Knox Heritage Salvage Show and Friday Night Uptown

Knox Heritage Salvage Show, 36 Market Square, Knoxville, April 2012

As I said in my last post, there was far too much going on last Friday night to cover it in one post. I'm struggling to cover it in three. Today I'll focus on the Second Annual Knox Heritage Salvage Show held at 36 Market Square and other events in what used to be called "Uptown." I'll head to the other end of South Gay Street to the 100 Block in tomorrow's post for coverage of the widest assortment of events and activities of the night.

Table made from bed frame and ceiling tiles by Brian Wagner

Knox Heritage Salvage Show, 36 Market Square, Knoxville, April 2012

Knox Heritage Salvage Show, 36 Market Square, Knoxville, April 2012

Knox Heritage promotes preservation of historic sites and, in this case, re-purposing of various architectural or structural elements into works of art. The art was displayed on the second floor of 36 Market Square courtesy of Ken and Brenda Mills, the owners of the building. Here's hoping this space isn't available for next year's event, but rather is filled with businesses of one sort or another.

Knox Heritage Salvage Show, 36 Market Square, Knoxville, April 2012

Candlesticks from wooden rail spindles by Ryan Burgess

I loved this piece, but didn't catch the artist's name. Anyone know?

Table incorporating silver wire casing by Briena Harmening

The show included objects large and small, practical and whimsical. In some cases the raw materials and their former purpose were obvious; in other cases, not so much. Some were beautiful, some were funky, but they were all fun to examine and discuss and a large, revolving crowd did just that. There was wine, food, many smaller objects for sale and people generally enjoying each other for a good cause.

Knox Heritage Salvage Show, 36 Market Square, Knoxville, April 2012

Some people just need to be photographed

After looking through the Salvage Show we stopped by Sapphire on Gay Street for Hannah Green's art showcase. I'm drawn to her art and repulsed by it. It generally includes nude females and lots of blood and I suspect it is intended to be disturbing. She was very gracious to allow me to take her photograph.

Sapphire, Gay Street, Knoxville, April 2012

Hannah Green and her art at Sapphire

Classical Musician at Art Market

The Art Market, Gay Street, Knoxville, April 2012

We stopped by the Art Market to see what was new there. It is a cooperative effort staffed by the artists whose work is on display, so it's always fun to stop in and talk to the person behind the counter. I often find great gifts there and they have generally excellent music on First Fridays. Most of the time it is jazz, but this time around a very talented young woman played classical pieces on a cello.

Cobra on Gay Street, Knoxville, April 2012

Cobra on Gay Street, Knoxville, April 2012

Les Miserables on Gay Street, Knoxville, April 2012

As we walked toward the 100 Block we saw my favorite vehicle in recent memory and enjoyed a Les Miserables Bomb laid on the outdoor diners at Downtown Grill. I'm assuming this was a cast group. It was really cool and I think appreciated by the surprised audience.

Jazz at Coolato Gelato, Gay Street, Knoxville, April 2012

The 100 block of Gay Street will require a post of its own, but I ended the night back in the uptown area with some fun jazz at Coolato Gelato (they played my guiltiest pleasure song: "Girl from Ipanema." I just can't here it enough.)

French Market, Gay Street, Knoxville, April 2012

Entrance to Krutch Park Extension,  Gay Street, Knoxville, April 2012

I took a couple of photographs of favorite spots: The French Market where we enjoyed a crepe and the cool weather the next morning and Coffee and Chocolate, which is always a great spot to shut down the night.

Coffee and Chocolate, Union Avenue, Knoxville, April 2012

Buy Local, Shop Union (Avenue)

Coffee and Chocolate: The Granddaddy Union Avenue Business

It would have been a very different experience a couple of years ago. The Daylight Building was a construction zone. Reruns was on Market Square. Coffee and Chocolate was doing good business. Even a year ago it was struggling to find it's groove. Rala had opened and the Daylight Building had John Black Photography and the Happy Envelope.

This is the first Christmas for Union Avenue Books and Just Ripe. Reruns is now in their new location. It's actually possible to shop this delightful corridor and check off a  good bit of your Christmas list. Park in the Locust Street Garage and work your way toward Gay Street.

Union Avenue Books Display

 

Knoxville-centric Books just inside the entrance to Union Avenue Books



New Fiction and Non-Fiction, Union Avenue Books, Knoxville



Charlie takes time with Customers at Union Avenue Books

Union Avenue Books features both new and used books and has a strong local flavor with books by many area authors. A display beside the entrance contains the new Knox Heritage Cookbook for twenty dollars with the profits going to that excellent organization. Jack Neely's books about Knoxville sit beside the cookbooks quietly suggesting that you get to know your city. New hardbacks are always on display at the front, 2012 calendars are already on sale and the children's section in the back is excellent. Throw in personable and knowledgeable staff and you've got the perfect place to spend the morning while taking care of your shopping.


