City: Pigeon Forge, TN

Category: Restaurants

Telephone: (865) 429-2184

Address: 119 Wears Valley Road

Description: Mel’s is a classic silver-sided diner sitting just 1 block off the Parkway on Wears Valley Road. Although it was built in 1993, you can easily believe you’re revisiting the ’50s here, thanks to the restaurant’s cozy, sleek interior, retro color scheme, and rows of booth seating. One of the neat things about Mel’s is that it’s one of the few dining establishments in the Smokies that’s open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. For breakfast, they serve traditional morning fare like eggs and omelets, pancakes and waffles, and biscuits with gravy (you are, after all, still in the South!). The rest of the menu consists primarily of American staples like burger and sandwich baskets and dinner platters. Platter entrees include hefty portions of pork chops, ham, meat loaf, country-fried steak, and other staple diner offerings. The entrees come with bread and a choice of two side vegetables. Be sure to allow room for dessert at Mel’s. The cakes, pies, and sundaes are delicious, as are the milk shakes.