The Best Italian Food in Mountain City, TN
It’s not every day that I get to eat Italian food. This is one of the most difficult food genres for my egg-allergy boys to partake in, so with them in tow, we typically avoid it. However, Reagan would choose Italian food every day of the week if she could. When we arrived at my family’s lake house earlier this week, my mom told us she had made a dinner reservation for me, Reagan and my dad. She wanted Reagan to try La Cucina. And let me tell you, this is the best place to grab Italian food in the Mountain City area.
Good to Know:
La Cucina is the cutest little Italian restaurant ever. It is in a house-turned-restaurant, seemingly in the middle of nowhere. Reservations are required because of its size and limited menu. They like to plan ahead.
Also, this is a cash-only joint. So, bring those Benjamins. It’s not the most expensive place, but you should plan $17-30 per entree.
The portions are a normal size. Not overly huge.
It is seriously so cute. They start you off with some ciabatta bread and a few dipping sauces. The red pepper one was my favorite. I could have eaten an entire loaf with a giant bowl of the red pepper sauce. Reagan migrated toward the pesto sauce. And my dad stuck to the original EVOO and Balsamic mix.
For the main course, I had the Orecchette with asparagus and mushrooms. AMAZING. The sauce was light, EVOO based. And it had a slight lemon flavor. Simply divine.
Reagan stuck to her favorite – Alfredo with Chicken. The noodles were fresh wide egg noodles. The Alfredo sauce was good, not overly thick and sopping. Her grilled chicken was cooked to perfection. It was moist and fell apart like butter when you bit into it.
Yeah, I might have tried everyone’s food. Research guys. Obviously.
Dad ordered the Chicken Pizzaoli (or something to that effect). Think a pizza and a chicken Parmesan had a baby… and voila! Dad’s meal. The chicken was pounded thin, lightly breaded and used as the base for the sauce, cheese and pepperonis. He opted for house greens in stead of noodles on the side.
In lieu of an appetizer, we ordered a dessert. Tiramisu. Oh. My. Goodness. One bite in and I was immediately sorry I offered to split it with them. I easily could have had my own.
If you are in the area – Boone, NC to Johnson City, TN – make a point to try La Cucina. You will not be disappointed.
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