Knoxville
Knoxville
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Kentuckians are used to going to Knoxville for annual football and basketball games against the University of Tennessee, for weekends at Dollywood just outside town, and because the city is the gateway to Smoky Mountains National Park, a favorite vacation spot. But Knoxville is also a restaurant mecca. Downtown Knoxville has a greater concentration of outstanding restaurants than any other city in the region. You have to go all the way to Atlanta or Washington to match it. Knoxville used the 1982 World's Fair as an excuse to completely revitalize its downtown. In doing so, it was careful not to tear down its history, as Lexington, Louisville and Nashville have done. It renovated the old Federalist buildings from 1890 - 1910, preserving the outsides and basic interior features while finding new uses. Knoxville also emphasized locally owned businesses. The result, along with professional offices, boutiques and outdoor stores, was an influx of great new restaurants. 30 years later, those restaurants are still there, the majority of them along three block long Market Square. The '82 World's Fair still has a strong influence on downtown Knoxville. The Sunsphere, at right, towers over the area and is used as a symbol for the city. The narrow base is 266 ft. tall, and the ball is five stories high. The winding valley where the Fair was held is now World's Fair Park, with a small lake, bubbling stream, large boulders and outdoor sculptures. The Pavilion (above) is used for concerts and other events. The park is the transition zone between downtown and the University of Tennessee Campus (the buildings behind the Pavilion in the photo above are on campus). Former Fair buildings are now a Convention Center, the Knoxville Museum of Art, and University facilities. |
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Market Square is the heart of downtown Knoxville. Three blocks long, the pedestrian mall was completely refreshed for the World's Fair, was allowed to decline slightly, then renewed again in the 2000s. Once the home of slave auctions, farmers' markets, horse and gun sales, saloons and stables, it's been featured in novels and Civil War journals. Now, it's the home of a dozen restaurants and another dozen sandwich counters, taco stands, pizza outlets and coffee shops. There are always one or two musicians playing a guitar, sax, trumpet or fiddle. |
| Our lodging recommendation for downtown Knoxville is the World's Fair Holiday Inn on Henley Street. Front windows (seen here) face downtown and back windows face World's Fair Park and the UT campus. It's a short walk to Market Square or Neyland Stadium and the Convention Center and Sunsphere are across the street. You're just off I-275, which means from Lexington you have easy access. We stay at Holiday Inns all over the country and this is one of the best. It's been recently renovated so rooms are state of the art. Parking is secure and underground, protected from weather. The barrista at her snack bar off the lobby mixes a great cup of coffee, cappucino or hot chocolate. The second floor pool is small but nice. |  |
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This is one of the more fascinating souvenirs from the 1982 World's Fair. It's on display in the lobby of the Holiday Inn. This is a full sized working model of the famous Rubik's Cube, which was created in 1978 by Hungarian sculptor Enos Rubik. By 1982, the year of the Fair, Rubik's Cube had become the most popular toy in the world so this huge version was quite popular with Fairgoers, who would watch the faces pivoting to line up properly. But Rubik had not invented it as a toy. He wanted a mechanism that could be used to teach various mathematic principles and help math students develop algorithms. In the 30 years since this World's Fair model was on display, there have beend doctoral dissertations written about it, computer programs written to solve it, and two and four cubelet variations developed. After it was displayed in the Hungarian Exhibition for six months, Hungary donated this giant cube to the City of Knoxville, which displayed it in several locations before loaning it semi permanently to the Holiday Inn. It does still operate, but is usually turned off to avoid attracting children, who love to interfere with the rotating faces. |
