Chez Guevara Restaurant

                When you come to Knoxville there are two things you should expect locals to be passionate about: football and food! Everyone that comes to Knoxville knows that they are in Big Orange Country, but what they may not know is the great places to dine that only locals know about. After 19 years of experienced eating in Knoxville, I finally have it down to my top restaurants for Mexican food, Italian food, barbeque, and burgers. Now, enough jabbering, let’s get down to eatin’!

                In the corner of a shopping mall on Kingston Pike between Toys-R-Us and Barns and Noble is a small Mexican restaurant called Chez Guevara. There is no sign above the restaurant, but then again, they don’t really need one when the great food brings everyone in! It is an easy location to glace over, but it’s hard to miss most nights as crowds sit outside waiting to get a chance at a plateful of the best Tex-Mex in K-town. When you enter the fairly small restaurant, you are likely to be captivated by the wide array of Elvis memorabilia that covers the walls. The pictures and mirrors that cover the walls set a very unique, rustic mood. Even my parents reminisce over the same mood the restaurant set over twenty years ago when they were dating. The lights are very dim, which is rather calming, but there are usually some different types of up-tempo music being played to liven up the hole-in-the-wall restaurant.

                Not that I can personally attest to it, but Chez Guevara’s margaritas are second to none in town. With a full bar directly in front of you as you enter, it very easy to grab a cold, draft beer or a refreshing margarita while
you wait for one of the limited tables to free up for your party. Once you finally get that table you’ve been waiting on, you may want to slow down on those adult beverages, though: some of the food is pretty dang spicy! Maybe I’m a wimp, but even as I enjoyed the traditional Mexican salsa and the sweet tomatillo salsa I was very glad that there was a server whose whole job is to go around and refill everyone’s waters, because I was sure going through it.

                The menu has a wide variety of traditional Mexican foods with a slight modern twist to it, but not enough to change the exploding flavors the food has. Personally, I usually order the Al Carbon. It has sizzling strips of steak packed in two flour tortillas with plenty of cheese (they are very generous when it comes to cheese; I hope you have a high-fiber cereal for the next morning!), sour cream, fresh guacamole, Pico de gallo, and savory Mexican rice and beans. It sounds like a normal Mexican meal, but words could not capture the blast of flavor that consumes your body with that first bite.

                You’re not going to find a restaurant with the personality, loyal customers, quality of food, and overall experience anywhere in Knoxville, or anywhere else I’ve been for that matter, for the very reasonable prices that Chez Guevara offers. Some of the same hostesses and servers that work there today worked there when my parents were still going on dates to Chez Guevara! They must be staying for the same reason I keep on going: because there’s no place like it! That’s as simple as it gets! Check it out, get a dish, and let me know what you think. As always, keep on eatin’ well, K-town.