Downtown Chattanooga Archives - Page 15 of 21

Pasha Coffee & Tea

October 28, 2012

A couple of years ago Philip played a Monday night free show at a coffee house in St. Elmo we’d never heard of. It was pretty new and very tiny, tucked into the corner of a building that also contained a flower shop and a restaurant. The name of it was Pasha Coffee & Tea. We bought a bag of their organic, fair-trade whole coffee beans. It was a good thing.

Pasha has been on “the list” for a while but because of its location we hadn’t made it down there yet. Last month there was a Living Social deal for $30 worth of food and drink from Pasha for $15 so I pounced on it. I started thinking about it this week and decided that we needed to skip our normal Saturday morning breakfast at home tradition and head down to Pasha for one of their breakfast sandwiches. We didn’t make it down there until almost noon, so we considered ordering off the non-breakfast menu, but ultimately decided to go with our first instinct (breakfast is served daily).

We decided on the hummus, pita chips, and stuffed grape leaves plate as an “appetizer” (you can also order them as separate items). I’d tasted stuffed grape leaves at a diner several years back-0ne bite-and wasn’t too sure. Philip had them at the home of a friend who’s mother was of Middle-Eastern descent, and he liked them. I am not going to lie….these were different. The flavor was good, the texture was weird. Acquired taste, maybe? I have no idea what was stuffed in them. Hmmm. The hummus was good, nice and creamy, flavored with cumin, which is unique but not unheard of. The pita chips were packaged, not that I’m complaining. I like packaged pita chips. I’d order the hummus and pita chips again, but probably not the grape leaves. Maybe I’ll have to make them at home some time?

I decided to order the eggaprese sandwich-two eggs, pesto, spinach, mozzarella, and tomatoes on a toasted everything bagel. The combination on a breakfast sandwich was definitely intriguing. The ingredients were nice and fresh and the sandwich came out quickly. I liked the flavor of the pesto. I was not terribly impressed by the eggs, though…first of all, I think the sandwich would have been fine with just one egg. Second of all, I am pretty sure the eggs were cooked in the microwave. I am so picky about eggs, that just didn’t do it for me. I wish I’d just ordered the caprese sandwich. Nice concept, though, and I’d like to try to recreate it at home. I ordered a small frosted mint latte and it was delicious…not too sweet, not too milky, not too minty. Just right. Mmmm.

Philip decided on the Janissary-two eggs, feta cheese, turkey, pesto, and cholula (spicy mayo) on a toasted everything bagel. He felt pretty much the same way that I did about the eggs-meh-but really liked everything else about the sandwich. I tasted it. The cholula really did add a pretty strong hit of spiciness to the sandwich. One bite wasn’t too much but I’m betting a whole sandwich would light my mouth on fire! He ordered a mocha, which he felt was very chocolatey….but then, it is a mocha, right?

We also bought a bag of Peruvian coffee beans. The cashier told us that Pasha gets their beans from Bongo Java in Nashville. There were brownies and muffins on the counter as well…they looked delicious but we decided against a dessert item. Our total was around $40, which included the appetizer, two breakfast sandwiches, a small and a large coffee drink, and a bag of coffee beans (and, of course, most of that was covered by our Living Social deal).

Pasha has an interesting selection of sandwiches-curried chicken salad, the Elena Ruiz (turkey, cream cheese, and strawberry preserves), and a spicy BLT, to name a few-and I’m definitely going to have to go back for a sandwich. They’ve really put some thought into their menu. I love their coffee and I love their commitment to the community and to organics and fair-trade items. I don’t love their microwaved eggs. Can’t win them all. All in all, though, I really like this place. You should try it out.

Pasha Coffee and Tea is located at 3914 St. Elmo Avenue, Chattanooga, TN 37409. You can call them at 423-475-5482. You can also find them on Facebook and Twitter.

