Regas downtown on Gay St. Can't miss.

(If you want a good steak in a more casual "down home" atmosphere, a short drive out Chapman Highway to Ye Olde Steak House is a good bet, too. Don't expect anything fancy, though.)

Knoxville Museum of Art usually has something interesting going on.

If there's a show at the Tennessee Theatre, the restored venue is pretty amazing.

I'd forgotten about Regas.

When I was in college, we did a fund raiser auctioning off the RAs (I was a Clement Hall RA). So I went down to Regas to see if they would sponsor us by giving away a dinner. For a brief moment, I felt like I'd been transported into a bad ripoff of Brewster's Millions for as I walked into Mr. Regas' office he sat there wrinkled and puffing on a cigar. He coughed at me sputtering, "Son, I'll give you something. I'll give you a lesson. That's I've never made anything by giving something away! Now go on." Those may not be the exact words. It was a brief, terse monologue. I left both stunned and somehow honored that he even took time to address me. The caricature of a curmudgeonly scroogeish businessman forever stuck in my mind for him but I liked him.

Butcher Shop is in serious decline. My two cents.

Here's a partial list of downtown restaurants. I excluded those I was pretty sure didn't do steaks, but I may have been wrong about some of them. I included ones I wasn't sure of -- and there may be some that have closed included too.

Bistro at the Bijou
807 S. Gay St.
544-0537

Calhoun’s on the River
400 Neyland Dr.
673-3355

Club LeConte
2700 Plaza Tower, 800 Gay St.
523-0405

Downtown Grill and Brewery
424 S. Gay St.
633-8111

Godfrey's Restaurant
Holiday Inn, 525 Henley St.
522-2800

Gus’s Restaurant
37 Market Square
525-9338

Hannah’s Café
102 S. Central Ave.
637-8908

Hill Street Café
Knoxville Marriott
500 Hill Ave. SE
637-1234

Koi
19 Market Square

La Costa
31 Market Square
566-0275

MacLeods
501 Market St.
546-2103

Mahogany’s
Crowne Plaza
401 W. Summit Hill Dr.
522-2600

Manhattan’s Bistro
101 S. Central Ave.
525-2333

Marty's Bistro
Hilton, 502 W. Church Street
523-2300

Melting Pot
111 N. Central Ave.
971-5400

New City Café
116 S. Central Ave.
544-0100

Pasta Trio
119 S. Central Ave.
540-3970

Patrick Sullivan’s
100 N. Central Ave.
637-4255

Patrick Sullivan's Back Room Bar-B-Que
106 N. Central Ave.
637-4255

Riverside Tavern
950 Volunteer Landing Ln.
637-0303

Sapphire
428 S. Gay St.
637-8181

Shono’s in the City
5 Market Square
544-5800

The Market Cafe
Hilton, 502 W. Church Street
523-2300

The Pub at Henley Square
Holiday Inn, 525 Henley St.
522-2800

Tonic
125 E. Jackson Ave.
522-4656

Trio Cafe
13 Market Square
246-2270

Urban Bar and Corner Café
109 N. Central Ave.
546-2800

World Grotto
16 Market Square
226-2962

Not far from downtown also (on the strip) is Copper Cellar, which I really enjoy.

However, Regas has always had great steaks and Prime Rib.

Craig Thomas
(link...)

Another vote for Regas. I don't know which Mr. Regas you met with, most likely Bill or Gus. Both are nice men. I don't know if Gus is still involved in the restaurant since Connor Concepts took it over. I saw Bill last week at Regas and he passes through my door at church when he attends early service. A great family.

Copper Cellar on campus is very good also (downstairs in the 'cellar', not the Cumberland Grill on street level). It's less than a 5 min drive (or I suppose cab ride, though cabs in Knoxville ain't like in a big city as far as availablity).

Ye Olde Steakhouse is a Knoxville landmark. If travel is possible, it's only a short drive and a terrific choice for visitors.

Chesapeakes is very good, but for seafood not steaks.

For what you're looking for, I would mark off the hotel restaurants, bars/grills, BBQ places and various ethnic recommendations.

CBT

My last experience at Regas guarantees I will never spend money there again. I enthusiastically recommend Pasta Trio. They almost always have a really good Filet on the menu and they do it very well. On those rare occasions they do not have a filet on the menu, the rest of the menu is awesome.

Ha! Looks like Wendy's may have been influenced by Regas. In trying to figure out which Mr Regas I met I stumbled across this gem.

[Dave Thomas h]ired for his first restaurant job at The Regas Restaurant, Knoxville, in 1944 [Source]

And it was a young age!

Dave Thomas first became involved in the restaurant industry at the age of 12, when he got a job as a counterman at the Regas Restaurant in Knoxville. He was fired after a misunderstanding with his boss about his vacation and vowed to never in his life lose another job. [Source]

For CBT, I'm not sure which Mr Regas I met. It would have been around 1990 and I thought I read that he had died and his son's took over the family business but that is a hazy memory and I can't find anything to support it.

Btw, we ended up at Barley's with $2 drafts and pizza. We decided to walk the city and see what caught our fancy. We came very close to choosing Pasta Trio.

Doug McCaughan
(link...)

"Craig Thomas" Any relation?

Doug McCaughan
(link...)

I'm not sure of the name, but I like that little somewhat seedy-looking Italian restaurant on Kingston Pike (next door the Goodwill store that just moved). I had a prime rib there last week and it was tender, juicy, and delicious. I had my reservations about ordering it because I hate dry tough steak or ribs, but the waitress asked the chef and he said it would definitely be tender.

I'm not crazy about Ye Olde Steakhouse. I think it's overpriced. It's a crowded room with kind of a Cracker Barrel feeling. The bread was good, but the steak just so-so. The famous garlic potatoes didn't suit me either.

Calhoun food is never my first choice, but they usually have space with little waiting. I had an unexpected bounty of twelve friends and relatives show up last summer, and Calhoun's was the only place downtown that could accomodate us without reservations. The beer there is pretty fine and the patio-deck is a great deal as you can sit by the river and hear usually decent(sometimes very good)music.

I'm looking forward to trying Regas sometime.

Not a steakhouse, but if anyone gets a chance to eat at Trios in Market Square I would recommend it. The salads are very very good with many options, and the sandwiches and platters are very modest in price.

Trios has great food. Their bread is excellent, and everything I've had there is yummy. The funky, intimate atmosphere is kind of fun, but may not be for everybody. It can get a little close on a busy night.

Glad to hear there is another good review Ms. Bean. If you haven't tried it yet(and have a pretty good appetite), sample the pan-seared chicken.

Too late. You have to go now or I'll look like a jerk!