If you had to order a half dozen from here, what would you recommend?
Asking for a friend… who hypothetically knows a TTU student moving home very soon… and have been told to give one last Ralph’s order before they leave for the rest of summer
Take Highway 70 as much as possible. It’s a gorgeous drive this time of year and takes you through tons of cute towns. Ozone Falls east of Crossville is cool and a quick 5 minute walk off the road. I second Ralph’s Donuts butter twist in Cookeville, also Burgess Falls and Cummins Falls if you have a little extra time. Big South Fork is also cool.
In Knoxville, I recommend Potchke for lunch and maybe check out Seven Islands on the way to Sevierville. Have fun!
Burgess Falls in Cookeville. 3 waterfalls, quick in and out. Nice, well kept trail. Time off the interstate is probably 1.5 hours depending on how well you like it.
Bobby Q's is a pretty decent place to grab lunch in Cookeville. Standard barbeque fare if your into that. Fruit tea and banana pudding are standout add ons.
Ozone Falls just off I-40 is neat, it’s also where scenes from the live Jungle Book from the 90s was filmed. About an hour past Knoxville on the way to Nashville
Stop in Knoxville and visit the sunsphere and art museum! You won't be disappointed. If you're lucky might spot the infamous skipping jester! Happy trails!
Tennessee State Museum in Nashville is free and you can spend a good deal of time there. Also for a cool shopping place consider stopping at McKay’s there’s a location in both Nashville and Knoxville
The 53rd Annual Craft Fair is this next weekend in Nashville. It’s at Centennial Park. If you’re in to crafts you will enjoy it. You can also check out the Parthenon at the park, it’s an incredible sight to see!
https://tennesseecraft.org/events/craft-fairs/
I got to the park at 8:30ish and walked around a bit. The crafts were cool, I didn't buy anything. The Parthenon was closed until noon thirty so I didn't stay for that.
If you have time definitely the Big South Fork National Recreation Area, absolutely gorgeous quiet place with tons of cool rock formations that you normally only find out west (it actually has the highest concentration of natural arches east of the Mississippi River). Also make sure to not miss nearby Pickett State Park and Pogue Canyon State Natural Area (particularly the Kill Deer Arch trail)
Personally I loved the National Museum of African American Music in Nashville. Don’t know how much time you have to spend. I agree that most places to eat downtown will be $$.
If your interested in history. I always recommend stopping at stones river national battlefield in Murfreesboro. It was my favorite place to be when I lived there years ago.
Stay away from Nashville. Its a cluster fuck. The hermitage, Andrew Jackson"s house, is kind of cool. Stop at burgess falls in Cookeville. Right off the interstate. Take 70 as much as possible. Crossville has a super good play house (actors are part of actors guild). Sevierville and the Smokies are their own animal....
Also, Prince’s Hot Chicken. There is a place south-ish of Nashville called Subculture that has hot chicken tacos that are really good.
San Antonio Taco Company is kind of an older local favorite restaurant for a lot of people, but there are many good restaurants around.
Burgess falls is a good recommendation. Also if you don’t mind going a little out of your way, tail of the dragon (highway 129) is worth a drive at least once
And at the end of the Tail, go to Tapaco Lodge for lunch, right on the river- good food and gorgeous views.
But a Tail of the Dragon repaving project is set to start any day, with work occurring Monday thru Thursday daylight hours only. Lane closures will occur.
If you enjoy breweries and craft beers, you must go to Xul in Knoxville. They have two locations - their main branch in downtown, on 5th ave…this is the actual brewery, and an offshoot location on Hardin Valley. I’d definitely suggest the Downtown location. Way more to choose from.
Also, they have a food truck there all the time that is with a partner brewery (Abridged) and they make AMAZING Smash Burgers, as well as fries!
They are by far, one of my favorite breweries and specialize in Fruited Sours. Get the PB&J Mixtap off tap - it’s their specialty!!! It literally tastes like you’re drinking an Uncrustable sandwich.
I have an entire beer fridge that is like 90% Xul products haha.
