When neighbors, Ed and Marion, mentioned an upcoming appearance by Richard Smith and his wife, Julie Adams, at a local Maryville TN theater, we decided that it would be something different to do and we'd never been to this theater together. It didn't hurt that Richard is a renown master guitar player! He's a former National Fingerstyle Champion, who at the age of 11, appeared with Chet Atkins on stage at Her Majesty's Theatre in London. Richard was born in England and initially learned to play from his father.
In 1999, Richard married Julie, a talented cellist. They've put a show together and they tour the country and beyond, playing their music and sharing a little repartee with the audience. It was especially nice to see them in a setting as intimate as the Palace Theatre...which seats roughly 200 patrons. Chet Atkins and Jerry Reed hold Richard and his talents in high esteem and, listening to Richard play 'the drums' on his guitar to a John Phillip Souza march or playing 'Yankee Doodle Dandy' and 'Dixie' simultaneously, their admiration is easy to understand!
For more on Richard and Julie, check out their website at: http://www.richardsmithmusic.com/. You'll even be able to listen to some samples of his talent...
Prior to the show at the Palace, Laurie and I, along with Ed and Marion, stopped in for dinner at Sullivan's Downtown. The restaurant is conveniently located right next to the theatre.
The restaurant has a nice feeling to it...with a warm decor and lighting. Seating is comfortable and there is plenty of room between tables.
Laurie started out with the House Salad. It included fresh mixed greens topped with almonds, smoked bacon, wontons and red onion with ranch dressing on the side.
I can attest to the fact that it was a very tasty salad! It was way too big for Laurie to eat on her own so she shared it with me...nice start to the meal...
For her entree, Laurie had the Randazzo Pasta. This is homemade penne pasta alfredo served with lightly breaded chicken breasts topped with sun-dried tomato pesto as well as Parmesan and Romano cheeses.
This was a very nice dish! Laurie really liked it and I tasted it too...yummy!
Ed had the Grilled Beef Tenderloin Tips served over rice pilaf with a Marsala mushroom sauce and a side of steamed vegetables.
Unfortunately, Ed could only muster an 'OK' when rating his meal. It just wasn't as flavorful as he'd expected.
I ordered one of Sullivan's Blue Plates. This is the Pot Roast...described as a tender choice cut of sirloin, slow roasted and served with it's own natural brown gravy. Blue Plate entrees come with 2 sides and I chose the 'real mashed potatoes with pot roast gravy' and the fresh broccoli with carrots. The beef and potatoes with gravy were very nice but the vegetables lacked much flavor.
Marion ordered the North Atlantic Salmon with a side of the baked creamed spinach. She reported that the salmon was very nice as was her side dish. The only issue we all agreed on was that the dish could use a little more imagination when being plated for presentation... It was sort of 'lost' on the big plate.
We will go back to Sullivan's... The food was very nice overall, service was fine and the pricing was right. Blue Plate entrees start at $10.95 with the highest priced specialty entrees, 3 different steaks, coming in at $19.95 each. The menu is fairly extensive, to include a number of sandwiches, plus there is a variety of appetizers available.
Sullivan's has two locations... The Maryville Tennessee location is at 121 West Broadway. It's open for lunch and dinner. A full service bar is available. Phone number: 865-681-3334. For more information, check out the website at: http://www.sullivansfinefood.com/.
Looks like you had a nice evening. We've only been to Sullivans once or twice and best I can remember, we liked it
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