A high-end southern prime steakhouse fills a niche on Northshore Drive.
Tucson, Arizona, native Mandy Glenn was new to Knoxville
when she tasted Fire + Smoke’s prime tenderloin tartare small plate, Japanese
kuroge wagyu New York strip, and hand cut beef tallow fries. “I was with an
Australian guy who hadn’t had tallow fries in forever,” she says. “I called the
next day and said, ‘I want to work here.’ Now an enthusiastic, knowledgeable
server, Glenn recently brought on her younger brother Micaiah as a host.
As she presents the 4 oz. A5 wagyu—six half-dollar-sized
medallions arrayed on a Himalayan salt block— Glenn explains, “It’s the highest
yield, highest grade,” showing the wagyu certificate verifying the farm and even
the animal it came from. At $90, this is not the priciest dish on the menu.
That distinction goes to the $100 dry-aged, bone-in 24 oz ribeye. But Fire +
Smoke patrons aren’t complaining; in fact, they are embracing the value of
Executive Chef Jared Martin’s mouth-watering specialty cuts. “After I left
Kefi,” he says, “I was looking for the next step, a chance to be creative. I
have that here, and I’m building my crew. I enjoy watching them progress.” As a
chef, Martin found some episode from the first season of The Bear “very
triggering,” but the second season resonated with his current mission: “It’s
about how you go about changing the idea of what your restaurant is.”
When owner Archer Bradley was looking to branch out from his
Archer’s BBQ empire, he cast his eye toward Northshore Drive near the
Pellissippi Parkway. “Looking at the demographics,” said Bradley in his calm,
understated manner, “37922 has the highest median family income in Knoxville,
but there was no high-end restaurant down here.”
The design, simple and sophisticated, in muted grays and
browns, came from Meghan Grohl of R2R Studios. Multi-surfaced sound panels keep
things quiet. Booths allow intimacy. A wall with a fireplace behind glass
separates a seven-seat bar from the main dining area.
The name? “We have a smoker in the wall,” says Bradley. “We
smoke our potatoes, pork chops, chicken, fish, everything. We have fire from
the grill, smoke from the smoker. Put them together and you’re set.”
Bar Chef Joe Trail has created a rich selection of specialty
cocktails using “fresh-squeezed everything and house-made simple syrups.” No
surprise, he uses smoked sugar cubes in his Old Fashioneds, his top seller.
Among the small plates, you can see why the Prime Tenderloin
Tartare with quail egg, fried capers, shallot, creole mustard, Georgia olive
oil, and cornbread crisps made Glenn want to join the staff. The
melt-in-your-mouth confit Pork Belly comes with pickled red onions, spiced
sorghum, and a creamy parsnip puree that makes you want to see it again.
The Smoked Broccoli Cheddar Soup is creamy and livened with
veggie elements. The Kilt Greens expertly combine baby greens, scallion, bacon
fat vinaigrette, lardon, and a poached egg.
The specialty cuts, as well as the 14 oz. Prime New York
Strip, 8 oz. Prime Filet, 16 oz. Prime Ribeye, and 8 oz. Baseball Sirloin come
from Châtel
Farms in Georgia. “It’s good lookin’,” says Archer. “The marbling is
exceptional.”
Martin sweet-tea-brines both his Springer Farms Half Chicken
and Duroc Pork Chop (both smoked, of course) to give them a surprising moist
and tasty quality.
Along with a Peach Blackberry Bourbon Cobbler, a Crème Brûlée
Cheese Cake, or fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies and brandy milk punch, pick
from Joe Trail’s special dessert offerings. Cup of Joe combines Mr. Black
coffee liqueur, Whisper Creek Tennessee Sipping Cream, Appleton Estates
Signature Jamaican Rum, salt, and allspice. “I worked really hard on this,”
said Trail.
