Metro Pulse/Restaruant Rover/By the Tracks Bistro

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By the Tracks Bistro
5200 Kingston Pike
558-9500

by Ally Carte

My love of brunch is the stuff of legends—and it is a topic about which I will hold forth until force-fed some Eggs Benedict and a Bloody Mary. Brunch, I posit, is what separates us from other mammals. While some would argue it's that pesky opposable thumb issue, I firmly contend it is our ability to do wonderful things with potatoes and eggs.

Which is why my eyes were simply glued to a newish banner in front of one of my favorite Knoxville haunts, By the Tracks Bistro out in Homberg. "Sunday Brunch," it said, "11-2." Such a simple thought nearly caused me to become one more Kingston Pike vehicular tragedy. At least I wasn't jabbering away on a cell phone while terrorizing lesser mortals who have the gall to not own a gas-guzzling SUV.

I digress. Brunch, the best meal of the week, could only be a divine experience at this tony eatery that is well known for its upscale and invariably delicious take on familiar dishes. Perhaps the best label for their constantly creative food would be "Southern fusion," yet without the pretension that "fusion" implies. At By the Tracks, catfish is still eminently recognizable and homey, even when it is served with an innovative peach tartar sauce and an unexpected sweet potato salad. Just think what these culinary minds could do with brunch, I mused, and planned my weekend around this meal.

Great expectations, with apologies to Dickens, are often impossible to live up to. Perhaps, during my week-long wait for this meal, my anticipation reached such an astronomical level that no mere restaurant could ever satisfy it. But my disappointment at the reality, I must admit, was acute.

It didn't stem from the quality of the dishes presented—more about that in half a moment—but about the quantity. In addition to By the Tracks' regular work-a-day lunch offerings, which range from inspired salads involving spinach, strawberries, and pecans to oyster po'boys that toy with conventions of the form, there was a measly three traditional brunch-y favorites. In spirit, it felt as if these folks felt compelled to offer a potentially lucrative brunch trade yet couldn't fully commit to providing a fleshed-out brunch menu. Heck, there wasn't even a cursory egg-and-Hollandaise dish in the offing, nor was there bacon, two egregious errors in my opinion of what constitutes a reasonable stab at brunch.

I was only moderately soothed by the heady, freshly brewed coffee ($1.75) and substantial wedges of steamy, dense bread with real butter that were laid out before us on the white tablecloth after we ordered. My pique truly lessened, however, the moment our food was placed in front of us by the ever-efficient By the Tracks waitstaff. The French toast with strawberries ($8.75) was nearly a battleground for my dining companion (not the lover of brunch that I am—I mean, how could he be?—but still an admirer of it) and me. Substantial rounds of the same dense bread on which we had been noshing were delicately dipped in egg and grilled to perfection—and were the perfect texture to soak up gallons of maple syrup. The berries were at the peak of ripeness, sweet and fragrant, and the freshly whipped cream was rich and not too sugary. All in all, a wonderful interpretation of a classic.

The Southwestern-inspired huevos rancheros ($9.50) showed the flair for which this restaurant has become locally famous. Rather than fried eggs haphazardly served on corn tortillas with a blob of salsa, these huevos were a monument to the idea. From the bottom up, a layer of molasses-touched grits acted as the foundation for layers of black bean and corn relish, wilted spinach, two freshly fried tortillas, cheese, tomato salsa full of tiny bits of peppers and onions, a dollop of sour cream, and, incidentally, two fried eggs. While that many layers of diverse tastes should have made an inedible mess, quite the opposite was true. Each flavor played well with the others and my only complaint with this dish is that it is way too much for any one person to consume in any reasonable amount of time.

The other brunch dish on the menu was a Mediterranean Fritatta ($9.50), a traditional scrambled egg pie filled with feta cheese and artichoke hearts. And I have no doubt that it is fabulous as well. Still, with all of the skill and flair evidenced by the two meals we enjoyed and given the By the Tracks Bistro's, um, track record for fully realized foods that are well prepared, the brunch enthusiast (or fanatic, like myself) can't help but be let down by what this restaurant has to offer on a Sunday morning. It is almost like this meal was an afterthought to the restaurant's regular week. And while I can understand the motivations behind the decision to offer a Sunday brunch, I can't help but wish that this meal had been given as much critical thought as the rest of their superb menu.