It's breakfast, it's breakfast tiiime

I know I keep mentioning this (and I promise I'll stop talking about it soon), but I've been involved in a drawn-out moving process for the past month. You know how disruptive your life gets when you're moving. I only just saw some of my pots and pans for the first time, and I can't seem to remember to stop by the grocery store to pick up some milk for breakfast ... which brings me to my question for y'all today.

I am a dedicated breakfast person. In my usual routine, that means coffee and cereal at the house. But in my moving routine, it means going out. So, I'm curious: what's your favorite non-brunch breakfast in Knoxville?

I'm sort of at a loss to name one myself. I prefer the bagel or lite breakfast sandwich at a coffeehouse kind of breakfast, which is surprisingly hard to find in this town. (Blackbird is good but too out of my way for a day at work.) I like a good trip to Pete's or Long's every so often but know better than to do that every single day.

So tell me, where should I be dining on weekday mornings while my world is still packed in boxes?

Attention Photographers (as well as Preservation/Knoxville enthusiasts)

Every year, Knox Heritage puts on an Art and Architecture Tour of a specific area in Knoxville. Last year it was of downtown (which I wrote about it in an embarrassing post that you can find in our archives).

This year, the tour is on September 4th in Fort Sanders, a wildly eclectic neighborhood full of juxtapositions. There will be two tours, one led by Jack Neely and the other by Steve Cotham.

Tickets for the tour are $60, which is steep, but the price you pay to have Jack Neely talk to you about old bricks and legendary Knoxvillians for an evening. Just kidding. The ticket price goes to support Knox Heritage and to help put on great events like this tour.

As much as I'd urge you to go on the tour, the point of this post is mainly to prompt you to go take pictures of historic buildings in Fort Sanders and submit them to Knox Heritage. From the submissions, a panel of judges will choose 13 photos that will be printed in the Knox Heritage 2010 calendar, and the subjects of those photos will be the stopping points of the tour. Also, winners go on the tour for free and Knox Heritage will matte and frame your print which will hang in the KMA for a few weeks.

Pretty sweet, huh? They've even pushed the deadline to August 6, so get out the door with that camera!

{But first read the guidelines that you'll find here}

Field of Greens

Lunching downtown offers many options, and as well as you think you may know your city, there always seem to be spots you've somehow missed.

Yesterday, I ate at Patins' Field of Greens and think I've found my new spot. They call themselves "quick gourmet" and offer an incredible selection of salads and sandwiches - I had a Caesar salad and my friend, a Chipotle sandwich - both, really good. <


The place is miniscule - operating out of a one-room building on Union Avenue - just around the corner from the Brewery. It has probably four tables total and is not much to look at, but give it a try next time you're looking for someplace new. You'll not be disappointed.


I think it's always especially nice to find a gem downtown that's not on Market Square or Gay St.

Farmer Pol

One thing you may not know about me (besides my past proclivity to star trek conventions) is that I like getting dirt up under my finger nails.

The Riverhouse back 40, which is how i refer to a 40 sq. ft. patch of yard beside the building, has become a country retreat for me and a few of the others in the building.

A few months ago my neighbor brought home a bunch of seedlings and a dream. That has since turned into a thriving paradise of salad.

On the list of goodies are Squash, Zucchini, Okra, Turnips, Tomatoes and Watermelon. There's other stuff too but those are the highlights.

Am I the only one in downtown Knoxville donning overalls and a pitchfork? I like to think of this as my own solution the poor Zsa Zsa's green acre problem. Here are some recent pictures.


















First Fruits

















Zucchini Galore

















Scare Crow??? Oh well at least she's cute.

coolato gelato on gay street = yum

When I was in college I lived and studied for a year in Venice, Italy. Italy is famous for its gelato, and I certainly ate a lot of it that year. Italy and America have absolutely nothing in common when it comes to portion sizes, and I used to get a small (piccolo) gelati with 2 or 3 flavors for about a dollar. It was a very small portion served in a colorful little plastic cup with a similarly small and cute plastic little spoon (in the shape of a shovel).

