Junction 35 Kitchen & Bar

Junction 35 is Tennessee's first distillery restaurant, which sounds gimmicky until you try their house-made bourbon with the BBQ smash burger. They're making spirits on-site — moonshine, whiskey, vodka, the whole lineup — and the daily tastings at the bar actually rotate, so you're not getting the same three samples every tourist gets.

We always start with the spirit tasting before dinner, partly because it's fun and partly because the cocktails they make with their own stuff are way better than the standard Pigeon Forge bar fare. The smash burgers get talked about for good reason, and their slow-smoked ribs don't mess around either. Fair warning though — weekends turn this place into a zoo, especially Friday and Saturday nights when the live music starts and everyone's trying to squeeze in.

The whole setup is in the Tower Shops area on Teaster Lane, so parking isn't the nightmare it is on the main Parkway. Kitchen opens at 11am but the distillery starts pouring at 10am if you're the type who likes to start early.

One thing that surprised us — it's actually family-friendly during the day, which you wouldn't expect from a distillery. The noise level cranks up after dinner service though, so if you've got kids or just want to actually hear each other talk, stick to weekday afternoons. No reservations mentioned anywhere, so just show up and hope for the best on busy nights.