Chattavore

What I ate, plate by plate.

The Honest Pint-July 9, 2011

A few weeks ago, I purchased a “deal” from Living Social that gave me $30 worth of food at The Honest Pint for $15. I have been itching to try The Pint for several months now, especially since I learned that it is owned by the same people who own The Terminal Brewhouse, one of my absolute favorite restaurants on the planet (and one that I must review ASAP!).  This deal gave me the perfect excuse.

When we walked in, we were greeted by a sign telling us that we would have to present our IDs, possibly multiple times, as this was an over-21 establishment.  Crap.  Bet it smells like smoke in there….well, it wasn’t too bad, but when Marcus, who was tending bar (and who happens to be my brother’s roommate) greeted us, he pointed out the nonsmoking section, which is separated from the smoking section by glass doors.  Yea!  Separate but equal.  Sometimes it can be positive.  The smoking section is much, much larger than nonsmoking, but hey, technically it’s a pub, or a bar, or whatever you want to call it.  I’m not offended.  The decor in this place is just great.  I think a lot of it is left over from the previous establishment, Parkway Billiards, but they have definitely added their own flair.

The ceiling. Yes, I took a picture of the ceiling. Someday I want tiles like this on my ceiling.

A quick view of part of the nonsmoking section.....

The server, Juliana, quickly greeted us and pointed out their Saturday and Sunday specials menu, which included a selection of Bloody Marys, several cocktails, and some special entrees (I’ll get to those in a moment) as well as a beer menu (extensive, as would be expected, and their beer focus is on Irish beers and American craft beers, although I assure you that there are beers for the Bud lover too), plus the regular food menu, which contains several traditional Irish dishes with an Honest Pint twist (“herder’s” pie, colcannon, boxty), as well as the things you would expect in any restaurant (sandwiches, salads, etc.) but nothing that was just average.  Everything has a twist!   They describe their style as a “fusion of American and Irish cooking that will both surprise and impress you.”  The entrees on the specials menu included corned beef hash, which meant that there was no choice involved for Philip, a quiche whose name  I can’t put my finger on, but that contained pimento cheese (yowza!) and came with a side of breakfast potatoes and bacon jam (more on that later), crepes filled with chicken in an apricot mustard sauce, and an “Honest Happy Meal”, which was corned beef hash, a 20 oz. Guinness, and a toy.  I got a good laugh out of that.  As much as the quiche appealed, my brother (who is a regular) had recommended the BELT sandwich (which I heard the server call a belt, not a B-E-L-T).  Since we had $30 to spend, we also decided to get pommes tots, tater tots fried in duck fat and served with curry ketchup, smoked aioli, and sriracha mayo.

That turned out to be a fantastic decision.  I can’t even describe to you how good these things are.  I am not a fan of duck as a meat, but duck fat is a wonderful deep-frying medium.  So good.  So very, very good.  The sriracha mayo had a good flavor but was a little spicy for my wimpy tastebuds.  The smoked aioli was delicious, and the curry ketchup….well, there are no words.  Philip and I were both speechless.  It was amazing, and we will be attempting to duplicate that flavor at home.  I asked the server, who confirmed that the sauces were, indeed, house made.  Score.

Smoked aioli on the left, curry ketchup in the middle, and sriracha mayo on the right. I should have REALLY gotten in there and taken a picture of the tots!

One thing that you should know about Philip is that he truly, truly loves corned beef, and loving corned beef hash is a natural extension of that.  I make it once a year, as corned beef is expensive and it generally only goes on sale at St. Patrick’s Day.  The hash at The Honest Pint consists of shredded corned beef, cubed potatoes, scrambled eggs, and cheddar cheese.  Philip died and went to heaven.  He was so happy, in fact, that he tried to convince the chef, Philippe, to come out and accept a hug as a token of Philip’s appreciation, but no dice.  He even made a remark to Marcus on the way out somewhere along the lines of “it was the best he’d had,” to which, I, of course bristled.  He contended that it was “different” from mine.  Perhaps because I leave out the cheese?  Or I top mine with a fried egg?  Oh well.  You win some, you lose some.

Corned beef seems to be a much disputed subject. I don't understand this. It tastes GOOOOOOD.