I ate gelati all over Italy that year, but my favorite came from a little stand in Campo Santa Margherita in Venice, which was very close to my school.

That was 10 years ago, and no American gelateria I tried had ever come close to replicating true Italian gelato. I was content with that. It's Italian, right, so Italy should do it best. That was until Coolato Gelato came along. It opened about a month ago on Gay Street between the Regal Riveria and Tennessee Theatres, and it is absolutely fabulous. I mean, it's really, really good.

Gelato tends to be less fattening than ice cream (because it's made with milk, not cream) and a lot denser. Coolato Gelato has done a great job of featuring traditional Italian flavors like pistachio, hazelnut and stracciatella (chocolate chip), and they've also been pretty creative with Americanized flavors. They've got a really yummy banana pudding flavor, for example. It is the closest to Italian gelato I've ever had in the States. Since gelato is so dense, it's a lot more filling than it may look. A small is plenty for me. Small and medium sizes allow you to choose 2 flavors, and the large allows for 3. My favorite combo so far is pistachio and spicy chocolate. Delicious.

Coolato Gelato also serves a variety of desserts other than gelato and some great looking panini and appetizer plates. I haven't had any of the food yet because I always want gelato when I go, but everything looks delicious.

Some of the staff members sing Opera, and they got those cute little plastic cups and shovel spoons straight from Italy. It's such a cute little gem and the gelato is delicious, so I really hope to see this place thrive.

Coolato Gelato:
524 S Gay St
Knoxville, TN 37902-1540

Addition: I was a third done with this while walking back to my office today before I remembered it might be a good idea to snap a photo. Pistacchio and nocciola (hazelnut). Yum.

Veg-O-Rama!

A while back, I heard about Veg-O-Rama. Then I noticed its presence on Central, a restaurant all dolled up inside, but devoid of customers. I'm not sure of the actual time line, but it seemed like it sat empy for a while, and rumors spread about its possible death before birth.

Now, after all the confusion and anticipation, I'm glad to say I finally ate there yesterday for a late lunch. I'm very happy to see it open, for the sake of my vegetarian friends and also, for the sake of North Knoxville. It's so cute, I might even become a vegetarian. (Not likely, but worth a shot)

I wasn't feeling very hungry, so I ordered a Greek Salad and cup of French Onion Soup, and my dining companion ordered the Tofu Reuben.

I've tried to like tofu in the past and never thought it was going to happen for me, until I tried Veg-O-Rama's Tofu Reuben. It was delicious. This may have been due to the fact that it was smothered in melted cheese and a tomato tahini sauce, but that's beside the point. I also tried my friend's side of potato salad which was really good as well.

My salad, on the other hand, was confusing- a Greek salad with all the usual ingredients, but with a lemon vinaigrette. My French Onion Soup was sweet, which was not bad, but as I mentioned during our Lindsay Beeson Bacon Cookie post, I don't like when salty things try to be sweet and vice versa. I just wanted my soup to be cheesy, hot, and salty, and it was not.

Even though my food wasn't as enjoyable as I had hoped it would be, I am a maturing optimist and realize Veg-O-Rama's potential. Supposedly the menu will keep a few staples but change items every now and then to provide even more vegetarian options for Knoxville.


In the categories of ambiance, service, and location, I thought Veg-O-Rama was wonderful. It even has a little bar in the back corner, from which they sell organic (and non-organic) wine and beer. The set-up of the restaurant reminded me of cafés in Cape Town and Stellenbosch, South Africa where I spent some time "studying" a few years back. This is a grand compliment as they were some of the most enjoyable places I've ever eaten.



So, vegetarian or not, please go get your veggie on at Veg-O-Rama. If you haven't been to that part of Central in a while, it's very up-and-coming and could be the location of great things for Knoxville's art and food scene. Let's keep our fingers crossed.

1204 N Central St
Knoxville, TN 37917-6311
(865) 540-8346

all photos by Tracy Jackson

Free Rider

Howdy all,

Have you noticed Knoxville's new(ly revamped) busses? After taking these pics I finally realized that they really are just the same busses with a new paint job. Who new a little paint go do so much?

