Fish Burritos Baja Style

Friday was a day for going to downtown Knoxville for the afternoon.  We venture down there every month or so to wander around Market Square, walk along Gay street and visit some of the unique places that make a downtown experience more than just a shopping trip.

UT Baja Bug

The "Official" reason yesterday was to find a pair of sandals for me that would last for more than 6 months - but then, any excuse would do.

Market square is just a collection of eateries, specialty shops and former head shops converted to disguised head shops.  It is just a couple of blocks from the UT campus and is a hangout for the young student crowd (and those of us in our dottering old age).   The real attraction for us on the square is the food!  At any given time, there are a dozen or so restaurants competing for the oldster's money (I can't imagine a college student eating a $15.00 lunch and washing it down with $4.00 draft beers but what do I know).

 Anyway, today's choice was a new place called the Blue Coast Burrito Grill (a regional chain) named for a section of coast just North of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.  Nice clean place with a genuine beat up VW bug complete with attached boogie board and hung from the ceiling for atmosphere.  But the real attraction was the food!

Mary got to design her own lunch in the form of a spinich quesidilla with chipolte chicken and a half dozen other goodies - pretty good choice and it didn't take her long to decide on it, a rather unusual event in itself.

As usual, Richard ordered the absolute best item on the menu (in this case the waiter did recommend it).  Fish burrito, Baja Style in a Chipolte tortilla.  YUM!  I can't really say what was in it but I had never tasted a fish burrito that good before and I grew up eating the stuff.  Friendly people, great food and a pleasing atmosphere - drop in if you are ever in the area.

Yes, I did find my saldals and they were on sale!  They only cost me $200 - my sandals, Mary's sandals, lunch, beer, parking, Mary's blouse and 1/4 tank of gas.  Life is good.

Best Reuben in Knoxville!

I like a good Reuben sandwich as much as the next guy but Mary (the light of my life) has a passion for them.   She first discovered them while in college in upstate New York and almost always orders one when they are on the menu of any restaurant that doesn't look like they get their deli meats out of pre-sliced plastic packs.

So, today while we were looking for a late lunch and a brew, we went to the Smokey Mountain Brewery in Knoxville at the Turkey Creek Shopping center.  They have a "Big City Reuben" on their menu for $10.00 and it reminds me of those I had in my New Jersey "Univac" school days.

The local beers were excellent too.  If you like a good sandwich and micro brews, give this place a shot.  We'll go back whenever Mary gets a hankering for her favorite sandwich.

Saturday cooking

Just finished another excellent dinner. Chef Richard served a Lamb and mint ragu with fresh baked bread and a nice cheap Malbec wine from Crane Lake. We're winding up with one of Mary's great fruit desserts. Life is good!