I love everything about summer. Warm weather and sunshine, the splashy fun of pools and lakes and trips to the beach, and long, lazy evenings spent outside are the best. However, nothing compares to the tastes that summer brings – hot dogs and hamburgers on the grill, watermelon slices and homemade ice cream, and s’mores around the campfire. So while I’m looking forward to all the activities planned for Dollywood’s Smoky Mountain Summer Celebration and its Road Trip to summer fun, the part of this festival that I’m anticipating the most is the food.
As always, there’s an amazing culinary lineup in place for this summer extravaganza of tastes throughout the park. Thanks to the Smoky Mountain Summer Celebration Tasting Pass, the tastes of summer will be available with a convenient way to sample multiple items for one price. There are lots of options available for the five samples that can be acquired with this season’s Tasting Pass, but here are my picks for the top of my Tasty To Do list of “must have” summer samples:
- Life is short, so I’m starting with dessert first – in the form of a s’mores funnel cake. This combines my favorite summer campfire treat with my favorite Dollywood treat, and it’s available in two places on park: Crossroads Funnel Cakes in Market Square and Splinters Funnel Cakes not far from FireChaser Express. Double tasty options!
- Once I’ve started off sweet, I’m ready for some savory selections. It’s hard to beat our pork rinds – unless they are part of ultimate nachos made the Dollywood way! The hardest place to make a decision for a heartier dish for me is going to be at Miss Lillian’s BBQ Corner – how do you expect me to choose between Pork Belly on a Stick and a Three Little Pigs Sandwich? All I know is that either one of those will be accompanied by Southern Fried Corn!
- I also like healthy options, and I can do that, too, with tasty salad options at locations parkwide. The antipasto salad and the cucumber tomato salad as well as the cobb salad and quinoa salads are both delicious and nutritious!
- All this eating can make you thirsty, and there are so many choices for me here! Blue coconut or watermelon lime Fresca, peach Boba tea and passion fruit or mountain berry lemonade are just a few of the quenchers I plan on trying to beat the summer heat.
- Always have to finish with dessert! Even though I started on this culinary tour with some sweetness, I’ve got to round it out the same way, because there are just too many choices to not include more treats in my top Tasting Pass choices. Top of the list are a peanut butter cup liege waffle or a cookies and cream liege waffle available at Showstreet Ice Cream or summer-style cupcakes, cookies and cannoli at the Spotlight Bakery. Will anyone frown on me for trying one of everything?!
Some of my honorable mentions include:
- Open-faced grilled cheese at Iron Horse Pizza in The Village
- Hibachi skillet chicken and pork belly created in the Market Square Big Skillet
- Loaded potato tornado at Market Square Potatoes
The tasting pass, which can be purchased at Dollywood or online at Dollywood.com, is $36.99 plus tax or $33.99 plus tax for gold and diamond passholders.
See you in a line to try something delicious somewhere around Dollywood all summer!
Purchase your Tasting Pass here!