Back Inn Café-September 21, 2012

September 24, 2012

Wow. The last few weeks have been incredibly stressful. I can’t even describe it…you’ll just have to take my word for it. Anyway, I have vascillated between being so tired that I can’t move off the couch and needing a change of scenery. I have had seven crazy (in good ways and bad) weeks at work. I have had an on-the-job injury. I’ve had a change-of-season cold that lasted an entire week. I’ve added an hour to my commute (that’s both ways, not an hour each way). Some days feel like I’m in a tailspin.

Friday was one of those days. By 10 a.m. I was utterly exhausted. I got a text from my best friend during my “planning time” (ha! Most of my planning has been happening after school. Nature of the beast sometimes in preschool, unfortunately.) asking if I wanted to go to dinner with her and another friend. My initial response was no….I needed to go home and crash. By the time I got home Friday afternoon, though, I had changed my mind, deciding that something out of the ordinary was just what I needed. I met them at 6:30 and we set to deciding where to go, which consisted of driving to downtown and looking around. Finally we decided on Back Inn Café, as one of my friends had never been there.

I’ve been to Back Inn a few times, but not since I started Chattavore. We’ve always enjoyed it. Usually, we make a reservation because you never know when seating is going to be limited. My philosophy is that if a restaurant takes reservations, make a reservation. It’s definitely an easy way to avoid the waiting game, especially on a Friday or Saturday evening. Woe to the diner who goes to a chain casual dining spot at 6:30 or 7 p.m. on a Friday. Ugh. Luckily, we walked right up and got seated (there were people waiting on the benches across the parking lot at Tony’s). The hostess poured our waters and gave us our menus, including the regular menu, the gluten-free menu, and a drink menu. Our server came to introduce himself shortly thereafter.

Back Inn’s menu is not static, but unlike some other “fine dining” restaurants in Chattanooga, it doesn’t change constantly either. There are several items that have been on the menu for a matter of years. I have had their New York strip (crusted with Rembrandt’s coffee) and thought that it was delicious. I also enjoyed their grilled chicken salad (with Granny Smith apples) very much. They have several appetizers like Southern-fried frog legs, shrimp flatbread, and a volcano roll (tempura fried California roll). There are three salads: baby lettuce, Caesar, and wedge. We skipped the appetizers and salads, though, and went straight for the entrées (I do usually order a salad, though, and always really enjoy it). The hostess brought out a wedge of house sundried tomato foccacia for each of us with a small cup of white bean dip, and I have to admit….I could make my entire meal from this. It’s a perfect balance of salty cheese crusted on top and a slightly sweet tang from the sundried tomato. Delicious.

(Sorry for the horrible photo quality, by the way. It was dark outside and the restaurant was dimly lit. And I hate flash.)

I had a hard time deciding what I wanted. Steaks are always good, and the chicken stuffed with spinach mousseline cream was tempting as well. However, my decision came down to two entrées: the Jack Daniels maple glazed pork chop, a 12 ounce “cowboy cut” pork chop served with haricot verts (French green beans, not to be confused with French cut green beans) and sweet potato cakes, or the seafood gratin (and that is pronounced “gra-tehn”, not “grahtin”) with spinach ravioli, mahi-mahi, salmon, shrimp, bay (small) scallops, tomatoes, four cheeses, and mornay sauce. Ultimately I decided on the gratin, basically because it’s different from what I would normally choose. I am embarrassed to admit this, but I couldn’t really remember what mornay sauce was. Turns out it’s Béchamel sauce with grated cheese mixed in. Quite tasty. It was similar to a cheesy alfredo, and I really enjoyed it…although I thought the dish could have been slightly less sauced. That’s okay, though…I mean, it wasn’t like I was obligated to drink the sauce from the bowl, so I just ate what came out with the other items. The spinach ravioli was delicious and no doubt made on the premises, and I loved the shrimp and scallops. The fish was fine, but it just turned out I wasn’t really “in the mood” for fish. That’s okay. Those things happen.

