MetroPulse Stories: The Gourmet Nose

UT Cafe a Learning Experience

Wed, 25 Mar 2009 20:03:00 -0000

Standard journalism practice is to build up the underdog and take the leader down a peg or two. A visit to the Ready for the World Café (University Center, 1502 W. Cumberland Ave) might brace us for a dose of the former, since the venue is run entirely by students. On the other hand the café’s buffet lunch (the only meal it serves) costs $11, placing it in one of the higher echelons of the Knoxville buffet spread. Even given the absence of tax and service charge it’s something of a challenge to view this as value for money.

Coffee Coalition

Wed, 18 Feb 2009 19:23:00 -0000

Our still-shiny president confessed last week to experiencing sleepless nights over the economy. But there’s more insomnia at the bottom than the top, surely. Even Nixon died comfortably enough, after all. It’s the small business owners who could teach a head of state a few things about long dark nights of the soul.

Viva Le Parigo

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 22:00:00 -0000

When Cedric Coant shut down his Bearden restaurant earlier this year, one of the leading lights of West Knoxville’s gastronomic scene was snuffed out in its prime. Yet a couple of weeks ago this much-mourned doyenne of Knoxvillian Francophiles rose again like a pan-seared Lazarus. Now this resurrected treasure, this happy truffle, can once more delight and inspire in its new upscale, downtown residence (416 W. Clinch Avenue).

A Plate Too Far?

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 21:00:00 -0000

Back at military school there was a guy who would perpetually challenge us to chess games. So confident was he in his abilities he would insist on wearing a blindfold, while allowing us to play without impediment. He was an exceptionally strong player, but certainly wasn’t good enough to beat anyone in his chosen style. A dozen or so moves in, the game would begin to be peppered with “Sorry, where’s my bishop again?” and similar queries. Had he but removed the cloth, he could have wiped the floor with all of us, but he was a man who preferred to fail as a genius rather than succeed as a primus inter pares.

Curb Service

Wed, 15 Oct 2008 22:00:00 -0000

Pup’s Pit BBQ (112 Walker Springs Road) is a cultural barometer, social weather vane, and microcosmic bellwether for the soul of our nation. It also manages to be one of the best sources of barbecue in Knoxville.

Grand Company

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 22:00:00 -0000

I generally give myself six out of 10 for looks and a seven for personality. Society at large, however, seems to have awarded me a four average. The latest thrill is, just as I reach an age mature enough to accept the popular vote, my small handful of good features—both physical and mental—begin their decline.

The Joy of Vindaloo

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 22:00:00 -0000

In my hometown, a curry on a Saturday night was pretty much obligatory. So, too, I blush to tell, was boorish behavior in the curry house. If the restaurant’s flocked fleur-de-lis wallpaper could only talk it would bear witness to some shocking scenes of vandalism, mob rule, and prandial disrespect, including a deeply regrettable incident involving Eric Clapton.

Original Louis' Drive-In: Shaky Reputation

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 22:00:00 -0000

The Gourmet Nose: Funny things, reputations. Easy to acquire, but the devil’s work to shift. Look at George W. Bush. He’s adopted a pretty admirable moral stance in Beijing this week, but it’s just no good; even he must have realized by now that his name will forever stand as a hideous stain on the fabric of democracy.

Ye Olde Steakhouse: Beefy Brilliance

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 22:00:00 -0000

The Gourmet Nose: Ye Olde Steakhouse (6838 Chapman Highway) is unrefined enough to have plastic-wrapped crackers on its tables. But don’t confuse lowbrow with low quality; the restaurant’s straightforward but perfectly prepared food reaches heights of excellence Knoxville’s more urbane destinations can only dream of. This exceptionally—perhaps uniquely—good steak house doesn’t just have patrons. It has fans, and remaining non-partisan is a challenge in the face of such sumptuous, beautiful cooking

Demi’s Deli: Sandwich Safari

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 22:00:00 -0000

The Gourmet Nose: One of the more unpleasant ways to die in Australia is to hit a kangaroo while driving through the outback. The split second before collision will often be enough for the beast to jump, clearing the hood but smashing through the windshield. Should the driver survive the initial impact, his last earthly sensation is likely to be that of being kicked repeatedly in the face by the muscle-bound hind legs of the panicked marsupial

Falafel Hut: Mediterranean Makeover

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 22:00:00 -0000

The Gourmet Nose: With the sun firmly past its solstice, the Tennessee summer now awakens from his fitful sleep. Rolling up his sleeves, cracking his knuckles, and lifting his trusty cudgel Fahrenheit, he is ready for another season of violent repression. For the next 12 weeks he owns the very air and all who live in it. Roaming his dominion, he will crush without mercy any mortal foolish enough to break his daylight curfew

Soccer Taco: Tongue and Cheek

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 22:00:00 -0000

The Gourmet Nose: With the biggest sporting tournament of the year—UEFA’s Euro 2008—currently in full swing, there’s rarely been a better time to spend an evening surrounded by 11 TVs all tuned to the sport that the rest of the world knows as football. There aren’t many locations in Knoxville that can boast such slavish devotion to the beautiful game, but even diners with no keen financial interest in the competition will find plenty to get excited about at Soccer Taco (6701 Kingston Pike, at Bearden Hill). Here, thanks to a successful balancing act that most sports bars could learn from, the matches and their attendant hubbub—despite the sheer number of screens—are as easy to ignore as to watch, and the food is FIFA quality at soccer-mom prices.

Hong Kong House: Intestinal Fortitude

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 22:00:00 -0000

The Gourmet Nose: I was once detained by airport officials for reasons never made entirely clear. A couple of humorless, gun-toting zealots took me to what they referred to as “the room” and left me there to wait, presumably in the hope that I would start to panic. This was a space wholly stripped of warmth or emotion; blank, dull walls, a bedraggled array of plastic chairs and harsh strip lighting in the low, prefab ceiling. The sole human touch came from that famous official photo of George W. Bush looking like a boy who’s just learned a new swear word.

RouXbarb: A Fresh Start

Wed, 21 May 2008 22:00:00 -0000

The Gourmet Nose: Bruce Bogartz—chef, entrepreneur, and force of nature—has returned to Knoxville in some style, transforming a low-slung, surly little building on Northshore Drive into a beautiful gem of a restaurant.