| For a couple wanting something more romantic, more intimate, for a Special Weekend, there's the Oliver Hotel directly on Market Square. Built in 1876, it was refurbished in 1982 for the World's Fair, and updated again in 2011 when new owners took over. The Oliver is a "boutique" hotel, with only 28 very plush rooms. The service is quite personal and if you're coming in for the Market Square restaurants, the Jazz Festival, or the theater, the Oliver would be hard to beat. As long as you prefer showers, these are the best bathrooms in Tennessee, but there's no tub. Request a room facing Market Square as the others have no views at all. The Peter Kern Library, which is actually a speakeasy bar, is great, as is the Tupelo Honey Cafe. Rooms are not well soundproofed but things quiet down by 11 pm. |
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Maplehurst Inn is a very nice Bed & Breakfast overlooking downtown, the river and the campus. It's an eccentric place. Despite the glowing promises on their website, the breakfasts are meager or nonexistent. You may not be able to find a staff member on the premises. Room keys are a constant problem. They're missing, they don't work, etc. Despite all of this, you may still wish to try the Maplehurst. It's a 10 minute walk from Market Square or Neyland Stadium and less than that from the Convention Center. The Penthouse is incredible if you can get it; you have a jacuzzi plus your own private patio/deck with great views and privacy. Maplehurst was built in 1917 and maintained as a family residence until 1982, when it was converted to a Bed & Breakfast for the World's Fair. |
| And now for the restaurants. Most hotel restaurants are average or mediocre, but Windows is the exception to this rule. It's one of the best two or three Holiday Inn restaurants in the country and the best overall restaurant in Knoxville. The kitchen is slow, so come prepared to have a drink, enjoy the view (the windows look out over World's Fair Park) and engage in good conversation. But the food is definitely worth waiting for. Chef Tom Ortman has taken several Tennessee classics and updated them into Signature dishes. The first is his Country Ham & Bean Soup. Not usually considered a gourmet item, this is one of the finest soups in the city. Other Signature sides are the Tobacco Onions, Tomato Horseradish and Spiced Sweet Potato Cakes. |  |
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Among the entrees, Ortman's Pan Seared Rainbow Trout has become famous all over Knoxville since he enters it in various food competitions. It's fixed a little differently, but this ranks among the best Trout dishes we've ever tasted, right up there with Burntside Lodge in Minnesota and El Tovar in Arizona. The Onion Bacon Country Ham Ravioli, Roast Breast of Chicken Roulade and Angus New York Strip are other Signature entrees. Save room for the Jack Daniels Bread Pudding served in a Mason jar, even if you have to order one serving and share it around. The wines and mixed drinks are just as good as the food. Notice the unusual granite bar in the photo above. At other times, there's a great breakfast buffet with made to order Waffle and Omelette stations and a lunch menu of sandwiches, soups, salads and sides. On some days there's a lunch buffet. The cut glass chandelier at left was displayed in the French Exhibition at the 1982 World's Fair and donated to Knoxville at the conclusion. It hung in several downtown locations before the Holiday Inn acquired it during the recent renovation. It hangs in the Windows foyer. |
Chesapeake's is a Knoxville treasure. Since its opening in 1982, it has been the best Seafood restaurant not only in Tennessee but in the whole region. With the closing of Wheeler's, not even Atlanta has a seafood restaurant to match it. They fly their catch in daily from Boston, Baltimore and Biloxi. They bake their own breads and make their own sauces. And they have a great wine list, especially their Whites. People from several counties around Knoxville drive in just for the Sunday Brunch. The decor is classic Baltimore Fish House, with plenty of marine artifacts on the walls and strategically placed aquaria, as seen in the photo below. Their most famous entree is their Crab Cakes. These are the best Crab Cakes this side of Baltimore. But they have other Signature items, beginning with their Crab Bisque and Seafood Gumbo. Among the Appetizers, we highly recommend the Mushrooms Stuffed With Crabmeat and Spiced Blue Crab Fingers. The Maryland Seafood Salad mixes blue crab, shrimp and scallops with a generous portion of greens and avocado dressing. |
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Among entrees, the Crab Imperial (blue crab baked in a creamy blend), Seafood Combination (cod, scallops, shrimp and one crab cake), Scallops (your choice of grilled, blackened or fried), Steamed Shrimp and Shrimp Scampi are all outstanding. For real seafood conneisseurs, there's the Lobster Stuffed With Crabmeat, but you can also get Oysters or Lobster fixed various ways. The sides are creative. The Mac & Cheese has a healthy portion of Spinach baked in. Cinammon Spiced Apples are excellent. And their Creamy Cole Slaw is among the best in town. If you can save room for dessert, they make their own Key Lime Pie, Cheesecake and Delaware Pie daily. |
The Crown & Goose is a classic British gastropub located in "Old Town," northwest of Market Square. They serve English favorites and offer a fine selection of drinks from across the British Isles. Their most famous item is their Bangers & Mash, a traditional London mix of sausages, onion gravy, mashed garlic potatoes, roast red peppers and spiced mustard. Other Signature items are the Kensington Salad, Shepherd's Pie, New Zealand Vegetables & Lamb, Fish & Chips (North Sea cod, English chips --- thicker than American style --- and vinegar based cole slaw), Irish Whiskey Marinated Ribeye, Yorkshire Duck, Smoked Fish Board (trout, salmon, anchovies), Beer Battered Cod Sandwich, Pork Shank and, for Dessert, Plum Pudding. They offer 10 Cheese Boards, each of which is a meal in itself. From the bar, they offer 304 Scotch Whiskeys but are most famous for their great selection of Ales and Stouts. |
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The Tupelo Honey Cafe serves 21st Century Southern Appalachian Cuisine, from its location at the East entrance to Market Square. Their Signature items include Spiced Tomato Soup, Appalachian Egg Rolls, Black Bean Cakes, Fried Chicken Saltimbocca Stuffed With Havarti Cheese & Basil and Wrapped In Country Ham, Rosemary Tomato Shallot Meatloaf, and Root Beer Molasses Glazed Pork Tenderloin with Green Apple Salsa. If you're into BBQ, they lather theirs with their own Smoked Jalapeno Sauce. For Sides you can choose from Goat Cheese Grits, Honeyed Beets, Fried Parmesan Corn on the Cob and Twice Fried Basil Green Tomatoes. Their Sweet Potato Pancakes are one of Knoxville's favorite breakfast treats. The famous dessert here is their Blueberry Cream Cheese Pie. This will be the first restaurant you come to walking up from the Holiday Inn. |
Just Ripe is an eclectic grocery, bakery and cafe a few steps down Union Street from Market Square. It serves great Coffee and Buttermilk Biscuits so is a popular breakfast stop, but lunch is where Just Ripe really shines. Signature items are the Mole Sweet Potato Burrito With Goat Cheese, White Bean & Swiss Chard Soup, the Pig & Fig (apples, bacon, fig onion jam, arugula and cheddar on grilled bread) and Ratatouille Melt. Great Sides include Kale Salad and the Garlic Pickled Green Beans. Their Quiche of the Day is always good. If you just want something to go with a drink, their Sweet Potato Pecan Scone is a must side order. As for drinks, the Iced Mint Tea is outstanding. Everything is locally produced and organic. The grocery offers an exotic mix of items you can't find anywhere else in town. This storefront is too small and service is inefficient, so prepare to wait, but the food's worth it.
