By Location Archives - Page 15 of 42

Siren’s Seafood and Steak Market (***CLOSED)

December 22, 2014

Siren’s Seafood and Steak Market was a seafood & steak market and restaurant located on Signal Mountain. They are currently closed, though rumor has it they may relocate eventually.

I’ve been meaning to get to Siren’s for some time now. They opened several years back on Signal Mountain Boulevard and at some point…they moved up to Signal Mountain. I really have no idea when. I also have no idea if they always had a menu or if that is a more recent development since they moved up the mountain. The employees were very busy when we were in Saturday so I didn’t have a chance to ask them.

There were only a couple of people in the shop when we went in on Saturday afternoon, but several came and went making seafood and meat purchases or placing food orders while we were there. There is a dining room with several tables on one end of the building and the seafood/meat shop on the other end. There’s also lots of outdoor dining…but it was a little chilly for that.

When you walk in, there’s a counter at the end in the dining room where you can look at the menu and place your order when you’re ready. You pay at the counter and find a table in the dining room, then they bring your food out to you. The menu consists of appetizers (crab bites, oysters on the half shell, and sesame crusted tuna), gumbo, sandwiches, fried seafood, chicken, burgers, salads, blackened fish, boiled seafood, and a kids’ menu. They also had a menu of specials, which included crab cakes and shrimp and grits.

I decided to get the fried oyster po’ boy, which consisted of lightly breaded and fried oysters served on a length of soft but crusty bread with remoulade, lettuce, and tomato. The oysters were well cooked and there was a good amount of sauce-not too much, not too little. The best part is that the oysters are cleaned, shucked, and prepared right there, in house. Philip decided to get the catfish po’ boy, which was a nicely sized piece of catfish, lightly breaded and fried, served the same way as mine. It was well-seasoned and tasty. The sandwiches came with lightly dressed coleslaw, hush puppies, and crinkle-cut fries, which I have learned are always food-service fries. The menu here is about the seafood, though, so that’s okay. I had sweet tea to drink and Philip had a Founder’s All-Day IPA (they have a pretty decent beer list for such a small place). For our two meals and the beer, our total was $24.56.

In the seafood section, there were several varieties of fish available in addition to shrimp, clams, oysters, mussels, and scallops. The meat section had a variety of cuts of beef as well as duck breast and there were also whole ducks in the cooler. They also had crab cakes and some other house-made items for sale in the cooler. There were seasonings and other dry goods available as well. I really wanted to get some mussels but we weren’t going straight home, so we’ll be going back up soon to get some. Since I discovered that I like to eat mussels, now I want to learn to cook mussels.

Siren’s Seafood is definitely the place to go for seafood in Chattanooga, and they offer a nice meat variety as well.

Siren’s Seafood and Steak Market was located at 411 Wood Street, Signal Mountain, TN. They are currently closed. I have heard that they are planning to possibly relocate to downtown Chattanooga, but I have not heard definite plans for this. You can like Siren’s on Facebook and check out their website.

Root Kitchen and Wine Bar (CLOSED)

December 8, 2014

As of 9/13/16, Root Kitchen and Wine Bar is closed.
Root Kitchen and Wine Bar is a beautiful restaurant with a small but varied menu. The service was good and the food was fresh and delicious.
Over the last few weeks, I’ve been working hard to organize my life. Email archives, compressed photo files crammed onto my external hard drive, etc., etc. I’m trying. I am an incredibly organized person at work, but once I hit my garage all that fades away and I melt into a complete slob with no sense of household organization. I’m working on it, though. My fridge looks pretty good right now (though my pantry and deep freeze are going to have to wait until winter break) and there’s the list. See, picking a restaurant for my bi-weekly review can be a bit of a task when we aren’t really sure of all the places we need to go, so I made a list. I posted it on Facebook and my Facebook followers added to it. If you have anything to add, speak up! This week, when we consulted the list, we decided on Root Kitchen & Wine Bar.

