Page 66 - Cityview Magazine - July/August 2017
P. 66

EAt
DINING OUT
THE CITYVIEW RATING
Ambiance: Service: Food: Presentation: Price:
22
The Cityview Rating reflects the totals of the  ve categories: Ambiance, Service, Food, Presentation, and Price. (25: Out of this World; 20 to 25: Excellent; 15 to 20: Very Good; 10 to 15: So-So;
5 to 10: Not Recommended; 0 to 5: Don’t Eat Here)
Review by N. Brooks Clark Photography by Keith Norris
1406 Wilkinson Pike Maryville, TN 37803 865.981.9800 www.rtlodge.com
simple dish, but a lot goes into it.” Stockton grew up on his parents’ farm in Gainesborough, Tennessee, and trained at RT Lodge under Rick Mace and at Blackberry Farm. When strawberries are in season in South Carolina, for example, Stockton features them— pickled with 24-month aged ham
($12), in an elegant gazpacho ($9) with rhubarb and basil, or in a cucumber and strawberry salad ($8) with goat cheese, mint, and miner’s lettuce.
Stockton insists on using farro, rice, yellow grits, and corn meal from Anson Mills in South Carolina. This gives a special taste to the Gulf shrimp and yellow grits with Andouille sausage and green tomato ($14). He gets 24-month aged hams from the Amish in Kentucky and other pork from his parents’ and neighboring farms in
Rustic Gentility
Maryvi e’s RT Lodge offers sophi cated regional cuisine in an idy ic setting
Total: (out of 25)
IN 1932, A PRESBYTERIAN WIDOW
from Pittsburgh named Susan
Wiley Cooper Walker, whose late husband had been Andrew Carnegie’s bookkeeper, moved south to be near her sister, the wife of the Maryville College chaplain. Inspired by the natural beauty of the area, Walker created Morningside, a 26-room home and gardens in the woods in a rear corner of the campus. After Walker died, Morningside served as the college president’s home, then an inn. In 1997, the Ruby Tuesday company bought it, added two buildings, and turned RT Lodge into a corporate retreat and wedding venue, with a pond and acres of trails, streams, and meadows.
The dining room at RT Lodge is open to the public Tuesdays through Saturdays.
The entry lobby has the feel of a classic hunting lodge, which continues upstairs in several intimate dining rooms with a total of just 15 tables. The china featuring pheasants and other game fowl complements the gentle elegance of the décor. The view of the pond is soothing. In all, it’s like going back in time.
As it was in old-time resort lodges, staff members from the manager to the waiters make guests feel that they have been waiting to make the evening special. The understated elegance continues through the meal, as dishes are presented with simplicity and a casual feel.
Executive Chef Trevor Stockton’s vision features southern dishes made with fresh ingredients in the manner of classic French kitchens. As he says of many items on the menu, “It’s a
64 CITYVIEWMAG.COM JULY AUGUST 2017


































































































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