My friends were both checking out the Martin House steak, an 8 ounce filet with lump crab meat stuffing, sour cream mashed potatoes, asparagus, compound butter (butter with herbs mixed in), sweet pepper pomace (basically pulp), and chive oil. The problem was that neither of them wanted the crab. When they asked our server how the crab was served, he directed their attention to the gluten-free menu, which none of us had even bothered to look at. For $2.00 less, you can actually order a “filet of beef” from the GF menu without the crab, so they both did that, one medium, one medium-well (you know me, I prefer medium-rare, but oh well!). The filets were pretty crispy on the outside, no doubt from the sear, and the insides cooked just as they requested them. I should have requested a bite, but I didn’t. Judging from the fact that they both finished their plates, I’d say it was pretty tasty. They both said that they enjoyed the steaks and one friend also commented that the asparagus was good. They also really enjoyed the potatoes; one friend said the potatoes were her favorite part and that the pomace really added to the flavor. I do wish that I had at least asked for the dessert menu so I could see what was available, but I didn’t. Shoulda coulda woulda.

Back Inn Café is not my favorite restaurant in Chattanooga, but it also is not a waste of time. It’s a pretty good restaurant, and the prices for most items are not outrageous for an “upscale” restaurant. The atmosphere can be casual or formal, whatever you need it to be. I’ve never had anything that I didn’t like here, and it holds a special place in my memories because Philip and I went there on one of our first dates many, many (well, almost 14) years ago. If you are looking for a restaurant that offers consistency and longevity, give it a try.

Back Inn Café is located at 412 E. 2nd Street, Chattanooga, TN 37403. You can call for reservations at 423-265-5033 or 800-725-8338. Check out their website and menus at http://bluffviewartdistrict.com/subpage.php?pageId=139.

Meeting Place-August 18, 2012

August 19, 2012

So…..Friday was my birthday. I am officially in the realm of “mid-thirties”. Ouch. Philip didn’t get home till 7:30, though, so we ended up going to Zaxby’s for dinner. It happens (sadly). I hadn’t really planned on going out for my “birthday dinner” on Friday night, though (I’d actually planned on cooking, but it was pretty late, I was incredibly tired, and I needed to get out anyway to make a grocery store stop). Restaurants are always so crowded on Fridays and I am always soooooo tired. In fact, when Philip texted me to let me know he was on his way home, I was more or less asleep. And I didn’t even have kids in my class on Friday! The first week of school truly wore me out.

When Philip and I were trying to decide where to go for our anniversary back in July, Meeting Place (aka St. John’s Meeting Place) was on the short list, but we ended up deciding on Alleia, which coincidentally shares a chef/owner (Daniel Lindley) with St. John’s Restaurant and Meeting Place. So, as I was reviewing the list of downtown restaurants that we still needed to visit, Meeting Place jumped out as the place to go for my birthday. Philip made a reservation for 6:15 and we were on our way.

We visited St. John’s many, many years back (we’ll make our way back for the blog one of these days) and found the food to be fantastic but the service to be a little more stiff than what we were accustomed to (by the way, we were-obviously-much younger then and probably a little shell-shocked by the experience….we might feel a bit differently about it these days). Meeting Place is much more casual, and we were immediately greeted by a very friendly hostess. She led us to our table near the front window. A server brought us water and we briefly perused the menu and checked out the decor while waiting for our server, Jill, to come to our table. I loved the decor….dark (grey walls, black furniture) but not depressing. That takes a true professional. It was beautiful, with nice lighting that wasn’t too bright and at the same time wasn’t too dark (although it was still very bright outside so sun was still pouring into the large window in the front…I’d love to see the mood lighting in the dark).

