Would I totally destroy my credibility as a reviewer if I write a review about Blue Ribbon Cafe every single time I go there? Man, I love that place. I feel like it’s my “hometown restaurant”. I guess it is, really….it has a true smalltown feel and I see someone I know almost every time I go there. I might…in fact probably would….even go so far as to say that it’s my favorite restaurant.
This visit I was with my mom and my cousin, as Philip was working out of town on Tuesday. I met them there around 6:45. There weren’t a ton of people there, but it wasn’t close to empty either. We sat down and Dianne, the owner, quickly took our drink order. It took me forever to decide what to order. The special of the day was chicken and dressing with corn and okra, and they also had chicken carbonara and a few other dishes featured on their blackboard. I also contemplated “Forrest Gump’s Favorite” (shrimp & grits) or chicken or shrimp alfredo.
In the end, though, I decided I wanted some fries and decided to go with “The Hippie”. The Hippie is shaved ribeye with grilled onions and red and green peppers and tzatziki sauce on warm pita bread. I love all of the above, and this is one of my go-to meals at BRC. It’s huge, and I always eat the whole thing. And I never feel bad about it…because it’s worth it. The meat is shaved so thinly, seasoned and cooked perfectly. The tzatziki doesn’t have a really strong garlicky or cucumbery flavor but works really well with the meat and the charred veggies. The pocketless, soft pita bread is one of my favorite things, and if anyone knows where I can purchase some, please let me know. I haven’t found anything comparable and haven’t found a recipe I like. Of course, I can’t get enough of their handcut fries….this is one of my favorite places to eat fries!
My mom and cousin both went for the ribeye wrap, which is, as you might assume from the name, shaved ribeye with cheese, lettuce, and cusabi (cucumber and wasabi) dressing. I think there might have been some onion on there, too. Anyway, it’s all wrapped up in a tortilla and served with a side (I didn’t mention this before, but all of the sandwiches come with fries, sweet potato fries, housemade chips, potato salad, or okra. Maybe slaw, too….I don’t remember. I always order fries!). I tasted my mom’s and it was really delicious, with the perfect meat just like on my sandwich. The dressing had a very faint spicy, wasabi flavor…definitely not overpowering. I should have opened the wrap up to take the picture, but completely forgot!
On the dessert menu that night, they had Coca-Cola cake, carrot cake, and carmalicious brownies. Dianne recommended the carrot cake, but I wanted some Coca-Cola cake to share with Philip (with some of the homemade coffee ice cream I made Saturday!). Dianne slipped a small piece of carrot cake in my bag too, though. Both were delicious. Coca-Cola cake is one of my favorites….so chocolately and sweet. However, if I had to choose between these two desserts, I would choose the carrot cake. It had pineapples and nuts (walnuts or pecans? I couldn’t decide which.) and a perfect cream cheese frosting. Cream cheese frosting makes anything better! Well, almost. Today Blue Ribbon posted a picture of a pink lemonade cake on Facebook. I’m gonna have to try that one out!
Maybe one of these days Pioneer Woman will post her coffee ice cream recipe on her blog and I can link you to it! It's better than store-bought!
If you haven’t been to Blue Ribbon Cafe, I’m not sure what you are waiting for! They are located at 9705 Dayton Pike, Soddy-Daisy, TN 37379. They can be reached at 423-332-5005. You can find them on Facebook. They are open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday-Friday. That’s the only thing I don’t like about them-I wish they were open on weekends (or at least Saturdays)!
Comments