Downtown Chattanooga Archives - Page 3 of 21

Main Street Meats

August 24, 2016

Main Street Meats, AKA the place with Chattavore’s #1 burger, serves amazing food AND provides great local meats in their butcher shop.

My birthday was a week ago, and because life has been very busy with school starting, I re-shared my Top Ten Burgers in Chattanooga (According to Chattavore) last Wednesday. That was my birthday, too, coincidentally, so the burger post was pretty fitting. Burgers are my A-1, superstar, perfect food, the thing that I could eat at least once a week (along with tacos. And queso. Always queso.). I knew when I shared it that a visit to Main Street Meats was in order this weekend (we stuck around suburbia and got a free birthday burger and a mojito at Ruby Tuesday on my actual birthday. There’s a lot to be said for free.).

I’m embarrassed to say that I haven’t been to Main Street Meats since it was taken over by Erik Niel of Easy Bistro fame, though we went lots back when it was butcher shop that happened to serve some sandwiches at lunch time. I’ve been wanting to go back for quite some time now, but new restaurant posts usually take precedence over “revisit” posts, though one could really consider this a new restaurant post since it’s essentially a totally different spot than when I first wrote about it. The seating area is small and was pretty packed when we arrived around noon (maybe a little after) on Saturday and were shown the available seats by a hostess. We chose to sit at a little bar in the back of the restaurant and were quickly greeted by our server, Meri (great name!) who filled our water and took Philip’s order for a Stiegl Radler (Stiegl-Goldbräu and grapefruit soda), which he’d never seen on tap ($4).

We have been on a bit of a pork rinds jag lately (we cannot go to Merv’s without having them, and we had some at Clyde’s last weekend – highly recommend), so we decided to continue the streak and order the pork rinds ($4). I assume that, just like everything else at Main Street Meats, the pork rinds are fresh and come from pigs raised locally. They were definitely fresh out of the fryer, crackling from being exposed to the air on their ascent from the fryer, dusted with hot smoked paprika and something just a little sweet (I couldn’t put my finger on the flavor) and served with a spicy harissa aioli. They were delicious but left my lips tingling from all the spice!

I couldn’t order anything but the burger. It just wouldn’t have been right, not this time anyway. The BLT did look tantalizing, but the classic Local Beef Burger (formerly known as the Ryan, for Ryan Coulter, who created the burger back in the old days) was the order of the day for $10. I added fries on the side ($5, maybe a little pricey, but more than enough to share). The burger, customarily served at medium temperature (they will cook it to a more “done” temperature if you want, but this is meat I trust, so I’m good with medium) is served on a wheat bun with mustard, mayo, house pickles, Gruyere cheese, house bacon, and caramelized onions. It’s quite possibly the juiciest burger I’ve ever laid eyes on (or teeth into), but somehow it manages to hold together. The rich flavors from the bacon, cheese, and onions are the perfect complement for the amazing, dry-aged local beef that makes up the burger patty. It’s burger heaven, or burger nirvana, or something. The fries are not your average fries…they’re sliced crosswise from the potatoes, so they look like chips, but they just aren’t as crispy as chips. They too were delicious.

Though the Bánh Mi ($11), with its head cheese, mortadella, and liverwurst paté were quite tempting for my adventurous eater husband, Philip decided to go for the MSM pastrami Reuben ($10), with sour cabbage, Gruyere, Russian dressing, and cornichon (small, sour pickles), served on marbled rye bread. He immediately pulled off a piece of the pastrami and handed it to me to try. I adore good pastrami, which is basically peppered corned beef, and this was just so good – a little salty, a little peppery, with a great meaty flavor. He said that it was one of the driest Reubens he’d ever eaten – but in a good way. The bread was not greasy, as can be a big problem with a little of Reubens, and it had a perfect amount of sauce to flavor it without being drippy or making it fall apart. It was a perfectly structured Reuben, for sure.

On the way out, we stopped at the butcher counter and picked up a pound of baconage so I can remake this delicious casserole and take some presentable pictures, as well as a bag of Riverview Farms Milling Grits. I ran into a friend, Suzanne, who writes GMOGone…nice surprise!

Main Street Meats is a casual dining spot serving casual yet upscale food in a beautiful atmosphere. The food is about as local as it can possibly get. How could you get more local than meat from local farmers that was butchered and dry-aged in the same building where you’re about to eat it? That’s right, it can’t. I know that a lot of people disagreed with me about Main Street Meats having Chattanooga’s best burger (Tremont Tavern has lots of loyal customers!), but the meat here is just so incredibly high quality…that just puts it over the top for me. For $36 and some change for two sandwiches, fries, pork rinds, and a beer, the prices aren’t terrible either. I just really want to go here every day.

If you haven’t tried Main Street Meats, what are you waiting for?

Main Street Meats is located at 217 East Main Street, Chattanooga, Tennessee, 37408. They are open from 11-10 daily (they stop serving the full menu from 4-5 daily, but still offer meats, cheeses, and drinks). You can call Main Street Meats at 423-602-9568. You can find Main Street Meats online at mainstreetmeatschatt.com. You can like Main Street Meats on Facebook or follow @MainStreetMeats on Twitter and Instagram.

Mt. Vernon Restaurant (St. Elmo)

August 3, 2016

Mt. Vernon restaurant has been around in Downtown Chattanooga for the last 61 years, and I don’t think it’s going anywhere any time soon.

Last week, I met up with Sean Phipps of Nooga.com and Date Night Dining fame for a a joint restaurant review. Why it has taken us this long to join forces, I am not sure. I would say that am also not sure why it has taken me this long to visit Mt. Vernon restaurant – it’s been around forever – but that would be a lie. Several years back (like, before the blog) I went there and remember being underwhelmed. I don’t remember why. I just remember being kind of “meh” about the whole thing. I’ve been meaning to go, though, to try out the famous Mt. Vernon amaretto cream pie, so it was one of the ideas I threw out to Sean and that was the one he chose.

We arrived at Mt. Vernon restaurant at around noon on Wednesday. The fact that they have a parking lot is a nice reprieve from the grind of attempting to find a place to park at any of the places in the heart of downtown. Despite the bustling lunch crowd (seriously, there were a LOT of people in there), we were seated immediately. Our server, Maureen, greeted us immediately and took our drink order. She was super friendly and helpful, a plucky lady who has worked there for a long time. Sean decided on the peach iced tea, a house specialty, while I got water. He ordered his tea unsweetened, as Maureen told him that the peach syrup was probably enough sweetness, and he agreed after he tasted it.

We were given two menus: a specials menu and a regular menu. Maureen recommended the fried chicken and the almond-crusted haddock. I had not heard anything about Mount Vernon restaurant’s almond-crusted haddock, but I had heard wonderful things about their potato-crusted haddock, so I ordered the haddock. For $14.95, I got two pieces of haddock covered with a creamy lemon sauce with two sides. For my sides, I chose the squash casserole and the cucumber and tomato salad, which was one of Moe’s recommendations. The funny thing is, one of my friends was sitting at the table across from us and she ordered exactly the same thing. We did not coordinate that at all!

Mt. Vernon restaurant’s almond-crusted haddock was nicely coated and sautéed until lightly crunchy. I am pretty sure it was cooked in butter. The seasoning was perfect and the fish was very tender. I loved the creamy, tangy sauce. The squash casserole was buttery and cheesy, topped with buttery crackers, just like you expect to find at any Southern potluck. The cucumber and tomato salad was nice and fresh, with an acidic hit of vinegar cut with some sugar. My only complaint was that it had big chunks of red onion, but they were large enough that I was able to easily eat around them.

Sean followed Maureen’s recommendation and ordered the fried chicken, also a special at $10.95. He decided to have his fried chicken with macaroni and cheese and pinto beans. While Sean liked the fried chicken, he said it was not his favorite and he would have preferred a crispier skin/coating. The macaroni and cheese was practically dripping with cheese, and he described it in his column as “buttery and sinful”. It looked great, and I should have gotten my fork in that bowl…but I don’t know Sean that well, and I don’t go eating off the plates of new people…might make a bad impression. He liked his beans but said that there was nothing really special about them.

When Maureen came around and asked if we wanted dessert, we were ready, having pushed away our plates in time to save room for pie. I didn’t even have to think about my dessert…it was a foregone conclusion that I was going to order amaretto pie, the dessert specialty at Mount Vernon restaurant. Sean decided to order the dessert special, lemon meringue pie. I have made amaretto pie before (I’ll be sharing a recipe eventually) but my version was creamy all the way through and theirs had a custard base with a creamy top. It was almondy and delicious, and I’ll definitely be modifying my recipe to include a custard base. The meringue on Sean’s lemon meringue pie was huge. I honestly prefer a higher lemon to meringue ratio, but I did ask Sean if I could taste the pie and the lemon filling was sweet, tart, and tasty.

The total for our entrees, two slices of pie ($5 each) and a glass of tea was $43 pre-tip….not the cheapest in town but not a bad price considering the amount of food we got. The decor here, updated a few years back, is homey and a little old-fashioned (Sean likened it to “your grandmother’s house on Lookout Mountain) and the atmosphere is bustling but not loud. Everyone was extremely friendly and helpful. I would definitely go back to Mt. Vernon restaurant for more of that delicious haddock and amaretto pie!

If you’re looking for old-fashioned Southern cooking in St. Elmo, check out Mt. Vernon Restaurant.

Mt. Vernon Restaurant is located at 3535 Broad Street, Chattanooga, Tennessee 37409. They are open Monday – Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday, 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., and Saturday, 4 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. You can call them at 423-266-6591. Check out Mt. Vernon Restaurant’s website, mymtvernon.com. You can also like Mount Vernon restaurant on Facebook and follow @myvernon on Twitter.

Boccaccia Italian Restaurant

July 27, 2016

Boccaccia is a beautiful Italian restaurant located in Downtown Chattanooga. It’s a wonderful stop for a special occasion dinner!

Philip and I celebrated 15 years of wedded bliss on July 14! It’s hard to believe that it’s been 15 years. Time really does pass so quickly, though I alternate feeling like we just started dating yesterday (because, you know, I was just a junior in college yesterday) and feeling like we’ve been together forever – because I’ve spent nearly half of my life with him.

Regular Chattavore readers know that we usually gravitate toward restaurants that serve bar food or diner food. Special occasions call for something a little more, well, special. We narrowed our choices for this anniversary down to three, ultimately deciding on Boccaccia, which Philip didn’t even know existed. Located in the Southern Saddlery building on South Broad Street, it’s certainly well-hidden. For those of you who don’t know, it’s on the south end of the building, on the side. There is pretty clear signage once you get there, and you can park in the lot right outside (there’s more parking in the back if that’s full).

We’re pretty paranoid so we made reservations even though we planned to arrive right when they opened at 5:30 (we’re basically elderly). The hostess told us it’s never a bad idea, as some days fill up faster than others. This day, we were the first into Boccaccia and were seated at a table for two in the corner of their dimly lit dining room. The hostess lit a candle in the center of the table for us and Chloe, our server, quickly greeted us and took our drink order. They didn’t have much of a beer selection and we don’t drink wine (sorry, wine lovers) so we both opted for water.

There are several appetizers, including prosciutto e melon (parma prosciutto and fresh melon), calamari fritti (fried calamari), and cozze en guazzetto (steam mussels in white wine lemon sauce with fresh herbs). We are big bruschetta lovers, though, so we decided on their version with buffalo mozzarella, roasted tomatoes, olive oil, and basil oil on grilled bread. The roasted tomatoes made a sort of salsa that was spread on the bread then topped with thick slices of the tender, mild, and slightly sweet buffalo mozzarella. The drizzle of oils on top added a nice flavor and, in my opinion, the flavor from the char on the grilled bread completed this appetizer.

We each decided on a salad. Philip, of course, decided to go with his standard Caesar salad, while I chose the insalata di spinachi e arugula, which is a spinach and arugula salad with sun-dried cranberries, gorgonzola cheese, walnuts, and lemon vinaigrette dressing. Philip’s Caesar salad was topped with housemade croutons and lots of thin slivers of salty fresh Parmesan cheese. His only complaint was that he would have liked for it to have more dressing. My salad was packed with fresh greens, dried cranberries, pungent gorgonzola, and toasted walnuts as well as a few grape tomatoes. The tart lemon vinaigrette was a great finish.

Since Boccaccia is, obviously, an Italian restaurant, I knew that I wanted to order pasta. I was torn between the lasagnette Emiliana (lasagna with fresh pasta, béchamel, and meat sauce)($15) or the ravioli spinachi e formaggi (ravioli with spinach and a cheese blend, sautéed with brown butter, sage, and tomatoes)($18). Chloe told me that while the lasagna was delicious, her recommendation would be the ravioli. That was my first instinct anyway, so I decided to go with it. It was a generous portion of freshly made raviolis with a flavorful filling of creamy cheese and spinach. The brown butter sauce had a mild sage flavor and the tomatoes were a nice finish. A blanket of fresh Parmesan cheese sprinkled over the top complemented the whole dish perfectly. I found that the crusty bread that Chloe brought to our table was perfect for dipping into the brown butter sauce (though the herbed oil that came with it was also fantastic).

Philip considered getting pasta as well, but he could not take him mind off of the filetto rossini, filet mignon covered with foie gras and a brandy cream sauce with porcini mushrooms for $33. He ordered it medium-rare and asked that the asparagus on the side be subbed with green beans (he doesn’t much care for asparagus). It also came with a side of roasted potatoes. The potatoes were roasted to a crisp and the green beans were just tender and perfectly seasoned. The filet…well, you might not expect much from a filet served at an Italian restaurant, but Philip declared it the best filet he’d ever had. It was thick and yet managed to be perfectly cooked through to a beautiful medium-rare finish. The knife cut through it like butter, and the foie gras and mushroom cream sauce provided a perfect rich highlight to the flavor of the meat.

To finish, there were several options, including tiramisu, lemon sorbet, and vanilla creme brûlée, which was our decision. The irony of ordering a French dessert in an Italian restaurant was not lost on us, but our dinner, our decision, right? It was a decent portion of creme brûlée, enough for us to share. The top was burnished to a candy-like crisp and sprinkled with powdered sugar. The custard was creamy and rich with vanilla flavor. It was tasty but I wouldn’t say it’s the best I’ve ever had (that honor still belongs to the now-defunct Chato Brasserie).

Boccaccia is a beautiful atmosphere and we got wonderful service. There were plenty of people there by the time that we left, so it seems that they are doing a good business. The prices are on par with other similar restaurants – our total for an appetizer, two salads, ravioli, filet, and a dessert was 85.82 pre-tip. For us, Boccaccia is a special occasion restaurant, but we would love to go back. By the way, Boccaccia offers free pasta and dessert on your birthday (you must show your ID, and if your birthday falls on Sunday when they are closed, you can go the day before or the day after).

For a wonderful special dinner, give Boccaccia Italian restaurant a try!

Boccaccia is located at 3077 South Broad Street, Chattanooga, Tennessee 37408. They are open Monday-Thursday, 5:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. and Friday-Saturday, 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. They are closed Sundays. You can call Boccaccia at (423) 266-2930. For more information, check out Boccaccio’s website. There is a Facebook page devoted to Boccaccia but it does not appear to be an official page.

Embargo 62 Cuban Restaurant

September 21, 2015

Embargo 62 is a Cuban restaurant on Cherokee Boulevard, near Chattanooga’s North Shore. They serve tasty food and great drinks in a casual “Cuban-style” atmosphere.

It seems like there are lots of new restaurants cropping up in Chattanooga lately! This week I all of a sudden got an urge to check out Embargo 62, the new Cuban restaurant on Cherokee Boulevard. My urge was solidified after I checked out their menu online.

When we got there at around 1, it was open seating (unsure of whether seating is open all the time) and there were quite a few tables open. We decided to sit on the covered patio. It’s a kind of beachy atmosphere, with glass light fixtures and bright furniture and lots of wood.

Our server, Lucy, quickly brought us our menus and waters, told us what beers were available, and recommended that we order the mojito gold. Philip decided to order a North Coast Brewing Puck saison and I stuck with the mojito criollo, with white rum, fresh lime juice, fresh mint, sugar, and club soda (I didn’t want to pay extra ?? to get an extra shot of rum). Our drinks came out quickly; my mojito was refreshing and light. You can check out Philip’s review of Puck here.

We decided against ordering an appetizer, but the appetizer menu consisted of ceviche, empanadas, mussels, and fried plantains with truffle oil. I had a difficult time deciding whether to order a sandwich (the Elena Ruz, with roast turkey, cream cheese, and strawberry jam on a semi sweet bun sounded very tempting) or a Completa, or complete meal. Ultimately, I decided on a completa and set to making a decision between the lechon, slow roasted mojo marinated pork, served with Congri (black bean and rice blend) and sweet plantains, and the palomilla, marinated top sirloin served with black beans over white rice with sweet plantains. I finally settled on the palomino, which turned out to be a huge piece of top sirloin that was surprisingly tender considering how thin it was. The rice was cooked well and seasoned perfectly, and the black beans were delicious, with lots of herby seasoning. The plantains were also great, lightly fried, no seasoning.

Philip thought the El Barrigon (burger) sounded pretty tempting. Their burger was a half pound blend of ground sirloin and pork belly (which was what sold him on the burger) with melted Monterey Jack cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, and pickles. The pork belly adds a pretty substantial amount of fat to the burger, which = flavor & tenderness. The burger was well-seasoned, well-cooked, and very tasty. The sandwiches are served with plantain chips, which are ??delicious??; Philip also decided to order a side (which was a pretty substantial basket) of their hand-cut fries for $3.00 and wow. They were fantastic: light, crunchy, perfectly golden, and perfectly salted. We had to move the basket out of the way so we’d stop eating them!

Our server, Lucy, was friendly and attentive. The atmosphere at Embargo 62 was really cool and the menu limited (which, if you read my blog very often you know I think is a good thing because they can focus on making the few items on the menu great) and authentic. The prices were reasonable (that is, competitive with similar restaurants); our pre-tip total including a beer, a cocktail, a burger, fries, and an entree was about $37. If you like Cuban food (or just want to find out if you like Cuban food) you should definitely check out Embargo 62! By the way, we parked in the pay lot near Whole Foods and walked down, but Embargo 62 offers complementary valet parking.

Embargo 62 is located at 301 Cherokee Boulevard, Chattanooga, TN 37405. You can call them at (423) 551-4786. They are open Sunday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-12 a.m. and Friday-Saturday 11 a.m.-1:30 a.m. You can read more about them on their website, www.embargo62bar.com, like Embargo 62 on Facebook, and follow @embargo62 on Twitter.

Puckett’s Grocery Chattanooga

September 14, 2015

Puckett’s Grocery Chattanooga is a fantastic Southern restaurant located on the riverfront near the Tennessee Aquarium.

This weekend we decided to take advantage of the amazing weather and head downtown to walk on the bridge. We talked through our options for lunch…I’m still avoiding burgers for another week or two. I have a few places that I want to try, including Talus on Lookout Mountain and I need to check out Main Street Meats‘ expanded space. However, since we were in the area, we decided to check out the newly opened Puckett’s Grocery Chattanooga location.

Puckett’s Grocery opened just a few weeks ago in the former TGIFriday’s location next to the Tennessee Aquarium. If we want to get technical about it, Puckett’s is a chain, but it’s a very small (4 locations), regional (Nashville based) chain so, like Tupelo Honey and Universal Joint, it fits in my guidelines for Chattavore. I’d heard good things about the Nashville locations of Puckett’s Grocery, though I actually hadn’t heard anything about the Puckett’s Grocery Chattanooga location. I was excited to try it out.