The menu description of the BELT sandwich asserts that “the BLT is the BELT’s girlfriend.”  Hahahahahahahaha.  The BELT is a standard BLT made with applewood smoked bacon, with the addition of an over-medium fried egg and sriracha mayo, on a pretzel bun (rye is also an option). Again, I ordered this on my brother’s recommendation and also followed his advice and subbed rashers (Irish bacon, which is more like Canadian bacon than what we know as bacon) for the applewood.  Good choice-although I am sure that the applewood bacon would have been fantastic too.  The sandwiches come with house-made chips, but you can sub in tots or smashed potatoes for a small charge.  I went with the chips, though, as I’m a sucker for a good homemade chip, and I was not disappointed.  By the way, the chips are delicious dipped in the pommes tots sauces!  Now, let me say, this was not lowfat food, as evidenced by the grease on my napkin….but I did not go there looking for lowfat food, so no matter.  The sriracha mayo was not overpowering in the least.  This is just a great sandwich.

Bacon in all of its forms is good for the soul.

The pièce de résistance of our meal, however,  came in the form of a tiny little condiment cup of bacon jam, with a spoon, complements of the chef.  Maybe it was a consolation prize for not accepting Philip’s hug?  If so….we were consoled.  Recently, I saw a show on Cooking Channel highlighting food trucks around the country.  A burger truck was putting something called bacon jam on its burgers…and also selling it by the jar.  On the internet.  I almost bought some, but then I looked up the recipe and decided I could make a lot more for a lot less than I’d pay for that jar, so needless to say, when I saw the words bacon jam with the quiche, my heart started beating just a little faster…and I’ll definitely be ordering that quiche if it’s available the next time I go.  Bacon jam is a revelation, my friends.  Think of the best things about barbecue-the sweet, the smoke, the salt, the spice-then combine those with bacon, and you have bacon jam.  I am glad we complimented the chef!

By the way, The Honest Pint is also a music venue, spotlighting local artists.  Philip is hoping to line up a show there soon!

This was one of the best restaurant experiences we have had.  Ever.  The service was great, the atmosphere was great, and the food was beyond great.  The prices also made me happy, since only a very few items topped $10, and we had trouble spending $30…our total was $27 and some change.  We will definitely go back-many times.

The Honest Pint is located at 35 Patten Parkway, Chattanooga, TN 37402.  They can be reached at 423-468-4192.  Check out their website and like them on Facebook.  And if you go, be sure to tell them that Chattavore sent you-we gotta spread the word!

The Honest Pint on Urbanspoon

May 8, 2011-El Metate

In the week and a half that Philip has been out of town, I have probably eaten out more that I had eaten out in the two months prior.  In fact, last night I was supposed to meet my mom for dinner and actually called her and asked her to come to my house so I could cook for her, since I realized that the only non-restaurant dinner that I have had since last Thursday was a Lean Cuisine that I ate Tuesday night before logging on for my class.  Alas, she had already invited my brother to meet us there, so I now officially have eaten restaurant food for 8 days straight minus one which was a frozen entree.  This is not a good record to be setting.  I will be cooking chicken parm at my parents’ house tonight, though, and Philip will be back on MONDAY (cue balloons here) so I am making a grocery list!!!!  All that to say, I have three separate restaurant review posts to put up in the next three days.  Obviously, I have eaten out at more than three restaurants, but this is a local restaurant review blog, so those are the ones you get!

On Sunday, Philip’s dad was taking his (Philip’s, that is) mom out for Mother’s Day lunch after church.  They called and invited me to go along, and his dad (whom I’m pretty certain is enjoying reading my restaurant reviews) suggested that I choose the restaurant so that I could blog about it.  I consulted my list, which is three pages long, with each page containing about three columns worth of restaurants that need to be reviewed.  I’m going to be busy for a while-but I digress.  I just couldn’t decide.  Philip and I never, I repeat never go out to eat after church on Sunday, let alone with any type of holiday crowd, so I had a complete freeze-up.  So, I gave my list to his mom and suggested that she choose a restaurant.  She chose Biba’s, an Italian restaurant near the Publix in Hixson, and we decided that El Metate would be our back-up (they had never eaten there!).  When we got there, though, it became quickly apparent that lots of other mothers had the same idea.  We opened the door, saw the crowd, and made a beeline for El Metate, where we were seated immediately.

El Metate is mine and Philip’s favorite place-besides our house, of course-to eat Mexican food.  I have never had bad service there, and the food is always good.  Because we like to gorge on queso dip, Philip and I almost always order just tacos, otherwise we end up feeling like Violet Beauregarde when she turned into a big blueberry and had to be rolled out of Willy Wonka’s candy factory.  However, since Philip’s parents and I did not have any queso, I was free to order off of the menu at will.