Jill quickly came and explained the menu to us. There is, not surprisingly, an extensive drink menu which, also not surprisingly, we barely even glanced at. The menu is divided into “small plates” and “large plates”. The way that Jill explained this to us is that small plates are half-entrée sized portions, perfect for sharing, and large plates are full-entrée sized portions. Several things on the small plates menu caught my eye, especially the hot chicken biscuit and the sweet potato chips with gorgonzola custard and Benton’s bacon jam. You know I was all about the latter, so we decided to order this to share as a starter. Let me tell you…it was amazing. Gorgonzola is a very strong, pungent bleu cheese, but this custard was bleu cheesy without being overpowering. The bacon jam was perfect, alternately sweet and savory, and paired perfectly with the salty gorgonzola custard. The chips were wonderfully crispy and there were also some lovely toasts provided. This was a delicious small plate that I would most definitely recommend. I almost forgot to mention…we were also brought a small portion of house-baked potato bread with sorghum butter….delicious. Again, I loved the sweet/salty combo of the butter and the bread had a perfect texture. Wonderful.

For my entrée I decided on the Niman Ranch pork with fried rice and egg and sesame aioli (after very earnestly considering the Sequatchie Cove Cumberland cheese fries with braised beef cheeks. Oh my.). Guess what? The menu doesn’t mention that this dish comes with a strip of crispy pork belly on the side. Now, if you are not familiar with what pork belly is, it may sound a little suspicious to you…but bacon is made from pork belly, so don’t be scared. This was a flawless combination of crispy and fatty, and inwardly I was laughing about how there is just something about a good restaurant that makes me feel okay about eating copious amounts of pork fat. The square of pork shoulder was fork-tender and tossed with a light hoisin (basically, Chinese barbecue sauce) glaze. I don’t typically enjoy hoisin sauce but this was not off-putting at all. It was just right and delicious. The fried basmati rice was delicious and the fried egg was done just right…..crisp around the edges with a runny yolk just right for dipping forkfuls of pork and rice into. Yesssssss.

Philip decided on the duck confit with a Johnny cake (basically a cornmeal pancake), maple, and blueberries. The Johnny cake was stuffed with a maple-flavored duck confit (a dish of French origin made of salt-cured duck leg poached in duck fat) and there was also a piece of fried duck leg on the side, and there was a blueberry compote of sorts (I really don’t know if that is the best word for it, but it’s the best one I can come up with at the moment) drizzled over the Johnny cake and the plate. The duck was tender, just slightly sweet, delicious, and the Johnny cake was also perfectly sweet (not too much so) with a wonderful texture. The blueberries were a nice complement. Before he ordered I was concerned that a small plate may not be enough food for him but honestly I think he had almost as much food as I did.

There were many tempting items on the dessert menu. I would have loved to try the carrot cake soufflé, but Philip is not a huge fan of carrot cake so I refrained (we always share dessert….it’s just not necessary to eat an entire dessert in a restaurant). They had housemade ice creams and sorbets and of course a molten chocolate cake (with caramel ice cream) as well as a cheesecake…but our decision was between the vanilla bean crème brûlée and the Wildwood Farm blueberry trifle. We had to consult Jill for assistance, and she strongly recommended the crème brûlée, much to Philip’s delight (it’s absolutely his favorite dessert ever). It was a fairly large portion with a beautifully brûléed (go figure!) crust of sugar on top of the creamy vanilla custard, replete with tiny vanilla beans at the bottom of the bowl. I love the contrast in temperatures in crème brûlée, a little warm, a little cold, and how the caramelization of the sugar topping makes it just a little bitter. Amazing. I heard the couple that was seated next to us discussing that they might look at the dessert menu but that there was also Ben & Jerry’s and Cold Stone Creamery to consider (they were tourists). You better believe I was looking at them like, “Whaaaaat?” This dessert menu shouldn’t be passed up.

If you hadn’t figured this out before know, I would highly recommend Meeting Place. It’s a fine dining restaurant with a casual feel (although we saw a few people come in looking like they were dressed for a cocktail party…there were others in shorts, though) and the price is not over the top-our total before tip was about $48 (for two small plates, a large plate, and dessert)-much less than Meeting Place’s more formal sister restaurant.

