Fernweh, An Ache for Distant Places

Marble City is a neighbourhood along Sutherland Avenue, between Concord Street and Forest Hills Boulevard. It runs parallel to Kingston Pike from downtown through Bearden.

Many of the people I know who live/lived in Marble City are young professionals, foreign students or employees at ORNL, or grad students at the nearby University of Tennessee. Unlike the campus strip, however, it is not so congested with traffic and partiers.

HISTORIC HOUSES
Knoxville has many historical houses, and three are located in the Marble City area. For a full list, you can check out this Historic House Museums guide.

Crescent Bend was built in 1834 and overlooks the Tennessee River. Its back courtyard is full of overlapping spherical gardens and a fountain. The estate was once ruled by the Union army during the Civil War, and later served as a hospital for Confederate and Union soldiers.

Historic Bleak House is also known as the Confederate Memorial Hall. While I would never flash Confederate sentiments at you, I wanted to mention that this is here, and it is a part of Knoxville history.

Bleak House was built in the 1850s for the newlywed Armstrong couple, and named after the Charles Dickens novel that was all the rage at the time. The home was commandeered by the military whether they liked it or not, as was custom during war time back then.

It is unclear if the Armstrongs themselves were Confederate supporters or not, but ultimately what matters now is that Bleak House’s current management chooses to advertise it as a Confederate Memorial. That may or may not have something to do with it not being on the list with the rest of Knoxville’s Historic House Museums tour.

Historic Westwood is a Queen Anne style home built in 1890. It first belonged to the Lutz family and somehow ended up in the hands of a former mayor’s family. They donated it to Knox Heritage who restored it and now maintains it.

PARKS & REC
Sutherland Avenue doubles as the Bearden Village Greenway, connecting Tyson Park to John Tarleton Park and then to Third Creek Greenway & Park.

Tyson Park is where you can find the Knoxville Skatepark and Safety City, a city in miniature for kids to practice public safety and traffic rules while walking and biking around the streets. Safety City is open during limited hours, and is primarily restricted to local schools and community organizations.

Third Creek Greenway & Park is so underrated. I love walking this greenway along the towering aquatic murals, and there are usually very few others around.

The mural is a collaboration between artists Roger Peet, Merrilee Challiss, and Trish Tripp.

From Tyson Park, you can walk the greenway south toward the Tennessee River, walk near its banks, and you will end up at UT Gardens.

UT Gardens is the State Botanical Gardens of Tennessee, not to be confused with the equally lovely Knoxville Botanical Gardens a few miles away.

Parking is available next to UT Gardens if you are not really into the 0.8 or so mile walk through the greenway, but it can be crazy during football game days since it is so close to the stadium.

I have spent an unbelievable amount of time strolling these diverse gardens. There is no admission and the staff is pretty on point about labeling everything. As an herbalist, it has helped tremendously in getting to recognize and know many plants up close that I can not or do not necessarily want to grow in my own garden.

I mentioned earlier that Sutherland Avenue runs parallel to Kingston Pike through Bearden, as well as the historic Sequoyah Hills neighbourhood.

Sequoyah Hills is full of stunning homes with unique architectural features and gardens.

Many of the homes in Sequoyah Hills overlook the waterfront, much like the ones in the nearby Lyons Bend area.

A small complex on Kenesaw Avenue is home to the Plaid Apron Restaurant, Treeetop Coffee Shop, Bear Den Books, Idle Hands Tattoo Studio, Soulful salon, and Sequoyah Realty.

Sequoyah Hills has its own park along the river, but honestly the whole neighbourhood is like one giant park or botanical garden.

My favourite part of Sequoyah Hills is the Talahi Park subdivision. At its center, a small park is surrounded by wrought iron gate, and concrete monuments line up in various formations.

There are two large fountains with frog- and panther-shaped spouts on either end.

Developer Robert L. Foust created Talahi in the early 1900s in this area that was originally called Old Papoose Park.

Foust’s vision for Talahi was to “harmonize an Indian past, a technical future, and a natural forest setting.”

The Cherokee symbols engraved in stone are an attempt to pay respects to the Cherokee people.

There is also an ancient mound that people frequently walk or bike across, which seems kind of weird.

Lakeshore Park is another gorgeous park in this area, further west than most other places on this list.

This 185-acre park along the Tennessee River has all sorts of sports fields, a super interactive playground, quiet serene trails, and excellent views.

This boardwalk segment to the waterfront is our favourite.

There is an interesting shelter near the center also.

WHERE TO EAT AND DRINK
Sutherland Avenue has always been rich in diversity when it comes to food and businesses. You can find Indian, Southern American, Ethiopian, Middle Eastern, Mediterranean, Italian, and Mexican cuisines, as well as BBQ, pizza, hibachi, sushi, the Oriental Super Market, and more within a few blocks.

