My Culinary Odyssey: Pikeville, Part 2

    It is another bonus post this Saturday as I go through the next part of Pikeville.  I'm calling this section "west central" just to help differentiate it. There are a lot of places to go through, so I best start. Click here for a link to how I am organizing this series. 

• Giovanni's, previous location, TO/DEL?:  When Giovanni's finally opened a location in downtown Pikeville, they came around to various businesses to promote the fact.  So, we ordered one, and the experience was much better than the first time in P-Burg. We wound up ordering a few more times, using the discounts they were handing out, mostly.  We may have even had one delivered to the store once. However, we stopped ordering for some reason, possibly the pandemic, but I can't be sure. They have since combined the restaurants at Coal Run and Pikeville and moved to a new location closer to the central business district.
• Wendy's, previous location, TO:  We tried a burger from here as one of the first places to eat at after I opened the store.  I didn't think too much of it at the time, as I wasn't the one who actually went inside.  The location was also hard to pull into and out of, so it never became a regular spot in the rotation of eating locations.  As mentioned above, Wendy's has move to a new location.  A Slim Chickens has opened up in its place. We were going to try it last year, after they sent out special coupons to local businesses, including a single coupon for a free sandwich. Unfortunately, we could never agree on an order or find the time to eat there, so done of the coupons were used.
• Jerry's, DI:  This was a great place to eat.  When I was a kid, they would give out these play mats and a small box of crayons. Sometimes, they were so soft at times that you could mold them with your hands. I took a break from eating there for a lot of my picky eating phase, but I would return there starting in my teens. We didn't eat there that often, but I always found it to be dark and slightly gloomy. I still liked it. Because there wasn't much of a take out service at the time, I stopped going there when my store opened. In the back of my mind, I had the faint idea that if any of my old friends came around, this was where we eat out.  That wasn't to be.  After some politicking involving the city, the university, and the hospital, Jerry's was basically forced to close. Some of her friends took my mom to eat there during its last days, but I wasn't able to go and didn't want anything from take out. El Azul Grande, the Mexican restaurant mentioned last time, took over the spot for a while before getting the penthouse restaurant of the Landmark Inn. The old Jerry's building was torn down to make way for extra parking for a nursing school, possibly more than they needed.  The only sign left is literally the base of its old sign, although a new placard for the school covers up the marquee. [While some old friends have come to the store, none were able to stay more than a few minutes.]
• Kentucky Fried Chicken, previous location, DI:  I barely remember eating here as a kid.  We didn't go here that often, as it was a little cramped and the restrooms were only accessible from an alley outside.  They would later build a new location at the old site of the A & P store.
• Papa John's, previous location, TO (but it was supposed to be DI):  Papa John's would take over KFC's spot in the early 90s. We were going to dine it, until my mom realized about the outdoor access restrooms.  We wound up with take out instead.  I wasn't too thrilled about the pizza, but I think I may have liked some of the extra sauces they gave out. Papa John's would later move to Walter's Plaza, and we still haven't eaten there since that first time. The building has since been torn down, for similar reasons as above, only nothing new has yet to be put up.
• [Speedway, TO:  I don't remember if we ever went here when it was a Super America, or even if it ever was a Super America. However, I do believe I haven't gotten ice here a few times.  I really like having iced drinks at the store, so I make sure I have some here at all times.]
• Kentucky Fried Chicken/KFC, current location, DI/TO, ⭐️:  As I mentioned it the P-Burg entry, I really got into KFC's Zinger chicken sandwiches and potato wedges in the 90s. So, KFC became a fairly common spot to eat in my rotation.  In fact, I even closed my store for a few minutes to go out and get myself one on my first birthday after opening my store. The problem was that I was expecting a book order that day, and it had a book I was really looking forward to.  It was Hidden Passions, a novel based on the soap opera, Passions. (If you don't remember, it was about a witch, Tabitha, who was getting her revenge on a town by ruining many of the people's lives.  She created her own living doll assistant, Timmy, to help her out. She ultimately redeemed herself and helped save the town, but things got really weird at times.) Unfortunately, UPS was running late that day, and I needed much sooner than later.  Yes, they arrived while I was out, and I had to wait until the following Monday to receive the order. I stopped going as often, once my sandwich got discontinued. I would switch over to chicken strips, but they weren't as good.  The last time I went, about three years ago, the lobby was basically closed due to not enough help. The chicken strips had been replaced by processed chicken 'strips,' the wedges with regular fries, and the sweet-and-sour sauce discontinued. I didn't like it enough to go back since.  I might change my mind if the wedges come back.  They are being tested in some locations right now.
• McDonald's, TO: This is an unusual case.  McDonald's was another spot we tried after opening the store. My mom actually took the order back when she realized she had ordered the wrong thing. I haven't had food there since.  However, my mom has gotten a few things there:  coffee, my ice, various drinks such as frappes, cookies, occasional other pastries. But no Krispy Kreme doughnuts as of yet. 
• Little Caesar's, TO:  I'm pretty sure we ordered a pizza here at one time.  Again, too focused on pepperoni to warrant going back, although my mom loves it the many times it was served at meeting she goes to.  We may have gotten a pizza from Domino's as well, but I can't remember anything about it.

    With that, I finish this bonus post.  Come back Wednesday for my regular update.  See you then.