It's too easy to get stuck in ruts, even with food.  This year, make it a New Year's resolution for yourself to get out more, try some new restaurants, and taste things you've never tasted before!  Besides being great food and great experiences, it can take your cooking to whole new levels by inspiring you with great new ideas to try out in your own kitchen.

Knoxville has some one of the longest lists, per capita, of restaurants, and it is famous for being one of the most going-out-to-eat cities in the nation.  There are thousands upon thousands of great menu items at great restaurants in Knoxville ranging from the super gourmet to favorite little unassuming holes-in-the-wall.  This is where we shine, Knoxville, so don't fall in the Southerner-infamous trap of going to the same places and getting the same things over and over and over (there's a reason that Knoxville also has so many very popular chain restaurants in place of more gourmet, interesting, and original spots -- we're known for liking the same things the same ways almost ad infinitum).  Hopefully this article will help break that reputation!

Here are some fun little aspects of this resolution that you can make, providing you with plenty of excuses to get out and eat some great food and to take your special someone on a few more dates (and look kind of adventurous while you're at it).  Before long, you'll be a bit of an expert on the cuisine at your favorite little spots as well as the local area!

• Search for new places to go eat and eat there.  Last time I did a web search of restaurants in Maryville, I found out that there were about six new ones that I'd never heard of.  Well, that was several weeks worth of new experiences lined right up for me right there!
• Make a commitment to get out at least once every week or two and stick to it.  When you go out, try new places that you found while driving or looking around.  If you've passed a place a dozen or more times wondering about it, make a deal with yourself to pull right in and try it next time.  If you're married, your sweetie will probably love the extra date night opportunities.
• Order something you've never tried before.  If there's some ingredient like lamb, rabbit, or squid on the menu that you've never tried, then get it.  The worst that can happen is that you won't like it much, and you only had to pay about $10-15 for that piece of information (which is worth a lot more than that).  You could find out that you absolutely love ox tails (you will, by the way), on the other hand, and that's worth even more than you'll pay to find it out.
• Order something different every time you visit a place (and repeat this trick often!).  Restaurants have long menus with lots of options.  Try to try them all!  You can pick favorites once you know what you're picking from.  Look at it this way: if you already like something at that restaurant, then there's a good chance you'll like something else too!
• Get the super expensive thing. If you know a restaurant (Connor's Steak and Seafood in Turkey Creek...) that has something very tempting but too expensive on the menu (Delmonico ribeye, $37...), get over it and get it, even if you have to skip out on a weekly wine, weekly cheese, friendly potluck, sixer of your favorite beer, or next week's outing to justify it financially.  It will be worth it.  I promise.
• Take a food-oriented vacation. I once drove way, way, way out of my way just to go to New Orleans and eat at one of Emeril Lagasse's restaurants.  That was the best meal I've ever had, and other than my time at NOLA, I was in New Orleans for all of about twenty minutes, if you count the driving.  It was a great time and a better meal!  Visiting great food places like New Oreleans, New England, New Mexico, or (New?) California wine-country or visiting a food festival is a great way to shake things up and try new things.  Being there puts you in twice as appreciative a mood.
• Keep a journal of your experiences.  Find out and keep track of what you like and don't like, or start a blog.  You never know who might be interested in all of the information you're accumulating.
• Go gourmet.  Gourmet is usually expensive.  Gourmet is usually going to bring with it an atmosphere that's not quite as casual as you might be used to.  Gourmet is intimidating for a lot of reasons, but gourmet is almost always entirely satisfying.  Budget it in just once or twice a year if you have to, but definitely budget it in.  A really great food experience will usually make a memory that lasts a lifetime!

To really get maximal benefit from this exercise, make sure to make a commitment to do it regularly.  Having a network of friends that you get together with at least once a month for this kind of thing is not only a great way to hold yourself to your resolution, it's a great way to be social and have a good time!

Instead of giving a list of recommended Knoxville-area restaurants, because there are so, so many and because tastes vary so widely, here's a surprising pair of suggestions on how to find great places to eat in Knoxville that you might not have ever heard of:

1. Do a web search.  There's more out there than you might think!  Type "Knoxville area restaurants" and see what comes up.  Pick a kind of restaurant, like Chinese or Italian, if you want.  If you're not afraid to drive a little, pick a community just outside of Knoxville, like Maryville, Alcoa, Morristown, and the likes and try the same thing.  You might be surprised.
2. Start a "You know where I like to eat?" conversation.  If you have a few friends together (especially ones you don't hang out with on a near-daily basis) and throw out that line together with at least one place you really like (including juicy details like favorite dishes and why you like them), then you're almost guaranteed to get a list of new places (and dishes) in Knoxville to try that's so long that you'll be shocked that you've somehow missed them all up until now.

This article is one in a series of New Year's Resolution articles about cooking, food, and drink by the Knoxville Gourmet Food Examiner. Click the link to read a central article containing links to all of the articles in this series.

For more great recipes and cooking ideas, follow the Knoxville Gourmet Food Examiner by subcribing at the top of the page. You can also read more on his personal cooking blog: The Untrained Gourmet.