Just Ripe Grocery Store, Union Avenue, Knoxville

 

Gift Baskets from Just Ripe, Knoxville

 

Canvas Bag and Gift Card from Just Ripe

Just Ripe is a grocery store, yes, but also a good place to shop for gifts with a local flair. Canvas Just Ripe bags and gift cards to the grocery store make a great gift for downtown friends. The gift baskets which range from around thirty dollars to sixty dollars make great gifts. They also sell downtown gift cards which I've bought for friends. Then there are organic cook books and even Three Bears Coffee which I've bought for another friend. While there on your shopping excursion you can enjoy lunch. I suggest strongly that you try a sweet potato burrito.
After lunch, stop in at Coffee and Chocolate for a warm beverage and a little something sweet. I've already received a box of chocolates from there as a gift. They also have insulated travel cups to carry your coffee with you as you leave. They also make nice gifts. Carry your coffee next door to Rala.


Rala: Gifts for all budgets, Union Avenue, Knoxville

 

Rala, Union Avenue, Knoxville

 

Brian Pittman Prints and Originals at Rala, Knoxville

 

Cynthia Markert art at Rala: $750

 Rala has been open about a year-and-a-half. Owned by Nanci Solomon, who also owns Re-runs, the shop features art from our area and beyond. Currently featured artists include Brian Pittman whose cathedral drawings are helping fund the renovation of the Mary Boyce Temple home a few blocks to the south. Also featured are beautiful new creations from Cynthia Markert whose art has become synonymous with the city. I've got my eye on one of these, myself.


Window displays, Union Avenue, Knoxville



Window Displays at night, Arnstein Building, Union Avenue


So, evening is approaching and you haven't made it to Mast General Store or other shops on Gay Street and Market Square. Sorry, you aren't finished. Walk back toward your car and enjoy the beautiful window displays in the Arnstein Building. The Reruns display was put together by Paris with help from Brianna. Tell them how beautiful they are when you stop in at Reruns where you can end your day by purchasing one of their gorgeous ensembles.

Ensemble outside Reruns, Union Avenue, Knoxville

 

Reruns, Daylight Building, Union Avenue, Knoxville



Ensemble outside Reruns, Union Avenue, Knoxville

It's a pretty full day and it's a day you could not have had just a few months ago. We're so fortunate to have these good people making life in the city so much better for so many of us. Support them if you want to keep them.

Angels in the City

Knoxville is filled with all kinds of people. Some are a little strange (who you are dictates who is strange :-) ), some are funny, some are sad, some are a little scary, many are interesting and most of us are some of all of the above depending on the day you spot us.

Some people downtown are angels. I think maybe who you are and what you need dictates who your angel may be. Sometimes your angel might give you a flower if you need to be picked up - or your angel may spread rose petals on the sidewalk where you pass. Sometimes a dollar, a drink of water, a treat for your dog or a simple smile on the street marks your special angel.

One of the angels I ran into recently did a simple thing that made our whole table laugh, smile and have a better night. It was a Wednesday night we sat around a table in Coffee and Chocolate, talking about getting a new Metropulse before walking home. For the people who read from outside Knoxville, Metropulse is a free, weekly newspaper that often features information and articles about downtown. I think everyone who lives downtown reads it. It officially hits the street on Thursday, but everyone downtown knows it is placed in the rack on Wednesday evening. Leftovers, by the way, are dutifully recycled. I've seen them in the recycle bin on State Street.

Miss Metropulse/AKA Part Time Angel

So, we'd just mentioned getting it on the way home, when into view came a beautiful lady making deliveries. I pointed and said, "There it is, now." I didn't consider that she could see me point. She entered the coffee shop where she was to fill the racks. Before doing so she walked to our table and handed us each a fresh copy! Where else could you get your Metropulse delivered directly but downtown? It was a simple thing, but it added the cherry to the top of a very nice evening. She came and went so quickly I only had time to snap a picture and I didn't get her name. I'll call her Miss Metropulse and count her as one of my angels.

Who might your angel be? And to whom should you be an angel? Don't miss your chance!

Best and (not-so-much) worst coffee at downtown coffee shops

This is a little painful to write. Why? I love coffee shops. I like their personalities and the people who work in them. I love the smells of coffee and confections, the sounds of espresso machines and animated conversation. I love them when they are funky or modern, when the baristas are friendly older folks or younger ones with tattoos and piercings. It's more than the coffee, it's the whole experience. Throw in some excellent music and I'm helpless.

That said, I really like what I find in the downtown coffee scene. While the coffee at the restaurants is very spotty, the places devoted primarily to that most wonderful drink are excellent, with one unfortunate exception.

For the sake of this discussion, I didn't consider Starbucks in the Hilton. I think of it as in, but not of downtown. I'm delighted when I find one in a hotel when I'm traveling, but for this story, I didn't mention them. Higher Grounds got eliminated because as many times as I have tried, I can never catch them open. Do they really serve coffee there? Also, not downtown, but close is the Golden Roast, which has excellent coffee, but they are more of a UT spot.

