Knoxville's signature Appalachian biscuit, made with hometown White Lily 9-percent-protein soft red winter wheat flour milled here since 1883.
Where to eat it: 4 restaurants across 1 city.
White Lily flour was founded by J. Allen Smith in Knoxville in 1883, named for his wife Lillie. The low-protein soft wheat flour became the Southern biscuit standard for over a century. Pete's Coffee Shop on Union Avenue has served the canonical Knoxville version since 1986. The International Biscuit Festival on Market Square each May anchors the city's biscuit calendar.
Common allergens: Gluten, Dairy, Pork
Tip from the editors. White Lily flour is the canonical low-protein biscuit flour; substitute King Arthur cake flour if you can't find it. Never twist the cutter.
Pete's Restaurant and Coffee Shop on Union Avenue, the downtown diner since 1986, runs breakfast counter service voted Best Breakfast in Knoxville seven.
Order: Country ham and eggs with grits
Tip: Closes 14:00 daily; weekend lines form before 09:00 and weekdays move faster.
The Plaid Apron on Kenesaw Avenue in Sequoyah Hills, the Southern brunch and dinner room, runs Wednesday-to-Sunday brunch with cinnamon rolls.
Order: Cinnamon roll with grits and a smash burger
Tip: Sunday brunch only; Wednesday to Saturday are full brunch and dinner. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays.
Tupelo Honey on Market Square, the Asheville-born Southern kitchen at the plaza's north end, runs all-day brunch with biscuits, fried chicken and Shoo Mercy.
Signature: Fried chicken biscuit, Shoo Mercy double biscuit
Order: The fried chicken biscuit with sweet tea, or the Shoo Mercy double-biscuit plate.
Tip: Weekday lunch turns faster than weekend brunch; UT football Saturdays push wait times past an hour.
Littons Market on Essary Drive is the 1946 Fountain City burger counter that anchors North Knoxvilles hometown dining without leaving its residential setting.
Why locals love it: The Fountain City burger counter since 1946 has anchored North Knoxville's hometown dining without ever leaving its residential setting.
Tip: Cash and card both work; the bakery case sells out by mid-afternoon. Closed Sundays.
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