Meeting Place is located at 1278 Market Street, Chattanooga, TN 37402. You can call them at 423-266-4400. You can also make reservations online. They are open Monday-Thursday, 5:00-9:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday 5:00-10:00 p.m. You can read more about the restaurant and the menu on their website. You can also “like” them on Facebook.

Northshore Grille-July 21, 2012 CLOSED

July 22, 2012

January 19, 2014: Northshore Grille recently closed. The space is being converted into Beast and Barrel, a family-friendly restaurant and bar owned by the group that owns The Terminal, Honest Pint, and Hair of the Dog.

We set out today with no particular restaurant in mind for our Saturday review extravaganza. We threw out a bunch of ideas, all of which sounded good to both of us. Finally, Philip made an executive decision and made a right turn onto Frazier rather than crossing Veteran’s Bridge. Northshore Grille it was.

Let me go ahead and get this out of the way…their Urbanspoon rating is 37%. I know one of my friends recently told me that she would never go there again. I didn’t ask for details and she didn’t give them. Honestly, I don’t understand. We have been there several times over the years and have never had a bad experience. The bottom line is…you have to form your own opinion. Here’s our experience….

I really like the decor in Northshore Grille. It’s pretty minimal…dark wood floors, dark walls, some large art pieces hanging, and gigantic windows in the bar area that open like garage doors. It was way too hot today for the windows to be up but on really nice days they do open them. It’s like sitting outside…but not.

It did take a couple of minutes for us to get seated. No host was at the station when we walked up. A server came out carrying some drinks and seated us after he delivered the drinks. A girl (Christy? Kristy? She said her name but I didn’t catch the spelling) brought us menus and quickly took our drink order. She gave us a couple of minutes to review our menus and quickly took our order when we were ready.

I decided on the caprese chicken sandwich…sauteéd chicken breast with pesto, melted mozzarella, and sundried tomatoes on a ciabatta roll, with baked potato salad. Let me tell you…I loved the potato salad, which is saying something. Generally I despise cold potato salads (I make a great hot roasted potato salad…but that’s another post) but I decided to give it a try. I think it was made with starchy Russet potatoes as opposed to the waxy red potatoes that you often see in potato salads. It also had bacon in it. It was well-seasoned and had a sour cream based sauce (rather than mayo). The only thing I would have changed would be to add some chives or chopped green onions for another layer of flavor. The chicken sandwich was okay…I wasn’t turning cartwheels, but I didn’t hate it either. I did really like the roll, but I’ll be honest…I just don’t love chicken breast. Too…..meh. It wasn’t seasoned as much as I would have liked, and I think I would have liked it more if the tomatoes had been fresh instead of sundried.

Philip decided on the Lotta Bacon and Cheddar Burger with fries. It was basically just a very large (9 oz, I think) burger patty with bacon, cheddar cheese, and an onion ring (which he took off the burger…and actually, I consumed most of it. It was good but a little greasy). He ordered it with lettuce, tomato, and pickle. It was a really great burger! I tasted it and found it to be well cooked and fresh tasting. I would have preferred a little creativity on the bun (I think it was just a packaged burger bun) but it still tasted good. Philip felt a little guilty for eating a slab of meat topped with….meat. But then again, we usually only eat meat on the weekend, so I guess he was just meeting his quota. The fries are handout, skin-on. Not super-crispy, but that’s fine by me. I like a balance of crispy and soft in my fries, and when they are too crispy I assume they are overly processed.

Northshore Grille used to be known (are they still? I didn’t even look.) as “Northshore Grille Smoking Crab Shack and Cantina”. They have crab cakes on the menu, as well as quite a few sandwiches and burgers (the Wellington, with mushrooms, Swiss, and a garlic butter sauce) sounded particularly appealing). They also have a pretty good menu of entrèes, a particular favorite being the steak medallions and biscuits, served with white (mayonnaise-based) barbecue sauce on the side.

