During our trip to the Great Smoky Mountains earlier this year, we passed through Knoxville, TN around lunch time and decided to find some place to have a bite to eat. We were looking stuff up on a smart phone and my wife found an interesting place that specializes in gourmet burgers and a large selection of bourbon whiskies. We set the GPS to take us to Stock & Barrel in downtown Knoxville.
A trio of owners - Bill and Nick Angelos, along with B.G. DeHart - came up with the Stock & Barrel concept and opened their restaurant in August of 2013 in what was a former Cuban restaurant in Knoxville's Market Square entertainment and shopping area. The Angelos' were already in the restaurant business owning three restaurants in Eastern Tennessee. It was at Angelos at the Point on Douglas Lake about 35 miles east of Knoxville where DeHart first worked with Bill Angelos in the restaurant business before he graduated from Belmont University in Nashville with a business degree.
DeHart and the Angelos had a number of late night conversations about a gourmet burger/rare bourbon concept restaurant before embarking on a place to put their restaurant. They looked initially at Charleston, SC and the highly esteemed restaurant scene there. DeHart talked about possibly looking at Nashville because of his ties to Belmont. But one weekend evening Nick Angelos and his wife happened to come into Knoxville for dinner and noticed that the spot at 35 Market Square (see map) was vacant. On Monday, they called about the spot and by Wednesday the group had signed the lease on the building. Nick Angelos is the partner/chef while DeHart is the managing partner of the restaurant.
Market Square is a large pedestrian mall in downtown Knoxville full of shops and small restaurants. There is also a stage area at the north end for live musical performances in the better weather months. We found a parking garage just to the northwest side of Market Square and parked in there.
In its two short years, Stock & Barrel has garnered a number of local awards including best new restaurant and best place for a burger in Knoxville. Understandably, there was a wait when we walked up to the restaurant.
The inside of the restaurant featured a long and narrow space with a bar on one side and a row of tables along the red brick wall. Antique-style light bulbs inside large circular bowls hung from the ceiling over the bar. This was not a big place and there was a 45 minute wait to eat inside.
Fortunately, a table out front in a small patio area had opened up and the hostess asked if we'd like to sit out there. It was warm - deep into the 80's - but we would be seated in the shade. We decided to eat there. She dropped off a couple menus for us and soon thereafter our server, Sarah, came over to greet us. We started off the meal by ordering a couple of the Hi-5 India pale ales from the Terrapin Beer Company in Athens, GA.
The menu at Stock & Barrel is impressive, primarily because of the number of bourbons they have to offer. I counted just under 90 different types of bourbons on the menu at Stock & Barrel. I'm not much of a bourbon drinker, but there were some interesting selections on the menu. In addition to the bourbon, they also featured a number of Scotch, Irish, wheat and rye whiskies on the menu - including Templeton Rye based in Templeton, IA.
But the burgers are the main item on the menu at Stock & Barrel. They get their beef from Mitchell Family Farms in nearby Blaine, TN and their buns are made fresh daily for them by the Flour Head Bakery in Knoxville. They also feature a number of appetizers on the menu including fried green tomatoes, a spicy crab cheese dip served with pita chips, and fried pickles, which is exactly what Cindy ordered up as we looked through the menu and enjoyed the Tennessee afternoon. They were lightly battered dill pickle chips and served with a ranch dressing. They had a great flavor to them. Cindy has really been on a fried pickle kick as of late.
Cindy went with the bison burger. She passed on the three different types of mushrooms that were supposed to come on the burger, but did go with the crispy fried onions along with boursin cheese and a garlic aioli. Her bison burger burger came with an order of the duck confit fries. The burger was lean and tasty, not overcooked or dried out. She said, "Whoever made this burger knows how to cook a bison burger."
I ordered up the "Shroomin'" burger - the three different types of mushrooms (crimini, shiitake, and button) that Cindy didn't want on her burger were on mine. It was also topped with Swiss cheese and a horseradish spread. I also got Sarah to throw on a couple of strips of bacon that Stock & Barrel sources from Benton's in Madisonville, TN. The burger came with a side order of the regular hand cut fries, but Cindy was kind enough to allow me to share her large portion of the duck fat fries.
The burger was cooked to a perfect medium with a hint of pink in the middle. The bun was light and spongy, it held together very well without detracting from the overall taste of the burger. The mushrooms were fresh and earthy, the Swiss cheese was thick and covered the burger patty, and the bacon was crisp and added a great over all flavor to the burger. This was a great burger.
Unfortunately, a minor glitch happened after we paid for our lunch. Sarah brought out the receipt to sign and a copy for me, but she neglected to give me my credit card back. I sort of spaced out and didn't realize that I didn't have my card when I got up to leave. In fact, I had gone in to use the restroom and when I came back out the hostess was cleaning up our table. She asked how the burger was and I told her it was outstanding. Had I left the card on the table I'm sure she would have realized it and given it to me as I had come back out of the restaurant. It wasn't until later that evening that I realized that the card was not in my possession and we were over an hour drive back to Knoxville. I called up to Stock & Barrel and they said that they did have the card. Fortunately, I had my emergency credit card that we used that evening until we could drive back up to Knoxville the next morning to get the credit card. I've left my credit card behind at restaurants on a couple occasions, but never at a place where I had to drive over an hour one-way to get it back. It was a hassle, but everything worked out.
Other than having to go back to get my credit card, the experience at Stock & Barrel was great. While I would have probably liked it more to eat inside the old-style restaurant, eating outdoors wasn't all that bad. It was relaxing, Sarah's service was fine (up until she forgot to give me my credit card back), and the food was top-notch. It's easy to see why Stock & Barrel has received all the local accolades they've gotten in just over the two years they've been in business. Great burgers, great beer selection, and an unbelievable selection of whiskies.
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