Metro Pulse

Wireless Kitchen: Poised and articulate, with black curly hair, perfect white teeth, glowing skin, and lively dark eyes, 20-year-old Colleen Cruze exhibits a charming combination of sweet innocence along with a maturity beyond that of most of her peers. This agricultural science major at the University of Tennessee may be the best advertisement ever for growing up on a dairy farm—in this case, Cruze Dairy Farm in the French Broad Area. Full story »

Wireless Kitchen: I heard about someone who gave up Pelancho’s for Lent. Just before Easter, he wasn’t thinking about baked ham or even chocolate bunnies; he wanted Pelancho’s. Lots of people foreswear a food group or a pleasurable activity—but a restaurant? Was this a worthy sacrifice? Full story »

Wireless Kitchen Knoxville’s Hillside Bakery is literally a hillside bakery—nestled among trees in a garage converted into a commercial bakery with its own mill and wood-fired oven—where Patra Rule, owner and baker, produces nutritious, hand-crafted breads. Rule had always enjoyed baking bread, but after earning a Ph.D. in political science, teaching part-time, doing research, and even running for a seat on Knox County Commission, she got serious about bread and enrolled in a class at the San Francisco Baking Institute. There, she met a guest instructor from the Berkshire Mountain Bakery, which led to a 10-day apprenticeship at Berkshire in Housatonic, Mass. Hillside Bakery opened in July 2002, offering organic whole grain, naturally leavened breads and whole grain muffins and granola in area farmers’ markets. Full story »

If you’re a pub purist, this is not the kind of pub you may be used to. The new Crown and Goose in the Old City is actually a much more refined “gastropub,” with a menu that goes far beyond your usual pub grub. It’s fun, casual, and sophisticated. The custom-built bar, red-leather sofas, Tiffany-style fixtures, etched glassware, and brick walls announce you’ve entered an advanced form of pub—a swank one playing British Invasion music and offering its own beer garden. Full story »

My recent road trip to Union County with writer and organic farmer Jack Rentfro concluded with a visit to Double D Apiary, the beekeeping operation of Shirley DeBusk. Full story »

If you are concerned about the quality and safety of the meat you eat, try buying locally grown, all-natural, antibiotic- and hormone-free meat. When local writer and organic farmer Jack Rentfro told me about Crawford Farm Meats and proposed a road trip, I jumped on the opportunity to check it out and to ramble around Union County with Jack riding shotgun. Full story »

Locally-owned Gridiron Burgers has been open in two locations (Turkey Creek and Clinton Highway) for a while, but neither location is convenient for me—and I’m not a football fan, and I don’t eat burgers very often. What got my attention was the recent announcement that Gridiron will be opening next to the Regal Riviera Cinema on Gay Street. The buzz accompanying that news motivated me head to Turkey Creek to check it out. Full story »

Today’s consumers don’t usually see their food sources. At Sweetwater Valley Farm, producer of homestead cheddar cheeses in Philadelphia, Tenn., the retail store is next to pastures, barns, and silos. I heard the plaintive mooing of a calf. All else was quiet—evidence, perhaps, of the pampered state of the farm’s cows. Full story »

Knoxville needs more locally owned restaurants—especially ethnic restaurants—so I want to praise Ephesus for simply being here. But because I really like Mediterranean food, I’m not just giving them a pass. My expectations are high. I want big, bold, fresh flavors. I want to taste the herbs and spices. I want to feel transported to one of my favorite parts of the world. Full story »