Elizabeth R. wrote: >A trip to Nashville and Knoxville is in the offing--could somebody >recommend some good BBQ and or local/regional-cuisine restaurants? >Is Calhoun's still good? I really liked their BBQ about ten years >ago... > I discovered Calhoun's about 5 years ago. I was on my way back from Florida and stopped over in Nashville on a wet, rainy, downright chilly spring night. Getting into this warm, noisy, welcoming restaurant was soothing enough, but the great food and superior bar really won me over. Now my wife and I make a point of hitting the place twice a year: once on our way to Florida, again on our way back. The BBQ is very nice indeed. Still is. Ribs are smokey pink inside, tender, and just crusty enough outside with a very agreeable sauce. Breads and salads are nicely done, too, but I find most of the side dishes rather pedestrian and even a bit stingy. Oh, well. Can't have everything. About the bar, now. That first night, I sat down and asked the bartender for my favorite, a Jack Daniels perfect Manhattan on the rocks with a twist. She shook up the booze, strained it into a small iced decanter and presented it alongside my glass. Wow! And a very nice drink it was, too. We discovered on subsequent trips that they squeeze their own juices; one of the bartenders used to add a shot of fresh OJ to margaritas and it made them taste absolutely amazing. Coke is served in old-fashioned glass bottles. Beer? You can get it in half-yard glasses. Weeknights the happy hour cuts prices on *all* drinks by about half, so you can drink very inexpensively. After all that raving, I do have to say that service has declined somewhat on our last couple of trips. I've had to ask bartenders to shake and decant my drinks, for instance, and table service can vary from rather rushed on busy nights to almost non-existent on slow ones. None of this will keep me away, though. In fact, we already have this year's visits planned!
Nashville, TN
nashville/knoxville
Elizabeth R. wrote: > > >A trip to Nashville and Knoxville is in the offing--could somebody > >recommend some good BBQ and or local/regional-cuisine restaurants? > >Is Calhoun's still good? I really liked their BBQ about ten years > >ago... > > > In Nashville, my favorite BBQ is Tex's. This is Texas style brisket, polish sausage, etc. Great sauce. Lunch only. For down home cooking, try the Loveless Cafe, Hap Towne's or Mac's Country Kitchen. Hap Towne's is also lunch only. Bud's Catfish is also good. Yes, Calhoun's on White Bridge Road still has good BBQ.
says... > > >Hello! > >A trip to Nashville and Knoxville is in the offing--could somebody >recommend some good BBQ and or local/regional-cuisine restaurants? >Is Calhoun's still good? I really liked their BBQ about ten years >ago... > >Thanks, > >elizabeth >Calhouns is still one of the best. I also like Tony Roma's on Elliston Place in Nashville for ribs. If you stop in Franklin, Herberts near I-65 on Hwy.96 is good; I like their BBQ Pork, Ribs, and Chicken . Their chess tarts are really the best recipe I have found...Dinah Shore picked it for one of her cookbooks. To tell you the honest truth, though, my favorite BBQ pork is what you can buy at the Kroger Supermarket Deli. Some of the stores have sitdown eating. You should go there if you prefer your BBQ already in sauce. To get BBQ without sauce go to a regular restaurant. There really are so very many in Nashville, that you could spend a week sampling them all.
Last month Calhoun's opened up a new restaurant on Kingston Pike in Knoxville. It is located on the big hill just west of the Northshore Drive and Kingston Pike intersection. It is also a micro-brewery. Yes, Calhoun's now has a micro-brewery. Yes, it does serve the ribs. The Calhoun's way out west on Kingston Pike still has all the ribs you can eat every Thursday night, get there early! Oh yeah, the bars will soon be improving the quality of their beer in the near future. The General Assembly just passed a law that will allow bars in the state of Tennessee to serve imported beer from a keg.
Yes, Calhoun's ribs are that good, still. Every Thursday
night at the Calhoun's way out west on Kingston Pike in Knoxville it is all the ribs you can eat. There is now a new Calhoun's in Knoxville which is their new micro-brewery. It is located about midway between the two other Calhoun's (one on the river, great seafood) and the other out by Farragut. The micro-brewery also sells the ribs. Furthermore, drinking will be made better thanks to a law just passed by the General Assembly. Soon all bars in the state of Tennessee will be able to serve imported beer directly from the keg.
You might also want to consider eating at The Copper Cellar
on campus (Cumberland Ave.). It is the restaurant that also runs Calhoun's. Its menu is more varied and the food is just as good.
Other good restaurants can be found in the Olde City, which is downtown off of Jackson Ave. You can eat at Lucille's and listen to a live jazz band, The Elephant Room for authentic Indian food (warning, the curry is hot, hot, hot), Amigos for Spanish food, and the Spaghetti Warehouse which is alright for the kids but, the food isn't all that great. Oh yeah, another good place is the Smokey Mountain Brewery located on Gay Street. It is a micro-brewery that also has some very, very, very good food. Any more ideas for restuarants in Knoxville just ask, I'll give some more suggestions.