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Alta Cucina
1200 N. Roan St., Johnson City, Tennessee 37601
Phone: 423.928.2092
Cuisines: • Italian • Pizza • Seafood • Vegetarian
Features: • Full Bar • Take Out
Authentic Italian restaurant featuring full bar and great wine menu. Gourmet pizzas available for carry-out only at anytime. Appetizers include crab cakes, stuffed portabella mushroom, calamari, fresh mozzarella and smoked salmon pizza.
Lunch is served with homemade bread and offered with a variety of salads, fish, chicken, pasta, subs, calzone and stromboli. Full Details ...
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Overlooked Einstein Bros. Bagels worth a little walk
Reach the Mystery Diner at diner@johnsoncitypress.com.
At a glance: Einstein Brothers Bagels, 400 N. State of Franklin Road (inside Johnson City Medical Center near front lobby); 431-3333; Monday-Friday, 7 a.m.-4 p.m. (second location inside hospital opens at 6 a.m.); credit cards accepted
Years ago, I used to whine and complain if I had to park a block or two away from my favorite downtown restaurant, or if the only available parking spaces at a restaurant were in the farthest corner. That, of course, meant I had to … (gasp) … walk. But some friends — previous New Yorkers — made me realize just how sheltered and silly I was as they related stories of a 25-minute trek through Manhattan, on foot, just for a latte at Starbucks.
That bit of insight totally changed my approach to dining out. Convenience was less of a factor, and matters of quality and price moved up on the decision ladder. So, if I had to wait in line, park several yards away or cross the county line to satisfy a particular craving, it was OK.
I wouldn’t consider parking and going inside Johnson City Medical Center for the sole purpose of getting a bagel a total inconvenience. Passing the hospital is not part of my routine morning commute, but, then again, I do like bagels.
I’d heard raving comments about Einstein bagels from several non-Johnson City folks. Much to my surprise, I learned that Johnson City did have an Einstein Brothers; even more surprising, it was located inside a hospital. One is near the Center for Cardiovascular Health, and the other (which is more convenient for outsiders) is adjacent to the front lobby.
Einstein bagels are hearty when it comes to portion, and they are bigger than many of the frozen packaged ones we find in grocery stores. To date, I’ve had dozens of Einstein bagels, and never once have I bemoaned them being stale or “day-old” tasting. I tend to avoid ordering the same flavor consecutively, and I move around between the blueberry, the plain and the honey whole wheat, which is probably my favorite. Normally, I steer away from whole wheat bread due to its blandish taste, but this particular bagel is an exception.
They are best when toasted and served with a side of cream cheese. A note about the cream cheese: it’s not butter. When you first see it in the plastic to-go container, it looks too moist and soft to be cream cheese. I even asked the lady at the register if she was sure this was cream cheese, and she smiled patiently and assured me I wasn’t the first customer to inquire.
On a good day, a bagel and cream cheese suffices me for breakfast, though sometimes I piggy-back that with a fresh fruit cup or yogurt, and, of course, coffee. Einstein coffee has a good caffeine punch, but, as far as taste, it doesn’t have a distinctness that separates it from other popular chain brands.
Nothing beats a fresh salad, and even though Einstein’s are packaged, they fared rather well and are an improvement above the typical drive-thru to-go salad.
The sugar coating on top of the muffins sealed the deal as to why I should not complain about the three-minute walk from the hospital to the car. To get my metabolism prepared for that sugar rush, I should be running.
Mystery Diner Published in the Johnson City Press on September 5, 2008
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