Texas swagger, wild game, and a well-traveled chef make for a unique experience in an iconic Old City saloon.
Story By N. Brooks Clark | Photography by Ethan Smith
Appeared in Cityview Magazine, Vol. 42, Issue 5 (September/October 2026)
Lonesome Dove Western Bistro occupies the renovated Patrick Sullivan’s Saloon, the red 1888 brick Victorian building with Queen Anne-style gabled roof and turret that once housed a bordello on its third floor and, occupants swear, is haunted by Clara the Ghost. If you aren’t in a Texas state of mind when you walk in, a warm “Howdy” from the host will get you started. The old saloon bar runs along the right side of the long, narrow room, with barred porthole windows on the Jackson Avenue wall. Behind the bar, a generous selection of spirits, arranged artistically to set off their different shapes and sizes, lets you know that this is a place where a cowpoke can get a real drink. The wine list, it should be said, makes a valiant effort to compete with the bourbon shelf, but this is not really a wine kind of room. In 1897 Buffalo Bill Cody’s touring troupe stopped in after their Wild West Show. A brawl broke out, and Cody fired his six-shooters into the ceilings and walls to restore order. Four years later Kid Curry picked a fight with a patron and shot two deputies who tried to break it up.
Like a western movie set, the balcony level of timber-frame beams runs down the left side of the saloon, giving diners the option of tables looking down on the bar or ones beneath the balcony with the intimacy of a low ceiling. These and many other details echo the vibe of celebrity chef Tim Love’s famous restaurants in Fort Worth and Austin, Texas. The dining room that was once Annie’s jazz club features an open kitchen emanating the aroma of bison, venison, and rattlesnake on the grill. To emphasize that this is the only fine-dining restaurant in the area offering wild game, the cast-iron chandelier is festooned with elk horns. With twangy Texas music, exposed brick walls, and stained-glass clerestory windows, it’s refined and funky at the same time. For overflow, there’s the second-floor Fulmer Dining Room— yes, named for the coach; remember, Tim Love is a proud UT alum. On the top floor, groups can rent the spacious Sullivan Room, if Clara the ghost approves. Staff will mention her, unprompted, the way one might mention a slightly eccentric aunt who still comes to Thanksgiving.
We missed good food. We grew our own stuff, cooked our own stuff. Cooking was surviving.
Executive Chef Travis Freundt came to Knoxville from Love’s Amalfi Coast-influenced Gemelle restaurant in Fort Worth. In January, Freundt asked to be transferred to Lonesome Dove, in part to be closer to his adopted family in Franklin, Tennessee. Freundt was born in Russia and raised in a Ukrainian orphanage starting at age 10. In a way, his cooking career began there. “We missed good food,” he says. “We grew our own stuff, cooked our own stuff. Cooking was surviving.” When he was 12, he was adopted by the Freundt family from Franklin. After attending several Franklin-area schools, he moved to Joshua, Texas, with an older sister and finished at Joshua High. He got his associates degree in Hawaii, surfed for a couple of years, then returned to Nashville and cooked at the Sutler Saloon and Nada. Out of the blue, he was stunned to find out that a biological father he never knew about lived in Sacramento. “I went to meet him,” said Freundt. “He’s an osteopathic physician. I met a half-brother.” In Sacramento, Freundt cooked at Camden Spit & Larder and at Allora Italian restaurant. After a while, he moved back to Fort Worth and sous-cheffed for Les Margot and the Press Café before catching on at Gemelle. Freundt’s menu reflects not only Tim Love’s adventurous offerings but also the variety of Freundt’s culinary travels.
Generally, the servers lead you through the menu, taking orders for all courses all at once, so that Fruendt and his crew can orchestrate the arrival of different courses. The tour guides are well informed and enthusiastic about their unique dishes, which they are happy to split up for family-style sharing. If you put your trust in them, they will provide a memorable evening.
A brawl broke out, and Cody fired his six-shooters into the ceilings and walls to restore order.
Ours began with Deviled Gulf Coast Blue Crab Cakes, served in a shell with Lonesome Dove Hot Sauce. These alone are worth a visit. Then came the Montana Elk Sliders with blueberry jam that are a signature staple, followed quickly by the surprising Wild Boar Ribs, with Lonesome Dove BBQ Sauce and escabeche. Compared with regular pork ribs, wild boar ribs have a sweeter, more nutty taste. These baby back ribs are surprisingly small, even dainty but we still thought of the wild boar we hear about impaling unfortunate Texans with their enormous tusks. The Texas Red Chili with avocado corn salsa, smoked Gouda, crema, and crispy tortilla is another longstanding favorite worth dropping in for. It’s got a unique taste and a kick. We sampled two salads, the Butter Lettuce with red chili-buttermilk, lardons, goat cheese, chili pepitas, and pickled jalapeño, as well as the locally sourced Baby Gem Lettuce in anchovy-lemon vinaigrette with parmesan cheese and toasted breadcrumbs. This salad is light and the lemony vinaigrette was a nice contract with the course that followed.
Our main dishes included Montana Bison Ribeye with fried, smoked Gouda gnocchi, grilled asparagus, and Hollandaise sauce. A sizeable portion, this ribeye is rich, juicy, and flavorful, perhaps enough for two. The Ora King Smoked Salmon comes with creamy cucumber salad, beet purée, potato galette and chimichurri. A product of New Zealand, the salmon is fattier than the average and rich in flavor. Freundt offered a new dish, a smoked Chicken Poussin, a baby chicken brined, baked, and smoked and served whole. It is juicy with a delicate smokey taste. Among a handful of sharable sides, the Burnt Carrots in Texas honey, lemon, and goat cheese along with the Truffle Mac & Cheese topped with fried artichoke hearts stood out.
For dessert, we had the Tuaca Flan, tasting of cappuccino Tuaca liqueur, as well as the dessert that helped Tim Love win Iron Chef America, his Ancho Chile Chocolate Cake with vanilla ice cream and smoked almond brittle. By the time the check arrives, you’ve eaten things that would have seemed improbable an hour earlier. Boar, bison, rattlesnake, and a chocolate cake that won a man an Iron Chef title. That’s the trick of the place:
the time the check arrives, you’ve eaten things that would have seemed improbable an hour earlier. Boar, bison, rattlesnake, and a chocolate cake that won a man an Iron Chef title. That’s the trick of the place: it could easily lean into novelty and instead just quietly cooks very well, ghost and all. ◆
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