This is the first entry in a series of blog posts by Gwen Schantz, a former employee of (and eternal devotee to) the Eat Well Guide. Lately Gwen’s been traveling throughout the US and Canada, seeking out good food and collecting stories along the way. Gwen’s been making use of the Guide from the road, though she’s eagerly awaiting (as are we) the launch of our new interactive mapping feature, Eat Well Everywhere (coming this fall), which will make it easier than ever to find good food, well, everywhere.
There is only one natural foods store in Knoxville, Tennessee, and if it weren’t for my good friend the Eat Well Guide, I probably would never have found it. And that would have been a real shame, because it means I never would have gotten to eat at the Organic Roots Cafe.
Owned and operated by Yawah Awalowo, Knoxville’s queen of healthy eating, the Cafe is a natural foods oasis in the Tennessee’s fast food desert. And a tasty oasis, at that. I had the “kitchen sink” sandwich, which turned out to be perhaps the heartiest and most enjoyable vegan dish I ever ate. Like its name would suggest, the sandwich was filled with a little bit of everything in Ms. Awalowo’s kitchen (minus the sink), and with a side of organic blue corn chips and iced tea, lunch was complete. And completely delicious.
Although I probably would have rather taken a nap after the sandwich, I moved on and left Knoxville a few short hours after entering the city (I had to get to Memphis before sundown). But before hopping back in the car, I picked up a few things for the road at Nature’s Pantry (The Cafe is actually located inside this natural foods store). The place is chock full of organic foods, which was a nice switch from the traditional grocery store where you have to dig a bit to find the organic stuff. I picked up some peanut butter, chips, juice and chocolate (I’m a total Green & Blacks addict), hopped in the car, and smiled all the way to Memphis, having accomplished that day’s mission to find good food.
3 responses so far ↓
1 Charlotte // Jun 15, 2008 at 2:12 pm
Actually, there is also a lovely natural foods store called Three Rivers Market, which is also Knoxville’s community owned food cooperative. Knoxville also has an Earth Fare, if you want to call that a natural foods store.
2 leslie // Jun 16, 2008 at 11:22 am
We stand corrected! We’ll have to add these to the Guide. Thanks for the tip, Charlotte!
3 Debbi // Jan 8, 2009 at 9:57 am
Just wanted to let you know that Demi’s Deli, in South Knoxville, has come up with a deli menu for everyone, that over all is healthy (minus the mayo here and there) and full of flavor!
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