Moving back to Knoxville after 30+ years - What to expect? (food, dining)

[hiknapster]

It's Knoxville. I've been to fabulous restaurants, too. I am an only child of a fairly well-off family and I'm a self-professed foodie. But this is Knoxville with a lovely, quaint downtown and some of the nicest people in the world. One of the reasons that I love it here is the people don't put on airs but the city has a lot to offer. There are wonderful restaurants like The Orangery and Echo and some amazing places for foodies like Shuck and Harry's. But it is not Atlanta and quite frankly, thank goodness for that. Have you been to any of the above restaurants, Sandy?

[hiknapster]

Now that I have the actual time to respond I want to say that I've experienced wonderful restaurants, too, and all of my life. But if you can find a chef that takes fresh and often local ingredients and prepares it well then you have reached the foodie holy grail. Knoxville has plenty of places that do just that. Small, unassuming Knoxville!

[airen123]

I was thinking about this the other day. Bearden Hill is definitely unrecognizable now. There used to be a cool BBQ/steak restaurant called Darryl's there, full of winding stairs and booths that seemed to hang suspended. The whole area has been razed and rebuilt...think it's where Bonefish is now.

[creeksitter]

If you liked Darryl's decor - check out Sassy Ann's on N Fourth Ave.

[tvfinak]

I remember eating at the Orangery in the early 70s when it was down on Kingston Pike. If I recall correctly, the place burned down and then moved to the old Hamilton Bank commercial building on Gay St. - that may have been in the late 70s when I last lived in Knoxville. I have no idea where they are now but guess I'll find out when we get back.

We still use the dressing / sauce they used to use on their snow crab - mayonese, brandy, and dill weed. Word great on salmon and brings back memories everytime we eat it.

We have lived overseas and traveled all over the world also. We'll not moving back for exotic food but some fresh okra, peaches, tomatoes, and sweet cron will taste good - we just don't get those in AK.

Originally Posted by hiknapster

It's Knoxville. I've been to fabulous restaurants, too. I am an only child of a fairly well-off family and I'm a self-professed foodie. But this is Knoxville with a lovely, quaint downtown and some of the nicest people in the world. One of the reasons that I love it here is the people don't put on airs but the city has a lot to offer. There are wonderful restaurants like The Orangery and Echo and some amazing places for foodies like Shuck and Harry's. But it is not Atlanta and quite frankly, thank goodness for that. Have you been to any of the above restaurants, Sandy?

[hiknapster]

Originally Posted by tvfinak

I remember eating at the Orangery in the early 70s when it was down on Kingston Pike. If I recall correctly, the place burned down and then moved to the old Hamilton Bank commercial building on Gay St. - that may have been in the late 70s when I last lived in Knoxville. I have no idea where they are now but guess I'll find out when we get back.

We still use the dressing / sauce they used to use on their snow crab - mayonese, brandy, and dill weed. Word great on salmon and brings back memories everytime we eat it.

We have lived overseas and traveled all over the world also. We'll not moving back for exotic food but some fresh okra, peaches, tomatoes, and sweet cron will taste good - we just don't get those in AK.

I know. I've eaten at the very best restaurants over the years, from NYC to Bermuda. My dad is a NYC native and we travelled frequently into the city to do our shopping. My parents always ate at the very best places and stayed in the very best hotels. So what? A great chef that uses fresh, local ingredients is really what it is all about and we really seem to be getting an uptick in restaurants like that, from the pretentious to the more casual places.

The Orangery is back on Kingston Pike, in Bearden. Here is their website.

By the way, that sauce sounds heavenly!

The Orangery | Knoxville Restaurant | Fine Dining Knoxville | Knoxville French Cuisine | Wedding Receptions Knoxville | Knoxville Holiday Parties | Knoxville Fine Dining | Restaurants Knoxville

[tvfinak]

I'll have to pay the Orangery a visit next time I'm in town.

The great restaurants are great, but some of the local street food in various places I've been has been great also and equally memoriable. I ate a lot of swamas in Saudi Arabia; they are similar to the gyros sold here but much better. Then in Alaska there is wild food like whale, musk ox, caribou, seal, and moose you can't get in restaurants at all. And really fresh salmon is a world of difference from anything you find in the lower 48.

I spent a week on a Mexican oil tanker one time; that was also a memoriable dining experience and nothing like the food you get in Tex -Mex restaurants. When I lived in Texas I always looked for the eateries that were frequented by the Mexicans. Some were pretty seedy, but the food was usually excellent and cheap to boot. Specialites like goat and cactus you just don't find on many menus.

When I first came to Alaska in '81 the camp food was excellent, but with budget cutting the quality has gone way down over the past 30 years. Nothing good lasts forever.

Originally Posted by hiknapster

I know. I've eaten at the very best restaurants over the years, from NYC to Bermuda. My dad is a NYC native and we travelled frequently into the city to do our shopping. My parents always ate at the very best places and stayed in the very best hotels. So what? A great chef that uses fresh, local ingredients is really what it is all about and we really seem to be getting an uptick in restaurants like that, from the pretentious to the more casual places.

The Orangery is back on Kingston Pike, in Bearden. Here is their website.

By the way, that sauce sounds heavenly!

The Orangery | Knoxville Restaurant | Fine Dining Knoxville | Knoxville French Cuisine | Wedding Receptions Knoxville | Knoxville Holiday Parties | Knoxville Fine Dining | Restaurants Knoxville

[hiknapster]

Originally Posted by tvfinak

I'll have to pay the Orangery a visit next time I'm in town.

The great restaurants are great, but some of the local street food in various places I've been has been great also and equally memoriable. I ate a lot of swamas in Saudi Arabia; they are similar to the gyros sold here but much better. Then in Alaska there is wild food like whale, musk ox, caribou, seal, and moose you can't get in restaurants at all. And really fresh salmon is a world of difference from anything you find in the lower 48.

I spent a week on a Mexican oil tanker one time; that was also a memoriable dining experience and nothing like the food you get in Tex -Mex restaurants. When I lived in Texas I always looked for the eateries that were frequented by the Mexicans. Some were pretty seedy, but the food was usually excellent and cheap to boot. Specialites like goat and cactus you just don't find on many menus.

When I first came to Alaska in '81 the camp food was excellent, but with budget cutting the quality has gone way down over the past 30 years. Nothing good lasts forever.

Thank you so much for sharing your adventures! What kind of salmon should we look for down here? I know to always look for wild Alaskan but I know you folks up there say certain kinds are better than others and I always forget then names.

When I lived in Florida I would always look for the restaurants frequented by the Mexicans. Asian restaurants where other Asians eat is the same thing as well. Anyway, there is a Mexican family that drives a food truck around town and I hear it is good. Here is an EXCELLENT article that will point you in the right direction for authentic Mexican. A Knoxville Taqueria Tour » Metro Pulse

We are also starting to food trucks make an appearance in town. I find that to be very exciting!

[tvfinak]

Thanks for the link to the Knoxville Mexican food scene. We'll check it out when we get down next time. The food trucks are also an adventure in their own right.

The best salmon for most up here is the sockeye or red salmon, with silvers and reds a tie for second. A few up here eat the pinks - they are the salmon most commonly canned. The other salmon is the chum or dog salmon - some are being sold under the species name of Keta in some of the big box stores. I've always thown them back but a few people eat them. They are generally dried and fed to the sled dogs.

Of the red salmon the Copper River reds are the best you can buy in the lower 48. Only issue is that most are already filleted and then the meat dries out. If you can buy a whole salmon and fillet it immediatley before you grill it the difference is quite noticeable. Costco carries the Copper River Reds - hopefully they will sell them in Knoxville.

An interesting twist to slamon marketing is the wild salmon vs. wild caught salmon. In certain fisheries the runs are enchanced by hatchery fry or small fish that go out to ocean for 2 or 3 years and then return. A lot of pinks are hatchery fish. The salmon farmers complained that the hatchery fish weren't really wild so the marketers used "wild caught" instead. Wild is usually the better choice.

Another interesting fact is that you will never see a picture of the Copper River. The reality is that the Copper River is full of gray glacier silt and you only see an inch or two below the surface. I scooped a bucket of water out of the river one night and in the morning it had a inch or two of silt on the bottom. It is amazing that the fish can even survive in the Copper River.

Originally Posted by hiknapster

Thank you so much for sharing your adventures! What kind of salmon should we look for down here? I know to always look for wild Alaskan but I know you folks up there say certain kinds are better than others and I always forget then names.

When I lived in Florida I would always look for the restaurants frequented by the Mexicans. Asian restaurants where other Asians eat is the same thing as well. Anyway, there is a Mexican family that drives a food truck around town and I hear it is good. Here is an EXCELLENT article that will point you in the right direction for authentic Mexican. A Knoxville Taqueria Tour » Metro Pulse

We are also starting to food trucks make an appearance in town. I find that to be very exciting!

[hiknapster]

Originally Posted by tvfinak

Thanks for the link to the Knoxville Mexican food scene. We'll check it out when we get down next time. The food trucks are also an adventure in their own right.

The best salmon for most up here is the sockeye or red salmon, with silvers and reds a tie for second...

Whoa. Great info!

There is a link in that article to the list of authentic Mexican places. There are a LOT.

Cari also wrote that the Mexican food truck was the only food truck in Knoxville. At the time that was true. Since then we have a LOT more. It's interesting - and lately, maybe a little scary - how rapidly this city is changing.

Here's a website with some of them but not all. Food Trucks | Roaming Hunger This list only has some. The Mexican truck (there might be more than one), Chef Deuce, Cruze Farm Girl, Lulu's Team Room and The Soup Kitchen are other one's that I see or frequent. I love Chef Deuce! Chef Deuce's Island Grill- Private Chef Justin Deuso, Catering Services, Seymour, TN 37865 - index