Krystal on The Parkway in Pigeon Forge, TN
For someone who likes to think I know a lot about food and restaurants, I felt a little ignorant the first time I saw a sign for Krystal. J and I were driving through Sevierville, TN on the way to our cabin. I knew it looked like fast food, but I had never heard of it. J said she thought it was like a White Castle. That was a turn off to me, but we also thought it would be fun to try something new.
As we were leaving Pigeon Forge on Wednesday morning, J suggested stopping. It was early and I was hungry. We had a three hour drive to Nashville where we already had lunch plans, so getting a little something to eat wasn’t a bad idea.
The Krystal in Pigeon Forge is right on the Parkway. We pulled in probably a little after 9:00 and the place was empty. In fact, we were wondering if it was even open. There were maybe two cars in the lot, but it looked dark inside. We pulled in and saw people moving. I tried the door and it opened so we went in.
Krystal is apparently a pretty large chain. They were founded in 1932 in Chattanooga, TN. One of the original owners actually visited White Castle restaurants and took notes. Today, Krystal is commonly referred to as the White Castle of the South.
J wanted I burger. I didn’t. I don’t like White Castle’s and there was nothing that gave me any indication that this
Krystal....the White Castle of the South
would be different. It was still breakfast time anyway. I ordered The Sunriser which is a piece of Jimmy Dean Sausage and scrambled eggs on a steamed bun. I got a combo meal that came with two Sunriser’s, and drink and Krysper’s. The Kryspers are fried potato sticks…or deep fried hash browns. They didn’t interest me, but J loved them. She’s a big fan of hash browns anyway and these were all crispy which is her favorite part of hash browns. The Sunriser wasn’t all that great. The steamed bun was awful. It was soggy and mushy and really unappetizing. I ate it anyway.
J ordered two cheese Krystal’s which are exactly like sliders. Since it was still breakfast, we had to wait for them to be cooked, but it really didn’t take all that long. White Castle doesn’t bother her as much as it does me. She said it still had the onion-y taste, but it wasn’t as strong as White Castle’s. I have no idea if they cook them the same way or not, but they’re put together the same way. She said the Krystal had mustard which must not be on White Castle?
Krystal was what I expected. It’s fast food. It’s not fair for me to judge because I don’t like burgers the way they make them. I should have tried one of the breakfast scrambler’s, but since I had never heard of the place, never seen a commercial, and didn’t know what their signature item was until I did a little research for this blog, I didn’t know any better.
Oh well. I guess there’s always next time.
Posted in breakfast, Burgers, Chains, Fast Food, Pigeon Forge, Tennessee
