Bennett's Pit Bar-B-Que

Bennett's has been smoking meat over hickory for 14 hours since 1991, and you can taste every hour of it in their pulled pork and brisket. We've eaten our way through Pigeon Forge, and this place still surprises us — not just because the meat has that deep pink smoke ring, but because they serve the sauce warm on the side so you can actually taste what you're eating before drowning it.

The breakfast bar throws you for a loop. Fifty items sounds excessive until you see smoked BBQ pork sitting next to fresh cinnamon donuts at 11am, and suddenly you're questioning everything you thought you knew about breakfast. The grits are legit, and the homemade blueberry muffins disappear fast.

Skip Saturday evenings unless you enjoy waiting. We learned this the hard way when the lounge filled up with people playing Golden Tee while we stood around holding buzzer things. Weekday lunch is your sweet spot — get there right at 11am and you'll have your pick of tables.

One thing though — the burnt ends sell out. Order them first, ask questions later. The garlic bread is weirdly addictive too, which nobody mentions in reviews but probably should. And yes, there's free parking, which feels like a minor miracle on the Parkway.