CHEROKEE, NC- Granny's Kitchen (Review) and Cool Waters Motel

At the outset, I want to say this was a brand new camera that we had never used, and there were some issues with it. But we still wanted to share our experiences this weekend, in beautiful Cherokee, NC

[@vafunseekers]

When we first went to a buffet after it opened since Covid we had to wear masks and gloves. Now we are seeing no masks and gloves at places we are going. Thanks for sharing the video!

[@NCMemoryMakers]

I was kind of figuring that places had lightened up now, but this place sure hasn't. I wasn't sure how other buffets were doing it, because we haven't been to one since all this.

[@Julie-ms9ss]

A belated Happy Birthday. Even though your camera was misbehaving , it looks like you had a nice birthday treat. The motel is like stepping back in time. It looks charming . It was nice of your wife to treat you to a mini- vacation. The food also looked very good.

[@NCMemoryMakers]

Thank you! And yes, it was very sweet of her to do that. My son bought the tickets to The Outdoor Drama, and she got the room. I had been mentioning for a long time, that I wanted to see the drama again, since I hadn't since I was a kid.

[@robertgriffin9748]

My mother and father started Granny's Kitchen I believe in 1978. We used to have a huge vegetable garden behind the restaurant, which I spent many hours working as a kid. My fourth grade summer I started working there starting as a table busser, then a dish washer, and spent many years later working with the cooks. I spent most of my childhood in Cherokee. Some of the best trout fishing in Cherokee is in the creek behind the Cool Waters motel across the street. Memories I wouldn't change for anything! My eighth grade year I went off to Military school. My first summer home was the last year my father had the restaurant. I still go there whenever I am in town.

[@NCMemoryMakers]

Wow! That is wonderful. Thank you so much for sharing this with us. I am sure that this video brought back some great memories for you. So glad that you enjoyed it!

[@angelamagruder5911]

Happy birthday,be blessed,enjoy celebrate,the picture is clear and the sound is good and clear too,thank you for taking me along!!!!

[@NCMemoryMakers]

Thank you for watching and for your kind words!

[@sharonspivey781]

Granny's is the only buffet my family eats at, we love the chicken and roast beef and the potatoes, and apples. Love the tea, also. We try to always be there around 11:30. You are so spot on that we remember , it is a buffet. .Nice seeing this review..Thanks again.

[@NCMemoryMakers]

So glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for watching.

[@PTAdventures86]

Happy, Happy Birthday!! We love exploring all the places in Cherokee!! We stopped and enjoyed Granny’s Kitchen too!

[@NCMemoryMakers]

Thank you for the birthday wish! And yes, we love Cherokee, too. The play Unto These Hills, was very touching. I hadn't seen it since I was young, and it meant a lot more now that I actually understood it. Have you gotten to see it?

[@TravelswithTommyandLori]

Happy late birthday! We understand equipment failure. It happens like that sometimes for us too. I personally like the older motels, they have more character.

[@NCMemoryMakers]

Yes,I love the vintage motels. Thank you so much for watching, and for commenting.

[@kendrasmith6637]

Food looked ok. Thanks for info 😊 God bless

[@NCMemoryMakers]

That's pretty much how I'd rate it...Decent. I'd do it again, if it were close by. I wouldn't make a special trip.

[@NCMemoryMakers]

I will say the chicken was pretty good, though.

[@greg6985]

I'm the same age as you brother and I'm from Atlanta Georgia and my dad would bring us kids up there we start out in Cherokee at the little shops back in the 70s and 80s. I remember one had a big bear that we would stand under and hold its paws and get our pictures took. Then we would go over the mountain into Gatlinburg and then down into pigeon forge great times!!

[@NCMemoryMakers]

That's awesome! I'm sure you and I remember a lot of the same places there. And like me, I know you have a lot of great memories from your childhood there, as well.

[@susan5494]

I've only been there once and loved it, especially the fish. I saw on their website that masks were strictly enforced, and with the covid delta variant widespread right now and the numbers rising again, I think it's a good idea. But like you said there's other choices if you don't want to go through that.

[@NCMemoryMakers]

Yes, I can see where they are coming from.

[@HunterBidenCocaineBag]

I would say it's average. It's not horrible, but I probably wouldn't stand in line to eat there again. I thought it was good for the value.

[@NCMemoryMakers]

I would agree.

[@dieselwrench3621]

Do have any recommendations for really good places to eat say in Cherokee,Gatlinburg,Pigeon Forge areas? Thanks for your review👍

[@NCMemoryMakers]

Cherokee isn't really known for its great dining. I'm not saying that nowhere there is any good, but the best restaurants are over in Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge. We really like the Cherokee Grill in Gatlinburg, and Crockett's Breakfast Camp for breakfast. And there are numerous good BBQ places, as well. There are honestly too many great restaurants to name all of them. If you are looking for something like fried chicken or fried catfish, I would definitely recommend Huck Finn's in Pigeon Forge. Pretty economical, and excellent quality. Check out some of our other reviews of restaurants in the area, to get a good idea about what we personally like and don't like.