I got an email a few months back inviting me to come in and try Root, but the email didn’t elaborate on exactly where the restaurant was located. A little investigative work revealed the Elemental had closed and Root had opened up in its place. I was a little surprised because it hadn’t been that long since we’d eaten at Elemental. Somehow I missed that they had closed. Root pretty quickly occupied the space, changing up the decor with different tables and chairs (at least I think they’re different…but I could be wrong), moving the big tractor to the back corner, adding some flowers…but the space was nice, so it didn’t need much work.

We arrived around 2:00 p.m. on Saturday and they were serving a brunch menu with starters, several breakfast specialty items, omelettes, an assortment of “Benedicts”, sandwiches, and salads. I skipped the $1.00 mimosas and stuck with water. We also skipped the starters, though the Southern nachos with Maytag blue cheese, bacon, green onions, and maple jalapeño reduction sounded pretty tasty. I struggled with whether to order the Cobb salad (herb roasted chicken, hard boiled egg, heirloom tomatoes, Maytag blue cheese, Benton’s bacon, Lee & Gordon greens, and red wine vinaigrette) and the fried green tomatoes BLT (fried green tomatoes, pimento cheese, applewood smoked bacon, Lee & Gordon lettuce, and aioli on toasted bread). When I asked our server, Erin, for her recommendation, she emphatically told me that I should get the BLT, which I ordered with parmesan-herb fries (other side options were grits, potatoes-breakfast potatoes, I assume-and root vegetable chips). The fries were delicious, hand-cut, skin on fries, perfectly cooked with chopped herbs and grated parmesan. The sandwich had a good balance of ingredients-a couple of strips of thick-cut bacon, two fried green tomatoes that were hot but not mouth-searing, a slightly spicy pimento cheese that was melty under the hot tomatoes, and buttery leaf lettuce. I didn’t detect the aioli; it just sort of blended in to the rest of the ingredients, which was fine with me because there was a lot going on in that sandwich (in a good way).

Philip quickly decided on the shrimp and grits. I was concerned that he wouldn’t like it because he is a fool for grit cakes with creamy sauce and this dish had neither. Rather, the shrimp & grits (made with Falls Mills grits and andouille pan gravy) was thick and tomatoey. The grits were spooned into the bowl and topped with a sauce made with tomatoes, sausage, and mushrooms (creminis and perhaps some shiitakes). There was a decent amount of shrimp and the dish was well-seasoned. While Philip lamented that they were not as good as his favorite, which was served at the now-defunct Market Street Tavern, he liked the shrimp and grits here a lot and would order it again. He was also very impressed by the fact that when he very much did not like the beer that he ordered, Erin brought him a different one and only charged him for one. That’s customer service, people.

Root Kitchen and Wine Bar is a beautiful restaurant with a small but varied menu. The service was good and the food was fresh and delicious. We look forward to going back to try their lunch and dinner menus.

If you happen to be on the North Shore looking for a great meal, Root Kitchen is a great place to try.

Root Kitchen and Wine Bar is located at 313 Manufacturer’s Road, Chattanooga, TN 37405. They are open Tuesday-Friday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Saturday 11 a.m.-11 p.m., and Sunday 11 a.m.-3 p.m. You can call them at 423-648-9160. You can “like” Root Kitchen and Wine Bar on Facebook and check out their website, http://www.rootkitchenandwinebar.com.

Other restaurants in this area: Chato Brasserie, Food Works

Chattanooga Brewing Company

November 24, 2014

Chattanooga Brewing Company is serving great bar-style food and fantastic micro-brewed beer on Chattanooga’s South Side, by Finley Stadium.

I’ve posted about Chattanooga Brewing Company before, but I didn’t have much to say because I don’t drink beer and at that time they didn’t serve food. However, last week a reader responded to one of my Facebook posts and told me that she’d eaten at the new CBC location and had some very tasty chicken tenders. Some of you may know that Philip recently started a blog, Path of Brews, to chronicle his journey into home brewing and post beer reviews. Seemed like a perfect opportunity for a great tag-team blog post to me, so we headed down to the new Chattanooga Brewing Company location (across from Finley Stadium and next door to the Chattanooga Jump Park) for a Saturday lunch.