Seed Coffee is in a former Methodist church that was the previously the Golden Roast, before it moved down the street.

Inside is cozy, but they have several different seating environments outside that can accommodate solo guests or larger groups. I really love their cheddar jalapeno bagel!

Golden Roast‘s new-ish location is in a medical plaza about 0.3 miles away.

I hesitated to visit this place because of my own presumption of a coffee shop in between medical and health facilities, but I was super impressed with how colourful and spirited it is. I have to give credit where it is due!

Their seating area actually looks a bit like my own living room, if you throw on a dark filter.

Their bagels are delicious, and I even caved in to trying a flavoured iced latte.

Noble Kava is Tennessee’s first kava bar, supplying the local hippie and holistic population with infused kava, kratom, and herbal teas.

If you have never had kava, it is quite bitter, and contains kavalactones.

Much like the alkylamides and isobutylamides in Echinacea, kavalactones can cause pleasant tingling or numbness in the mouth, and it has a mild to moderate effect on the nervous system that helps you relax.

Luckily this place was designed for relaxing.

Frog Juice Boocherie is another excellent sober and health-conscious option for socializing in Marble City. They serve up kombucha and fire cider while hosting comedy shows and other live events.

Holy Land Market. Just the thought of their chicken shawarma or souvlaki makes me shiver.

My other favourites on their menu are the curried chicken salad and the smoked Baba Ganoush.

You can pick up Middle Eastern and Mediterranean items to stock your pantry or freezer, and buy any of their delicious specialties from the deli case by the pound, or hot and freshly made to go.

Gosh Ethiopian, right next door, is another immensely enjoyable culinary adventure that every Knoxvillian must experience at least once. Most Ethiopian dishes are richly seasoned and spicy. Think of thick stews with veggies and lentils, and some meat dishes too.

Meals are served on large metal platters on top of injera, and with a basket of extra rolled injera to scoop up each dish. Injera is a type of flatbread that has a light, fluffy, somewhat gauzy texture. It is stretchy and delicious, and just fun to play with if we’re being real here.

Red Onion Pizza has been a staple in this area long before most of the other places I have mentioned. Their pizza combinations are fantastic, but if you go in person you can order from their authentic Indian food menu. I have a note for myself to take a photo next time I go to Red Onion or to Emma’s Southern Kitchen nearby.

Dead End BBQ is the American Dream. Start with the pimiento macaroni and cheese, or get is as a side.

I don’t really like barbecue in general, but I absolutely love their burned ends. I taste a hint of a soy-teriyaki marinade beneath the smoky, spicy barbecue coating, and I think that is what does it for me.

Savelli’s Italian has been an institution of Knoxville’s dining scene since the late 1990s.

Herbed garlic bread and chicken marsala make the perfect combo here.

I recently sampled the blackened fish entree my friend ordered, and it almost made me reconsider my old standby.

Farmacy. Why must everything here be so beautiful and perfect?

There are a lot of places in the region with a similar name, but there is only one Farmacy restaurant.

My friends and I meet here for brunch more than any other place in town. Everything from the candied bacon roasted Brussels sprouts, salads, tortas, hot chicken, and biscuits & gravy is incredible.

Holly’s Gourmet Market is on the same level, and very close to Farmacy, so good luck choosing which place to go.

My favourite dish is the Eggs Benny with pork belly and collard greens. Their breakfast bowls are also to die for.

Hard Knox Pizza, like Farmacy and Holly’s, is also one street over from Sutherland on Kingston Pike.

Le Boxeur is my favourite pizza, but I also can not get enough of their giant calzones. I typically only eat half of one, and either share it with a friend or snack on the rest later.

Albright Grove Brewing Company is a small, cozy brewery that showcases local craft beers, live bands, and small events. I really enjoyed this dry Kellerpils from The Narrows. All three of them, actually.

Bearden Beer Market is a fun and sometimes delightfully rowdy place where young working professionals decompress, and where many of the joggers and bicyclist groups in town meet up after a long route.

They also have karaoke and game nights in their large, gated patio.

Brickyard Bar & Grill is one of the most likely places in Knoxville to find me if I go out at night.

They were originally located across the street and hosted funk and soul nights, dance parties, etc. Now they are located where one of Knoxville’s infamous gay bars, Kurt’s, used to be.

Brickyard throws a hell of a party with a constant rotation of punk, metal, and avant garde acts, a great drink selection, and a surprisingly (if you don’t know them yet) classy AF brunch.

Bearden and Marble City often overlap, so I am including a few locally owned and operated places I love that are not directly on Sutherland Avenue but on Kingston Pike one street over.

Be on the lookout for cute shops and boutiques in the area.

There are not many murals in Marble City but this tile store, of all places, has the most beautiful floral mural on its front exterior.

In the area for a while? Follow me to some other cool neighbourhoods in Knoxville like Fountain City, Inskip, Happy Holler, and Old Sevier!

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