This restaurant sits in the shadow of the giant Great Smoky Mountain Wheel and is named for its fries (Belgian fries actually). While they definitely serve good fries, the bratwurst sandwiches are what really caught our attention. More specifically, the bread on which the sandwiches are made is amazing. It’s called Broetchen. It’s a small hard roll from Germany/Austria. My mother, who was with me, said she had them years ago on a visit to Germany and had never seen them in this country.

We met the very friendly couple (Tammy and Poynor) who owns the restaurant. Poynor bakes the delicious rolls. He explained that they’re made with a process that involves breaking them three times. We discussed how we could arrange take some home with us and he offered to bake a batch twice so that we could take them home and finish them. They were so good that we took him up on the offer and drove back to Pigeon Forge the following day to pick them up before leaving Tennessee. They survived the 10 hour ride home and we ate them nearly every day for a week!

When visiting Tennessee I’d expect to find southern food and moonshine (we found plent of both), but Poyner’s surprised me with a brilliantly baked German specialty that I wish was available closer to home.