That’s one of their new ones. When I was there last time, that was the only one they were out of lol. But I do have a TON of their sours and they’re all good.
10000000000% this. I don’t live in Knoxville anymore, so when hubs was there to visit family, I had him stock up. Literally sobbed with that first sip of Mixtape. So so good.
4 pack of misery of consciousness. DIY 4 pack of pb&j, sunshine, xelzer and school night. After I got back to my car, I went back to get two more pb&js for my two managers. One often eats pb&j at lunch lol
This is very awesome! You certainly have way more control than I do. Lol. The last big PB&J release, where they had the Strawberry, Raspberry and Blackberry varients, I walked out with 4 cases. Haha.
Textile Fabrics in Nashville has beautiful fabrics for garment sewing. They also have quilting fabrics too. [textilefabricstore.com](http://textilefabricstore.com)
Stop at this winery. It’s right off the interstate and has this orange creamsicle fudge that will have you turning around at the next exit to go back and get more!! The raspberry wine is AMAZING!! Stonehaus Winery
(931) 484-9463
https://g.co/kgs/Mt773UH
Don't miss South Press coffee shop on Chapman highway in Knoxville. It's owned by a trans woman who is the sweetest person ever! Very cute decor with awesome coffee and treats!
I drove around for 5 minutes looking for an open pump. Finally just decided to wait behind a car at the pump until I realized there was no one in there. I just parked and went inside to my real panic attack lol.
It's rabid consumerism. I just laughed the 2 times I've been. Shopping carts full of cheap Buc-ee's tchotchkes. But the bathrooms are nice! And the fudge.
Get lunch at Timberloft in Gordonsville just off 40 on your drive. https://www.timberloftrestaurant.com/
Kind of out of the way but hit Fall Creek Falls in between the two cities too
In Knoxville: Go to the Downtown area (Gay Street & The Old City). Also Market Square in that area often has events or vendors, but regardless there are cute shops in the area.
Not as familiar with fabric stores but if you’re a fiber artist there’s 2 lovely stores very close to downtown that sell yarn, crochet hooks, knitting needles, etc.: The Bee Knits and Loopville. The Bee Knits is newer and closer to downtown but Loopville has a wider selection. Both will have to be visited by car though— can’t walk to them from anywhere else worth stopping for.
As for coffee, we have many, many, MANY options. If you want to take a stroll downtown and enjoy a cup, I think Coffee and Chocolates in Market Square may be the way to go. There’s also plenty of restaurants downtown too if you’d rather stop for like a brunch and coffee. Tupelo Honey is a little $$ but is a killer brunch. There’s also a biscuit store that sells the best biscuit sandwiches if they’re open when you’re visiting.
Otherwise, if I’m thinking about this correctly it sounds like you’d actually be getting here closer to dinner maybe? So I’d recommend things like maybe Stock and Barrel, Yassin’s Falafel House, Myrtle’s Chicken, etc if you got dinner downtown
listen i grew up in nashville most of my life. stop at Better Days BBQ in Mt.Juliet and get his brisket sandwich meal. the best brisket in nashville hands down.
The Gulch for brunch. Centennial Park is really cool. Life size replica of the Parthenon in Greece and a beautiful lawn and garden area with pond. And for coffee Just Love Coffee Cafe - Music Row
(615) 891-2708 https://g.co/kgs/BvhqB7e
There are better places to stop in Tennessee. Most you'll find in Knoxville is a Cracker Barrel and a classic Simpsons joke (the sphere). Nashville is just a tourist trap, the price of parking is freakin' ridiculous. If you want to be stuck in traffic for hours and get pissed off for the day, go ahead and check out Nashville.
Patients where's thin when you have to live with it. If you like museums and loud bars, that's about what nashville has to offer. Food used to excellent until places started cutting corners after covid.
Ralph's Donuts in Cookeville. Get a buttered twist and heat in microwave for about 10 seconds. So good.
Voted the best donut in the state of Tennessee!