It was around 1:30 when we got there Saturday afternoon, a little late to try their breakfast (which is served daily from 7-11 a.m.) but that was okay because we weren’t really interested in trying breakfast anyway.We were told that the wait would be twenty minutes or less and that they would text us when our table was ready. It took maybe ten minutes before we got the text and were seated near the bar.

Our server, Ashton, quickly greeted us and took our drink orders. Philip asked if they served beer flights and Ashton checked with the bar, telling us that it had been discussed, but they do not (yet, anyway). He decided on a Blackstone Pumpkin Ale, which he thought was fantastic (and he plans to do a review if he can find a bottle of it).

We got stuck on the appetizer menu, trying to decide whether to order fried pickles, fried green beans, or fried green tomatoes. We ultimately decided to order the fried green tomatoes since we had fried pickles last week at Couch’s and fried green beans the week before at FEED Co. All three are served with bacon-chipotle ranch dressing, which is quite tasty, with a distinctive bacon flavor and a sneaky but sharp bite from the chipotle. The tomatoes were nicely breaded with an herby cornmeal crust (hi guys, how do you get your cornmeal crust to stick so nicely????) that was quite delicious. The tomatoes were wonderfully crunchy and not greasy at all.

The lunch menu is full of options, including plates with meats & vegetable sides, a selection of salads, and a large variety of sandwiches. I had a hard time deciding between the grilled cheese sandwich with pimento cheese (you can also choose American, Swiss, Cheddar, or Pepper Jack) or the Brisket Taco Salad: romaine drizzled with BBQ Ranch and topped with black beans, house-made pico de gallo, shredded cheese, tortilla strips and slow-smoked beef brisket. I asked Ashlyn and she said both! buuuuutttt….if I had to choose, to get the taco salad. I was not sad that I chose this. The salad was very fresh, topped with a generous but not outrageous portion of very tender and flavorful brisket (so so good), monterey Jack and cheddar cheese, and a generous amount of pico. The BBQ ranch dressing was, I assume, made with their signature BBQ sauce (which you can purchase bottled in the store). I would highly recommend this salad!

Philip (unlike me) loves spicy food, so he decided to order the Music City hot chicken sandwich, though he traded the Texas toast that the sandwich is usually served on for sourdough instead (Nashville hot chicken is normally served with plain old white bread, as in Colonial or Wonder Bread, but Philip just can’t deal). The sandwich was just spicy chicken (hot chicken is made with a generous amount of cayenne pepper) and pickle slices, with coleslaw and fries on the side. Philip said that the sandwich definitely got hotter as he ate it, which is how it goes typically. The chicken was well-cooked, juicy, flavorful, and well-seasoned. He also liked the fries and the slaw.

Other menu items included several burgers (of course), a regular fried chicken sandwich, a smoked bologna sandwich, and quite a few traditional Southern entrees, like Southern fried chicken and Cajun shrimp & grits. They have a pretty delicious menu of Southern desserts, too…chocolate chess pie, banana pudding, maple pecan pie, a deep fried brownie (!!!!) sundae, and a cobbler of the day (which was blackberry yesterday). Of course, we were too full to eat dessert. Regrettably so.

One thing I wanted to mention….something happened with our order and it took longer than expected to come out. Our server and two managers came by to apologize to us and we were also offered a complimentary soup or salad to eat while we waited. The thing is, we’ve both worked in food service and we know that those things happen. If the food or the service had been bad, we would have been upset…but both were great and the fact that they acknowledged the mistake and offered to “make it right” if need be totally made up for it.

I definitely recommend Puckett’s Grocery Chattanooga for a great atmosphere, great service, and delicious Southern food. Our pre-tip total, including a beer, an appetizer, my salad, and Philip’s sandwich was $35.56, which is on par with other similar restaurants. By the way…they also have live music at least one night at week. Go by and check them out!

Puckett’s Grocery Chattanooga is located at 2 West Aquarium Way, Chattanooga, TN. You can call them at 423-708-8505. Check out Puckett’s website: puckettsgro.com, like Puckett’s Grocery Chattanooga on Facebook, and follow @PuckettsGrocery on Twitter.

« Previous Page