Downtown Chattanooga Archives - Page 10 of 21

Universal Joint Chattanooga

August 11, 2013

Universal Joint Chattanooga is a burger joint located in an old service station near the Hamilton County Courthouse in Downtown Chattanooga.
I don’t remember exactly when it was, but I remember being pretty excited when I heard that the old Pure station on Georgia Avenue was being converted to a burger joint. You know me and burgers…we’re tight. I looked up the company-Universal Joint-and found that they are a small chain, small enough to “qualify” for Chattavore status (I’ll only review very small and regionally specific chains).

For months I drove by the location of Universal Joint Chattanooga every single day on my way to and from work, watching the progress on the outside of the building and wondering when they would open. That day came Thursday and Philip suggested that we attempt to go there this weekend, so we decided to drive by to see how busy they were and make a decision (cause you know we aren’t into playing the waiting game). It was crowded but not packed out, so we parked and walked there, leaving our umbrella in the car (which turned out to be a mistake because the sky opened up and it poured down rain while we were eating, which is why the photos are kind of dark….).

They did not have a hostess doing “seating duty”, which I imagine was due to the fact that there were plenty of tables available both inside and out. Happily, they had a blackboard at the door telling patrons to seat themselves. I really, really wish that all hostess-less restaurants would do this-way to go, UJ. There is lots of outdoor seating-both covered and uncovered-but with the threat of rain we decided it was a better idea to go inside. We chose a seat near the window and were quickly greeted by two different servers, including Sierra, who ended up being our server. She quickly brought out our waters and left us to peruse the menu for a few minutes.

Philip was instantly drawn to the Sunset Dip (smoked tomatillo cheese dip) on the “bar snacks” portion of the menu, which also included edamame with soy-ginger sauce (an unusual offering) and BBQ brisket nachos. There’s also a “group snacks” section that includes loaded fries, spicy egg rolls, sliders, hummus, pimento cheese, and wings. I don’t really get the distinction between “bar snacks” and “group snacks” but I don’t guess it really matters. Anyway, we ordered some of the cheese dip at the same time that we ordered our burgers. We really, really liked the dip. It was a fairly standard cheese dip but had the dang of tomatillo (and we are tomatillo fanatics) and a little bit of spice, which I noticed but Philip didn’t, but his spice radar is much less sensitive than mine. It was not overly spicy…it just had a nice little bite. The chips were not hot, but they were crispy and tasted good. I would definitely order this again.

Now, the menu includes salads, non-burger sandwiches, chicken fingers, and tacos, but come on…this is a burger joint and burgers are obligatory, at least on the first visit. After contemplating the Smokehouse Bacon burger (with bacon, cheddar, Swiss, fried onions, and barbecue sauce) and the Old 1-2 (with “million island”, chopped lettuce & onion, sliced tomato, and American cheese) I settled on the Steinbeck’s Burger (with pimento cheese, bacon, jalapeños, and ranch) with fries. I did ask for the jalapeños on the side…I try not to alter the dish from the creator’s original intention, but I also try not to ruin a dish for myself by ordering something that might be so spicy that I can’t enjoy it (I had a bad curry experience at a favorite restaurant once and it was pretty upsetting that I could barely eat a quarter of my meal). The jalapeños turned out to be pickled anyway, so I didn’t eat them…I just don’t really care for pickled jalapeños much. The burger was good, nice and thick with a good grilled flavor and cooked well. I really liked the pimento cheese, which clearly contained shreds of cheese and which I sampled with my fork before eating the burger. I would eat the pimento cheese by itself, which is indeed a compliment, Universal Joint. I love pimento cheese. The bun was good but not really anything special, which is about where the fries are…I’m pretty sure they were frozen.

Philip got a regular cheeseburger with cheddar and he ordered tots with his burger. He felt about the same way about his burger that I did…it was well-cooked with a good flavor and it had a nice slice of cheddar melted on top (extra points for melting the cheese…not everyone does that, oddly). The tater tots were standard, obviously frozen…but then again, ordering tater tots is like ordering fried okra…chances are it’s going to be frozen. Does anyone know a restaurant that makes their own tots? I want to go there.

