Remember that little business trip to Tennessee I took back in February? When my business cards arrived yesterday, it occurred to me that I never wrote about the food I ate while down in Knoxville! So, here's a quick recap of two of the meals I had.
338 North Peters Road
Knoxville, TN 37922
My flight landed on time. My baggage didn't get lost. I secured my rental car without too much of a hassle. Even with all of that working for me, I got lost driving from the airport to my hotel. So, by the time I checked in and freshened up, I only had a little bit of time to eat lunch before heading over to the office.
I practically inhaled the bread and butter as I looked over the
menu since I hadn't eaten more than the scone I had while waiting to board at LaGuardia. After much deliberation (I've never been good at choosing what to eat when under pressure or under time constraints), I finally settled on a
Caesar Side Salad and a half-portion of the
Roasted Chicken Pasta.
Typically, I eat pretty healthily. I don't do Caesar Salad very often because I tend to find the dressing too rich. And pasta with cream sauce? A rarity in my life. But it was a special occasion -- my very first business trip ever - so I wanted to treat myself. Oh boy, was my stomach unprepared for that lunch!
The salad was way overdressed and piled with too much Parmesan cheese. I could only eat a few bites of it because it was overwhelmingly salty. Given the amount of cheese on top of my pasta, I feared I would be experiencing the same thing with the main part of my meal. I was right. I could only handle a few bites of the pasta, as well, and reluctantly asked the server to wrap it up so I could take it back to the hotel. I knew I wouldn't eat it, but I couldn't bear to have them see how much I didn't enjoy the food. If they had cut back on the dressing and the cream sauce on the pasta (which was described on the menu as "light"...), it might have been possible.
625 Turkey Cove Lane
Knoxville, TN 37922
On my last night in Knoxville, I was taken to Calhoun's because I still hadn't had any barbecue or a glass of sweet tea. Of course, the first thing I ordered as soon as Helen and I were seated was a tall glass of sweet tea. My old roommate from graduate school would be so proud of me!
Of course, we had bread and butter to start. Helen was generous and let me have the biscuit. So good! I'm glad there was only one in the basket because I would have filled up on biscuits slathered with sweet, sweet butter.
Inspired by my lunch choice earlier in the day, Helen ordered the Southern-Fried Catfish ($11.99) with Coleslaw and Broccoli. The broccoli was an attempt to make the rest of the meal look healthy! I have to admit, when Helen's food came out, I was almost sorry that I didn't get the same thing.
That is until my Beef Brisket Sandwich came out. The brisket was tender and smoky and the sauce, dutifully placed on the side, was this insanely good combination of spicy and sweet that I couldn't get enough of. Helen had to stop me from shooting the rest of the sauce straight from the cup.
I can't wait to get back to Knoxville to try out some more of their restaurants -- especially the ones downtown!
Knoxville readers, any recommendations?
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