Litton's Market and Restaurant on Essary Drive in Fountain City since 1946, the family-run burger and bakery counter, sells the famous burger.
Signature dishes: Thunder Road burger, Italian cream cake
Must order: A Thunder Road burger with the daily piece of Italian cream cake to take home.
Tip: Closed Sundays; weekday lunch lines move faster than the dinner crowd in Fountain City.
Address: 2803 Essary Drive, Knoxville, TN 37918
Sitar Indian Cuisine on Kingston Pike, the long-running Bearden Indian dining room and buffet, runs chicken tikka masala and a daily lunch buffet for West.
Signature: Lunch buffet, Chicken tikka masala
Order: The weekday lunch buffet, or chicken tikka masala with garlic naan at dinner.
Tip: Weekday buffet runs 11:00-14:30; dinner reservations rarely needed except Friday and Saturday.
Stir Fry Cafe at Gallery Shopping Center on Kingston Pike, the long-running Bearden Thai counter, runs pad thai and drunken noodles for West Knoxville since.
Signature: Pad thai, Drunken noodles
Order: Pad thai with chicken or drunken noodles at the heat level of your choice.
Tip: Closed Tuesdays; weekday lunch turns faster than the dinner crowd.
Kaizen on South Central, chef Jesse Newmister's Asian-fusion room in the Old City since 2016, runs steamed buns, ramen and rotating chef plates a block.
Signature: Steamed buns, Chef's noodle bowl
Order: A round of steamed buns with the chef's noodle bowl of the week.
Tip: Friday and Saturday nights run busiest; Tuesday and Wednesday are easier for the chef's plates.
Curious Dog on West Jackson, the brothers Weidenhamer's hot-dog counter in the historic JFG building, runs over 30 specialty dog builds since 2009.
Signature: Specialty hot dogs, Craft beer bottle shop
Order: A specialty dog build with a bottle off the rotating craft-beer wall.
Tip: Bottle shop runs longer than the kitchen; aim for lunch or early dinner.
Petro's Chili and Chips on Market Square, the chili-on-chips concept born at the 1982 World's Fair Knoxville, runs the Petro signature bowl downtown.
Signature: Original Petro, Chili-cheese chips
Order: The original Petro with chili, cheese, sour cream, salsa and Fritos.
Tip: The 1982 World's Fair original; Petro's still runs across Knoxville malls but the Market Square counter is the symbolic one.
Nick and J's Cafe on Lovell Road in West Knoxville, the hometown diner across from the Pellissippi Parkway exit, runs all-day breakfast and burgers.
Signature: Breakfast platter, Hometown burger
Order: The breakfast platter with bacon and country ham, or the hometown burger at lunch.
Tip: Weekday breakfast runs 07:00-10:30, Saturday until 11:30; expect a line on Saturdays. Closed Sundays.
