By Casey Brown, 2013
Across the parking lot from the town of Franklin’s Smokey Mountain Center of Performing Arts is a hometown steakhouse that embraces the area’s long history with the railroad while maintaining a quiet atmosphere for a nice dinner with the family: Boiler Room Steak House.
There are pictures and old-fashioned drawings that reminisce with the decades where the railroad was vital to mountain living. The light fixtures imitate old gas lamps, and the rustic wooden tables play with the simple mountain atmosphere. It is not until you walk back to the salad bar that you face the life-size, remodeled train car, in which some patrons can dine.
The restaurant’s lighting is soft and the volume is kept low, but not eerily so. It projects a space for an individual dining experience. You can enjoy a conversation with your family or a nice meal with friends without other guests intruding on your dinner or you on theirs.
Embracing the steak house agenda, I ordered the sirloin steak with mashed potatoes. As a part of the meal, I got a side salad from the salad bar in the adjacent dining room. This was also where you could get your food if you chose to eat from the buffet, which was available on Friday and Saturday nights.
Living up to its title, the sirloin steak was delicious. It was juicy and had a delicious salty seasoning to it. The mashed potatoes were very creamy and complemented the steak when eaten together.
Our server, dressed simply in a clean pair of jeans and a black button down, was attentive to us, checking in our meal and refilling our glasses whenever they got low. Like the overall atmosphere, the staff was polite and would pop in and out to offer service without much noise or fuss. We were on a tight schedule and we were in and out of the restaurant quickly, but we could have easily sat and talked for a while.
If you are looking a place to have good food and truly enjoy the company of your party without much intrusion, the Boiler Room Steak House is worth your business.