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Many Knoxville diners will be familiar with the location of Echo Bistro & Wine Bar, the site of the late Kenny Siao’s Mango restaurant on Kingston Pike. These days, the interior has more of a contemporary European feel to it, a pricey but eclectic assortment of original art pieces adorns the walls, and subtly effective lighting sets a nice mood, as The Grub Spouse and I discovered on our inaugural visit.

Our server set the tone for our meal with glasses of water topped with large chunks of watermelon, which gave the water a refreshingly light flavor. The chefs also sent out a complimentary amuse bouche for our tasting — a sampling of pickled vegetables, including green beans, cauliflower, green peppers, carrots and olives.

Our first ordering decision revolved around the appetizer menu, which offers the likes of escargot, pan-seared crab cake, beef carpaccio and an Asian-style shrimp cocktail. The Spouse and I ordered the roasted oysters Bienville, which are served warm in the shell and topped with Gulf shrimp, mushrooms, bacon and a cream sauce.

And since Echo is also a wine bar, our server poured a taste of the evening’s featured wine, a red from the Vina Zaco label. I found the preview very appealing and ordered a full glass. While we waited for our first course and the wine to be delivered, we were able to nosh on a basket of jalapeno cheese bread accompanied by a delicious homemade pesto.

The appetizer was outstanding. Even The Spouse — not the biggest oyster lover — was won over by the delicious flavors that complemented but never overpowered the fresh taste of the four oysters.

We enjoyed the service very much. Our waiter was knowledgeable, thorough and extremely courteous, all the while establishing a very genial, casual rapport that never threatened to slip into aloofness.

I believe I would have been happy with just about anything listed among the 15 entrees. Dishes like sea scallops St. Jacque, rack of lamb, sautéed fillet of Scottish salmon, vegetarian lasagna and ravioli, steak Diane, beef Wellington and smoked breast of duckling all had their own tempting attributes.

We finally narrowed it down to the bison strip steak Denmark for yours truly and the fall and winter duet for The Spouse — a grilled veal chop accompanied by venison blueberry sausage, sautéed mushrooms and pearl onions. Both our entrees would be served with beets, asparagus and a potato (truffle mashed potatoes and a baked sweet potato, respectively).

Both dishes were served in surprisingly generous portions and plated for show. The bison steak was a shade tougher than a traditional beef cut might have been, but the flavor was distinct and nicely embellished by shiitake mushrooms, bits of country ham and blue cheese crumbles. I preferred the rich venison sausage over the veal chop, although both were standouts. Both potatoes were memorable, but neither of us cares two bits for beets.

We passed over desserts like bananas Foster and cherries jubilee to try the fall and winter tuile — brittle coconut, cranberry and pecan cookies and vanilla ice cream served with real whipped cream, a fresh berry assortment and a homemade pear jam glaze.

Unfortunately, I’ve run out of space before I’ve run out of accolades. But when it comes to both dining at Echo Bistro and telling people about it, I’d be happy to repeat myself.

© 2009, Knoxville News Sentinel
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