I don’t recall how I learned about Kelly’s Kitchen, but the restaurant had already been in business for about a year and a half before I became aware of it. The Grub Spouse and I took The Spouse’s step-mother out for a morning hike this past weekend, and we decided to carry that over into an early lunch for three at Kelly’s, which is in the northwest corner of the Market Place shopping center near Cedar Bluff.
The Spouse and I had taken time to look over their menu online, so we had a fairly solid idea of what we were interested in. Kelly’s Kitchen specializes in sandwiches, which includes hands-on touches like roasting their own turkey meat as well as brining their own corned beef and pastrami. They also work with bakeries all over the U.S. to procure breads for their diverse menu lineup.
Signature sandwiches include the New Orleans Muff-A-Lotta, Kelly’s generous take on the classic muffuletta. Their version is a hefty beast of a creation, made with Boar’s Head ham, salami, mortadella and capicola as well as provolone, Swiss cheese and olive salad, all on pressed panini bread from Gambino’s Bakery. This looked like more than any of us was willing to take on, so we perused other options like the Texas-smoked beef brisket, the Chicago Italian beef and Big Al’s meatball sandwich.
I got the NYC Reuben ($10.89 for a whole sandwich), made with house-cured beef brisket, Boar’s Head sauerkraut, Swiss cheese and house-made Thousand Island dressing on seeded rye bread. I decided to go the Signature Sammie & Side route, wherein I was able to order half a Reuben and a side − the cheesy tater soup − for $7.89. Other sides include Cuban rice and beans, a side salad, cole slaw and ‘mater pesto soup.
My MIL employed the same strategy in ordering the Tampa Cubano sandwich, which is $10.89 for a full-size version. She also got a half-sandwich and a side of pasta salad for $7.89.
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The Spouse looked over the menu’s listings of cheesesteak sandwiches, chicken cheesesteaks and premium sub sandwiches (which feature oven-roasted turkey, roast beef, ham, Italian, an American club and a deluxe club). After narrowing it down to a beef or chicken cheesesteak, The Spouse decided on the regular (smaller) size of the traditional Philly cheesesteak ($7.95). The Spouse also decided to get an a-la-carte side, the broccoli salad, for $2.99.
We ordered at the register, got our fountain drinks and claimed a table. Not too much time passed before an employee delivered our food baskets to us. I’ll start with the MIL’s Cuban, which was tastily by the book from top to bottom. The bread is such a key component of any Cuban, and Kelly’s Kitchen has made a fine vendor choice for theirs. The slices of pork, ham, Swiss cheese, citrus mojo mustard and dill pickles were stacked in ideal proportions. The pasta salad was standard issue but enjoyable nonetheless.
The Spouse’s Philly was also really good, prepared in mostly textbook fashion with sliced beef, grilled onions and cheese. I say “mostly” textbook because many traditional Phillys are made with grilled green peppers, but The Spouse was not sad for that particular ingredient to be omitted from this sandwich. The broccoli salad was OK but not especially impressive.
Kudos to Kelly’s Kitchen on the ingredients used in the Reuben. Everything was used in proportion, but I felt that this particular construction used less corned beef than the typical Reuben. The stack wasn’t quite as substantial as most Reubens I’ve enjoyed in the past. But it was still good eating, from the toasted rye to the gooey blend of cheese and sauerkraut. And the potato soup was superb − thick, almost with the consistency of white gravy − but with pleasing accents of green onion and melted cheese.
We had hoped for some of Kelly’s homemade banana pudding for dessert, but their daily batch wasn’t ready yet, so we shared a serving of Kelly’s Chocolate Pot (their version of the French dessert pot de crème) for $3.49 and a homemade chocolate chip cookie for $1.95. Both were delicious, especially the chocolatey custard, which was super rich and had almost a mousse-like texture.
All around, I was pleased with Kelly’s Kitchen − not just the food but also the pricing and the employee interaction. Hopefully, others (like me) will soon gain first-hand experience with this quality local sandwich maker.
Food: 4.25
Service: 4
Atmosphere: 3.5
Overall: 4
Address: 9355 Kingston Pike, Suite 15
Phone: 865-500-2333
No alcohol service
Hours: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays
This West Knoxville eatery takes a high-quality approach to the creation of its classic American sandwiches.