TENNESSEE RESTAURANTS - Where you at?

[gingerwild]

Does anybody know any good restaurants around Tennessee? Especially Asian food, I haven't had any really good Fusion food (Japanese, Chinese, Korean) since I've been here. Don't recommend P.F. Chang's because that place is horrible.

[eimac]

What do you mean by "Around Tennessee"? Memphis is 400 miles from Knoxville - where are you looking?

[Potomac Bob]

Here's the legend: A long, long time ago in China, a family's home caught on fire and the family pig was caught inside. The family was distraught, until they dined on the pig, feasting on what was the first barbecue known to mankind. You'll find a lot of barbecue - the original Fusion food - all across Tennessee from the Ridgewood Restaurant in Bluff City (East Tennessee) to Interstate, Rendezvous, Cozy Corner, Payne's, Leonard's, Gridley's and hundreds of other shrines to swine in Memphis.

[jcr05]

In case you didn't see the food review in the Scene today, Carrington Fox gave Wild Ginger in Cool Springs (near the new Nissan offices, I think) rave reviews. I spoke to someone else who tried their food at a "Taste of Franklin" event in the Spring and they had the same to say. Worth a try if you're up for a field trip from Nashville.

[fluffernutter]

Though of another good place in Nashville: the weekend buffet at Golden Coast on West End Avenue. Look around the boards for details, but it's authentic and really good and mostly Chinese folks there, which I always think is a good sign. But don't go during the week: different chef and worse than mediocre. Extra bonus points because it's easy to find, just a couple of blocks off the interstate exit

[johnb]

Here is a verbatim quote from something I posted on another thread several hours ago.

In Knoxville is found perhaps the best Chinese chef in America, Peter Chang, at a place called Hong Kong House on the west side. If you like Chinese this is worth a journey. Knoxville has no idea how lucky they are to have this guy. I am not kidding. Check the threads below about some of his previous places:

http://www.chowhound.com/topics/334616

http://www.donrockwell.com/index.php?showtopic=466

The second thread has a lot of stuff about a series of lunches I hosted at one of the places he worked at in the DC area. Understand, PC once was the personal chef of the President of China. He started out in the US as the chef at the Chinese embassy in Washington.

Here is a recent blog link from someone in Atlanta, with some pics:

http://rowdyfood.typepad.com/rowdyblo...

There are dozens like this around on the net.

[gan911]

look i don't support the idea he's the best in america...but i'd stick him for him to close to SGV (san gab valley) levels. If you look on LA's board, the best sichuan restaurant is chung king....and well ever since i've had tasty china in the ATL, i don't hanker for the dishes in LA anymore. He's that good...
i've had dishes at tasty china that i haven't found anywhere but his place and SGV, so considering knoxvillians (sp?) to have a hell of a foodie find there

if you're passing around knoxville or anything like that, please do yourself favor and try his place...if you're not afraid of spicy foods.

[CookieEater]

Really??? I ate there last time in town and just thought everything was overly salted and owed much of its flavor to dried red pepper flakes from a bottle. I know it could be worse in TN, and granted, I do live in the above-mentioned SGV, but am I missing something? Is there a dish that's particularly good there?

[johnb]

When were you there? It may have been before he showed up, or it may have been on his night off (Tuesday I think)???

There are many good dishes there. You can't go wrong with the items pictured on the wall as you walk in, nor with the sections of the menu that are grouped under "chef's specials" and wording like that. His food certainly doesn't taste like your description. Did you notice a lot of cumin, and Sichuan peppercorns?

[CookieEater]

April, on a weekend. I couldn't be more specific about the spices, it was a while ago.
There will probably only be 2 of us, and we can only order so much. So if you could recommend the 2 or 3 best things, that would be helpful.

[north2south]

I recently visited Hong Kong House and posted descriptions of what I ate just a few days ago: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/546672 .

[CookieEater]

Okay, I'm back and I gave it a try. I still think it's a little crazy to say Hong Kong House is near SGV levels, but it wasn't bad. And for Knoxville, that's great.
The dried fried eggplant was definitely salty. But not just salt, that tasted a lot like garlic salt-msg stuff.
Again, for knoxville, it's great. But obviously for me, living where I live, not necessary to go back.

[TNBear]

In Chattanooga there is Seoul, they do Korean and Vietnamese food, the Korean is the thing to go with. For sushi I can recommend Hiroshi's on Main Street, very good. The Vietnamese cusine at Old Saigon in the Hixson area is quite good. Rain on Lee Highway has the best Thai in town, their sushi is also very good-the sushi chef used to be at Hiroshi's and is now part of the management at Rain.

[Cameraman]

Siam Cafe on White Bridge and Lemon Grass on 70S in Bellevue are both very good.

[fluffernutter]

Kien Giang on Charlotte Avenue has Vietnamese food. It's really good, but then I always get the same two things: pho and banh xeo. There are weaker dishes on the menu -- my kid got a chicken rice stir-fry once that was pretty average, and II once got seafood noodles that were a disappointment. Stick to the banh xeo and pho.

Sonobana in Lion's Head on White Bridge Road is very good Japanese. My best friend eats there every single week. I've only been a couple of times, but it was really good.

[bubblet4me]

In Nashville try PM on Belmont. They have a mixed menu of sushi, thai and other asian influenced foods. The odd thing is they have one of the best burgers in town, fusion at it's quirkiest. And yes PF Changs is sub par.

[jcr05]

I second PM whole heartedly. A comment made by friends who travel and eat Thai everywhere they go claimed PM to be the best. Love the sushi too.