[@dieselwrench3621]

@@NCMemoryMakers thanks 👍

[@cumberlandquiltchic1]

The harrahs casino has good restaurants! Depends on what you like, if you have children to think of, how long going to be here. Bryson City is just down road , I lived there, like 10 minutes. Jimmy macs is good there. There’s a good deli call the filling station, pasqualinos italian. Dillsboro has Haywood smokehouse ( if you’re coming this way from south, there’s one in Franklin and waynesville, nc. Before you get into Cherokee)

[@cumberlandquiltchic1]

I never ate at grann S but friends went all the time. Especially fis, use to be on Friday, I think. Trout, etc. good ole fashioned fresh local grown veggies. My friends are Cherokee n they alll eat at granny’s. Now, having said that, let’s fast forward to 2020- present covid supply chains, price hikes, masks, blah blah Honestly, nothing is the same around these parts ant,ore. Don’t know about other places, but I know for a fact from Clayton, ga to gatl8nburg to Asheville, drW a circle that’s what I know and it’s all the same,,,,as in, nothing is the same now

[@cumberlandquiltchic1]

Re: smell , good smell reminding you of youth. It’s called mountain moisture. I didn’t know how humid and mod n me leeway issues up here. However they keep those clean I’m just talking about houses here in general.i run two dehumidifiers 24/7/365, outbuilding too. Also, the tile n floor in bathrooms. Old vintage tiled bathrooms. Paneling. Yeah I know the smell. Not in a bad way, like you say

[@harrisharris9790]

You need to try fullers bbq Fayetteville nc or Pembroke nc best

[@NCMemoryMakers]

We hardly ever get to Fayetteville

[@stevewalker4638]

Cool

[@NCMemoryMakers]

Thanks for watching!

[@jamesodom5707]

No upgrades to the room since the 70s, except the flatscreen. Thank goodness for the casino dollars coming in, without that influx the area would be third world nation like it was when I last visited as a kid

[@NCMemoryMakers]

In a way, though, we like that old time retro motel feel. We don't get to experience that much anymore. The room was clean, and that's really what's important to us. And we've never been on the grounds of the casino, and never plan to.

[@NCMemoryMakers]

Are you capable of making a positive comment? If you try hard enough, I'll bet you can do it. You've got one more chance.

[@Machell]

Life is no bore 😂😂❤❤

[@NCMemoryMakers]

???? What does this mean?

[@rickeym7501]

That hotel 🙀 food review y’all hit it out of the park bad camera or not

[@NCMemoryMakers]

Thank you for that. Honestly, we were embarrassed to post it. Never had such bad sound from a camera.

[@dipstick5869]

It's all good!😉 The best video's are the real life video's, it ain't perfect. 😂 Just try another camera until y'all find a good one!

[@NCMemoryMakers]

@@dipstick5869 Thank you for the encouraging words. We never expected a new camera that is supposedly 4K, to have such poor quality.

[@rickeyrobbins7656]

I eat ther it good

[@cumberlandquiltchic1]

Regarding mask and buffet. Remember, you’re on the reservation. They can make 5heir own rules. When covid began, they shut down reservation to outsiders.so that’s something to remember,,, “When in Rome...” It’s a small community, except for millions of tourists who come each year. Hats a local restaurant and I’m sure they want to protect their elders. Just my thoughts, If we ever get past this, I’m not sure things will ever go back to normal as we knew them.

[@NCMemoryMakers]

Yes, I realize they have their own rules. I did think that anyone going there, should know ahead of time, that its not like the rest of the state in that regard. I think it would be easy to assume that, because the rest of NC was no longer enforcing a mask mandate, that the reservation wouldn't be, either.

[@NCMemoryMakers]

I will say that we ate at Paul's the next day, and while the food wasn't as good as Granny's, they were not enforcing that at all.

[@cumberlandquiltchic1]

i wanted to let yall know, when you are in cherokee again, i found a little place on river who has good burgers etc. its sort of across from museum and co op going down toward park entrance not far past museum. its in a little ole trailer and thry have picnic tables. by river. its always busy with locals as well as tourists. i think its called bj's diner.

[@NCMemoryMakers]

Yes, I know exactly the place you are talking about. Thanks for the tip about their burgers. It used to be an ice cream place years ago, and I've been there when it was that. It was called something else.

[@cumberlandquiltchic1]

get a double or triple. i usually like one thick patty but these are moist n good size but not thick so i will get double next time. cooked to order. seems like their fries were homemade but not sure on that. it was all very good and cooked to order so you have to wait for it so send your wife to get a table while you wait because their arent many. the leaves are pretty here now -

[@kellysutton2780]

Restaurant is great that motel was full of roaches and cable sucked

[@NCMemoryMakers]

Sorry you didn't have a good experience there. We did. We didn't see a single roach. As for the cable, I don't recall having an issue with that, either. We didn't have the TV on much, as we were out and about a lot.