Walnut Kitchen – Maryville Tennessee

Recently our friends Lynn and George suggested that we get together and go out to try a new restaurant in Maryville Tennessee.  Since we’re always up for a new dining experience, we readily acquiesced!

The Walnut Kitchen occupies the space formerly utilized by The Market, a specialty grocery store that focused on quality meats and a wide variety of other food items plus they had a lunch menu.  I once arrived at the Market for lunch and discovered that it was an ‘all you can eat steak day!”  I probably ate 30 oz. of beef that day!  We were sorry that the Market closed but the food business is very challenging over the long haul…

In any case, chef/owner David Rule opened Walnut Kitchen in August of 2017.  Rule started in the food business at the age of 15 in his family’s small restaurant.  After 18 years in the business, with time spent at the Aubrey’s Restaurant Group, Dancing Bear Lodge and world renowned Blackberry Farm, he decided to open his own restaurant.   

This is a view of the bar area at Walnut Kitchen.  Note the significant presence of dark wood and exposed brick.  The building has been significantly modified to fit a mood befitting a steak house.  This restaurant is all or mostly about beef!  They even built a big room for their butchering operation.  They cut up the beef and dry age it on site…

This is a view of one of the 3 or 4 dining spaces at the Walnut Kitchen.  Note the ‘log’ wall at the right. 

All of the beef at Walnut Kitchen is from Southern Natural Farms, which acquires 100% hormone and antibiotic free, grass fed Charolais cattle as well as grain finished Angus cattle.  Wherever possible, sourcing for meat and other products is local…

This is a peek at the grill area with the chef/cooks at work.  Note the seating at the counter if you want to watch them grilling and prepping meals while you eat.  This is one of the 3 dining areas at Walnut Kitchen.  

Our waitress took this photo of our little group…in yet another dining space.  From the left, George, Lynn, Laurie and yours truly.  We started out with some adult beverages, with Laurie opting for a couple of Top Shelf Martini’s. ($12.00) She thought that they were great!

Laurie and I stayed away from the appetizers on this occasion as we were both ordering large steaks for our entrees.  However, George and Lynn shared the WK Potato Chips with Benton’s Ranch Dressing, Smoked Trout Roe and Chives. ($14.00) They liked this pre-meal starter!

A couple of other appetizer opportunities did tempt me.  One item was the Short Rib Chili ($7.00) and the other was the Fried Chicken Lollipops with local honey, chilies and thyme. ($10.00) They also offer a charcuterie board, aka The Butcher Board with house cured meats, pickles, pimento cheese and grit chips. ($16.00) I would have gone for this one…if it had some other cheese on it other than pimento.  I’m just not into that southern ‘specialty’.

A couple of salads graced our table.  This was the Shaved Turnip and Apple Salad with kale, black walnuts and cranberry vinaigrette dressing. ($9.00)

The other salad enjoyed by our group was the WK House Salad. ($7.00) It had mixed greens, radish, house bacon, cheddar cheese and cornbread croutons.  It was a very nice salad…

This was the 8 oz. Sirloin Steak with French Fries. ($18.00) The fries were better than average and the steak was very nice.  FYI…we all ordered medium rare steaks and when they were brought to the table, they were all on the rare side of the spectrum.  Of course that’s preferable to being over cooked!  Our waitress took them back to the grill and went they were returned they were cooked just right.

One key member of the group operating Walnut Kitchen is Tommy Cooper.  He’d spent the last 15 years of his career working in various roles at Blackberry Farm in Walland Tennessee.  Ultimately, he was the manager of the well-regarded Barn at Blackberry Farm.  It was in that role that he and his team received the 2014 James Beard Award for Outstanding Service. 

Laurie went for her favorite cut of beef…a 14 oz. Ribeye Steak! ($30.00) She was very happy with her choice!  In addition to the French fries, a side of gravy is included (for poutine lovers?) and the steaks are sprinkled with West Virginia Sea Salt…

Other steak offerings on the menu include an 8 oz. Filet Mignon ($32.00) and a 30 oz. Porterhouse. ($52.00) If you prefer pork you can order a 12 oz. Bone-In Chop ($20.00) or a 14 oz. Pork Porterhouse. ($22.00) Another alternative is a Virginia Rack of Lamb. ($40.00)

Since Laurie ordered the ribeye steak, I decided to go for the 14 oz. Strip Steak. ($26.00) It was very good…not the best steak ever…but way ahead of most offered in steak houses.

When someone orders a ribeye steak for example, it has been dry aged for 14 to 21 days.  Walnut Kitchen also has Black Label Beef.  That beef has been aged for between 48 days and 89 days…with corresponding prices as well.  This special aged product is not on the regular menu but it is offered as a special on the weekends.  All beef is aged in a temperature and humidity controlled cooler that is lined with Himalayan pink salt. 

We skipped dessert, mostly because we already had some at home to finish off our evening with Lynn and George.  There were 4 desserts on the menu.  I would have been very tempted to go for the Benton’s Cinnamon Roll. ($7.00) This is a Tellico Grains bakery cinnamon roll topped with Benton’s Bacon glaze and walnuts.  Since we love both Tellico Grains Bakery and Benton’s products…both local operations…this one was hard to walk away from!   

As we prepared to leave Walnut Kitchen, we stopped by their 6 foot meat case.  They sell meat from the case to the discriminating consumer.  I say discriminating because it is a bit pricy… As the saying goes, “you get what you pay for”!  In addition to the steaks, customers can buy Springer Mountain and Ashley Farms chicken, Scudder Farms pork loin and Border Springs Lamb.   That Virginia lamb may also be available as are both Andouille and Beef Summer Sausage. (All selections are seasonal)

The 3^rd key member of the staff at Walnut Kitchen is Ashley Gaylor, a very experienced and well-regarded local butcher.  He butchers the carcasses and oversees the dry aging process.  The meats offered at this restaurant are about as close to being “farm to fork” as possible.

 

OK…in summary service was better than average for a high end restaurant and the steaks were very good.  The prices are a bit high for day-to-day dining but Walnut Kitchen is a great choice for that special occasion or just a budgetary ‘splurge’ from time to time. 

Walnut Kitchen is located at 606 High Street in Maryville Tennessee…a gateway to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  This restaurant is closed on Sunday and Monday.  From Tuesday through Saturday, the bar opens at 4 PM and the dining room begins serving at 5 PM.  Phone: 865-980-8228.  Website…with lots of photos…can be found at https://www.thewalnutkitchen.com/.

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for dinner!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave