The Grub Scout – For the Knoxville News Sentinel
Published 5:11 a.m. ET March 21, 2023
In Alcoa, Texas Roadhouse built a brand-new restaurant directly across Hall Road from an existing Texas Roadhouse, and while the new one was under construction, the old one was transformed into a Blue Moose Burgers & Wings. Any doubts I might have had about how that chain of eateries might be received were quickly dispelled when The Grub Spouse and I pulled into the Blue Moose parking lot for an early Saturday-evening dinner a couple of weeks ago and noticed throngs of patrons overflowing out the front doors. A hostess inside informed us that we were looking at a 45-minute wait, so The Spouse and I decided to ride it out in the Grubmobile instead of standing outside the restaurant with the masses.
Fortunately, the wait was closer to 25 minutes, and we soon found ourselves in a booth in one corner of the rear dining section. The place was still hopping, however, and our server confirmed that Blue Moose had been operating on all cylinders since its recent debut.
At first, appetizer listings like jalapeño bites, pretzels, nachos, cheese sticks and the like didn’t pique our interest. But then we spotted an item called bacon cheeseburger sticks ($11.99) that sounded different from anything I’d tried before, based on its description: deep-fried tortillas stuffed with beef, jack and cheddar cheeses, onions and bacon.
The rest of the menu reflects the “Burgers & Wings” half of Blue Moose’s branding. Wings are served in quantities of eight, 12, 20 and 25 pieces and are enhanced by a choice of five dry rubs and 18 wet sauces. The burger lineup features 11 different creations, including a mushroom melt, a mac-and-cheese burger, Buffalo bacon burger and the Hawaiian Luau Burger.
I selected one of Blue’s Big Plates, the burger and wing platter ($17.99), which allowed me to sample both marquee dishes. It consists of a Moose’s All American cheeseburger served with four jumbo wings. I didn’t get any customization options on the burger, but for the wings, I selected the Signature Hot sauce and blue cheese dressing for dipping. I also went with onion rings instead of the included fries for a 99-cent upcharge.
The Spouse perused the section called Moosewiches and landed on the fried pickle Buffalo chicken sandwich ($12.49). It’s a fried chicken breast drizzled with mild sauce and served, along with fried pickles and two slices of American cheese, between slices of Texas toast. The Spouse tacked two upcharge items onto the order — a sweet potato waffle fries substitution and caramel sauce for dipping them.
Let’s be clear about one thing: The fare at Blue Moose Burgers & Wings is geared toward folks who have no qualms about consuming fried, greasy, fatty cuisine. And yes, there are exceptions to that, including a grilled chicken breast and a greens-based house salad. But for the most part, a meal at Blue Moose is a comfort-food extravaganza. We simply embraced that mindset and went with it as we dug in.
Both the burger (which came with American cheese, lettuce and tomato) and the Buffalo chicken sandwich were fair efforts, although the onion rings and sweet potato fries were middle-of-the-road representatives of those particular dishes. The boneless wings were acceptable; the Signature Hot sauce was noticeably fiery, but if I ever return to a Blue Moose, I’m likely to go a level or two hotter.
Honestly, the star of the show was the cheeseburger sticks, which I might best describe as tiny beef chimichangas sliced in two. The plate held six halves altogether. They were really good, especially when enhanced by the accompanying hot queso dip. And kudos also go to our server for keeping up with our needs and being patiently helpful with menu recommendations, despite being slammed.
The Spouse and I had ordered so much heavy food that we chose to take only limited bites of every item in order to save room for a dessert — in this case, the Brownie Bottom Overload ($7.99), a fudge brownie served warm and topped with vanilla ice cream and hot fudge. The other options were the Blue Velvet Dream Cake and Jassca’s Peanut Butter Fudge Pie.
We took home tons of leftovers and vowed to work out extra to counteract the nutritional punishment our bodies would endure in consuming all that grub. But if you’re looking for a dining experience where the goal is to shamelessly chow down on indulgent American fare, Blue Moose is as good a place as any. However, unless you wait until that new-restaurant buzz wears off, you should plan to endure the crowds and the wait times.
Blue Moose Burgers & Wings
Food: 3.75
Service: 4
Atmosphere: 3.75
Overall: 3.75
Address: 334 Fountain View Circle, Alcoa
Phone: 865-233-4667
Kids’ menu
Full bar service
Hours: 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday; 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Friday and Saturday
If you’re craving burgers, fries, wings, wraps and all manner of hearty American fare, this brand-spanking-new Alcoa eatery won’t leave you feeling blue.
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