Farmacy – A Restaurant

While searching for a restaurant that we’d been referred to by friends, Laurie ‘discovered’ another one we didn’t know about on Knoxville’s Riverside Drive.  The on-line menu looked very interesting.  When we went into Knoxville to shop for some new shoes for yours truly, a short drive for an early dinner followed…

This is the understated front of Farmacy, a small restaurant buried in the middle of strip shopping center.  Note the ‘silverware’ preceding the restaurant’s name on the building…

Farmacy is part of the current restaurant trend or minimizing payroll costs by having customers place their orders at the counter when you enter.  It’s a trend that we don’t mind if the food is delivered to the table and the quality is there…

FYI, Tyler at the left in this photo, was extremely helpful and knowledgeable.  He was a former Starbucks barista and he had the right personality for his current position.  He helped us with making our dinner selections.  He was proud that the restaurant is owned and operated by a female chef, Bettina Hamblin, and that as the name implies, ‘Farmacy’ provides as many farm to table items as the seasons and local producers can provide.

There is a serving area for coffee, tea, etc. that also offers a selection of hot sauces, including my long-time standby, Tabasco.  The restaurant itself is small…long and narrow with seating along the wall all the way to the back.  The live greenery and little lights brighten up the space a bit.

Now onto the food!

For our starter, we ordered “The Stack”. ($7.95) The Stack was constructed with excellent fried green tomatoes, stacked with artichoke pesto, marinara, goat cheese and fresh basil.  We agreed that these were the best fried green tomatoes that we’d ever had!  Our taste buds were just humming! 

On our next visit to Farmacy, I want to try the Black and Blue Fries, hand cut fries drenched in Nashville hot chicken sauce, homemade buttermilk, blue cheese crumbles, candied bacon and chives… FYI, a daily soup is also on the menu and for the day we were there it was Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Bisque.

For my entrée, I chose the “Hot Chicken”. ($12.95) This was Nashville style fried chicken served on a piece of Texas toast, topped with house-made pickles, sided with French fries and served with buttermilk dressing to cut the burn… I didn’t need or want the buttermilk dressing as I relish the burn!  The chicken was too hot for Laurie but not for me.  It was both sweet and savory and it was very good.  I prefer the heat over the sweet but that’s just a matter of preference.  Those French fries were way above average!

Choosing the Hot Chicken wasn’t easy!  Other contenders that I will order during future visits included the Pepper Crusted Beef Brisket served over smashed red potatoes with a side of tomato jam ($15.95), and Shrimp and Grits, creamy smoked Gouda grits, with creole sausage gravy, blackened shrimp and pickled green tomatoes. ($15.50)

One of Laurie’s favorite sandwiches is a nice French Dip.  So when she saw the “Good Ole Boy” ($14.95) on the menu, she didn’t hesitate!  This version of a French Dip sandwich consisted of tender braised brisket, sweet onions with melted white cheddar cheese topped with horseradish cream and accompanied with some terrific au jus.  It was sided with some nice homemade kettle chips.  “Unfortunately” she couldn’t finish the sandwich (There were two wedges!) so I had to “help her out”… We both agreed that it was the best French dip sandwich we’d ever tasted!

There were other sandwiches on the menu that got our attention as well.  I was tempted to order the Grainger County Pressed Chicken ($11.95).  The pressed chicken is grilled and served with pesto, roasted tomatoes, artichoke hearts and goat cheese.  Another option for me would be the Shrimp Po Boy. ($14.50) Blackened shrimp on a bed of romaine lettuce, with fried green tomatoes, house-made pickles and jalapeno aioli come together on a toasted baguette accompanied with the house-made kettle chips.

But neither of those options grabbed Laurie’s attention.  She noticed that Farmacy offers a “Lobster Roll” on Fridays. ($18.00) In this case, chunks of fresh Maine lobster are served on a buttery split top roll with house mayo and lemon.  We’ll definitely have to come back on a Friday.  Happy wife equals a Happy Life!

Sadly, we were too full to order dessert although the dessert options were very tempting.  Laurie loves Vietnamese Coffee and we both love banana pudding, root beer floats and strawberry shortcake.  I’ve never had Coca Cola cake, which is served warm with pecan ganache and local ice cream but I’ll have to give it try!

Normally I’d be done writing at this point but I haven’t mentioned the Farmacy’s collection of tacos…shrimp, pork, veggie, brisket, salmon and chicken.  From their description, they aren’t your average tacos!  Nor have I mentioned brunch at Farmacy.  On Saturdays and Sundays, beginning at 10 AM, they serve brunch.  For me that full page brunch menu is completely ‘drool worthy’!  That will be another blog post for sure…

Farmacy is located at 9430 South Northshore Drive in Knoxville Tennessee.  Phone: 865-247-4678.  Check out their website complete with all the imaginative menu items at https://knoxfarmacy.com/about/.

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by to learn about our new dining ‘discovery’!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave