Brew Pub Cuisine in East Tennessee

So, there we were, cruising over to Willie’s Italian Restaurant in Seymour Tennessee…about an hour drive…with Big Dude, his wife Bev, and our friends from Arkansas, Patty and Dave. (To view Larry's, aka Big Dude's blog site, go to: http://bigdudesramblings.blogspot.com/)  

This adventure in dining started out at Big Dude’s home for a few libations and a bit of conversation.  We spent some quality time with Patty and Dave on Larry and Bev’s party dock on the lake.  Then we were off on the drive to Willie’s!  We, (especially Laurie and I), couldn’t wait for some great Italian food…

Well, you’d think that after all of these years I might learn to call ahead just to check and insure that our destination is open… Apparently, you can’t teach new tricks to an old dog!  Willie’s was closed for vacation… Yikes!!  Depression, slight panic, frustration…

(FYI…Despite this disapointment, we highly recommend Willie's.  Check out their menu and contact information at: http://dininginthesmokies.com/_seymour/willies_restaurant_seymour_tn.htm)

So, the search was on!  Where do we take our out of town guests on the spur of the moment without driving another hour out of our way?  Laurie saved the day by recalling a restaurant/brew pub that was directly in line with our route home…

This is the Smoky Mountain Brewery in Maryville Tennessee.  Laurie and I had eaten at another Smoky Mountain Brewery in Farragut Tennessee, so we knew that the food and atmosphere would meet our needs…even if it wasn’t casual Italian!

This is a photo of the interior of the restaurant that Laurie took from our table.  The ambience is friendly, warm and comfortable.   There are 4 Smoky Mountain Brewery locations. (Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge TN plus the Maryville and Farragut restaurants) These brewpubs are part of the Copper Cellar family of restaurants, a regional chain with a total of 17 locations.

Kayla, our server, was warm and friendly plus she was more than willing to go out of her way to chat with us and to explain the beer tasting options.  This is a photo of the bar from our table.

As usual, we started eating before we remembered to take our first photo of the food!  This is what was left of the chicken wings we ordered for an appetizer when we finally took a picture!  The feedback on the wings ranged from good to very good… ($8.00 for one pound of wings)

Four members of our group decided to go with the Brewmaster Pizza.  This is a four-cheese blend ‘white pie’ with roasted chicken, garlic, roasted tomatoes and spinach.  We ordered 2 16” pizzas, ($20.00 each), and we had plenty of leftovers to take home.  Although Laurie and I prefer our pizza crust a bit more crispy, this was a very nice pizza…perhaps the best that we’ve had to date in East Tennessee.  I tasted it at the restaurant and we had the leftovers for lunch a couple of days later…still delicious!

In addition to the Brewmaster, other specialty pizzas included: the Baker’s Choice, (pepperoni, mushrooms, onions, sausage and green peppers); White, (four-cheese blend, fresh basil, onion and garlic…no tomato sauce); Veggie, (mushrooms, olives, onions, green peppers, garlic and roasted tomatoes); Buffalo Chicken, (four-cheese blend ‘white’ pie with blue cheese crumbles, onions and roasted chicken tossed in their Sweet and Spicy Thunder Road Wing Sauce), and; the Margherita Pizza, (cheese pie with fresh mozarella and tomato slices topped with fresh basil)

I was so bummed out at not being able to eat at Willie’s that I rejected the idea of pizza!  I ordered the Roasted Chicken and Smoked Cheddar sandwich with peppercorn ranch dressing.  ($9.00) The sandwich came with my choice of a side and I chose the French fries.  The bun was toasted and the chicken really was roasted and not just ‘deli’ chicken.  It was a good to very good sandwich and I popped it up a bit with my usual liberal use of Tabasco.  The fries were a little limp for my taste but they had a nice flavor. 

Other sandwiches available include a Philly Cheesesteak, a Chicken Cheese Philly, a Grilled Sausage Submarine, the Chicken Reuben, a Meatball Grinder, the Big City Reuben and 7 different hamburgers.  In addition to the French fries, other sides include Honey-Mustard Potato Salad, Baked Macaroni and Cheese, Fresh Broccoli with Beer Cheese and Mashed Red Potatoes.

Being a true carnivore, Dave ordered his own 8” made-to-order Pizza with pepperoni, sausage, olives and other tasty bits. 

Made-to-order Pizzas can be ‘constructed’ in 8”, 12” and 16” configurations with a wide variety of toppings.  Prices are $6.00, $11.00 and $14.00 respectively for plain cheese pizzas.  Depending on the size of the pizza, additional toppings cost $1.00, $2.00 and $3.00 per topping. (Laurie and I usually order a large pizza with pepperoni and Italian sausage… That would have cost $20.00.  That seems to be a couple of dollars higher than comparable prices at other restaurants)

The menu at Smoky Mountain Brewery also includes 10 different appetizers plus the wings, Calzone, 3 pasta dishes, Ribs, Steaks, and Brew-B-Que Chicken.  In addition there are 5 vegetarian dishes available.  There are a total of 8 Smoky Mountain Brewery microbrewed beers plus seasonal selections available.  Larry, aka Big Dude, tried a flight of samplers and he said that he enjoyed them all.

Smoky Mountain Brewery’s ‘sister’ restaurants include: Copper Cellar, 2 locations; Calhoun’s, 9 locations; plus Chesapeake’s and Cherokee Grill and Steakhouse, 1 location each.  For more information on these restaurants, go to   http://www.coppercellar.com/index.php.  The Maryville Tennessee Smoky Mountain Brewery is located at 743 Watkins Road.  Phone: 865-238-1900.  Website: www.smoky-mtn-brewery.com.