Grill 73 — Restaurant in Tennessee

We drove from Pigeon Forge to this remote location of Newport, TN for this restaurant and because of the wonderful reviews. Gotta say we were not disappointed. I ordered Borscht two times, my wife did as well. I then ordered two quarts of Borscht to go and although I make Borscht myself at home, it was very enjoyable to have someone else’s and using a different protein than I use (I use Beef, Val had chicken) which makes for a slight difference in flavor profile. My wife and I make it a point to try any Russian Restaurant we come across and are overly critical because we cook Russian cuisines at home and I cook for my livelihood but I can tell you this was very authentic and delightful. The Pirozhki was deep fried (we pan fry) but it was very good with mashed potatoes. If we had more time I would certainly come back. One dish I was hoping to see but didn’t was Solyanka which is another Russian soup that I have grown fond over consisting of three meats and a pickle base. It’s absolutely delightful for both Virgin Tongues and seasoned Russian Diners. The atmosphere was pleasant, I was greeted by a gentleman that said he comes from nearby North Carolina every Wednesday to eat Oleg & Vals food and have grown a relationship with them. Across from the restaurant is Pigeon River, it’s breathtaking and had it not been so darn cold we probably would have grabbed our food to go and settled in to the picnic area located across the street. Valentina said that a lot of locals now speak a little Russian, I believe it, her personality was infectious and if we lived near the area we would come probably every day. Obviously marrying into a Russian family, I tend to be a little biased towards my fondness for Russian culture but I could easily see where even having no ties I would immediately take to their friendliness. Also, a delight for me having studied the language for 10 years, was the fact that they had a war time movie playing in the background, and although I tend to be a little shy speaking Russian around native speakers, I was able to fully understand the show and enjoyed watching it. Bottom Line, next time we are around this area we will be eating at Grill 73 every night, yes it...

I was excited to try this place due to all the great reviews. I was underwhelmed to say the least. I did stop in on a whim, and it just happened to be the last day they were open before they closed for the winter break. That may have played a part in the experience, I don't know. The place is small, the owners are friendly. Very small seating area, wasn't exceptionally clean and they have a gas stove heating the area that wasn't quite doing the job. I did have to use the restroom, again, not blown away with the cleanliness, the broken soap dispenser or the sign saying don't flush the toilet paper! The food was delicious, I had their special, it consisted of two ground beef/pork patties breaded and fried with a very flavorful mayonnaise/sour cream(?) sauce. The fry bread and coleslaw were good, mashed potatoes were good. I was not impressed with the pirochkes, they were supposed to be potato and bacon but I could see no sign or taste of bacon. I'm not sure what the special was called since it wasn't on the menu or posted anywhere. In fact, I wish I'd asked the price of it, my total bill (which as other reviewers have pointed out, is told to you verbally with no paper receipt) came to $28 and some change. My total meal consisted of the special, three pirochkes and a bottle of diet Coke. If you say they charge $3 for the diet Coke, and the menu states $5 for the pirochkes, plus 10% Tennessee sales tax, that would mean that the special, which was basically two small Salisbury steak patties with mashed potatoes was $18. It was definitely enough for a dinner, but for that price I would have liked to have some leftover to take home. While I enjoyed the food, I don't believe ratings should be based just on the food. Cleanliness, attentiveness, price all play a factor and while I wish these owners and their business all the best, I cannot give it a...

What a wonderful, unexpected little gem!! On our way back from a camping trip, I decided to check out Yelp to find a cool place to stop for lunch. Ran by a lovely couple Valentina and Oleg (that used to be russian circus trapeze performers), we couldn't have been happier with the place we found. Oleg (aka Alex) remodeled the old store building and added a front seating section with his own two hands. From creating the wood accents around the doors and windows to the way it feels like you are visiting their home, you can tell it was a labor of love. It is a simple menu with some American type subs and sandwiches, as well as several Russian home cooked meals. What to order?... We ordered every russian specialty on the menu and every single one was delicious. We even waited for one to be finished and took it home for dinner. The simple sounding Chicken Sauté with rice and beans surprised me and was my favorite. The flavors were perfect. The scalloped pie we took home was sooo good and cooked to perfection. The borscht was chunky and flavorful. The stuffed cabbage was different with chicken and rice and I loved it! The crepes for desert were the final dish and oh so delicious. As Oleg said.. "This is just regular Russian food- what we would normally cook for dinner." We heard the beef stroganoff was the nest but it was not being served the day we were there, so We will definitely be making the hour and a half drive back to try it and to enjoy these delicious...