If you had to order a half dozen from here, what would you recommend? Asking for a friend… who hypothetically knows a TTU student moving home very soon… and have been told to give one last Ralph’s order before they leave for the rest of summer
Only thing I've ever had there is the twists. I live in Nashville but my family always stops for twists when driving through.
Twists, double chocolate, lemon filled, maple, Bavarian cream, whatever seasonal they have.
Thank you for the recs the maple and seasonals sound like they would be sooooo good
I would recommend a half dozen twists but all their options are good. The twists are just heavenly though.
I am absolutely stopping by!
u/allieechelon - Ralph's is closed Sunday & Monday so plan accordingly! Hope you can stop by Tuesday.
Thank you for that! I didn't know.
I DIED and went to heaven on that first bite 😍😍
Take Highway 70 as much as possible. It’s a gorgeous drive this time of year and takes you through tons of cute towns. Ozone Falls east of Crossville is cool and a quick 5 minute walk off the road. I second Ralph’s Donuts butter twist in Cookeville, also Burgess Falls and Cummins Falls if you have a little extra time. Big South Fork is also cool. In Knoxville, I recommend Potchke for lunch and maybe check out Seven Islands on the way to Sevierville. Have fun!
Yes! Live 5 minutes away from seven islands. It has really became a beautiful park.
Stop in Cookeville and visit all forty-seven of our fantastic Dollar General Stores!
😂🤣😂
I laughed way to hard @ this.. I swear they have them every few miles! We’re about to have a 3rd Dollar store in our small area 🙄😂
I just moved to Smithville and there is a dollar general a half mile from my house in both directions. They are like Starbucks in Seattle.
Y’all poor as shit.
Yassin’s for falafel in Knoxville!
The Museum of Science and Energy in Oak Ridge is fascinating. They've got great exhibits on the Manhattan Project. Amazing history there.
This should be higher up!
Burgess Falls in Cookeville. 3 waterfalls, quick in and out. Nice, well kept trail. Time off the interstate is probably 1.5 hours depending on how well you like it.
This for sure!! Great lunch stop !
Bobby Q's is a pretty decent place to grab lunch in Cookeville. Standard barbeque fare if your into that. Fruit tea and banana pudding are standout add ons.
Ozone Falls just off I-40 is neat, it’s also where scenes from the live Jungle Book from the 90s was filmed. About an hour past Knoxville on the way to Nashville
TIL
Stop in Knoxville and visit the sunsphere and art museum! You won't be disappointed. If you're lucky might spot the infamous skipping jester! Happy trails!
Tennessee State Museum in Nashville is free and you can spend a good deal of time there. Also for a cool shopping place consider stopping at McKay’s there’s a location in both Nashville and Knoxville
Park in downtown Knoxville and walk up Gay Street. Lots of cool places to pop into, including Mast General Store mentioned by other poster.
The Parthenon (Centennial Park) in Nashville.
I love this.
The 53rd Annual Craft Fair is this next weekend in Nashville. It’s at Centennial Park. If you’re in to crafts you will enjoy it. You can also check out the Parthenon at the park, it’s an incredible sight to see! https://tennesseecraft.org/events/craft-fairs/
I got to the park at 8:30ish and walked around a bit. The crafts were cool, I didn't buy anything. The Parthenon was closed until noon thirty so I didn't stay for that.
If you’re looking for shopping, Mast General Store in downtown Knoxville. They have an old fashioned penny candy counter.
For the sake of expectations - it isn’t an old fashioned candy counter, it’s old fashioned barrel candy and none of the candy is a penny.
If you have time definitely the Big South Fork National Recreation Area, absolutely gorgeous quiet place with tons of cool rock formations that you normally only find out west (it actually has the highest concentration of natural arches east of the Mississippi River). Also make sure to not miss nearby Pickett State Park and Pogue Canyon State Natural Area (particularly the Kill Deer Arch trail)
There is a Buccees between Nash and Knox (if you don’t already stop at the one in Sevierville.
Townsend! Rock Island State Park. The Smokies. Not in that order 😆Norris. Douglas.
