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Ben Finch
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Natalie Watson
Set in a forest enclave abutting the Maryville College campus, RT Lodge offers true respite from the stresses of daily life.
At its heart is an historic, 90-year-old structure, once the home of Susan Wiley Cooper Walker, who loved the setting and had it built. Nearby are two guest houses providing comfortable accommodations, connected by stone paths and terraces landscaped in harmony with nature. There are walking trails throughout the wooded acreage, sitting areas by a pond, and surrounding a fire pit, all opportunities to immerse yourself in the quiet serenity of place.
The iconic lodge is rich in history. At Mrs. Walker’s death in 1950, her 26-room abode was willed to Maryville College. Its use has morphed over the years, becoming home for the college president, then an inn and restaurant, later a private corporate retreat and training facility for Ruby Tuesday, Inc. Since 2021, area investors, led by hospitality professionals Beth McCabe-Holman and David and Annie Haslam Colquitt, have taken possession. (Holman worked for Blackberry Farm for over a decade; the Colquitts own the luxury inn, The Swag, in Waynesboro North Carolina.) This group, Morningside Lodge, LLC, is committed to stewardship: honoring the importance of the lodge and environs to both Maryville College and the community. Theirs is a process of refining the spaces and amenities. Having an excellent farm-to-table restaurant is paramount. While RT Lodge is available for special events, it remains accessible to guests for an overnight stay or a visit for dinner. That meal can range from the humble but delicious Lodge Burger to the celebratory wood-roasted sirloin cap steak for two.
Executive chef Trevor Stockton and his team are dedicated to the farm-to-fork mission: sourcing local and regional ingredients, cooking seasonally, curing meats for charcuterie, pickling, making preserves, smoking meats and vegetables. Further, pastry chef Caitlyn Cox (whose work many may recall from her time at Henrietta Red) oversees the making of all baked goods—breads, rolls, crackers, as well as desserts. On the main level of the lodge you’ll find the bar, which looks out to the stone terrace. Order a cocktail—the Lodge Fashioned is a smooth, potent sip—and take in the scenery. Head upstairs to the second-floor dining rooms, replete with windows that bring the outside in. You almost feel like you are in a treehouse.
The menu is a concise, approachable roster of snacks, small plates, and entrees, with vegetarian and gluten-free options clearly identified. The style is Southern (you can count on stellar cast- iron skillet fried chicken, and the house pimento cheese is a popular starter) but is really ingredient and season driven. The cheeseboard, laden with sliced apples, candied pecans, Castelvetrano olives, house crackers and a crock of blackberry jam, highlights Blackberry Farm’s ash-ripened Hawkins Haze, a Brie-like wedge of Green Hill from Sweet Grass Dairy, and a slice of Thomasville Thomme.
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Clark Brewer
Stockton’s father’s family has long had a farm in Gainesboro, Tennessee, where they raise Berkshire pigs. The chef often procures the heritage hogs from this farm, because they are ideal for the house charcuterie, or main dishes, such as Pork Schnitzel, cloaked in mushroom cream. Stockton deftly uses products from Anson Mills to enhance his fare: AM cornmeal encases his Fried Gulf Shrimp in a toothsome crackle; their creamy yellow grits underpin tender pulls of smoked lamb shoulder and gravy; their heirloom Carolina Gold rice provides the creamy foundation of his Oyster Mushroom Risotto.
Pastry chef Cox’s work shines, from the chive butter rolls presented at the beginning of your meal to the scrumptious sweets at the end. Her Pear Panna Cotta— silken, salted caramel-vanilla bean custard topped with cubed poached pear and pecan crumble—is a fall treat not to be missed. Savor it with a cup of Maryville’s own Vienna coffee. Or you may want to relax at the fire pit and make your own s’mores. Grahams, marshmallows, chocolate bars and a mesmerizing blaze await.
(1406 Wilkinson Pike, Maryville, TN, 865-981-9800; rtlodge.com)