McAlister's McAlister's McAlister's

Originally written January 17, 2007


Alright so if you haven't got it by now this blog is about McAlister's and for those of you who have no idea what I am talking about it's a Deli.

A deli that I have not visited since February of 2002 that's right almost 5 years. You see it all started back when I lived in Tennessee well Knoxville really. It was a great restaurant that had wonderful sweet tea, awesome chicken sandwiches and the best damn nachos ever. This was a kick ass place, it sat right on Cumberland Ave or shall I say the STRIP for the University of Tennessee. It was full of great restaurants, fun bars, dance clubs and gas stations with ATMS everywhere. There was even this place called suds and duds, at least that's what i think it was called, anyways all I know is that it was a great place to wash your clothes and drink beer.

Wait a minute I am starting to get off track focus Dawn focus...so this deli is a place that I would eat at with my then roommates there in Knoxville Monkia, Liz, Sarah and my then boyfriend Matt. There was also a boy that lived a few apartments down from us named Phillip and I drug him there a lot with me also. Once I got back to LMU (Lincoln Memorial University) I told my good friend Stacey and yep she got addicted also.

So that brings me back to my last time eating there, it was with my good friend Stacey in February of 2002, I had flown back to TN to visit her and my other good friend Josh before I got married. I did a lot of my old traditions, hung out at all my favorite places because I didn't know when I would be back to do it all over again. And even though I have yet to place my foot in the state of Tennessee (besides being in the Nashville airport flying here to NC my new home), I got to touch and taste a bit of old times. Once i found out that we would be moving from Arizona to North Carolina I was thrilled. I loved living in Tennessee, loved the way people treated you, I loved the way the air smelt, and I loved how everything looked. I just couldn't wait to be back where I wanted to be....the east coast!! So, I did some research on the town that I was moving to and tried to find some good things about it. I can't remember what made me google McAlisters but I am glad I did. I found that the closest McAlister's to Fayetteville was in Raleigh and it was a short 1 hour and 30 minute drive away. So this past weekend my husband and I loaded up the kids and off we went to taste a piece of home. It felt so good to taste those Nachos and to think that I had shared so many good meals with some great friends that I haven't seen in a very long time. Even though it wasn't the exact deli it was the same food that I had eaten so many years ago.

Once I got home my neighbors asked where we had been and I explained to them my love for McAlister's and wanting to eat there. They just couldn't fathom driving all the way up to Raleigh to eat at a deli.

It's not just a deli I told them, it's so much more!


***Since this was written almost 18 months ago we have been to McAlister's several times in Raleigh and Wilmington. My love for McAlister's grows with each meal, and now my kids and husband love the place too.***