Metro Pulse/Restaruant Rover/Spooky's

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Spooky's
130 Northshore Drive
330-0110

by Ally Carte

Call it kismet, as well as further proof that the best laid plans never, ever go smoothly—yet still always have a strange way of working out for the best.

My original grand plan was to sneak out to Union Jack's, a neat English-esque pub at 124 Northshore Drive, right next to the railroad tracks. There I would drink a beer or, my favorite summer alcoholic beverage, a hard cider, have a bite of dinner, and maybe catch Robinella and the CC String Band, who play there every Thursday evening. And while the beverage selection at Union Jack's was ample (a draft ale for me and a Shiner Bock for the spouse), the atmosphere dark and comfortable, the food choices were not many. I'm sure that the baskets of popcorn or bowls of hummus or plates of sandwiches are filling and good, but I wanted something more substantial, something that would stick to your ribs. Like, for instance, ribs.

Fortunately—and here's where the kismet comes in—Spooky's, the former East Knoxville barbecue joint that recently moved west, is right across the parking lot from Union Jack's. Hell, you don't even have to cross Northshore (challenging and ill-advised after a pint or two at Union Jack's) in order to dive in to the good eats that this place has to offer.

Strictly speaking, Spooky's is more than a simple barbecue house. In this location—the former home of Bistro by the Tracks, which is still by the same tracks further east in Bearden—Spooky's has the feeling of a real sit-down restaurant, complete with cheery lemon yellow accouterments, galvanized steel table tops, and warmly-colored, madras-covered booth backs. The place is still small and comfortable, though, and seats maybe 50 if they're close friends, with a long, skinny kitchen flanking the back half of the long, skinny building.

The atmosphere makes Spooky's feel like a family dining room, one in which you're never afraid to lean back in your chair after a meal and undo the top button of your pants. It helps, too, that Clark "Spooky" Frazier and his wife, who were working that night as the entire wait staff, couldn't be more welcoming. The only thing that keeps it from feeling exactly like home is that Ma Carte was never able to cook this well.

The meatloaf dinner ($8.99) is the pinnacle of comfort food. Tiny chunks of onion and green pepper dot each of the two good-sized squares that come with dinner. More than mere ketchup has been added to the ground meat—my guess is that Spooky's tomato-based barbecue sauce is what gives this dish its complex flavor—and the result is moist and tender. The creamy coleslaw and almost-overly salty pinto beans that I chose as my side dishes were perfect.

In fact, Spooky's side dishes could conceivably make a great meal all by themselves. Along with the aforementioned slaw and beans, choices include sinfully good and rich potato salad, slow-cooked yet still toothsome and tasty greens, homemade macaroni and cheese (full of pockets of warm and gooey cheddar), as well as more pedestrian green beans, corn, and tossed salad. If you're not feeling in a meaty mood (be forewarned, though, that some of these side dishes are not vegetarian), three of these can be had on a plate ($5.79) with either a corn muffin or some lightly grilled Texas toast.

To do that, however satisfying it would seem at the time, would be to miss Spooky's ribs ($10.99). Slow-cooked to tender perfection, four of these sweet-sauced lovelies come to a plate and are suck-your-fingertips good. And, for the record, both the ribs and the meatloaf are even better heated up for lunch the next day.

Also on the menu are the Spooky burger ($3.79 or $3.99 with cheese), which is truly a sight to behold, a bologna sandwich ($2.49), smoked chicken ($4.49 for the sandwich, $8.99 for dinner), and a chitlin dinner ($18.99) that even someone with a strong, adventurous stomach like myself can't quite face yet. But what can't be missed is the sweet potato pie ($3.29), a individual tart shell about as big around as a salad plate with a creamy, sweet, and nutmeg-y filling that is warmed to perfection. Add to that a scoop of cinnamon ice cream ($1.49) and you have a dessert to swoon over.

I'll be the first to admit that it feels somewhat strange to gush over this little barbecue/soul food joint. Sure, there are places where the service is more speedy and showy. Of course, there are restaurants where the food is more artfully prepared, but there is just something undeniably warm, sincere, and fulfilling about this little eatery that could, something that makes you simply feel cared for, well-fed and appreciated. And, in the end, that is what makes Spooky's such a great and welcome addition to the West Knoxville dining scene and I'm glad that I found myself experiencing it, despite whatever grander plans I may have had.