Don Chuy's elevates the Mexican food game on Knoxville Center Drive | Grub Scout
When I first heard about Don Chuy’s Fresh Mex and Cantina, I wondered if it might be affiliated with the Chuy’s chain of Mexican-food eateries. Turns out, however, that Don Chuy’s is a family-owned place, and in either case, this had no bearing on my decision to give the new restaurant a try. The Grub Spouse and I headed out to the site where Knoxville Center (East Towne Mall) once stood and found Don Chuy’s on Knoxville Center Drive, in a structure that looks as if it probably began life as a Wendy’s.
The building doesn’t have a lot of curb appeal, especially with its proximity to the construction site for the new Amazon fulfillment center. But I like what the owners have conceived in terms of interior aesthetics. They’ve strayed from the traditional Mexican-restaurant blueprint to create a space with contemporary, elegant touches. The main dining room and bar area share a cozy floor plan, but the place felt welcoming and comfortable when we took a seat at our half-booth table.
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The menu spans a lot of territory, and The Spouse and I spent quite a bit of time formulating a game plan. We did agree, however, that we deviate from our well-worn ruts of ordering fajitas for The Spouse and chimichangas for yours truly. The menu categories we chose from included nachos, vegetarian dishes, steaks, burgers, tortas, burritos, chicken-based entrees and, yes, fajitas and chimichangas. I also saw nachos, a taco fajita salad, enchiladas and build-your-own options.
Among the appetizers are choriqueso — a chorizo-queso blend — coconut shrimp and a few guacamole creations. We spotted several combination dinners as well as ceviche dishes and a section called A lo Mexicano. That category offers up entrees like carne asada, chiles rellenos, a molcajete combo, taquitos and The Spouse’s ultimate choice, the carnitas ($13). This platter of shredded pork is served with refried beans and Mexican rice.
Meanwhile, I was gravitating toward something in the arroz-con-pollo realm. In fact, Don Chuy’s has an entire menu category called Famous ACPs, and that’s where I considered rice dishes made not only with chicken but also with steak and shrimp. I ultimately chose the Loco ACP Texas ($16), made with chunks of grilled chicken, steak and shrimp that are served over rice liberally doused in queso.
Don Chuy’s also has a taco section featuring a dozen different options, including barbacoa, chorizo, lengua (tongue) and tripa (tripe). I added on a single fish taco for $4.50 and decided to call it a day.
As usual, we munched on way too many salsa-dipped chips while waiting on our food to arrive, but when it did, our snacking had done little to diminish the impact of our selections. I’ll start with the Loco ACP Texas, which was still sizzling on the platter when it arrived at our table. The bites of chicken, steak and shrimp were grilled to perfection, and although I can usually take or leave Mexican rice, I found the flavor of Don Chuy’s version of it to be more than palatable, especially enhanced by melted queso.
The carnitas dish also delivered big on flavor. The shredded pork meat was tender, juicy and super tasty. This was a straightforward dish that didn’t try to get too fancy, and it turns out that this approach worked just fine. The sides of rice and beans were worthy complements. Finally, the fish taco was simple in construction but satisfying in the delivery.
Dessert options include chimi cheesecake, chocolate cake, churros, flan, tres leches cake and fried plantains with ice cream. By this point, we had simply eaten too much to attempt a treat, so we passed on the sweets altogether. But several of these sounded appealing and would probably get a test drive were we to drop in again someday.
With so many solid choices in town when it comes to Mexican cuisine, it’s hard to justify straying far from one’s neighborhood to give a new place a try in another area of town. But Don Chuy’s showed me that they’re intent on being taken seriously, and in that regard, I certainly wouldn’t dissuade you from looking them up. In fact, if you live in that particular ZIP code, it’s a must-try experience. They even kept the existing fast-food drive-through window in play, so you have no excuse not to at least breeze through and grab a lunch or dinner to go.
Don Chuy’s Fresh Mex and Cantina
Food: 4.25
Service: 3.75
Atmosphere: 4
Overall: 4
Address: 2904 Knoxville Center Drive
Phone: 865-851-8569
Full bar service
Hours: 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays; 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. p.m. Sundays
This new Mexican-food restaurant serves tasty south-of-the-border cuisine, including traditional dishes and a whole lot more.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Don Chuy's restaurant on Knoxville Center Drive: Grub Scout review
