Sky Bar

It's not in the sky... it does have blue lights and laser beams right out of a 90's movie. We've went to Sky a couple times and I held off on my opinion. Maybe they were just getting their legs under them... We stopped in again on First Friday for a couple drinks and to sample their menu. The space is really cool. It has nice architectural bones...but the vibe is too 90s. Now, the owner also owns Hannah's, Mirage, and a few other places so that kinda explains some of the review I suppose.

I think Sky is having an identity crisis. Do they want to be a bar? If so, I think they should just serve bar food. If they want to compete with Sapphire, they definitely are going to have to up their game. Our sever, who took good care of us and asked for and listened to our thoughts on the place, said they were after the college latenight crowd. Well, that'll be a sure way to keep me from going there. In addition, they will need to invest more heavily in social media to get that crowd interested.

We first ordered the hummus. It was a mess of terribly under-seasoned limp goo. The pita bread was great. So we mentioned it and were offered 3 options for basically 'dressings' that they had. We opted for a mild blue cheese dressing to go with the pita. It was OK, but would have been better if served over some delicious home-fried chips.

The menu is a mix of middle-eastern 'inspired' apps and steaks and salads. It's a little schizophrenic in the choices. We didn't try any other food at that point.

Our server was gracious and offered to show us the Jack Cellar in the basement. It's a saloon inspired space complete with whiskey barrel high-top tables. Again, no consistency.

Sky could do themselves a favor by hiring a chef and an interior designer...along with a graphic designer to work on their marketing pieces. It's a fine place to stop in for a drink (which were stout by the way and came in at $5.50 during happy hour). But from out experience with the hummus and 'dips', I wouldn't plan a night of fine dining around Sky Bar. We'll go back probably, but unless we see some dramatic improvements, it will just be for drinks on our way to another venue.

The new Baker Peters Brunch

The wife-elect and i go to Baker Peters on a fairly regular basis as it is one of the best spots to enjoy a cigar, a beverage, and good mellow tunes. Last evening thats just what we were doing. Groove Therapy was providing our entertainment (along with some ladies wearing so much flourescent fabric we are certain the hunting industry will be adversely affected). Anyway our great server, Sarah, was kind enough to give us a coupon for a free brunch this morning. Oddly enough Sarah was our server again for brunch. And she makes a mean bloody Mary. BP has completely redone their patio (after a fight with some people trying to maintain historical accuracy as i understand it...meddling hippies). It is great. Climate controlled. Clean and like you are sitting in NOLA. The menus, while a bit on the expensive side, was outstanding. I chose the steak omlette that had mushrooms and a wonderful smoked cheddar. The omlette was cooked perfectly and very light. The steak was tender, juicy, and well-done (just as I like it). The wife-elect had Sausage and Spaetzle. Which was "like the best mac and cheese I've ever had." as i mentioned, Sarah prepared our Bloody Marys but if you choose, you can build you own at the Bloody Mary/Mimosa Bar. No need when they are as good as this one. Oh and i almost forgot, a sax and keyboard duo entertained us the whole time very cool It is a little on the pricy side as i said, the above totaled out to $60 without our coupon. But for a special occasion or if you have guests in town, I highly recommend it. ~Eric

The New Ruby's

We were invited to attend the opening night of a 'test' restaurant for Ruby Tuesday. It's the Ruby Tuesday at Northshore/Pellissippi. I'd been told that it was a bold departure from the previous version. It certainly is... both visually and epicuriously (no, that's not a word). The chain underwent a rejuvenation a few years ago, and I think it still stands up well. The first thing you notice is the vibrant, hip colors. Primary colors, only slightly muted are throughout the new, open format dining area. The successful salad bar is still there (whew). The floors are large bold tiles. And most of the booths are gone in favor of individual tables and high-top friendship tables. Curtains and dangling beads are hung from the ceiling along with colorful lighting.

To start off with, the menus are very well designed... however it is a little hard to tell that the entrees come with either a side and salad bar or two sides. My fiance had delicious fish tacos and I had blackened talapia with mango chutney. My sides of choice were mashed potatoes and grilled green beans (perhaps they should be haricots verts since the menu has become much more upscale). My talapia was perfectly cooked and everything else on the plate was delish. The pricing seems about the same as it previously was. But what was really a treat (other than great friends to share the evening with), was a steak that one of our dining companions had. WOW!! One of the best steaks I've ever had. This was all the more impressive because last year at some point I ordered a sirloin at that very Ruby Tuesday, and it was possibly the worst steak I'd ever had. This great cut was heavily coated in peppercorn and cooked perfectly. No steakknife was needed for this. Well-done!


Not that Ruby Tuesday is the kind of place that I like to dine at on a regular basis; preferring to stick with local fare rather than chain food; but they have done an excellent job with this concept and I, for one hope that it's successful and is rolled out for the whole chain.

Well Oh Well

There's a new place in town... well, sorta. The Well is at a well-known address; 4620 Kingston Pike. The site of the original swanky martini bar, 4620. One of my all-time favorite places in Knoxville. After a tragedy, it went thru several iterations: hip-hop, poorly-done reincarnation of the martini bar, and alternative bar, etc. It has reopened as The Well. While I was hoping to be greeted by some of the original vibe that made 4620 so special. Unfortunately, it was a bit more like Texas Roadhouse. As should have been evidenced by the name, it is more of a saloon than anything else. It bills itself as primarily a music venue. Whisky barrels and flat gray walls frame the high-top tables. The only hint of the original vibe is the glowing blue bar top. We didn't sample any of the menu items, typical bar fare, and the drinks were fairly priced.

The Well, has a pretty packed music schedule and hopefully will keep that up. We had went specifically to see Hudson K – one of my favorite local groups. The opener was the whining and droning of Joey English and we were glad to see him exit the stage. He was tolerable after a couple antidepressants. But Hudson K changed the mood completely. I've not been to a HK show in a year or so and was delighted with the more upbeat tunes they have crafted since I last saw them. Although I never complained about their ethereal tunes before, this is a whole new spin for them. Poppy, but not top 40 tunes that would embarrass an independent band such as Hudson K. Well-done!!

Venue: B-
Menu: N/A
Bar: Slow...very slow
Clientelle: Mostly grubby hippies and rednecks.
Cover: $5