Recently Karen Graham came down to visit us.  It was the first time that Karen has been able to visit us at a park where we have been working.  We were delighted to have her come and spend time with her.

During her visit, she and I joined Karen Blondell at the Nineteen 19 Grill in Cumberland Gap, Tennessee for lunch.  I figured the three “Pastor Karens” needed to get together.  Karen Blondell is our pastor at A Christian Ministry in the National Parks services on Sunday afternoons.  Karen Graham is the pastor of Lakeside United Methodist Church in Lakeside, Ohio.

I chose Nineteen 19 Grill as our lunch spot because I had not been there yet.  Several people told me how good it was, but it seemed a little fancier than Tom enjoys.  A good place for the three of us to get together.

Nineteen 19 Grill opened in 2022, so it is still a new restaurant.  Edward and Bernadette Ungrue decided to open the restaurant after years of running a food truck.  They wanted something stable and more upscale.  The restaurant is often busy in the evenings and on weekends, but it wasn’t busy on the Wednesday we were there.

The menu featured a variety of dishes.  Most of the luncheon items were around $15.  Karen Graham ordered a salad, Karen Blondell ordered a wrap, and I got the Wagyu Beef Sliders.  All of the food was delicious, although the portion sizes were very small.  It was a good amount of food for lunch but not too much.  The Wagyu Beef Sliders were especially tasty.  Wagyu Beef is said to be so special because of its umami (savoriness).  I think it is a way to charge more for a cheeseburger slider.

We all enjoyed our food at Nineteen 19 Grill, but we especially enjoyed talking together.  Between us, Karen Graham and I have 70 years of ministry experience.  Karen Blondell will graduate from seminary in May and is still deciding her next steps.  She has been the music director at her church for years, however, so she knows about church ministry.