The Grub Spouse was unable to tag along on the day I had planned to do my latest lunch outing. So I found myself traveling solo to two different destinations — Fruition Café and Moonshine Mountain Cookie Company, both of which are on or near Kingston Pike, west of Pellissippi Parkway.
I started out at Fruition Café on West End Avenue, behind the McDonald’s on Kingston Pike. That independently owned eatery specializes in paninis and other sandwiches and offers a wide selection of smoothies as well. Among the dozen paninis described on the overhead menu board (and on a separate chalkboard menu), options include chicken ranch, avocado veggie, turkey chipotle, a chicken or tuna melt, and cranberry turkey.
I took advantage of one of the value meals, which (for the most part) are sandwich-smoothie combos. I got half an Italian panini (ham, pepperoni, red onion, pepperoncini, provolone cheese and Italian dressing) and a small strawberry-banana smoothie — all that and a literal bag of chips for $9.52 (before tip). I had hoped for a hot cup or bowl of soup that day, but unfortunately for me, no soups had been made…