Food, glorious food

What trip review would be complete without talking about the food you ate? So here's a breakdown of the best places we hit while we were on the road.
We took in several nice places - the two best were Mel's Diner, which was right across from our hotel, and Flapjacks, a hunting-lodge type place.
Mel's Diner looks like a real diner from back in the 50s - lots of movie posters and ads, blue and white leather booths, coat racks on each booth... items on the menu were named after characters on Happy Days and other 50s-related personalities.
For example, I had the Abbott and Costello Jumbo Wings, with mild sauce. There were six on the plate, and there was more than enough for me for lunch; it would make great appetizers for two or three folks. Jenn had the cheeseburger with bacon, mushrooms and chili; she said hers was great as well.
The wait staff was very friendly and helpful without being clingy; they made sure our glasses stayed full, and quickly moved dishes out of our way.
Flapjacks is a pancake house that's decorated like a hunting lodge. It was hard to make a choice, but I decided on the Wild Mountain Blueberry pancakes- six huge blueberry pancakes that overflowed the platter, topped with powdered sugar and more blueberries. They brought blueberry syrup and warm maple syrup. Less than $7, I made it through about half of them. They were the best pancakes I think I've ever had, almost floating off the plate. Jenn and Randy had breakfast skillets, which consisted of eggs, grits or hashbrowns, pancakes, biscuits and gravy and sausage or bacon. There were several different ways to order a skillet, each with it's own choices.
The wait staff at Flapjacks were also very friendly; our waitress kept a close eye on how we were doing, without standing over us.
There are several Flapjacks restaurants in the area- we ate at the one on the Parkway in Pigeon Forge, and for me, it was the best meal of the trip.
We also stopped at Mama's Farmhouse. A huge airy building, with gingham curtains and old-timey ceiling fans, was very welcoming. The staff all wore overalls and were very friendly. It was all-you-could-eat, served family style. Fried chicken, pork roast slices, country-fried steak, mashed potatoes, green beans, buttered corn, peach cobbler and banana pudding were available as well as vegetable soup, biscuits and corn muffins. The food was good, but $17 a plate was a bit steep, especially sincce the food wasn't outstanding.
One night, we ate at a small local pizza place (Geno's?) that was also good. The crust was handmade and was delicious, with plenty of toppings, cooked to perfection.