Who knew there would ever be so many coffee shops in the entire county, let alone downtown, that you could eliminate some and still have a conversation?

Which brings us to the coffee houses in question: Coffee and Chocolate, Downtown Grind, Night Owl, Old City Java, and Remedy. Each has something to recommend them. All but one has very good coffee. Each gets extra points for various reasons. So, here are the reasons you should go to all but one of them, but at the end I'll man-up and say which, in my humble opinion, has the best coffee.


Coffee and Chocolate, Union Avenue, Knoxville

 Coffee and Chocolate has excellent coffee. The particular blend changes with the day and sometimes with the person brewing the coffee. The coffee is priced reasonably, but you are going to pay if you want some of their amazing chocolate. The chocolate is what sets them apart (secret: it's imported from the Chocolate Factory) and you can get it in a very large number of forms, but it is expensive. The seating is somewhat limited, but usually adequate. They have outdoor seating, but the sidewalk is small and most of the time people are parked uncomfortably close to the store. I wish Union Avenue would be closed to traffic from Gay to Locust, but I'm dreaming. Its location - around the corner from Market Square - is a big plus if that is the center of your downtown universe. The music played varies, but it is always good.


Downtown Grind, Gay Street, Knoxville

 Downtown Grind is an interesting case. It is housed in the Phoenix Building on the 400 block of Gay Street. It is paired with Prestige Cleaners. The employees often work both places and there is no separation, other than counters between the two businesses. My assumption would be that the coffee would be terrible. This could never work, right? Wrong. The coffee is very flavorful and the staff is very friendly. Cynthia Markert works there part-time and her art is on display. They sell confections, but I've had them so rarely, I can't evaluate them fairly. There is limited seating inside, but additional seating in the lobby and outside takes care of the traffic adequately and this is one of the best places among the four for people-watching, since it has a great view of Gay Street foot traffic. It's easy to forget that you are in a cleaner's, but if you have that dress or pair of pants that needs to be pressed, well, that's one-stop shopping. Strangely, if they have a website or Facebook page, I didn't see it.



Night Owl Cafe, Central Avenue, Old City, Knoxville

 Night Owl is, in my opinion, the only one to avoid. The coffee was sub-par. I'd say it tasted old when I visited. The place also smelled like cigarette smoke to me, which I thought was no longer legal in restaurants. No one present was smoking, but someone had been. I'm not a smoker and it really hurts the taste of what I'm eating or drinking if I have to smell that. I did enjoy the music which was sort of alternative and I like the chessboards on the window tables and the view from those. None of that, however, makes bad coffee worth drinking. In fairness, they did have a good many items on the menu, so maybe they are more of a late-night restaurant and I assumed incorrectly that the coffee was central.



Old City Java, Central Avenue, Old City

 Old City Java is the original downtown coffee house. Located at 109 S. Central, it has been an Old City institution for years. The coffee is strong, flavorful and fair-trade. The blend offered varies daily. The chairs and tables are worn and comfortable or shabby, depending on your perspective. There are two large rooms, so seating is rarely a problem. I say rarely because sometimes they host events - like the poetry slam I attended - that pack out the house. This is rare, however. If I had to give them a bit of a room-to-improve nudge, it would be in the speed of service. The last two times I've been there I've had to wait for probably ten minutes for my drink, even though the lines were short. I'm not sure if they are understaffed or if I've just been unlucky, but that is my experience. The confections were also pretty limited when I was there and were not extremely fresh. But, oh, the coffee!



Remedy, Jackson Street, Knoxville

 Remedy Coffee is on Jackson Street around the corner from Old City Java. That seemed like a foolish location to choose when they opened last year, but it appears to be working. The strangest thing about this coffee house is that it is operated by a church. Knoxville Life Church not only operates the coffee shop, but it is where they meet. All profits go to charitable organizations such has Habitat for Humanity. Normally, this would be enough to make me uncomfortable and I would definitely expect bad coffee. It turns out it is a very comfortable place. No one tried to convert me to anything. It is very comfortable, nicely appointed, Wi-fi enabled (as are all these establishments) and there is a book bank in which you can donate a book and take a book. It seems to me that JFG coffee used to do a similar thing just down the street. And here's the thing: the coffee I had was slow coming, but worth the wait. They can hang with anyone else in the taste competition. As a bonus, they also have Wendel Werner playing keyboard most weeks.

OK. I've delayed long enough. Here are my confessions: I like them all very much with the one exception. I could restrict myself to drinking any one of the other various offerings for the rest of my life and be happy. I go most often to Coffee and Chocolate because of convenience and I really love them, but I can't help it: Metropulse readers get this one right year after year, the best coffee is consistently Old City Java. It has a depth of flavor and a pleasing after-taste that can't be beaten.

Second best? All of the rest (except you-know-which-one). You can't go wrong with the coffee at any of them. I suspect different people would be more comfortable in one place or another, so find your favorite spot, enjoy a good cup of coffee and be grateful for this gift with which downtown Knoxville has not always been blessed.