I don’t know. Maybe I’ve just gone here on good days, or managed to get particularly good servers. We really liked our server….she was very friendly and attentive. Anyway, like I said earlier in the post, and like I’ve said a million (well, maybe not that many) times….you’ll just have to form your own opinion. This was my experience. I won’t bother with the caprese sandwich again, but I’ll definitely eat here again.

Northshore Grille is located at 16 Frazier Avenue, Chattanooga, TN 37405. You can call them at 423-757-2000. They (surprisingly) do not have a website, but you can find them on Facebook and on Twitter (though they only have one Tweet!).

Alleia Restaurant-July 14, 2012

July 14, 2012

Choosing a restaurant at which to eat for our anniversary (number eleven!) was somewhat of a challenge this year. Initially I wanted to go to The Meeting Place, the more casual sister of St. John’s, but as the date got closer I began to add more and more restaurants to the list. Saturday morning there were five restaurants. I had talked to Philip’s sister on Friday and she highly recommended Alleia, then Saturday morning Philip talked to her as well and again she emphasized how wonderful the food was. Why not? We booked a reservation for 6 p.m. and headed to Main Street.

It’s funny, because I was always a little foggy about exactly where Alleia (pronounced a-LEE-a) was located. Turns out, I drive past it every Wednesday as I head to the farmers market. It’s on Main, right after you turn from Market, in the building right before The Soho. A large metal sculpture serves as something of a landmark. The huge wood door with the large metal ring handle is quite impressive. We walked in and were quickly seated by a hostess who told us that we did not look old enough to have been married eleven years (stop it! You flatter.). We were indeed hardly more than children when we wed, but it has worked out well for us!

We were seated at a booth, a very private booth with walls on three sides. While we were perusing the menu, we took in the ambiance….slightly dimly lit, but not dark (although I do need to apologize for the poor lighting of the photos….nicer restaurants rarely have lighting conducive to great photography), with beautiful worn looking walls. We were seated near a large lighting feature of candles with wax forming a mantel of sorts as well as a base on the floor; very unique and interesting. Also interesting was the heavy wool blanket decorating the wall; light grey plaid, it looked and felt like a horse blanket. The kitchen was open, and I enjoyed watching the guys work (although I wished that I could stand at the counter and really watch them work….but I suppose I would had missed out on my anniversary meal with my husband then, wouldn’t I?

The menu at Alleia is divided into six parts: antipasti (appetizers), insalate (salad), primi (first courses-all pasta dishes), secondi (main courses-meat-based entrées), pizzas, and contorni (side dishes). There was also a specials list, with one or two specials for each menu section, and a Vino (wine) menu. We had a difficult time choosing our antipasti…the bruschettas (one with ricotta and honey, the other with cannellini beans and roasted peppers) sounded wonderful, and I was very interested in the arancini (basically breaded and fried rice balls) with mozzarella and meat sauce…but the dates wrapped in Benton’s bacon with a balsamic and olive oil drizzle sounded wonderful, and that is what we finally decided to order. It arrived about the same time as our bread, a portion of a fresh Italian loaf (made in-house) with lots of olive oil and garlic on top. We were not disappointed in our choice. Just the scent from the dates was enough to send us over the edge….smoky and sweet. Both the dates and the bacon were tender enough to cut through easily, and the savory/sweet combination was perfect. Our server, Arturo, even encouraged us to sop the olive oil and vinegar with our bread.

The Bob Jones salad (with Bob Jones lettuce, gorgonzola, and strawberries), sounded lovely, as did the Caesar salad with romaine lettuce and shaved grana padano cheese, but I could not resist the insalate special for the day, a caprese salad. They divided the salad between two plates for us; it was a combination of sliced heirloom tomatoes and wedged tomatoes, with a chunk of mozzarella, a basil chiffonade, and again, a balsamic and olive oil drizzle. Delicious. The tomatoes were in that perfectly ripe stage, so juicy and drippy, and the cheese was fresh and amazing. Again, I sopped up the wonderful juices with the bread. Perfect. I kept waxing on and on about how the most amazing food is usually the most simple. Philip is surely a patient man to listen to all this food jargon all the time….but then again, he certainly has benefitted from it over the years.