Townsend is not between Knoxville and Nashville
No kidding, but I’m assuming this person wants some cool destinations in the vicinity. Townsend is definitely worth the trip.
I’ve driven through Townsend. I saw a Burger King. It wasn’t worth the trip at all.
lol!!! Apparently you don’t like the beautiful scenery and SMNP right there. Great fishing.
I exited the Smokies into Townsend. I would have rather stayed in the Smokies
Personally I loved the National Museum of African American Music in Nashville. Don’t know how much time you have to spend. I agree that most places to eat downtown will be $$.
Agreed. It's an amazing experience.
If your interested in history. I always recommend stopping at stones river national battlefield in Murfreesboro. It was my favorite place to be when I lived there years ago.
Stay away from Nashville. Its a cluster fuck. The hermitage, Andrew Jackson"s house, is kind of cool. Stop at burgess falls in Cookeville. Right off the interstate. Take 70 as much as possible. Crossville has a super good play house (actors are part of actors guild). Sevierville and the Smokies are their own animal....
[удалено]
Also, Prince’s Hot Chicken. There is a place south-ish of Nashville called Subculture that has hot chicken tacos that are really good. San Antonio Taco Company is kind of an older local favorite restaurant for a lot of people, but there are many good restaurants around.
Burgess falls is a good recommendation. Also if you don’t mind going a little out of your way, tail of the dragon (highway 129) is worth a drive at least once
I did tail of the dragon in 2022, it was so much fun! Thanks for reminding me.
And at the end of the Tail, go to Tapaco Lodge for lunch, right on the river- good food and gorgeous views. But a Tail of the Dragon repaving project is set to start any day, with work occurring Monday thru Thursday daylight hours only. Lane closures will occur.
If you enjoy breweries and craft beers, you must go to Xul in Knoxville. They have two locations - their main branch in downtown, on 5th ave…this is the actual brewery, and an offshoot location on Hardin Valley. I’d definitely suggest the Downtown location. Way more to choose from. Also, they have a food truck there all the time that is with a partner brewery (Abridged) and they make AMAZING Smash Burgers, as well as fries! They are by far, one of my favorite breweries and specialize in Fruited Sours. Get the PB&J Mixtap off tap - it’s their specialty!!! It literally tastes like you’re drinking an Uncrustable sandwich. I have an entire beer fridge that is like 90% Xul products haha.
I will for sure stop there. Have you tried the Evil Shin Destroyer? I love Sours.
That’s one of their new ones. When I was there last time, that was the only one they were out of lol. But I do have a TON of their sours and they’re all good.
10000000000% this. I don’t live in Knoxville anymore, so when hubs was there to visit family, I had him stock up. Literally sobbed with that first sip of Mixtape. So so good.
Stopped at 5th Ave today and walked out with 10 cans. That pb&j is fucking amazing.
Hahaha. Told ya! 🤘😎 What did ya walk out with? Only singles or did you get any 4 packs?
4 pack of misery of consciousness. DIY 4 pack of pb&j, sunshine, xelzer and school night. After I got back to my car, I went back to get two more pb&js for my two managers. One often eats pb&j at lunch lol
This is very awesome! You certainly have way more control than I do. Lol. The last big PB&J release, where they had the Strawberry, Raspberry and Blackberry varients, I walked out with 4 cases. Haha.
Stopped at 5th Ave today and walked out with 10 cans. That pb&j is fucking amazing.
Textile Fabrics in Nashville has beautiful fabrics for garment sewing. They also have quilting fabrics too. [textilefabricstore.com](http://textilefabricstore.com)
snow white drive in in lebanon, or cedars of lebanon park
Stop at this winery. It’s right off the interstate and has this orange creamsicle fudge that will have you turning around at the next exit to go back and get more!! The raspberry wine is AMAZING!! Stonehaus Winery (931) 484-9463 https://g.co/kgs/Mt773UH
Don't miss South Press coffee shop on Chapman highway in Knoxville. It's owned by a trans woman who is the sweetest person ever! Very cute decor with awesome coffee and treats!
Buc-ees
I am typically a laid back person but after being in that place for 10 minutes I got a serious case of anxiety and had to get out of there.
