Emma's Southern Kitchen

I enjoy finding hole-in-the-wall restaurants. When we walk into these types of restaurants, sometimes we say: "I hope I don't get food poisoning..." And sometimes we walk in, and we just know that we found a diamond of a place.

When my sister and I were starving one day after a trip into the mid-western portion of Knoxville, Tennessee in the early hours - just before noon we needed food. So from our location we google mapped "food," and less than two miles away was a little joint called Emma's Kitchen. It said it had burgers - which is just what we were hankering for. So, off we went. We had no clue what we were walking into as we didn't bother to Google. We were too hungry.

But as we pulled up to this tiny little place, we grew excited. The building with small inconspicuous on the outside but when we walked into the door way, we were met with an additional seating area in a sunroom typesetting. There was vintage art on the walls and aligning the ceiling where license plates from all different states. Classy wooden tables filled this room, and after I tasted the food, it was easy to imagine them needing the additional seating during peak hours.

Walking into the main dining area it was a very calm and comfortable atmosphere. Oldies but goodies music was playing on a surroundsound stereo. The seating wasn’t crowded either. And it was laid out so we could support either big families or several small groups.

Our order was taken by a pretty girl, who was extremely polite and hospitable. We ordered sweet tea, and for an appetizer we went with the chicken wings which was met with a wide variety of sources that we could some other than in. We of course went with spicy. When they delivered our food and drinks, we were impressed with the amount of sauce, smothering the chicken wings. They were not stingy at all, and the sweet and spicy tanginess of the mixture was just perfect.

We went with the option of being able to build our own burger. They of course, had premade burger options, which sounded amazing and we had a hard time. They also had a variety of chicken, salads and fish. But the thought of being able to customize my own burger was too tempting. For both of us actually, we chose fries or side and neither of us regretted it. The burger was divine and I had never tasted fries so good!

I really don’t know how they made the fries, but I cannot rave about them enough. Sis and I couldn’t help the orgasmic noises coming from our mouths as we bit into this food. Embarrassing a little, but when you eat something that good you can’t help it, can you?

The best part… OK, I lie. The best part was the food. But the second is part of our trip to Emma’s Southern kitchen was the fact that my sister and I started talking about the art on the walls. Some of it looked to be made by local artists. It wasn’t canvas. It was just framed graphite pictures. An elder gentleman came over and introduced himself as the owner and actually proudly pointed out several pieces on the wall that were made by his daughter who is working behind the bar.

This man took the time to have a conversation with us and tell us about his life work. He had come to America as a teenager with his parents, and started working in the food restaurants as a young buck this man started as a dishwasher in a restaurant, and eventually work his way up to owning his first restaurant, then his second all the way up until he has like eight or nine restaurants of his own. I was so impressed by his openness and friendly demeanor. This was a man who had worked his way up in the world from a hard situation to be in and yet here he was humble feet on the ground and positively lovely with absolutely no air of arrogance or snobbery. You could tell he was proud of his life work, but in the best way.

When we were done, we walked out, but I had noticed another door to an out door seating area I wanted to investigate. We exited through this door out of curiosity and I was met with a rustic out door seating area that made me wish we’d sat outside (though I’m glad we got to get to know the owner).

There was a very rustic looking bar on the outside with working antique bar taps. Wooden tables scattered about and more antique art and decor was scattered around the make shift walls Ali g the bag. Large troughs with plants decorated the area (plants lined all the window sills on the inside too).

When we return to hand them out collected out-of-state license plates, I will be indulging in another meal- and this time I’m going to be sitting in the outdoor area. If you happen to be in Knoxville Tennessee - Emma’s Southern Kitchen is definitely worth the detour and visit. Their friendly staff, welcoming atmosphere and AMAZING food will make your day.

Emma’s Southern Kitchen is located at 3701 Sutherland Ave, Knoxville, TN 37919.