Ruby Tuesday

Ruby Tuesday

2055 Alcoa Highway

Alcoa, TN 37701

He Had: Turkey Burger, Baked Potato, Salad Bar, and Diet Coke

She Had: Chicken Quesadilla and water

Cost: $28

He Said: Better than average turkey burger

She Said: I would have gotten the four-course brunch if I liked brunch.

Arby's

Arby's

816 Foothills Mall Dr.

Maryville, TN 37801

He Had: Medium Roast Beef Sandwich & Large Blackberry Tea

She Had: Medium Roast Beef Sandwich, Curly Fries, & Diet Coke

Cost: $12.53

He Said: Nothing as he was yakking it all back up in the bathroom. Too much grease too soon after the Tour de Blount cycling event.

She Said: (to him) Don't do that again!

Hot Rods 50's Diner

Hot Rods 50's Diner

373 Hannum St.

Alcoa, TN 37701

He Had: Roast Beef Open-faced Sandwich, Sweet Potato Fries, Diet Coke, and Texas Toast from her plate

She Had: Chicken Finger Platter, Ribbon Fries, Macaroni and Cheese, Water

Cost: $24

He Said: It's food.

She Said: Ribbon fries are yum, and everything else is blah.

Baker Peter's Jazz Club

Baker Peter's Jazz Club

9000 Kingston Pike

Knoxville, TN 37923

He Had: 8 oz. Filet and Twice-Baked Potato

She Had: Filet Caesar Salad

They Had: Susana Balbo Crios Malbec (2008, Argentina) - It was half-price bottle night!

Cost: $109

He Said: The filet was everything you'd expect from a place that bills itself as a "Steak Mansion."

She Said: Great dressing, but cut the lettuce smaller, please!

Red Robin

Red Robin

11433 Parkside Dr.

Knoxville, TN 37934

He Had: Teriyaki Chicken Burger and water

She Had: Natural Burger and Diet Coke

Cost: $25

He Said: Avoid the seasoned salt

She Said: I don't normally like restaurant hamburgers except in special circumstances, but this one was pretty good.

Aubrey's

Aubrey's Restaurant

909 W. Lamar Alexander Pkwy.

Maryville, TN 37801

He Had: Granny Smith Steak Salad and water

She Had: Rattlesnake Pasta and water

Cost: $34

He Said: Would you like some salad with that steak?

She Said: This pasta is one of my all-time favorite meals, and the huge portions mean I get to eat it twice.

Big Ed's

Big Ed's Pizza

101 Broadway Ave.

Oak Ridge, TN 37830

They Had: 1 large cheese pizza and a pitcher of Diet Coke

Cost: $22

He Said: Best pizza south of the Mason-Dixon line.

She Said: Going for lunch is the way to avoid lines out the door.

A brief explanation of the challenge and its rules

My husband, David (who considers eating his primary hobby), and I realized that we eat at the same 10-15 places all the time when we go out to eat. We figured that even in our area (Knoxville suburbs) that there are some great places that we have never been. So we decided to challenge ourselves to choose a different restaurant every time we go out to eat for one year. Some of our rules (which are just loopholes to the "no repeats" rule):

1. When going out with a group of friends or family, repeats are ok.

2. When eating by ourselves (i.e. lunch during the week) repeats are ok.

3. When not eating a meal (i.e. getting ice cream) repeats are ok.