As we drove back to Pigeon Forge from a day of hiking in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the aroma of hickory-smoked meat filled the car, and my husband immediately had the idea of what he wanted for dinner this evening. The only question was, where would it be? The first place that came to mind was Bennett’s Barbeque! We had never eaten there, so we decided to give it a try.
We arrived at the Pigeon Forge location around 7pm to find an entrance hall that was packed. We inquired about the wait time and were told it would be around 15 minutes. We quickly put our names on the list and grabbed a menu to start evaluating what our evening meal would consist of.
We were seated quickly in a booth surrounded by wooden beams, with plants hanging in planters and metal buckets from the ceiling. The walls were decorated with NASCAR memorabilia, old license plates, railroad signs, and antique cooking utensils such as rolling pins, egg beaters, etc. The red and white checked tablecloths and gingham curtains reminded you of years gone by.
After carefully selecting our menu items for dinner that evening, we settled back and enjoyed the hustle and bustle while we waited for our dinner. My husband ordered the full rack of baby-back ribs with french fries and coleslaw as his side items ($19.99). I chose the South of the Border Chicken Breast, which was a mesquite-grilled chicken breast topped with sautéed onions and mushrooms and covered with melted Monterey Jack cheese. I selected a baked potato and cut-off corn as my two side items ($14.99). Each dinner also came with a roll. When our dinner arrived, we could not believe the ribs! They were literally hanging off of the plate on each end! Since some people like more sauce, a small container of barbeque sauce was included for extra dipping. My husband always compares ribs to those at one of our local restaurants... if he says the ribs are as good as Jesse’s, then they are good.
Bennett’s offers a breakfast buffet and also has pancakes, a variety of omelets, biscuits and gravy, and French toast. Most items on the breakfast menu ranged in price from $4 to $7. A lunch menu consists of appetizers, various salads and sandwiches, as well as several lunch platters. Most platters were priced around $8 to $10, while the sandwiches were priced around $6 to $8. A kids' menu is also available for children age 10 and under.
Bennett’s has two locations: one in Pigeon Forge and one in Gatlinburg on River Road. Discount (10%) coupons can be printed from their website or can be found in the many area Visitor Guides.
Our dining experience was a pleasant one, and my husband loved the ribs. He’s actually commented a couple of times this month that he would like to go back and eat some more ribs at Bennett’s. They must have made an impression!!