We were looking for somewhere to eat in Knoxville earlier this month and came up with Pizza Palace. It sounds pretty unremarkable, but it’s something of an institution there – it’s a vintage drive-in, and it’s not just grilled cheese sandwiches and hamburgers and hotdogs.
They serve shrimp, oysters, jumbo ravioli, spaghetti, pizza, even veal cutlet a la parmigiana. I know, that doesn’t sound like a good idea when you’re eating in the car, right?!
…which got even more interesting with the little ones having spaghetti in the backseat. It went pretty well, though…
The food was pretty good, and the service was really nice too. If your entree comes with a salad, they bring that out first, give you plenty of time to finish, then clear that and bring the rest of the meal.
It wasn’t until later that we found out that they had been on an episode of Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. The host has even mentioned it as one of his six favorite places in the country, saying “everything they make, they make from scratch.”
I’ve seen a few episodes (not a criticism because it’s almost funny, but I think the host’s favorite year was 1985 and he never wanted to leave, i.e. the sunglasses, hair, and “Dude!”) and some places do look pretty interesting. There’s a map of all of them here.