First things first…there’s parking on the street or you can park in the big gravel lot behind the building, which is what we did. Of course, the first thing that we noticed was how gigantic the new location was in comparison to the previous location on Frazier Avenue, where there were maybe four tables. The new building has upstairs, downstairs, and outdoor seating and you just seat yourself. There were quite a few other people there, but still plenty of open seating. We picked a two-seat table by the downstairs windows. Our server, David, brought us each a beer list and a food menu.

Of course, I don’t care for beer, so I just had water. Philip decided on a 5-sample beer flight including Imperial Pilsner, S.A. IPA (infused with habaneros), Dunkel Vice, Winter Warmer, and Hefeweizen. I can’t tell you much more about that, but you can read his post on Path of Brews about our visit here.

Since my reader mentioned the Chickbock-battered chicken tenders, we decided to order those as an appetizer. There were three nicely browned, crisp-crusted tenders in the basket. The batter had quite a bit of spice to it, but not so much as to make it difficult to eat-instead it just added to the flavor. The tenders were perfectly cooked through and the honey mustard served on the side was a nice, cooling complement.

I had a hard time decided between the CBC burger and the Rivers sandwich (grilled sourdough with applewood bacon, lettuce, tomato, mayo, and balsamic Vidalia onion jam) but finally decided, since I’m trying to decide on my top ten burgers so I can update my list one of these days, to get the burger. With beer cheese for good measure. Since David told me that the waffle fries were not housemade (I asked) I decided to get house chips instead. The burger was good-sized but not grossly oversized, served on a fresh bun (Niedlov’s, I’m pretty sure) with lettuce, tomato, pickles, mayo, and the beer cheese. The portion of chips was basically gigantic. The chips were delicious and fresh, perfectly crispy and seasoned with salt and pepper. The burger was cooked just right with a great grilled flavor. The beer cheese had a great beer flavor (interestingly I do not like to drink beer but I like the way it tastes in food preparations).

Philip decided to try a stuffed pocket, AKA a homemade hot pocket. He had a hard time narrowing it down to one because he thought they all sounded good, but finally decided on the Hot Chick, with mozzarella, Buffalo chicken, blue cheese crumbles, and ranch dressing. It was all stuffed into a pizza-type dough. It was pretty messy because the ranch and buffalo kind of flowed out a little bit, so he had to use a fork for a lot of it. However, it was very tasty, with good seasoning and a nice balance of spiciness from the Buffalo sauce, creaminess from the ranch, and tanginess from the blue cheese. The dough was nicely crisp around the edges. Philip decided to get sweet potato waffle fries, which, while they may not be housemade, were well-cooked, crisp, hot, and tasty (particularly dipped into the honey mustard that I saved from the chicken tender basket).

In case you’re a new Chattavore reader, you should know that I’m pretty low-rent as far as my food preferences go. I love an upscale restaurant from time to time, but I definitely prefer bar food, burgers, and the like for an average meal out.

There isn’t a huge food selection here at Chattanooga Brewing Company, but there’s definitely something for everyone and the food has good flavor and does a great job of incorporating the house brews.

And if you like beer, you definitely need to go here for some great (so I’m told, anyway) local beer. The prices aren’t too bad either-for our appetizer, two entrees, and Philip’s flight, it was $31 and some change pre-tip.

Chattanooga Brewing Company is located at 1804 Chestnut Street, Chattanooga, TN 37405. You can call them at 423-702-9958. They are open 4 p.m.-10(ish) on Wednesday and Thursday and 11 a.m. to 10(ish) Friday-Sunday. Check out Chattanooga Brewing Company’s website, like Chattanooga Brewing Company on Facebook and follow @chattabrew on Twitter.

Noodle and Pho Vietnamese Cuisine

November 9, 2014

Noodle and Pho Vietnamese Cuisine is a small, locally-owned restaurant that serves great Vietnamese food in Hixson, Tennessee.