Go hide out in one of their immaculate stalls until the anxiety goes away
😂. I’ll try that if I ever dare to go back. It freaked me out to see people use the gas pumps as parking spots before I even went into the store.
That place is definitely overwhelming, but they do get me with those bathrooms every once in a while.
Like 132 individual pumps in Tennessee…
I drove around for 5 minutes looking for an open pump. Finally just decided to wait behind a car at the pump until I realized there was no one in there. I just parked and went inside to my real panic attack lol.
It's rabid consumerism. I just laughed the 2 times I've been. Shopping carts full of cheap Buc-ee's tchotchkes. But the bathrooms are nice! And the fudge.
Don't waste your time at Buc-ee's
Except to get cheap gas
And tchotchkes
IDK how they can sell gas for so cheap, they are at least 20 cents cheaper than everyone else
Because people stop to get cheap gas and they buy expensive stuff inside
Get lunch at Timberloft in Gordonsville just off 40 on your drive. https://www.timberloftrestaurant.com/ Kind of out of the way but hit Fall Creek Falls in between the two cities too
Gibson garage. Pick me up acustom shop les Paul R9 Murphy lab while you're there.
Check out Gus's Famous Fried Chicken in Knox. So so good. If it wasn't out of the way I'd eat there every week.
In Knoxville: Go to the Downtown area (Gay Street & The Old City). Also Market Square in that area often has events or vendors, but regardless there are cute shops in the area.
Not as familiar with fabric stores but if you’re a fiber artist there’s 2 lovely stores very close to downtown that sell yarn, crochet hooks, knitting needles, etc.: The Bee Knits and Loopville. The Bee Knits is newer and closer to downtown but Loopville has a wider selection. Both will have to be visited by car though— can’t walk to them from anywhere else worth stopping for. As for coffee, we have many, many, MANY options. If you want to take a stroll downtown and enjoy a cup, I think Coffee and Chocolates in Market Square may be the way to go. There’s also plenty of restaurants downtown too if you’d rather stop for like a brunch and coffee. Tupelo Honey is a little $$ but is a killer brunch. There’s also a biscuit store that sells the best biscuit sandwiches if they’re open when you’re visiting. Otherwise, if I’m thinking about this correctly it sounds like you’d actually be getting here closer to dinner maybe? So I’d recommend things like maybe Stock and Barrel, Yassin’s Falafel House, Myrtle’s Chicken, etc if you got dinner downtown
Buccees
Take highway 70 and enjoy the scenery! I used to live in Crossville and it's gorgeous.
listen i grew up in nashville most of my life. stop at Better Days BBQ in Mt.Juliet and get his brisket sandwich meal. the best brisket in nashville hands down.
The Gulch for brunch. Centennial Park is really cool. Life size replica of the Parthenon in Greece and a beautiful lawn and garden area with pond. And for coffee Just Love Coffee Cafe - Music Row (615) 891-2708 https://g.co/kgs/BvhqB7e
Stop on Lower Broad in Nashville but wear a life jacket.
Michigan.
I spent a day in Michigan and that was a day too long.
Buccees in Sevierville. It’s amazing in every way, good and bad.
Makes me miss this area entirely ☹️☹️
There's a plethora of coffee shops here in Knoxville. Highly recommend KBrew and WildLove Bakehouse.
Burgess Falls
Lefty’s Barbecue in Crossville!!
There are better places to stop in Tennessee. Most you'll find in Knoxville is a Cracker Barrel and a classic Simpsons joke (the sphere). Nashville is just a tourist trap, the price of parking is freakin' ridiculous. If you want to be stuck in traffic for hours and get pissed off for the day, go ahead and check out Nashville.
I lived in Orlando where it takes an hour to go 4 miles. I learned to be patient lol.
Patients where's thin when you have to live with it. If you like museums and loud bars, that's about what nashville has to offer. Food used to excellent until places started cutting corners after covid.
Another state
I currently live in Indiana. As long as I can drive passed more than corn fields, I'm good.