The verdict? Good, not great. No, they didn’t shove anyone out of the Top Five. My biggest problem was that our appetizer came out at the same time as our burgers (actually, right after)….and since the burgers took a little while, that meant that our chips and cheese dip came out like twenty minutes or so after we ordered them. I was a little irritated because the wait for the burgers really wouldn’t have seemed that long if we’d had our appetizer; I had to keep reminding myself that they’ve only been open for three days. I’m sure they’ll get their speed of service issues taken care of. Another thing that we noticed was that it was loud in there…after all, it’s an old garage. They might want to consider some modifications to the acoustics in the building to make the noise level a little less overwhelming. Still, it’s a pretty cool atmosphere, the food was pretty good, and the staff was friendly. I am sure they’ll work out their kinks soon. By the way, our total (for 1 regular burger, 1 special burger, and an appetizer) was about $24 pre-tip.

If you’re looking for a burger in Downtown Chattanooga, Universal Joint Chattanooga is definitely a good option.

If you want to check out Universal Joint Chattanooga, they are located at 301 E. 6th Street, Chattanooga, TN 37402 (across from Unum, near the court house). You can call them at (423) 468-3725. Check out their website: http://www.ujchattanooga.com They reference a Facebook page on their website but it doesn’t appear that the Facebook page for Universal Joint Chattanooga has been established yet…I’ll try to check back soon.

Taqueria Jalisco-August 3, 2013

August 4, 2013

Taqueria Jalisco is a tiny Mexican restaurant just off of Main Street in Downtown Chattanooga. They serve delicious authentic Mexican food.

If you’ve read much of Chattavore, you probably know of my love for this little place in Soddy-Daisy called Delia’s. It’s pretty much ruined me on other Mexican joints in the area. I’ve been hearing so many awesome things about Taqueria Jalisco, just off of Main Street, that I knew I was going to have to check it out and soon. I went to a Mexican restaurant that shall remain unnamed (not Delia’s!) for lunch yesterday (yes, my friends….it’s that time again. School starts back Thursday!), kind of thinking, “Well, I guess I’m going to ruin my appetite for Mexican” but that didn’t happen, so after scooping up a couple of awesome finds at McKay, we headed on over to Taqueria Jalisco.

Now, this place is seriously tiny. We found a parking spot on the street (there’s no parking lot but street parking was pretty abundant) and walked on in. There’s a screened in patio and a small dining room…we grabbed the last table in the dining room and were handed menus. The menu is simple….appetizers, tacos, a handful of entrees, and tortas (Mexican sandwiches). All of the drinks are bottled-bottled water, Pure Sodaworks sodas, Mexican Coke (real sugar!) and Jarritos. Actually, if I had realized that the water was bottled, I would have ordered a Jarritos…I love that stuff!

We also ordered chips & salsa for $3.00. Some of the other appetizers included guacamole and pupusas. The salsa was pretty spicy, but not unbearably so, and very smooth (i.e. not chunky) which is just how I like my salsa. The chips were nice and crisp, unsalted (as they are in most Mexican restaurants). The chips were good, but they did not beat the thick and always freshly cooked chips at Delia’s.

I decided on tacos Mexicanos, with corn tortillas, onion, cilantro, and choice of meat. You can also order tacos Americanos, which are served (obvi) in the American style with cheese and sour cream. For my meat I requested al pastor, which is chunks of pork marinated in a whole bunch of delicious spices, and barbacoa, basically slow-cooked shredded beef. Each taco was served on two corn tortillas with a good portion of meat, plenty of chopped cilantro, and diced white onions. Now, another thing that you know if you read my blog much is that raw onions pretty much reduce me to tears…except here. Don’t ask me why, but for some reason raw onion in Mexican-style tacos does not bother me, and in fact I feel like ordering them without would take away from the flavor. So I leave them on and I’m glad I do. Both meats were delicious, the pork perfectly seasoned and cooked perfectly, not dry in the least, and the barbacoa shredded and seasoned, tasting like the best pot roast you’ve ever eaten. Actually, the special was two tacos with rice & beans for $5.50, so we ordered that and found that their rice and beans were also excellent, very fresh (no skin on top of the beans-score!) and seasoned just right. Delicious.

Philip ordered the same thing as me, except that he ordered his standard chorizo as well as a lengua taco. Yes, that’s right. Beef tongue. He has been wanting to try beef tongue for quite some time and, as it is not exactly an easy-to-find meat…this was his first opportunity. While I do tend to be a bit freaked out by unusual meats (Philip is not and will try anything once), I was adventurous and gave it a try…and it was good! Looking at it you would definitely know that it was not your run-of-the-mill meat, and the texture was different in a way that I can’t really describe (but, in my opinion, not an off-putting way at all) but it was delicious…like the barbacoa, tasting like a great pot roast. Philip really enjoyed it, but his real treat came when he took a bite of the chorizo, immediately proclaiming it to be the best he’d ever had. I tasted it as well and indeed it was delicious and I was a little jealous that I hadn’t ordered it, though I would have had to eat three tacos because no way would I have given up the pastor or the barbacoa taco.

So, we both pretty much licked our plates and then we asked for the one item on the dessert menu: tres leches cake (cake with three milks, duh and yum). Alas, they were out and tears were nearly shed (and we had to have a consolation treat of Biscoff cookies with our afternoon coffee) but our server assured us that it was delicious (thanks for rubbing salt in that wound, buddy!). We’ll have to go back soon to sample it. At $17 and some change pre-tip, it was a pretty good bargain too.

So the verdict….well, it’s a toss-up. Delia’s wins in the chips and salsa category and the location category (you know, since it’s ten minutes from our house) but when I compare their al pastor, barbacoa, and chorizo to Taqueria Jalisco, well….sorry Delia’s. Taqueria Jalisco edges you out by a nose. I’m so glad for some great authentic Mexican restaurants in our area and I can’t wait to visit Taqueria Jalisco again. Go. There.

Taqueria Jalisco is located at 1634 Rossville Avenue (not Boulevard!!!), Chattanooga, TN 37408. You can call them at 423-509-3430. You can also “like” them on Facebook.

Enzo’s Market Café-July 27, 2013

July 28, 2013

Enzo’s Market was a grocery store with a café that was located on Main Street in downtown Chattanooga that is now closed.

I’ve been meaning to make it to Enzo’s for some time now. I’ve been to check out their grocery selection, which I find to be quite nice, with a much greater local selection than their main competition downtown (pretty sure you all know who I’m talking about) with the small hometown grocery feel. The staff of Enzo’s Market has always been very friendly and I have been able to find some items (miso, spring roll wrappers) that I can’t typically find at the big suburban chain where I do most of my grocery shopping.

Of course I have been curious about the café but it’s quite easy to forget a grocery store café when trying to decide where to eat. Today, we had actually planned to eat at another nearby restaurant (to which our friend had a gift card) but we forgot to check the hours and it turns out that they are not open for lunch. Oops. We’d already gotten a space in the Chattanooga Parking Authority garage at the Choo-Choo, so we needed to go somewhere within walking distance. Duh, Enzo’s.

They were still serving breakfast when we got there (they do until 2 p.m. on Saturdays) but I’d already had breakfast food so it didn’t really pique my interest. They have a regular menu (several sandwiches as well as deli samplers and pizzas after 4 p.m.) as well as daily specials. The specials today were “the hangover”-a pancake stuffed with sausage and cheese and topped with a fried egg; “monkey hips”-rice topped with black beans, cheddar, sour cream, and pico de gallo; and a third, a sandwich that I can’t remember for the life of me. They also have premade sushi in their case, deli salads (which can be bought in bulk or on the sampler plate), salads, and two soups of the day (today’s soups were broccoli and white bean & chicken).

While I would typically gravitate toward the burger on the menu, I just had a cheeseburger from Armando’s Thursday night so I wasn’t terribly interested. I could not decide, though, between “the local”-pimento cheese and bacon on multigrain bread-and the “hickory-dickory cluck”-smoked chicken salad on wheat with gruyere. The chicken salad won out. I also decided to order a bowl of soup and chose the broccoli. I liked the soup, which was pureed but I don’t believe it was broccoli-cheese. It did not seem to have a cream base. I am fairly certain that it was vegetables simmered in a broth base and then pureed. I could tell that there were carrots in it in addition to the broccoli. It was pretty good but I do think it could have used just a smidge more salt. I really liked the sandwich, which was nicely toasted (not grilled), with a great smoky flavor to the shredded chicken, which was accented with fresh herbs, celery, and dried cherries. It had slightly more mayonnaise than I usually put in my chicken salad but it was not off-putting. I would definitely order it again or even get some to take home with me…it would be great on crackers. While I was tempted by the green apple Jones Soda in the case and the lovely selection of Pure Sodaworks bottled drinks, I was prudent (ha!) and drank water. Their drink selection is seriously overwhelming!

Philip was eyeing the reuben but in the end the pull of the hangover was too much. He just couldn’t turn down the promise of a pancake filled with pork and cheese. The pancake was gigantic, the sausage housemade, and the cheese plentiful. I tasted a bit of the sausage and it was really, really good…very mild but fresh-tasting. The cheese was nicely melted from the combined heat of the pancake and the sausage, and the egg was perfectly cooked-whites set but yolk good and runny. That’s how it has to be, my friends. That’s how it has to be. His only beef….the syrup. It was pancake syrup, not maple syrup. Sigh. You can’t have it all. Philip decided to have a Natural Brew vanilla cream soda. Seriously, their drink selection was gigantic.

Rachel was contemplating the local but at the last minute decided to have the monkey hips. It was a seriously huge plate of rice topped with a very large serving of black beans, a ton of cheese and pico, and a nice dollop of sour cream. It was basically like the “naked burritos” that so many of the gigantic burrito places serve. I tasted it and found the rice to be well-cooked (though she did say that she got a few slightly chewy grains) and the beans to be nicely seasoned.

As far as desserts go, there are lots of bakery selections in the case: cookies, brownies, cake slices, and so on. There are also cups of Milk & Honey gelato and paletas (popsicles) in a case by the counter. If you walk around the corner, you will also find a freezer full of King of Pops popsicles. We decided, however, to forego dessert here and head to the actual Milk & Honey because I was dying for one of their horchata iced lattes (if you haven’t had one….you must).

One thing….it wasn’t a problem but just something that I noticed. The cashiers both times that we have purchased grocery items have been extremely friendly (but not overly or annoyingly so). The cashiers that were working at the café when we ordered today were not rude or unfriendly per se, but they were not particularly enthusiastic. I went back up later to look at the menu again because I couldn’t remember the name of what I ordered and another female employee that apparently had come in while we were eating greeted me in a very friendly manner and pointed out the specials on the wall. I found the deadpanning of the other two girls interesting. Maybe they were ready to go home? Who knows.

So…at about $27 pre-tax (I’m not sure about the final cost since Rachel was kind enough to treat us), this is definitely a little pricier than your standard grocery store deli food…but then, your standard grocery store deli is not serving a menu that’s thought out like this with specials and so forth. In addition, Enzo’s Café is no more expensive than other comparable market cafés in town (Whole Foods, Earth Fare). It’s not fast food but it doesn’t claim to be. I wouldn’t call it a culinary revelation but I’d definitely eat there again. They have a nice, relaxed atmostphere (which makes them very kid-friendly!) with great indoor and outdoor seating. If you’re on Main Street and need a casual meal (they serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner), definitely give Enzo’s Market a try!

Enzo’s Market closed after a pretty short run. It was followed by Grocery Bar, which unfortunately was also unable to last.

Enzo’s Market and Café is located at 1501 Long Street (next door to Battle Academy), Chattanooga, TN 37408. They have parking for customers in the back. They are open Monday-Saturday, 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sunday 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. You can call Enzo’s at 423-486-9312. You can visit their website: http://enzosmarket.com and peruse their regular menu: http://enzosmarket.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/enzos_menu_website.pdf. You can also like them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter.

Saturday in the Park: Muenster Truck, Chattanooga Brewing Company, and Ice Cream Show

July 21, 2013

How many of you are singing the Chicago song with me now? If you don’t know that song, you are obviously younger than me and let’s never speak of that again. Anyway, it was the twentieth of July, not the Fourth, but close enough.

You may have guessed based on the establishments about which I am writing that the park to which I am referring is Coolidge Park. I had an appointment scheduled yesterday afternoon to do a photo shoot, so when Philip saw on Facebook that the Muenster Truck was going to be at Chattanooga Brewing Company, it seemed logical to both of us to head down for some grilled cheese action.

You may have walked past Chattanooga Brewing Company many times without really even realizing that it was there. Located next door to N2 Shoes, Chattanooga Brewing Co. is only open to the public on Fridays from 5-9 p.m. and typically on Saturdays from 1-9 p.m.(well, these are the stated hours on the front page of their website, though I did notice that their event calendar on the website mentions growler hours starting on Sundays at 3 p.m.), though they opened early yesterday to accommodate grilled cheese eaters. The company originally opened in 1890 (later closing in 1915) and was reopened in 2010, microbrewing a variety of brews right their in their tiny space. Their Imperial Pilsner and Hill City IPA are available year-round and other brews rotate. During their “growler hours” (listed above) you can purchase their fantastic small-batch beers by the glass (or smaller samplers of the whole variety) or in growlers (64 oz.). Chattanooga Brewing Company beers are served in many local establishments-check out the list hanging in their window to find out which ones (I wish I’d taken a photo of it)! Pictured below is their Hill City IPA.

When I first heard of the food truck trend, one of the trucks that really piqued my interest was a Los Angeles truck known simply as The Grilled Cheese Truck, serving plain old grilled cheese sandwiches as well as more unusual offerings like a macaroni & cheese and short rib sandwich. Truth be told (and I may have mentioned this here) I once wanted to open a grilled cheese truck in Chattanooga, but I’m definitely not cut out to be a food truck owner so I’m glad someone else undertook the task.

I was super-excited when I heard a few months ago that Chattanooga was soon to get a grilled cheese truck….and apparently so were a ton of other people because when I went to the Chattanooga Market the Sunday before Independence Day the Muenster Truck was by far the most crowded. The line was a mile long and I was hot and hungry so even though I really wanted a grilled cheese, I was not going to stand in that line (regular readers know that I’d rather gouge my eyes than wait in a superlong line or wait for an hour and a half to be seated in a restaurant). Guru, the Muenster Truck owner, emailed me recently and told me that Center Park tends to be a little less crowded than the market, so my plan was to head down there in the next week or two, but this was the perfect opportunity.

I came extremely close to ordering the Angry Bacons sandwich, which contains two of my favorite things: bacon and avocado (in the form of guacamole) but in the end the smoked gouda of the Dragon Ball Cheese won out. Besides, you can’t go wrong with caramelized onions and sautéed mushrooms. Philip decided on the Rocket Italian, with provolone, a spring mix, Italian vinaigrette, and tomatoes. Honestly….any of these sounded delicious, because who doesn’t love a grilled cheese (and coincidentally, I’m going to be sharing some grilled cheese recipes with you guys fairly soon)? When Raj, whom I gathered is the manager of the truck, handed us our sandwiches, the first thing that struck me was the smell. It smelled like a grilled cheese. That may sound strange to some of you, but you dyed-in-the-wool grilled cheese lovers (like myself) will know what I’m talking about. Some food purveyors try to be fancy or modern or “healthy” with their grilled cheese/paninis, brushing or spraying them with olive oil instead of cooking them in butter. This was a true butter-grilled sandwich. Heaven help me.

Raj promised that these sandwiches would fill us up, and let me tell you….he wasn’t lying. The sandwiches were very large and assembled on sturdy but not dense white bread. For you health nuts out there, get over it. As much as I’d love to love a grilled cheese on whole wheat-and do make them myself sometimes-I cannot deny that a proper grilled cheese must be made on white bread…it just turns up the comfort food level a couple of notches. There was a good ratio of cheese to toppings, which can be difficult to achieve. The mushrooms and onions on my sandwich were sautéed very well-to the point that they still had some texture but didn’t give that off-putting crunch of pseudo-caramelized onions that haven’t really been caramelized at all. I was only able to eat about 3/4 of my sandwich.

Like my sandwich, Philip’s had a nice ratio of toppings-including tomato, radicchio, and some more delicate greens-to cheese. This is a great sandwich for someone who likes a little crunch on their grilled cheese, but honestly, my favorite feature of the sandwich was the Italian vinaigrette. I have never thought of putting a vinaigrette on a grilled cheese, but I think it provided a perfect balance between the vegetables and the cheese. Delicious.

At $17 (including 2 bags of Miss Vickie’s chips and 2 bottled waters, of course this is a little more expensive than making a grilled cheese at home, but how many of you have all of the aforementioned ingredients to add to your grilled cheese? You should definitely support the Muenster Truck. To find out their hours and locations, you can check out their website: http://themuenstertruckchattanooga.com/www, like them on Facebook and/or follow them on Twitter.

After our lunch (which we ate on a barrel inside Chattanooga Brewing Company) we still had a quite a bit of time to kill before my photo appointment. This provided the perfect opportunity to get a little leisurely exercise by walking across the bridge. We circled Bluff View Art District and then ended up back at the bridge with time to kill, so Philip suggested a stop-in at The Ice Cream Show.

The concept at The Ice Cream Show is seemingly simple-you choose your based (soft serve chocolate or vanilla ice cream or yogurt) and your container (waffle cone or cup) then add mix-ins to your liking (they have a sign with suggestions, which I photographed, but my photo was way blurry. Unfortunately (if you’re indecisive like me anyway), the list of mix-ins was pretty long and it took me a minute…but then I saw green mint and all was right with the world. The cashier suggested one of their combinations-green mint, dark chocolate, and Oreos. It sounded pretty good to me, except the Oreos were unnecessary. Green mint & dark chocolate in vanilla ice cream. Yes. Pretty tasty, though I could only eat about half of it (that was a pretty large container of ice cream!). The green mint chips and dark chocolate chips lent the perfect amount of flavor to the vanilla ice cream. Mmmmm. Philip decided on a chocolate malt, which is pretty much his standard ice cream shop order unless he’s just in the mood for a waffle cone. The malt had a good texture, unlike the malts served at some shops that are not well-mixed and have chunks of malt powder throughout, but the malt flavor was not as strong as he would have liked (note-if you like a strong, bitter malt flavor….ask for extra malt!). Still a pretty decent malt, though-definitely better than many he has had.

Normally $13.75 might seem a little steep to me for ice cream, but when you’re sweating bullets in ninety-degree heat on a July day, it seems perfectly reasonable. The Ice Cream Show is definitely conveniently located at the south end of Walnut Street Bridge and I have no doubt that they do a ton of business in the warm weather months. It’s not Nana’s (because in my opinion no one will ever top Nana’s), but it’ll do. The staff was friendly and the service was quick, and they have a good selection and a nice atmosphere for patrons to cool down from the summer heat.

The Ice Cream Show is located at 129 Walnut Street, Chattanooga, TN 37403. They are open Monday-Saturday, 9 a.m. to 11 p.m., and Sunday 1 p.m. to 11 p.m. You can call them at 423-702-5173 or check out their website: http://www.theicecreamshow.com/TICS/Welcome.html or follow them on Twitter.

Easy Bistro-July 14, 2013

July 15, 2013

Easy Bistro, an upscale restaurant located in downtown Chattanooga near the Tennessee Aquarium and the Tennessee River, serves amazing brunch!

So Sunday was Philip’s and my twelve-year anniversary! We vacillate between “I can’t believe it’s been twelve years already!” and “It feels like we’ve been married way longer than that (but in a good way)!” Anyway, since it fell on a Sunday, we had to make a choice: go out on our actual anniversary or go out on Saturday so that I could do my usual Sunday morning blog post. Obviously we decided on the former.

We talked a little for a couple of weeks about where we might go for our anniversary but hadn’t really made any solid decisions. It came down between Easy Bistro & Bar and another upscale Chattanooga restaurant that hasn’t been around as long. Since Easy Bistro has been around for so long, I really felt like I needed to go ahead and give them the props and save the other restaurant for my birthday next month. We decided to go for Sunday brunch, which held a few advantages: 1) eliminating the need for me to think of something to make for lunch; 2) less costly; and 3) the brunch menu at Easy Bistro. Oh. My. Goodness.

Easy Bistro & Bar was opened by chef-owner Erik Niel in 2005 as Easy Seafood Bistro and Bar (I’m not sure when they dropped the word “seafood” from the name). Reading some of the articles listed in the news section of the restaurants websites, I found that prior to opening Easy, Niel worked in the kitchens of some of Chattanooga’s other well-known restaurants, including Southside Grille (which gave way to the now-closed Niko’s some years ago) and St. John’s. Philip and I had given Easy Bistro a try before-and liked it-but that was before the inception of Chattavore (2009 maybe? Or 2010? It was for another anniversary, that much I remember.) so it was definitely time to go back, especially since a friend had fairly recently highly recommended that I go back and write a blog post based on her own fantastic filet mignon experience.

We arrived a few minutes early. We have a habit of doing that…we are habitually punctual and we like to park far away. However, if you are not a far-away parker, there is valet parking for $7, which sure is convenient and is offered Thursday through Sunday. In our reservation we had requested a seat by the window (for picture takin’), and a seat by the window we got.

If you haven’t been to Easy Bistro….let me start by saying that it’s gorgeous. The ceilings are impossibly high and the walls are an impossibly shade of dark-black, to be precise. White trim and a cool panel of mirrors with accents of muted colors everywhere scream simple, contemporary, and beautiful (Chef Niel’s wife Amanda-who sat behind me in high school speech class-has a background in design so there you go). The new chevron chairs on the patio? Oh my. This place is a sight.

We were quickly greeted by our server, Christian, who brought us our waters and then asked us if we had any questions about the menu or did we perhaps want to order something from the bakery? Why yes, Christian, yes we do want to order something from the bakery. At only $3 each, we’ll take a cinnamon roll and an order of beignets, to be exact. I. Love. Cinnamon rolls. I can’t believe I haven’t made them for you here, but today got me thinking that I need to start a sweet roll series or something. But this isn’t about me, so I’ll shut up about that…and anyway, after eating this cinnamon roll, I’m not sure that mine will ever measure up. This was far and away the best cinnamon roll I have ever had, slathered with a warm swath of gooey cream cheese icing, somehow managing to be a little crisp on the outside but soft and buttery on the inside. How do you do it, Easy Bistro? How? The beignets (round doughnuts, native to Louisiana, drenched in powdered sugar…and another item I can’t believe I haven’t made for you yet-I’ve got to get cracking!) were just as delicious, crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside just as the cinnamon roll was, with a light lemony flavor and not too much powdered sugar (the traditional “way” is to put them in a bag with powdered sugar and shake shake shake, which is delicious but quite messy). We had to stop, though, so we’d have space for our meal, but we had Christian box them up (we are not too proud to bring home our leftovers…those could not be wasted, and I just ate the rest of that cinnamon roll for breakfast).

Besides the bakery items, the brunch menu at Easy Bistro includes starters like yogurt & fruit and a blue cheese tartine (sort of open-faced baguette sandwich), traditional brunch items (steak & eggs, eggs Benedict, omelettes, etc., etc.), a selection of coffees and some “branchy” cocktails (like mimosas and bloody Marys), as well as soups and salads, some sandwiches (braised brisket, a burger), and a few additional entrées like fish tacos, shrimp & grits, and moules frites (mussels & fries). I really considered the fish tacos and briefly thought about the brisket sandwich, but ultimately the decision came down between eggs Benedict and the smoked bacon & mushroom omelette (which came with a salad with champagne vinaigrette). My craving for a good rich Hollandaise won the battle, though, so eggs Benedict it was. And my, what an eggs Benedict! Two oversized English muffin halves (Thomas brand-I asked in hopes that maybe they were made in house), perfectly toasted and topped with lightly browned Canadian bacon, tomato slices, perfectly poached eggs (see the picture of the oozy egg below to see just what a perfectly poached egg looks like), and a beautiful Hollandaise. One bite and I was sold….and then I ate the whole thing. The English muffin was wonderfully crisp around the edges, the Canadian bacon lending a delicious saltiness contrasting with the sharp tang of the Hollandaise, which had a little bit of spice to it, and the tomatoes were a nice touch that added a warm, soft touch to the whole dish. Perfection…wow.

Unlike me, Philip had no real consideration. We had checked out the brunch menu the night before as we made a decision about whether to go for brunch or for dinner, and the eggs Norwegian had caught his eye: toasted English muffin with smoked salmon, a tender lettuce, poached eggs, and Hollandaise. The smoky flavor of the salmon was, like the Canadian bacon, an excellent pairing with the sharp richness of the Hollandaise, the eggs adding a nice oozy bite to the whole thing and the lettuce lent a little bit of crunch. Philip’s dish did not have quite as much Hollandaise as mine but it was still plenty and he too ate the whole thing. We were both surprised at how full we were after finishing our meals, though we weren’t nearly as stuffed as we no doubt would have been had we gone for dinner. For $37 before tip, not too bad.

Easy Bistro was a perfect choice for our anniversary meal. The atmosphere was lovely and the menu flawless. I can’t wait to go back for dinner, perhaps to test that filet that my friend was raving about and definitely to check out the sticky toffee pudding that I saw on the dessert menu. If you are looking for an upscale meal in a beautiful setting with lots of local love (the website provides a list of many local farms with which Chef Niel partners), definitely give Easy Bistro & Bar a try!

Easy Bistro & Bar is located at 203 Broad Street, Chattanooga, TN 37402. They are open for dinner Monday-Saturday, 5-10 p.m. and Sunday 5-9 p.m. and for brunch Saturday and Sunday 11 a.m.-4 p.m. You can call them at 423-255-1121 or email at host@easybistro.com and you can also make reservations on their website, http://easybistro.com. You can “like” them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter.

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