Okay, I’ve actually been to Noodle and Pho once before, but it was when I was seriously absorbed in my new-car purchase and couldn’t bring myself to think about writing a blog post. Why it took me more than three months to get back there is beyond me. Actually, I don’t even know how long Noodle & Pho has been in Hixson (in the Hobby Lobby complex on 153), but it’s been there for a while and it’s shameful that it took me so long to get there. According to some reviewers on Urbanspoon, it actually used to be called Sushi and Pho, but after they stopped selling sushi they changed the name (good choice, though Philip maintains that they should have renamed it “What the Pho” since pho is pronounced “fuh”).

There are always several people in the restaurant when we go in…not a huge crowd, probably because of the location and the fact that Hixson is not exactly a hotspot of people seeking Vietnamese food. There are regulars, including a couple of ladies who were there today as well as the last time we were in there. It’s a very clean restaurant with decor that, while not completely “tied together” is still welcoming. Definitely look at the three metal signs by the “employees only” door to the kitchen. Very out of place and good for a laugh (I wish I’d taken a picture!).

I apologize for the glare on these menu photos!

The menu at Noodle and Pho isn’t huge-just appetizers, pho (which is Vietnamese noodle soup), vermicelli (rice noodle) dishes, and rice dishes. We decided to order the summer rolls, which we ordered the other time we dined here as well. Our server checked to make sure that we understood that summer rolls are not fried, so I suspect that a few people have been disappointed to get the chewy rice paper wrapped rolls instead of the shatteringly crisp spring rolls that they were probably expecting. We definitely wanted summer rolls, though. The summer rolls are rice paper wrappers, shrimp, a little bit of pork, vermicelli, and lettuce with a sweet/tangy dipping sauce laced with sriracha. They’re extremely fresh, light, and delicious. The slightly spicy sauce is the perfect complement to the rolls.

I decided to get the pho tái, or rare beef noodle soup. This is a gigantic bowl of broth with vermicelli noodles, slices of rare beef, sliced green onions, sliced red and white onions, and cilantro. It’s served with a plate of bean sprouts, basil, lime, and more cilantro. I shredded all of the cilantro and basil into my bowl, squeezed the lime wedge over, and added a big handful of the bean sprouts. Then I dipped into the soup. The thing that amazes me about pho (the experience was very similar at the Vietnamese Bistro in Dayton) is how rich and aromatic the broth is. I love the smell, and it tastes just like it smells…almost like it has cinnamon in it, but it’s actually infused with lots of delicious things like fish sauce (which smells terrible but adds a wonderful flavor to pretty much any savory thing), ginger, cloves, and star anise. The beef was perfectly tender and all the herbs, onions, and noodles just add to the amazing flavors and textures. It’s not an easy dish to eat by any means…basically I had to use a fork to eat the noodles (I’m too green to use chopsticks) and the little spoon they give you to slurp the broth, herbs, and meat.

Philip decided to go for the bún bò xaò, or stir fried beef vermicelli. This was a gigantic bowl of rice noodles with strips of beef, chunks of cooked onion, shredded carrots, shredded lettuce, and jalapeño with a thin sauce on the side. The lady told Philip to pour all of the sauce over the bowl and mix it well before eating. Most of the components of the dish were cold, with the meat, onions, and green onions warm. It was basically like a beef summer roll in a bowl, with the sauce adding just a little bit of sweet, tangy spice as well as moisture. Delicious.

In addition to the regular menu, there’s a board hanging above the aquarium (near the restroom) with a few different dishes written on it. I’m not sure if these are specials or if they’re regularly available items that just didn’t make it into the menu. Bánh mì, a French-influenced Vietnamese sandwich, has been on this board both times we’ve been in and next time I go I think I’ll try it. I feel pretty certain that no matter what I try, though, I’ll be happy. This is very fresh, beautiful, and amazingly tasty food. I can’t attest to its authenticity, but it this is Vietnamese food then count me in. It’s also very affordable-our lunch was around $23 pre-tip.

Get to Noodle and Pho!

Noodle and Pho is located at 5450 Highway 153 (in the Hobby Lobby complex near the dress shop and the Dollar Tree), Hixson, TN 37343. You can call them at 423-531-3462. Unfortunately, they do not have a website or Facebook page.

