We have a variety of cuisines from all over the world: Cuban, Indian, Mexican, Italian.
But there’s something about good southern food that nourishes the soul – at least for me. This is exactly the kind of food Tim Otis serves at FKS Kitchen, located at 2333 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. in Murfreesboro.
At the end of 2021, Otis updated his ever-evolving menu repertoire and opened FKS Kitchen. FKS stands for fork, knife, spoon.
This is a quick lunch in a casual setting. So you will be standing in line to make your order. Then wait to be served. You can also order in advance at FKSKitchen.com, and third-party delivery is available at HometownDelivery.org.
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The dining room is small. There are a lot of hard surfaces, hard to hear. But the staff is friendly and the menu fits the bill of a solid meat troe diner.
Menu: Verdict
Let me preface this review by saying that I am a conscientious southern girl whose father procured a huge garden and my mother cooked everything he grew at home. These things have shaped my culinary tastes for southern food.
My lunch partner, whose mother didn’t cook many Southern dishes, was a 17-year-old whose taste was limited to comfort foods like hamburgers, fried chicken, pizza, and wings. (He’s also a snob with wings and fried chicken.)
His order was fried chicken (breast and wing), macaroni and cheese, and green beans. He liked the food so much that he went back and bought a second serving of chicken and pasta. He also admired sweet cornbread.
I got to taste a few pieces of fried chicken and it’s fantastic: crispy with a slight tinge and the chicken meat was very juicy. My husband and I used to also have fish, and it is just as fresh and flavorful – the emphasis on freshness.
However, I was not a fan of green beans, because I prefer Blue Lake green beans (like my dad grew).
On my plate were spiced cabbage, pinto beans, fried okra, and yeasted meatloaf. Fried okra is legal. I would eat three servings. The cabbage is delicious, but softer than I like. The pintos were also good, but I just enjoyed myself. If you serve beans at my house, you need a legal chow.
Now for the meatloaf. It was filling and better than my mom’s. It’s also gluten-free, so that’s a plus, and Otis uses 90% lean ground beef. There is no red sauce that you usually see on meatloaf. But Otis said you can ask for it on the side.
The surprise of the day was banana pudding. It was not like my dad, but it was very good. It has a bit of an extra flavor that I can’t pinpoint exactly – not nutmeg, maybe rum flavor. I’ll figure it out eventually.
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In addition to our plates, you’ll find pork chops, pulled pork, sweet potatoes and mashed potatoes, baked chicken, and a daily changing menu of specials. Otis has a lot of ideas he likes to come up with.
I also found out that FKS Kitchen is also the “ghost kitchen” for Otis’ newest business, Krunk Kitchen. The Krunk Kitchen menu focuses on wings, burgers, Philadelphia cheesesteaks, and “accessories” like french fries and onion rings.
Opening hours from 11:00 to 19:00 from Monday to Friday and from 11:00 to 15:00 on Saturday and Sunday. Online ordering and additional catering information is available at fkskitchen.com/ or by calling 615-410-3695. You can follow daily events and announcements on Facebook FKS Kitchen.
Contact reporter Nancy DeGennaro at degennaro@dnj.com. Keep up to date with the restaurant by following Good Eats on the Boro (and Beyond) section of Facebook and following Murfreesboro Eats on TikTok.