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Cafe 4 is a very classy, upscale eatery on the north side of Market Square. This is a 21st Century cutting edge menu. For starters, the Crawfish & Crab Cakes With Jalapeno Hollandaise, Fried Green Tomatoes With Goat Cheese and Red Pepper Relish, Hoe Cake With Pulled Pork & Horseradish Slaw, and Baja Fish Tacos With Lime Mayonnaise and Avocado, are all outstanding. The Roast Tomato Bisque and Southwest Chicken Soup (monterey jack cheese, scallions and tortilla strips) are fine soups. Their Strawberry, Greek and Salmon Beet Salads are among the best in Knoxville. Cafe 4 offers three Flatbread Plates, 12 Sandwiches and a Sweet Tea Brined BBQ, which is certainly unique. Knoxvillians love Cafe 4's Chicken & Waffles. We prefer the Shrimp & Grits, Roast Vegetable Linguini, Scallops and BBQ Pork Shanks. As a side, someone at your table must order the Yellowstone Cheese Grits and share. The Mac n Cheese Bar is unique. You can choose among Lobster Mac n Cheese, French Onion & Bacon Mac n Cheese, Grilled Chicken & Jalapeno Mac n Cheese and other versions. |
| Oodles Uncorked is an Italian restaurant on Market Square most famous for its wines. It has gone to great extent to assemble the best wine list in town and promises to open anything in stock for 1/3 the bottle price per glass. To the usual categories they add "green wines," meaning produced in a certified organic vineyard. Oodles is thus a great place to stop for a mid afternoon glass of wine and a sandwich, salad, appetizer or cup of soup. Their lunch and dinner menus are tempting, but we think their best entree is something few places even serve : the Fritatta. A Frittata is an Italian omelette. It differs from other countries' omelettes in that the ingredients are mixed in at the start, not added later; the eggs and ingredients are whipped much more until they take on a light, airy texture, and the result is baked in the oven. Fritattas are actually breakfast pies and are usually cut into six slices. Oodles offers a Veggie (onions, spinach, mushrooms & feta cheese) and a Tuscan (pancetta, garlic, basil & mozzarella) Fritatta. But they also offer Breakfast Mac n Cheese, Berry Salad, Tuscan Chicken Panini and Duck Confit Eggs Benedict. For dinner their Ravioli of the Day is always good, as is the Duck Marsala (seared duck breast, mushrooms, basil, pine nuts, parmesan risotto), Seafood fra Diavolo (angel hair, shrimp, scallops, onions, peppers, spiced tomatoes and white wine sauce), Crab Cakes and Eggplant Parmesan. Service is notoriously slow; order some wine and relax. |  |
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Cocoa Moon is an odd combination restaurant, serving Caribbean and Latino cuisine at lunch and the best of Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Mongolian and Vietnamese at dinner. It's a large facility, with sidewalk, balcony, upstairs and bar options. From their impressive lunch menu, we like the Caribbean Chicken, Chimichanga, Jamaican Pepper (spicy deep fried pepper stuffed with ground beef, season rice and refried beans)), Cuba Libre (pork, white rice, black beans and fried plantains), and Veggie Fajita. Among dinner starters we like their Crab Rangoon, Avocado Tequila Salsa and Fondue. The four Soups are all tasty : Tom Kha (chicken, mushrooms, lime, cilantro and coconut milk), Lemongrass (shrimp, mushrooms, lemongrass), Hot & Sour, and Fideo (chicken, pasta, vegetables, cheese, cilantro and tortilla strips). Of their six Salads, the Papagayo is probably best (mixed greens, mandarin oranges, blue cheese, walnuts, poppy seed dressing). Of the 47 dinner entrees, 14 are also Caribbean or Latino, but the Asian items are pretty impressive. The Orange Peel Chicken, Garlic Shrimp, Four Seasons (shrimp, scallops, beef and chicken), Pineapple Shrimp, Pad Thai Chicken and Mongolian Chicken are probably their best, but lots of patrons love the Lime Grilled Salmon, Thai Basil Seafood and Pineapple Seafood. Notice the burnt orange T embedded in the building. |
Bella Luna is Market Square's traditional Italian restaurant. They offer all the usual : Ravioli, various Pastas, Linguini Pomodoro (traditional long, thin, flat pasta, tomato sauce, basil, and sausage or meatballs), Sausage Penne (classic Italian sausage, penne pasta, tomato sauce, ricotta and mozarella cheese), Eggplant Parmesan, Chicken Marsala (chicken sauteed in cream sauce with mushrooms on linguini pasta), Vegetable Lasagna (mushrooms, butternut squash, roast red peppers, onions, spinach and cream sauce), Grilled Tuscan Pork Chops (glazed with apple cider, with golden raisens, cranberries, and seasonal vegetables), and Chicken Piccata. Their Salads are great, particularly the Bella Luna Salad (mixed greens, pickled onions, golden raisens, cranberries, parmesan cheese and citrus vinaigrette). Desserts include Gelato, Cheesecake and Tiramisu. Good selection of Italian wines and a Blueberry White Sangria. |