I was so tempted to order a pizza. All of the topping combinations sounded impressive (especially proscuitto, arugula, and smoked mozzarella), and they are all neopolitan-style pizzas (thin, crispy….perfect) cooked in a 750 degree wood-fired oven. Shut your mouth, Arturo. However, I guess my desire to try the handmade pasta was stronger, so I asked Arturo to make a recommendation between the ricotta ravioli with zucchini and cremini mushrooms and the angel hair pasta with Gulf shrimp and cherry tomatoes. Rather than really make a “recommendation”, he gave me a very detailed description of each dish. Finally, I decided on the ravioli. Filled with ricotta lightly seasoned with salt and pepper, the ravioli is served in an herbed butter and white wine sauce with quartered cremini (baby portobello) mushrooms, very thinly sliced (almost shaved) zucchini, and red and yellow tomatoes with grated Parmigiano-Reggiano. My. Word. This was, without question, the best ravioli I had ever had. Ever. The sauce was perfectly seasoned, the pasta so tender and the ricotta so fresh tasting. Amazing.

While the secondi menu had a variety of tempting options, like Maple Leaf Farm duck breast and the secondi special pork osso buco (which I briefly considered before deciding I must order pasta) Philip took one look and knew immediately what he would order: wood-fired pork shoulder with grilled peaches. All of the dishes on the secondi menu are served with perfectly roasted red potatoes and red cabbage. First of all, pork shoulder is not something that you often see on a menu at an upscale restaurant, so I was very interested to see the execution. It was served in a cohesive chunk (sorry, that word is so unappetizing, but I couldn’t think of a better one!) but was amazingly tender. Philip was able to simply use his fork to pull bites of meat from it. He definitely had one of those eyes-rolling-into-your-head moments when he first took a bite of it…the tenderness, the smoky flavor from the wood-fired oven, the seasoning…everything worked together fabulously. The red potatoes were also delicious, perfectly browned and with a wonderful grilled flavor. I didn’t taste the cabbage, but Philip said it was very good. The peaches were delicious, with a perfect grilled flavor. I love grilled peaches. We both could have finished our entrees, but we needed to save room for dessert, so Arturo boxed up our leftovers (and our bread!) for us.

We were sincerely hoping for the dessert special, summer fruit cobbler with basil gelato (!), but apparently we should have made our reservation for when they opened at 5 p.m. rather than waiting until 6. They were all out by the time we ordered! The dessert menu consisted of a handful of specialty desserts (tiramisu, panna cotta, and a flourless chocolate cake) and several flavors of gelato (Italian ice cream, more dense with less air than American ice cream). We decided to order the flourless chocolate cake, served with strawberries, fresh whipped cream, and cinnamon gelato, made with cinnamon sticks, not packaged ground cinnamon. The cake was dark, rich, dense….the whipped cream light, barely sweetened, and the gelato had a wonderful texture with a strong cinnamon flavor. By the way….I will be making basil gelato soon. I have to, it’s a must.

Alleia is owned by Daniel Lindley, the renowned chef who also owns St. John’s and The Meeting Place (he was nominated for the James Beard Foundation Award for Best Chef: Southeast in 2009, 2010, and 2012). This is certainly another hit for Lindley….amazing, simple, perfect food, much of it sourced locally. Basically everything that can be purchased locally, is, and other ingredients are imported from Italy, adding to the authenticity. Let me say…it was not inexpensive. Certainly this is a special occasion dining spot, but worth saving up for. Besides, think of all of the local business you support when you dine here-not just Alleia, but all of the local farms and producers from which they obtain ingredients. The atmosphere was beautiful, and the execution of service and cuisine spot on.

Alleia is located at 25 East Main Street, Chattanooga, TN 37408. You can call them at 423-305-6990. You can learn more at their website, http://alleiarestaurant.com/. They also have a Facebook page.

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