Stock & Barrel

We visit Stock & Barrel because a local bartender told us it’s the place to go for the juiciest burger in Knoxville, TN. And we’re craving a good burger. 

In the heart of Knoxville, TN

The location is right on Market Square, but feels anything but cookie-cutter. The narrow indoor space has an industrial feel, and is bustling with diners. Outside, a cozy outdoor patio makes for great people-watching with your burger. We get ours to go, and somehow resist opening each box on the way home.

Crowd-pleasing apps

One of my favorites is the Opa! This is simple and genius. A warm baguette served with pan-seared feta and generously drizzled with Tennessee honey. It’s salty and tangy from the feta, comforting and just a touch sweet. All of the good things. 

The Crispy Shrooms are crunchy and earthy at the same time, served with two sauces: honey mustard and creamed horseradish. There are a lot of them, so if you’re going with a group, this is a nice option that any shroom-lover would like. 

The White Cheddar Pimento Cheese is made with tomato jam and goat cheese, then topped with scallions. Dusted pita chips are thick enough to provide a legitimate scoop for the cheese.

Local, delicious, inventive

Ah, The Hurt Locker burger: What a sight. It’s huge, served with decadent duck fat fries and a thick and creamy garlic aioli.

The burger is a tribute to local Tennessee flavors. First is local Mitchell family beef cooked to a very impressive to-go medium rare, which lives up to our friend’s description as the juiciest burger in Knoxville. (John Mitchell is a sixth-generation farmer in Blaine, Tennessee, who raises his cattle on 400 acres his family has owned since the 19th century.)

Then, a healthy layer of that white cheddar pimento cheese. Next, thick-cut bacon from Benton’s, a producer from Madisonville who’s been in business since 1947. A fried green tomato and bourbon onions top things off.

There are a lot of textures and flavors going on, and they all work amazingly together, including the custom-created, flour-dusted bun from Flour Head bakery, which has the stamina to hold it all together. 

It’s important to note that the menu for burgers is 20-options deep, and each one sounds better than the next, from The Bernie with blue cheese crumbles, bacon, blueberry preserves and beer-battered jalapeño to The Bison with boursin, sautéed mushrooms, crispy onions and garlic aioli. There are mouthwatering options with chicken, salmon, veggie burgers, turkey and lamb. 

And bourbon to boot

If we had stayed to eat, we could have enjoyed the bourbon menu, which boasts over 250 bourbon and whiskeys, including the elusive Pappy Van Winkle.

We’re content with our at-home spread, and the size of each portion means we’ll have ample leftovers, about which we are very excited.