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The Blue Coast Grille is on the far southwest corner of Market Square. It's a neat little Mexican lunch stop with a one page menu. Appetizers include Steak Fajita Nachos, Spicy Osso Bucco (chicken drumsticks marinated in their special sauce then grilled),Taco Salad, Pineapple Mango Shrimp Salad, Pineaple Mango Shrimp, Dip Sampler and Quesadillas. Entrees include Chicken or Steak Fajitas, Kabobs, Fire Grilled Salmon or Mango Shrimp, and a Shrimp Bowl (shrimp sauteed in onions, peppers, garlic, salsa rosa and white wine, then served over baja rice). Things are pretty informal here and the best seating is out on the Square. |
| Tomato Head is Market Square's gourmet pizza restaurant. They have other worthy items on their menu, including a Soup of the Day, nine Appetizers, ten Salads and 16 Sandwiches. Their Black Bean Hummus, Blue Corn Chips and Spinach roll are excellent. The Cheddar Head Sandwich (spinach, roast beef, roast onion, smoked cheddar, mustard and tomato) and Vegetarian Sandwich (monterey jack cheese, spinach, mushrooms, pesto, mustard, tomatoes and sprouts) are good, especially if you just want a glass of wine and a sandwich out on the patio. We really like their Calzones (basil, ricotta, cheese and sauce), their Cheese and Veggie Quesadillas, and Portobello (black beans, brown rice, roast onion, walnuts, portabello, cheese), Jose (spinach, brown rice, hummus, green olives, banana, red and green peppers and cheese) and Chicken Burritos. They have Green, Black and Herbal Infusion Teas and a fine Golden Roast Coffee. You can get Orange, Apple, Cranberry and Lemon Juice, Virgil's Root Beer, Reed's Ginger Ale, Wine and Beer . Of course, Pizza is still their featured item. They offer all the usual types, but some toppings not usually seen : Roast Red Peppers, Smoked Turkey, Smoked Cheddar, Pickled Jalapeno, Homemade Lamb Sausage, Smoked Salmon and Spinach. |  |
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Steamboat Sandwiches is a locally owned version of Subway's. It's worth a stop just to see the inside of the building. The walls are an impressive collection of photos documenting Knoxville's history. You could spend half an hour exploring these pictures. The Sandwiches, meanwhile, are excellent. There are 20, and you can order a half or whole of each. Their Signature is their Steamboat Sandwich, so you may as well try one. it contains smoked ham, genoa salami, swiss cheese, sauce, mayonaisse, mustard, lettuce and pickles. If this doesn't appeal to you, they offer everything from Reuben to Chipotle Beef to Roast Beef & Turkey. On each you can pick your toppings from a list including Horseradish, Black Olives, Sprouts, Pickle Spears, Pepperoncini, etc. Available cheeses include Swiss, American, Cheddar, Pepper, Provolone and Muenster. Their famous drink is their Old Fashioned Hand Shaken Lemonade, but they make a fine pot of freshly brewed Iced Tea, and there are Root Beer and Cream Soda. |
| Calhoun's is the only restaurant we review that is not either on Market Square or somewhere downtown very close. Calhoun's is on the river and it's been a Knoxville icon for decades. You can walk there from downtown or it's a very short drive. It's the most scenic of Knoxville's restaurants, and is especially festive on game days. They advertise themselves as primarily a BBQ place, and their BBQ is certainly the best in town. But their Steaks, Chops and Prime Rib are also excellent. They do a good job with Catfish, too, although you have to talk the waiter into grilling rather than frying it. Appetizers include Fried Green Tomatoes, Freshly Baked Soft Pretzels and White Chili. They toss a nice Turkey Creek Salad (romaine, spinach, smoked turkey, cranberries, pecans, feta cheese and strawberries). For Sides you can order Smoky Mountain Baked Beans, Tennessee Corn Pudding, Baked Cinammon Apples and a very Creamy Cole Slaw. Desserts include Key Lime Pie, Cheesecake and Banana Pudding. Try some of their Strawberry Lemonade. |  |
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