Kevin Brown Burgers (Ooltewah, TN)

October 27, 2014

Kevin Brown Burgers is a popular hometown spot serving classic-style burgers, sandwiches, and barbecue in Ooltewah, Tennessee!
I’m a major homebody, you guys. During the week, I do my best to never leave the house after I arrive home from work. Usually I am successful. I kind of get stuck in patterns on the weekends as well, and we tend to stick close to home or to downtown when choosing places to eat. For that reason, Chattavore is heavy on reviews of spots in Soddy-Daisy, Hixson, and Downtown Chattanooga. Ooltewah and Cleveland have been terribly neglected. Sorry, guys. I didn’t mean to leave you out…you’re just so far away! In the search for new blog material, though, I realized what a large market I have yet to really venture into, so I started searching for some places in that area to try.

Since I have been planning for a while to update my burger list (I’m going to make it a top ten), I’ve been thinking that I need to make it to a few places that I’ve heard are great for burgers. It made sense, then, that I’d start my Ooltewah dining experience with Kevin Brown Burgers. After a Google Maps fiasco (really, it isn’t that hard to find! I’m just not very familiar with the Ooltewah area), we arrived at Kevin Brown Burgers around 2:00 in the afternoon and found a packed out parking lot. The tables in this tiny, quaint diner (formica tables, booths, a dining counter, and sparse decorations) were all full, but a couple of diners got up right after we walked in so we were seated quickly. A very friendly lady took our drink orders while we checked out the menu, which consists of appetizers, burgers, sandwiches, dinner plates, salads, and specialties (like nachos, barbecue, and stuffed potatoes).

We decided to order the fried pickles (served with a side of ranch) because, well….fried pickles. You know I always have to try out the fried pickles. The fried pickles were spears coated in a seasoned crumb breading. I have begun to recognize when I’m served a food service frozen fried pickle and, well, this was one of those times. I like those well enough, but it’s always a little disappointing when the fried pickles are frozen. I was here for the burger, though.

The large burger is an 8 ounce patty and the small burger is 5 ounces. The man at the table next to us had the large burger and it. was. gigantic. Like the size of my head, I do not kid. Now, I love a gigantic burger as much as anyone but I’ve set a goal for myself to be able to button my smallest jeans ASAP and that burger was not going to contribute to meeting that goal, so I went for the small cheeseburger-5 ounce patty with American cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion (which I skipped, of course), pickle, mayonnaise, and mustard on a small hamburger bun. It was a delicious burger, a classic burger-well-cooked, well-seasoned, with just the right amount of toppings and condiments-not so much that stuff was dripping or falling off of it.

Philip decided to order the brisket sandwich. It was a heaping pile of smoked, sliced brisket on a large hamburger bun with mayo, lettuce, tomato, onion, and pickle. The meat was perfectly tender, falling apart and very moist. It was seasoned beautifully and had a great smoky flavor. Philip did say that he would have rather had it on some other type of bread, but thought that the toppings, which one would probably not normally put on a brisket sandwich, went really well. We also ordered steak fries, which were the standard frozen variety.

While the sides and the appetizers were pretty much the same as you’d find in just about any other roadside diner, the burgers and the smoked meat at Kevin Brown Burgers are definitely worth venturing to the other side of town from time to time for. The people here were very friendly and this is clearly a neighborhood favorite-and an affordable one, at that. Pre-tip, our appetizer, sandwiches, and fries were around $16 and some change.

If you’re looking for a great burger on the Ooltewah side of town, give Kevin Brown Burgers a try!

Kevin Brown Burgers is located at 8228 Mahan Gap Road, Ooltewah, TN 37363. You can call them at 423-344-8344. Their Facebook page says that they are open Tuesday-Saturday 11-8, but when we were there we found out that they actually close at 3:00 on Saturday so that the owner can spend the weekend with his family (several Urbanspoon reviewers also caution that you might want to call first to make sure they haven’t run out of burgers…apparently it happens sometimes). They do not have a website, but you can like Kevin Brown Burgers on Facebook.

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