Downtown Chattanooga Archives - Page 2 of 21

Henpecked Chicken

June 1, 2017

Henpecked Chicken is a restaurant in downtown Chattanooga that serves smoked or fried chicken and boasts “sober chicken and drunken milkshakes”.

Okay, let me know start by saying that I usually give restaurants two or three months to be open before I write about them. The folks from Henpecked, though, had invited me first to the soft opening, which ended up being cancelled, then to a little media party they had. I at first accepted the invite to the media party then canceled because I had family in for just a few days. I promised I’d get in ASAP to try out their chicken, and Sunday proved to be the day.

We had thought about going to the Chattanooga Market, but it had rained and it was sooooo muggy, then I saw a picture of the crowd on Instagram and that sealed the (no) deal. Philip was curious about Henpecked so we decided to make good on my word.

It was around 1:00 on Sunday afternoon when we arrived and while the place was nowhere near empty, there was no one in line. We perused the menu for a bit (you can grab a paper menu from a little pocket hanging on the half wall or look at the big menu boards on the wall) and the cashier, Lauren, kindly answered our questions, explaining to me that the drunken milkshakes could be ordered at the bar and also explaining that, because it was our first time in, we got free house made frozen custard (??????). We placed our order and took our number to our table. Our food was out in less than five minutes.

I decided on the Coop sandwich ($10) – a fried chicken thigh served on a soft bun with pimento cheese, Henpecked sauce, jalapeño bacon, and sweet pickles. The sandwich was huge…I ended up eating only half of it in order to save space for my frozen custard (because yes, I drank probably over half of the milkshake and ate the free frozen custard). The breading on the chicken was delicious and a little bit spicy. The pimento cheese was creamy and pretty traditional. Henpecked sauce was similar to Zax sauce or another slightly smoky, peppery dipping sauce, and the jalapeño bacon was, well, hot, at least for my pedestrian tastebuds. I had the crinkle cut fries on the side plus a side of Alabama white sauce. The fries were pretty standard crinkle cuts…a little crispy but still a little soft. The white sauce was spicier than what I make at home with a more vinegary hit than mine, which is more horseradish and garlic.

Philip decided on the 1/4 Nashville hot chicken ($9.50) with a side of cheddar grits and fries (he initially asked for coleslaw but was told that they were out – a sign over the counter asks for understanding when they run out of their homemade sides). The hot chicken was served in the traditional way – on a piece of thick white bread, which he didn’t touch (he never does). The quarter chicken was a leg and a thigh, and while it was well-cooked and he didn’t not like it, he said that he probably wouldn’t order it again. Essentially, because the sauce that coats Nashville hot chicken is oil-based, he feels like it makes the chicken a little more greasy than he prefers. He liked my sandwich more than his chicken, and enjoyed the fries and the grits though he felt that the grits could have used more cheese.

As for the frozen treats, it was worth a trip just for those. My Bushwacker drunken milkshake ($9.83), with homemade custard, Kahlua, creme de cacao, and dark rum, was delicious, albeit maybe a little dangerous because it didn’t taste alcoholic at all. That said, it might not have contained that much alcohol, so unless you can down several milkshakes you’ll probably be just fine. The bartender, Wes, described it to me as “basically a mudslide” but I describe it as “basically fantastic”. The frozen custard that we got for free for being first timers was amazing as well. It is only available in one flavor (vanilla) but if you get it in a bowl you can also get strawberry or chocolate syrup on it (the syrups are homemade as well). It was creamy and custardy (duh) and had a deep vanilla flavor. I would have preferred a sugar cone to a cake cone (I’ve never cared for cake cones) but it was free and hey, beggars can’t be choosers!

Henpecked Chicken is a tasty, casual restaurant that serves a variety of chicken dishes at reasonable prices, and their ice cream (ahem, frozen custard) is worth a visit. Their staff was extremely friendly. We’ll definitely make a trip back.

Henpecked Chicken is located at 405 Market Street, Chattanooga, TN. They are open Monday – Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Friday – Sunday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. You can call Henpecked Chicken at (423) 710-1951. You can find out more about Henpecked Chicken on their website, henpeckedchicken.com or on their Facebook page. You can also follow @henpecked423 on Twitter and on Instagram.

Local 191 (Chattanooga River Front)

April 19, 2017

Local 191 is a popular bar located near the Chattanooga river front. Attached to the Blue Plate, it serves lots of delicious, locally sourced foods.

How is it that it’s already summer here? I mean, it’s only mid-April but guys, IT IS SUMMER. The temps have been in the eighties the last few days and I’m already having to pack anti-chafing gel in my bag (TMI, sorry about that).

Not that I am complaining. I❤️????summer. I made a vow a few years back that I would never complain about the heat in the summer because I wanted to be free to complain about the cold in the winter. And after the second winter of “will it or won’t it” in a row, I am ready for consistent temperature, even if it’s consistent heat and humidity. Anyway…

So, Chattanooga is an amazing city year-round, but it really comes alive when the heat comes. The river front is a center of the hustle and bustle in Chattanooga and a great place to see what Chattanooga has to offer. There are lots of restaurants, and the Blue Plate is one of my favorites. Serving lots of locally sourced foods from a kitchen that doesn’t have a microwave, it’s right up my alley. Local 191 is a bar connected to the Blue Plate, and we hadn’t managed to make it in there yet.

Early Saturday is a perfect time to go there. The lunch crowd was wrapping up at around 1:00 when we arrived and snagged the last table in the dining area. The patio was packed out. We took advantage of the 10-4 Saturday happy hour ($1.50 off cocktails, $1 off draft beers) with a Sun Also Rises (tequila, pineapple, grenadine, orange, and lime) and a Lagunitas Little Sumpin’ Sumpin’ ale.

My search is on to find the best chicken sandwiches around, so I had to check out the Local’s Fried Chicken Sandwich – a fried chicken breast on a toasted Niedlov’s bun with slaw, house pickles, and honey mustard ($7.50) plus house made chips ($2). Lightly breaded and crunchy, the chicken was juicy and flavorful…but I would have left the slaw off or maybe just used about half, because the sandwich was a little messy and hard to eat. The pickles were great and the house made chips were crunchy and perfect.

Philip went for the chicken and pancake – an Aretha Frankenstein’s pancake served with a crispy chicken tender and loaded hash browns ($10.25). The chicken was basically the same as mine and paired perfectly with the tender, fluffy, sweet, and flavorful Aretha’s pancake (someday I’m going to figure out how to make a pancake that thick). The menu said that the syrup was maple syrup, but we thought it tasted like pancake syrup. Our server swore that it was real. It’s a mystery – has anyone else had the syrup here? What were your thoughts?

Regardless of whether the syrup was maple or pancake syrup, Local 191 serves fantastic food at a fair price, particularly when you consider how local the food is. Our pre-tip total was $31 and some change. Our server was friendly and attentive and the atmosphere was casual and laid-back. Local 191 is a great place for a meal or a drink!

Local 191 is located at 191 Chestnut Street, Chattanooga, TN 37402. They are open Tuesday-Thursday, 10 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., Friday, 10 a.m. to midnight, Saturday, 9 a.m. to midnight, and Sunday, 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. For more information, check out their website, like Local 191 on Facebook, or follow Local 191 on Twitter.

Beast + Barrel

January 18, 2017

Beast + Barrel is a gastro smokehouse and bar located on Chattanooga’s North Shore serving creative drinks and a simple, elevated menu in a cozy atmosphere.

It’s been almost three years since Beast + Barrel opened on Chattanooga’s North Shore, in the former location of North Shore Grill. I wrote about their soft opening, which my brother took me to (he works at The Honest Pint, which is owned by the same group that owns Beast + Barrel). However, though I’ve been back many times since the opening, I haven’t written about a normal service at Beast + Barrel…so I thought I’d fix that.

Philip and I arrived around 4:00 on Saturday afternoon. The bar area of the restaurant was teeming with diners, so we were seated in a booth in the back section of the restaurant. We’d never been back there, and it offered a birds-eye view of the kitchen, which I found interesting. We were given several menus – the regular menu, a happy hour menu, a specials menu, and a libations menu. Sara, our server, quickly came to fill our water glasses and take our drink orders. Philip ordered a beer cocktail, of which I can’t remember the name. He liked it but said he probably wouldn’t order it again – he’s a beer “beer” guy, not a beer “cocktail” guy. I stuck with water.

A couple of appetizers were discounted for happy hour, including the single wide – beast (shoestring) fries, pulled pork, cheddar bisque, cherry Coke BBQ sauce, and mustard slaw – which was $4 (they’re $8 regular price). I’ve had these as an entree before, so we decided to order them. It’s a generous serving, particularly if you’re having them as your meal. The pulled pork is smoky and perfectly tender, and the cherry Coke BBQ sauce is just a little sweet, a little spicy, and a little tangy. The cheddar bisque was, well, a perfect cheese sauce, and the mustard slaw was a nice tangy topping to offset all the other flavors in the fries.

I’ve had several meals that I loved at Beast + Barrel, including the Big Katz (reuben) and the Executive Chef Salad. For this meal, I decided to go for the Crescent City Chicken dinner – Cajun fried chicken, maple gravy, goat cheese whipped potatoes, and vinegar greens ($18). I decided to sub the special side – broccoli and bacon salad – for the vinegar greens. The chicken was fried perfectly crisp and was ever so slightly spiced with Cajun seasonings. The sawmill gravy with maple sausage was the perfect complement to the chicken, and while I’m just developing a taste for goat cheese, I really enjoyed the perfectly creamy goat cheese whipped potatoes. The broccoli and bacon salad was like a slaw, finely shredded, with carrots, red onion, and a little bit of cheddar in a light dressing (it was not creamy, so I don’t think it was mayo-based like my broccoli salad). It was tasty but I would have liked for it to have more bacon.

Philip went for the burger special, a PB (yes, peanut butter) burger – basically a basic burger (called a “Braveheart Burger” on the menu) but with only peanut butter, bacon, and red onions for topping, on a Niedlov’s bun ($14.50). They forgot the bacon, but Sara let the kitchen know and they got a couple of strips out in just a matter of minutes. Now, I know that peanut butter on a burger sounds a little strange, but it really works. The burger was cooked well and the flavor from the peanut butter and the bacon was fantastic.

Our server, Sara, was very helpful and attentive. The atmosphere at Beast + Barrel is cozy, intimate, and casual. I’ve heard mixed reviews from some, but I’ve never had a bad experience here. It’s a little more pricey than the restaurants we usually visit (our total was $43 pre-tip) but not terribly so. The atmosphere is great for a date night. The menu is simple but creative and the drink options are limitless.

We really enjoy Beast + Barrel and will definitely return.

Beast + Barrel is located at 16 Frazier Avenue, Chattanooga, TN 37405. They are open Monday – Thursday, 3 – 10 p.m., Friday 3 p.m. to 12 a.m., and Saturday – Sunday 10 a.m. to 12 a.m. You can call them at (423) 805-4599. For more information, check out their website, beastandbarrel.com or the Beast + Barrel Facebook page. You can also follow Beast + Barrel on Instagram.

Happy Birthday, Tremont Tavern!

December 7, 2016

Chattanooga’s most popular burger spot, Tremont Tavern, turns 10 this month. They’re celebrating with a weekend full of fun!

When I decided to write a top burgers in Chattanooga list, I discovered just how passionate Chattanoogans are about burgers. Honestly, I was a little taken aback by how strongly people felt about their burgers. It was an eye-opening experience.

Over and over again, I have been told (or read, or otherwise heard) that Tremont Tavern has the best burger in town. Indeed, it is one of my favorites too, and with good reason. Huge burgers made from house-ground beef with any number of toppings – how could you go wrong? Plus, there’s the whole tavern/place where everybody knows your name vibe.

Dustin Choate, Tremont Tavern’s owner, set out in 2006 to create a new beginning for himself after a dissatisfying stint in the corporate world. We all know about restaurant failure rates, and at the time that Tremont opened, the area wasn’t exactly a prime restaurant location. It would seem that the odds were stacked against the survival of a hole-in-the-wall dive bar in a previously vacant building…but the odds can be wrong. And wrong they were.

Instead, Tremont turned into a destination for Chattanoogans and out-of-towners alike. What started as a tiny two-room bar has more than doubled in size – but that doesn’t mean there’s a lot of space. That just means more people can squeeze in, and squeeze in they do. On a recent visit, Philip and I could only find seating at the minibar in front of the windows – there wasn’t a table to be had.

It’s pretty much undeniable that Tremont Tavern set the bar for burgers in this town. They’ve not only won local accolades, being voted the Best Burger for the 2016 Times Free Press Best of the Best, but they’ve also been recognized in Garden and Gun as one of the best burgers in the South. The burgers and the beer are not the only good things about Tremont, though – they have a small but varied and well-crafted menu and everything on it is good, as far as I can tell. The fish and chips and Reuben that we had on our recent jaunt certainly were.

And the atmosphere is pretty much unmatched. Like Waffle House, Tremont Tavern is one of those places that everyone just fits in, regardless of who you are. It might be a tavern, but it’s cool to take the kids; everyone in the neighborhood does it, for sure. It’s just as great of a place for a casual date or a night out with friends, though.

Tremont Tavern is turning 10 this month. They’ll be celebrating Friday and Saturday (12/9 and 12/10) with food and drink specials and live music from Mike McDade, Gabriel Newell and Jordan Hallquist & The Outfit on Friday and BJ Hightower, Slim Pickins, TJ Greever and Danimal Pinson on Saturday. Don’t miss your chance to stop by and say happy birthday! And be sure to have a burger while you’re there.

Tremont Tavern is located at 1203 Hixson Pike, Chattanooga, TN 37405. They are open Monday 4 p.m. to 12 a.m., Tuesday – Thursday, 11:30 a.m. to 1 a.m., Friday, 11:30 a.m. to 2 a.m., Saturday, 12 p.m. to 2 a.m., and Sunday, 12 p.m. to 12 a.m. You can call Tremont Tavern at (423) 266-1996. You can find more information about Tremont Tavern on their website or their Facebook page.

St. Elmo Deli & Grill

November 23, 2016

St. Elmo Deli & Grill offers salads, burgers, hot and cold sandwiches, and wraps for lunch and dinner (on weeknights) near the Incline.

Philip’s new work schedule has really thrown off our Saturdays of late. For nearly 15 years, he didn’t work on Saturdays. Now…he works on Saturdays. He loves his job, so I’m not complaining, but it has definitely made visiting some restaurants challenging (never mind the fact that I have to have a snack before he gets home lest I get hangry).

St. Elmo Deli is one of those restaurants. A friend had recommended St. Elmo Deli a while back, so I’ve been wanting to go. They close at 4:00 on Saturdays, and we hate to go into restaurants near closing time. Since he usually doesn’t get home until 3:15 or 3:30, it’s hard to make it to St. Elmo before 4:00. Last Sunday, though, we went to Finley Stadium for my nephew’s football game (they won the Scenic City Championship) and headed over to St. Elmo Deli afterward.

The place was basically dead when we got there around 2:30. There was a family finishing up when we arrived but they left shortly after we got there and we were all alone. I didn’t notice the stash of takeout menus by the register, so we stood and stared at the huge chalkboard wall until we decided what to order. They serve salads, vegetarian sandwiches, burgers, hot pressed sandwiches, wraps, and toasted sandwiches.

I considered getting a Reuben (and after we ordered, I kind of wished that I had so we could compare it to others around town) but instead I ordered a Philly Cheese Wrap for $8.50 plus and additional $1 for fries (chips are included in the price of the wrap). The Philly cheese wrap is roast beef, provolone cheese, portobello mushrooms, sautéed peppers and onions, and horseradish cream sauce wrapped up in a jalapeño-cheddar wrap. The flavors were spot on and the cheese nice and melty. I loved the way that the horseradish cream complemented the other flavors in the wrap. I was disappointed that there was a lot of fat in the meat, though…I ended up having to pull a lot of it out of my mouth. The fries were frozen; I thought that my friend had recommended the fries but as we were leaving I noticed that the chips are housemade chips and thought that must have been what she recommended. You guys know I love a good housemade chip. The fries were good, but they were just standard frozen fries.

Philip decided to go for the bacon cheeseburger ($9), the price of which included either fries or chips (he chose fries). The bacon cheeseburger included two beef patties, cheddar cheese, and thick-cut bacon on a Bluff View pretzel bun. He was impressed by the burger, which was nicely crispy and just a little bit greasy, not in a bad way – just the way you expect a pan-fried or griddled burger to be. The pretzel bun was a nice package to serve it up in.

The atmosphere at St. Elmo Deli is, well, deli-like. Simple decor, clean, basic. The food was pretty good, aside from that unfortunate fat in my sandwich. The prices were about what I’d expect from a deli in this area, at $20.21.

If you are looking for a deli sandwich or a burger in the St. Elmo area, St. Elmo Deli is a solid option.

St. Elmo Deli & Grill is located at 3931 St. Elmo Avenue, Chattanooga, TN 37409. They are open Monday – Friday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sunday, 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. You can call them at 423-825-5555. For more information, you can check out St. Elmo Deli’s website or find St. Elmo Deli & Grill on Facebook.

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