I was recently talking to a couple friends, and were discussing the old trolley lines that used to run down Gay St. (during the 100 block excavation they were exposed). This got the ball rolling on the "wouldn't it be great if Knoxville had a real trolley again" theme, and I do think that it would be awesome if that could happen.

However, once you start to do the math (in your head while drinking margaritas) you eventually come to the conclusion that busses are the answer - there's no expensive infrastructure required.

So, if busses are so great, why do so few people ride them in Knoxville? Now, before this discussion goes well beyond my area of expertise - I'm not going to talk about scheduling, routes or anything else. I will say that re-branding the bus line is the smartest (and cheapest) thing Knoxville could have done. Whether or not they actually are more efficient, the new design certainly induces more confidence than say ... the orange and teal mobiles.

So, I'm curious, what are your thoughts on the new image? fans and haters ... let's hear ya.

Operation Boot Camp of Knoxville: Bring a Friend Day is tomorrow!

So...maybe we've all been on vacation?

I know that MG, CK and I have been traveling and working pretty heavily lately. B and MG just moved. And I think everyone else has been helping the Pol get his Mariah Carey fan blog up and running. So, we've been busy. But we've missed you!



Anyway, some readers may recall that I am involved with an awesome fitness program here in Knoxville called Operation Boot Camp. Operation Boot Camp was founded in Atlanta and interest and results quickly spread like wildfire: now there are camps throughout the country in places like Charlotte, San Jose and Knoxville.

We've been in Knoxville for almost two years now, and our campers continue to see amazing results. Many people return camp after camp because the program just works so well for them. I know that, personally, when I was struggling to stay fit and active in a desk job with long hours and heavy travel, Operation Boot Camp really revolutionized my day to day routine and truly helped me to feel great--and in great shape--every single day.

Operation Boot Camp is a 30 day fitness and nutrition program that meets daily (week days with some optional Saturday workouts) at Lakeshore Park, out at Lyon's View and Northshore Roads. Many Knoxvillians know and love Lakeshore Park. It's a beautiful, hilly little park with a 2.1 mile walking/running path, a soccer field and baseball diamonds. Operation Boot Camp utilizes the entire park during our workouts. Sometimes we do field workouts, sometimes we hit the trail and run. Our workouts are always a diverse and fun mix of cardio and strength. We truly mix it up, and it's never boring because no workout is the same. Along with the workouts, campers are giving guided nutritional advice throughout the month. At the end of a month long camp, we've seen campers knock 5 to 8 minutes off their mile run times; and of course we've seen countless campers just become happier and healthier and so very excited about how they look and feel.

I'm passionate about the program, and I have often invited blog readers to attend our monthly Bring a Friend Day workouts and other (free) weekend trial workouts. And that's what I'm doing again today.

Our monthly Bring a Friend Day workout is tomorrow, Thursday, and I would like to invite the Wigshop readers to attend. We have two camps that meet at Lakeshore: 6am and 7:15am. Workouts are a very fun, intense 45 minutes. That's not a lot of time, so we really work you while we've got you. Will the workout be challenging? Certainly. But it's extremely doable and accommodating across fitness levels. At the end of the workout, you'll probably be tired, but I suspect you'll also feel invigorated and proud of what you've just accomplished. If you would like to attend one of the two workouts, you just need to come about 20 minutes early to meet the instructors and get signed in. So for the 6am workout, please meet at the Lakeshore Park Soccer Pavilion at 5:40am and for 7:15 am, meet at the same place at 6:50. If you would like further driving directions, I can try to provide them if you leave a comment.



At Operation Boot Camp, we utilize what the park provides for our workouts. The picture above is an example: why not use the park benches available for some great, triceps burning dips?

Like I said, I am very passionate about this program. There are other fitness programs out there, and I am not discrediting any of those. But this program provides real results if you put in the work; and its instructor staff is the friendliest, most enthusiastic and caring group of men and women out there. I linked to the official web site, where you'll find rates and times, above. I also maintain a blog for the Knoxville camps. Hoooaah!