In the quiet of the woods, sophistication takes its seat at the table.
Story by N. Brooks Clark | Photography by Nathan Sparks
Appeared in Cityview Magazine, Vol. 42, Issue 2 (March/April 2026)
Tucked into the sylvan charm of Maryville College Woods, RT Lodge’s restaurant embodies the warm, refined soul of East Tennessee dining. It is rustic yet elegant, with hospitality that feels personal from the moment you step inside.
Turning off a single-lane road from a historic neighborhood, you follow a sinuous road through a wooded area, then follow a winding walkway to the entrance of an old-style hunting lodge.
You walk past a large Constable-style painting of a noble buck, then come to a bronze sculpture of a hunting dog with a pheasant in its mouth. From here you might stop in the living room to the right, with a fire gently burning. Before you even sit for dinner, it’s worth exploring the bar experience at The Morningside Room, a snug, beautifully reimagined lounge just steps from the dining room.
The name is a nod to the rich history of the property. Susan Wiley Walker, widow of an Andrew Carnegie business partner, designed and constructed the home in 1932 and called it Morningside. As you admire a painting of a racehorse, enjoy a featured cocktail—perhaps a Lodge Fashioned (Chattanooga Whiskey 91, demerara, Fee Brothers bitters, and Amarena black cherry) or a Carriage House Sour (Company Distilling Maple Wood Finished Bourbon, Cocchi Americano Bianco Apertivo wine, citrus-balsamic vinegar and lemon).
Upstairs, the dining room opens around another fireplace, with hunting scenes, one complete with a “trumpet” of beagles, lining the walls. Service is smooth and genuinely warm.
On this particular day, waiter Adrian Ortiguerra arrives with a breadboard of sourdough brioche and promises a multi-course experience, starting with custom cocktails, including the two above and the Swan Lake, which comprises Letherbee Gin, Scandinavian Aquavit, cardamom, and lemon.
For a first opener, Adrian presents us with Blackberry Roasted Oysters. As Executive Chef Trevor Stockton explains, “They’re like Oysters Rockefeller but with flavors of collard greens, onions, garlic, and heirloom tomatoes,” all mixed with collard butter, Benton’s Bacon, and tomato cider vinegar. The Roasted Beet Salad featuring roasted, smoked, and pickled beets with pistachio-honey crumble might change the mind of anyone who claims not to like beets.
Crisp-edged, golden pork chop glazed in sorghum-mustard jus, its sweetness offset by broccolini and briny capers — rustic comfort, sharpened with precision.
Then comes Crispy Hashbrowns. “We poach shredded potatoes,” says Stockton, “and mix them with caramelized onions, horseradish, and trout roe and Royal Osetra Caviar.” They come in a kind of elegant burrito, served atop crème fraiche.
Stockton has been at RT Lodge since 2013, but he has recently been able to ramp up the sophistication of the menu as RT has added a team of sous chefs. “He has a spectacular team behind him,” says General Manager Kelley Harris. “It allows him to think conceptually. As chef de cuisine, he can hit it 100 percent of the time.”
In Stockton’s love of local products and innovative regional combinations of them, you can hear echoes of his time under Chef Josh Feathers at Blackberry Farm. Before that Stockton had trained under Chef Rick Mace, who recently opened Tropical Smokehouse in West Palm Beach, Florida, after a decade running Café Boulud in Palm Beach. “He taught me how to make short rib,” Stockton says.
Coming from a family of farmers and chefs, he grew to appreciate locally grown and raised products on his great-grandfather’s farm in Gainesboro, Tennessee. He also learned to preserve, pickle, and can homegrown ingredients the old-school way for use year-round. He is known to pick his own wild mushrooms, though he’d never say where, lest the word get out.
Small dishes can sometimes hold pleasant surprises. Take his version of chicken and dumplings, for example. Pepitas, Stracciatella braised chicken thighs, potato dumplings (let’s call them gnocchi), and Burnt Honey vinaigrette come together with the addition of Wintergreens Crispy Chicken Skin, “and a lot of chive and thyme,” says Stockton. It’s a fresh take on a classic plate.
In this course we get the first of two excellent wine pairings from Bar Manager Randi Savage. Though she is no relation to the late wrestler “Macho Man” Randy Savage (her maiden name was Smith), she is lovingly called the “Macho Manager” by her staff. Wine pairings from Savage are thoughtful and well explained without veering into lecture. An Alsatian Pinot Blanc, “Les Prémices” by Emile Beyer, adds brightness and lift to the earlier courses— “a little fruitiness. A little pizzaz,” says Savage. A medium-bodied Tuscan wine, San Vito’s Chianti, carries the entrées comfortably.
The Bourbon Pastry Cream is made of cherry jam lemon curd, Angostura ice cream, Sour Pavlova meringue, and Amarena cherries.
The Niman Ranch Pork Chop is a thick Duroc cut, Panko breaded with pan fried sunchokes and a sorghum-mustard jus that is close to Chef Trevor’s heart. He creates a base of shallots, sorghum, and white grain mustard, then mixes it with a pork-bones au jus.
The Red Wine Braised Short Rib, says Stockton, “is my favorite thing to cook. It’s a four-day process.” It is served with generous portions of carrots, fingerling potatoes, pearl onions, and mustard seed.
When you come upon a whitefish creation that stands out from the crowd, it is an occasion for celebration. The Pan-Roasted Halibut with fingerling potatoes and oyster mushroom beurre blanc has both perfect flaky texture and a unique flavor that balances perfectly with the chianti.
The Buttermilk Panna Cotta starts with Cruze Farm buttermilk, then combines summer plum preserved compote, Olive Oil, and Orange Blossom Whiskey. This is not to be missed.
The Bourbon Pastry Cream is made of cherry jam lemon curd, Angostura ice cream, Sour Pavlova meringue, and Amarena cherries.
Ultimately, RT Lodge succeeds because it doesn’t overreach. It knows exactly what it is: a beautiful place, run by people who care, serving food that reflects its region and its history without making a big speech about it. You leave well-fed, well-treated, and already thinking about coming back.
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