Knoxville Tourist Info
March 6, 2009
Knoxville, Tennessee is a medium size city located at the foothills of the Smoky Mountains. The city is home to The University of Tennessee, so the Volunteer spirit runs deep with locals. Even those who did not attend UT tend to be huge Vol fans, regardless of whether they reside in Knoxville or other parts of the state. Orange and white are the school’s colors which are proudly displayed on game days. From late August through early May, the city is bustling with college students. During the summer, most students leave the area and return home.
In addition to being surrounded by the Great Smoky Mountain National Park, the Tennessee River runs along the edge of the city. Visitors can take advantage of this by taking a riverboat cruise or sightseeing tour, or just renting a boat. As for the Smoky Mountains, there are numerous opportunities for hiking, mountain biking, fishing, and other outdoor activities. There are also bike trails that run parallel to some of the major roads in town. However, in general Knoxville is not a bike friendly city.
Don’t be fooled by Knoxville’s proximity to the mountains and other outdoor activities. The city offers a bustling array of restaurants, shopping, clubs and the like for the more distinguished traveler. These opportunities are more disguised than they are in larger cities, so it is advised that you do some research before traveling to Knoxville. Otherwise, you may arrive and find yourself wondering where to go. Basically, this is a nicer town to live in than visit.
In general, there are four main areas to take note of in Knoxville. The first area is downtown. Gay Street is the main road through downtown Knoxville. Market Square, which is also located downtown, is within walking distance of Gay Street. Both Gay Street and Market Square are full of restaurants, bars and shopping. The Old City is also located downtown. It too has restaurants, bars, shopping and coffee shops. There are more bars in the Old City than other parts of town. Although it’s close to Gay Street, it’s in a seedy part of town.
The second area to take note of is West Knoxville. To get to this part of town, take I-40 West from downtown. The main road through west Knoxville is called Kingston Pike. Everything is located off Kingston Pike. If you stay anywhere near this road, you should be able to find plenty to do. West Knoxville is the nicest part of Knoxville. The third area of Knoxville to pay attention to is far west Knoxville, which is also called Farragut. This area is also a more wealthy area of town, like west Knoxville. The main attraction in far west Knoxville is Turkey Creek shopping center.
The final area of town you need to know is The University of Tennessee. Cumberland Avenue is “the strip” at UT. Although there are bars, restaurants and a few shops on the strip, it’s not that great of a place to go at night if you are over the age of 21 or 22. Most of the bars are icky, run down college bars. As I said before, if you’re older than college age, it’s probably not what you’re looking for. However, there are some good places on the strip to eat lunch during the day. It’s also packed on days when the UT football team plays.
I am working on reviewing various restaurants, clubs and attractions around Knoxville. I hope that visitors to this area will find them useful. If you need more specific information, I am happy to help. Just send me a message.
Pricey Steakhouse
Fleming’s is an upscale steakhouse that I like to refer to as one step down from Ruth’s Chris. They strive in the same direction, with the fancy food and romantic ambiance. However, food prices are lower, although still very overpriced. Everything is a la carte. This isn’t the place you visit on any old Friday night. Save this for a romantic date or special event.
Lunch Spot
This chain restaurant is a local favorite. The one located on The University of Tennessee strip is the best. They serve hot and cold sandwiches, soups, loaded baked potatoes and have now included some more traditional entrees. The cheese dip and tortilla chips (with jalapenos on the side) and baked potatoes are a couple things that everyone seems to order. Oh yeah, don't forget to order the biggest glass of sweet tea you've ever seen. This is a great place to grab lunch, especially if you are visit the UT campus.
Quick Lunch Spot
The Market Square Kitchen is a quick lunch spot for people who work around Market Square. They mainly serve sandwiches and soup and breakfast in the mornings. It’s nothing worth visiting as a tourist.
Tennessee Student Run
The Ready for the World Café is part of The University of Tennessee. Students run the restaurant that’s overseen by UT’s dining company. Quality varies largely by day. It’s either hit or miss. The best thing about Ready for the World is the passion of the students.
Irish Food and Music
The Irish Times is a restaurant/pub located in the Turkey Creek shopping center. During the day, it’s a family friendly restaurant. At night, the live music starts and the drinking crowd comes out. The pub is still clean and nicer than most bars since it’s fairly new. The food is average at best. I tried the Shepards Pie, which is an Irish favorite consisting of ground beef, mixed vegetables, and herbs topped with mashed potatoes and cheese. It was nothing that I would go back for.
Best Asian Food in Town
PF Chang’s is the best Asian restaurant in Knoxville. It’s an upscale chain that can be found in other cities. If you haven’t been, I strongly recommend it. The Kung Pao chicken is one of my favorites, but anything is good. Don’t forget to order the banana spring rolls for dessert. They are out of this world. The atmosphere is trendy, but you don’t have to dress up.
Low Calorie Sweet Treats
Rita’s always serves high quality, low calorie shaved ice. Flavors vary by the day. They also serve custard and shakes. It has appeared very clean each time I visited. They’re new to Market Square and have given away free Italian ice on numerous occasions to promote themselves. Free is always good.
Bland Asian
The Stir Fry Café serves well portioned Asian food. You don’t get any extra bang for your buck. Local art adorns the wall, adds to a cozy atmosphere. Everything my group had tasted fine, but none of us have wanted to go back. Once was enough. If you like very simple flavors, I guess this would be a good choice.
Homemade Beer and Average Food
The Smoky Mountain Brewery is located in the Turkey Creek shpping center. They serve typical bar food like burgers and nachos. I’ve heard they brew their own beer, although some people say it’s actually made at a sister restaurant. It’s cleaner and larger than most bars, but nothing too special in my opinion.
Average Asian
Soho is a small Asian bistro that serves average food. They have the same dishes you find at any old Asian place. Everything tastes fine, but there’s nothing to keep you coming back. If you end up there, you’ll have a good lunch, but I wouldn’t seek it out as a tourist. I went once and that was enough for me.
Modern Bar
They just got a really low health score rating. I'd stay away. Eww.
Sapphire is located downtown on Gay Street right next to The Downtown Grill and Brewery. It’s no wonder the Brewery always has a crowd and this place sits half empty. To be honest, I really wanted to like this place. I went back several times to give them numerous chances to impress me. I went in large groups and as a date, and it didn’t seem to matter. Each time, I was met with horrible service. It’s a good thing I wasn’t in the desert, because I would have died trying to get a glass of water.
The Kettle Chips with parmesan are the saving grace on the menu. Each time, they were good. However, once topped with blue cheese instead, the portion size was drastically smaller and far less tasty. The Chicken Wellington was pretty good, but nothing I ordered twice. The sushi menu includes “The Duke” which is filet mignon with blue cheese, caramelized onions and horseradish. It would be good if they reduced the amount of blue cheese by half. The Cali rolls, which are usually a safe bet, weren’t up to my standards either.
On the plus side, Sapphire has a more urban vibe than most restaurants in Knoxville. It’s one open room with a large painting on the back wall. There are also mannequin torsos decorated with various objects as an art collection. The clientele really varies in age. You can see college kids and grandma all having a good time under one roof, which is pretty rare.
