Big Daddy's Pizzeria, Sevierville

At Big Daddy's Pizzeria, a 550-degree wood-fired brick oven bakes handcrafted dough, house-made sauces, and fresh ingredients into specialty pizzas. The Pigeon Forge eatery is the newest of five restaurants owned by the Johnson family—a local family that has nourished Sevier County with fresh cuisine for the past 20 years. Chefs cover 10- and 12-inch thin crusts with their traditional palomino sauce—a fusion of homespun alfredo and marinara—before tossing the pies with gourmet soy-cheese, gorgonzola, prime-rib, or pine-nut toppings. The Johnsons' house-made focaccia cushions wood-fired sandwiches, and glasses brim with draft beers and wine. In the spacious dining room, a pastoral countryside mural and framed artwork beam down upon cushy red booths and white-clothed tables, while a wooden awning and brick walls surround an outdoor patio. At the Pigeon Forge location, a brand-new arcade entertains guests with video games, providing a welcome diversion from thinking about how their stomachs are as happy as a dentist swimming through the Colgate factory's toothpaste river.