trust me. You won't regret.

[maui4me]

I like Korean food and relish good authentic hot kimchi anytime. I ate at Pepperhead's once several months ago but came away not feeling that positive about it. I tried their bulgogi and it wasn't like any I've had before anywhere. It was more like a cabbage stew with beef and quite expensive at about $9 as I recall. I had to ask for tea refill when only one other person was there. The place is very tiny and seats maybe only fifteen or twenty people tops. The lady running it is Korean and her American husband appears to be the cook.

[quote=kamoshika;1745427]Pepper Heads Cafe in Kingsport is the only Korean restaurant between Knoxville & Roanoke to my knowledge, and it receives rave reviews from everyone I know who's eaten there. It's in a small renovated house on S. Wilcox Drive, near Meadow View. They get a lot of Eastman folks at lunch while most of their dinner crowd comes from Johnson City. All of the Korean dishes are prepared from scratch.
Pepper Heads Cafe

I ate at Stir Fry Cafe a couple of nights ago and wasn't impressed at all. I've been eating there off and on since they opened and at their Knoxville location before then. Usually the food is pretty good but the other night will make me reconsider going back.

We ordered three orders of the Thai egg rolls and me a bowl of the Tom Yum soup as appetizers. The Tom Yum was pretty disgusting as the server had sloshed it over the top while bringing from the kitchen and the saucer was completely full of soup. The entire bowl, saucer and the soup were coated with a red oil that would be okay in much less quantity normally. The soup was only warm and from the taste of the two large shrimp, they had just dropped in the shrimp expecting them to cook in the hot soup as they would normally if it was hot enough. The shrimp were only about half done and nothing else was in the broth other than three leaflets of coriander, no mushrooms or anything. Not like they usually served it in the past and it was salty(?) to boot. The egg rolls came out just warm. I had to ask the server twice for ramekins of nuoc mam for the egg rolls before she brought them and then it was a sweet and spicy red sauce instead of nuoc mam. The curry dishes and Pad Thai that I ordered were fine. The servette never asked us how anything was but a manager type did come by when we were almost finished and inquired how it was. I asked her if she wanted the truth or not and she said she did so I told her about the egg rolls and soup. I told her the problems and she explained that the soup had probably been made early in the day and was just over the hill from being made so long. She did deduct the soup and a couple of order of egg rolls off the bill which I feel was only fair. I've never had an experience like that at Tomy Thai, which is usually always top-notch.

[c.schulz]

Bridges Cafe- Elizabethton, great food at an even better price.
Bello Vita's- JC Italian food. Its light fare, which I think Italian should be.
Red Pig- JC BBQ. It's little and simple.
Sushi Blues- JC Decent sushi
Moto's Japanese- JC, pretty tasty
Terry's Apex-JC Good burgers, nice price
Scratch Bakery- JC Its so great to have a bakery here! Wish we would also get
more though since for myself its a little bit of a drive.
Some Places to stay away from: Shirley's, Lakeshore, the German place in Weber City

[williboy]

After finally getting to park there, my vote goes to Cheddars. Good prices, great food, and really nice atmosphere. Can be crowded though.

[kamoshika]

Originally Posted by maui4me

I like Korean food and relish good authentic hot kimchi anytime. I ate at Pepperhead's once several months ago but came away not feeling that positive about it. I tried their bulgogi and it wasn't like any I've had before anywhere. It was more like a cabbage stew with beef and quite expensive at about $9 as I recall. I had to ask for tea refill when only one other person was there. The place is very tiny and seats maybe only fifteen or twenty people tops. The lady running it is Korean and her American husband appears to be the cook.

The restaurant is very small & intimate, which is one of the main reasons I like it. FWIW, the owners are not married and the Korean lady, Ms. Kim, prepares all of the Korean dishes. The ex-Navy guy is friendly but only slightly more useful than a knot on a log, hence the spotty service at times.

Ms. Kim, a Busan native, is quite a character and I've spoken w/ her several times. She bases all of her dishes on family recipes. What you had was, in fact, bulgogi stew, not the regular bulgogi (marinated beef w/ lettuce, dipping sauce & rice, as shown in the magazine pic on their website). The stew is no longer offered but the bulgogi, though not cheap, is their most popular dish. I've eaten a lot of kimchi over the years but none better than Pepperheads'.

[ania]

Shirley's - great scenic drive (but no view from inside), homestyle service/food, can't use a credit/debit card - only cash or check!

Captain's table - ate there once, and the service was wonderful, food ok - but the view!!! I couldn't stop staring out the window...

El Torrito - great Mexican food, crowded at lunch (at least in JC)

Cheddars - ohhh, I want some of the spinach dip now...

Cafe 111 - love the Tom Yum soup, sushi, and have some interesting specials

Jane's lunch box- nice place for a soup and sandwich lunch

Olive Garden- I know it's a chain, but I love their salad

Bistro (Jonesborough) - great atmosphere, amazing bread (they wouldn't tell me which baker they buy from), a bit pricey but do-able for lunch

Cranberries - a little pricey, but great fresh salads

[dcommander]

Finally ate at 12 Bones tonight. It is definitely at the top of my favorite restaurant list! Good food, prices and atmosphere.... what more can you ask for!

[JenninJC]

Hello - new here...I was actually doing a google search for restaurants in Tri Cities and came across this thread and had to chime in!

My absolute favorite restaurant in Johnson City is Cafe Lola -- it's local and they have a chef that makes a lot of stuff from scratch. The rasberry vinagerrete salad dressing is to die for! It has a really nice atmosphere (small, but cozy!). It's in the old Baskin Robbins near the Carmike theater.

Other favorites in JC are - Sitar, Wok and Hibachi, Cootie Brown's, and Crazy Tomato.

I'm definitely going to have to try Tomy Thai and Pepper Head's now!

[MooksterL1]

I tried El Torito last night and it was quite good. Thank you, ania!

[williboy]

We ate at Logan's Roadhouse in Johnson City last night. The food was very good, just be sure to not sit too close to the fireplace.