I chose to have fajita nachos (I think they’re actually called nachos con fajitas or something like that, but it was five days ago, so you’ll have to forgive me) with both chicken and steak.  That was actually the special that day.  The fajita nachos have queso (see, I got my queso anyway!), peppers, onions, tomatoes, and whatever meat you choose over chips.  I have ordered them before and really liked them.  One of my friends actually got them with shrimp once.  Look for them on the fajita part of the menu, not the nacho part.  I ate almost the entire thing-all of the chips and meat, just left some of the peppers and onions.  I don’t know if this serving was smaller than what I’d had before, or if I was just much fuller before because of the Violet Beauregarde effect.  Anyway, they were fantastic!

Philip’s dad chose fish tacos.  Now, if you haven’t had a fish taco before, you may be cringing.  Lots of people-the majority of my family included-think it sounds like the most terrible idea ever.  In fact, Philip did not take to the idea immediately the first time I made them.  Give them a chance!  They really are great.  Anyway, the fish tacos were simply grilled (or at least I think it was grilled) tilapia, with pico de gallo, a choice of corn or flour tortillas (he chose corn, as would I), and a side of rice and beans (although he decided to forego the rice).  Quite different from what I make (I’ll post my recipe sometime soon) but simple and from his report quite tasty.

Now for the big mamma-jamma.  Philip’s mom ordered the “special dinner,” which she got for half-price since it was Mother’s Day.  The special dinner should actually be called the special dinner for a family of four.  It included a taco, a tamale, and enchilada, a chile poblano (also called a chile relleno at some Mexican restaurants), rice, beans, and some other item I can’t recall.  Maybe a chalupa or gordita or something like that.  Anyway, she had no less than three-that’s right, three plates-in front of her.  When they brought the third plate, I was fairly certain her eyes were going to pop out of her head.  Needless to say, a to-go box was in her future.    Actually, she ate the taco and whatever the item that I am unsure of was, a few bites of everything else, and boxed all the rest of it to take home-for her and Philip’s dad to share!  I’m serious, that’s how much food there was!

As usual, the service was great.  Everyone is always very friendly there.  They are very quick, and they keep your drinks FU-U-U-L-L-L.  I appreciate that, as I am always in a race against the clock to make sure I drink enough water, then I feel like Violet Beauregarde anyway, but that’s a different matter.  Many of the servers (come to think of it, I am fairly certain that my server at either location of El Metate has always been a man) are jokesters.  It’s not a gourmet restaurant, but it’s good food.  I definitely recommend it!

El Metate has two locations in Hamilton County (there are others in the Dunlap/Sequatchie County area): By Publix in Creek Plantation Village-5922 Hixson Pike, Hixson, TN (423) 842-1400, or by Soddy-Daisy Wal-mart-9332 Dayton Pike, Soddy-Daisy, TN 37379 (423) 332-3190.  Their website is http://www.caminorestaurantgroup.com/el-metate-mexican-restaurant.html.

El Metate on Urbanspoon

April 29, 2011-Rib and Loin

I had today planned as a personal day off from work, but due to the severe weather on Wednesday, school was cancelled.  Either way, I had planned to take the opportunity to choose another local restaurant off of my list of “to-reviews.”  Philip and I consulted the (very long) list and nothing really jumped out at us at first.  Because of continued power outages and other traffic obstacles, we decided to stay in the Hixson area, and as I named off all of our options, Philip jumped at the mention of Rib and Loin. 

According to their website, Rib and Loin has existed in Chattanooga for more than 20 years, since 1989, in their Brainerd Road location.  Honestly, because I grew up on the other side of town, I can’t remember if I ever ate there before they opened their Hixson location while I was in college.  Philip and I don’t eat out a whole lot, but Rib and Loin is one of our favorites.  It is (a) quick (unless you go after church on a Sunday-then you should be prepared to wait!); (b) relatively inexpensive; and (c) tasty.

Now, let me say this…..as in many places in the U.S., barbecue is a big deal around here.  Now, let me tell you what barbecue is not.  Often you will hear people from other areas of the country refer to “having a barbecue” at which they will serve hamburgers and hot dogs.  That, my friends, is a cookout.  Barbecue means low and slow….it may be sauced or rubbed but it’s not grilled.  And now that I’ve made that point clear, I will also say that I do know people that don’t like Rib and Loin….but I don’t really think that’s because they think their food is bad.  I know a lot of people who have pretty much devoted their lives to finding Chattanooga’s “best” barbecue.  They tend to find one restaurant they consider the best and no other will do.  I am not one of those people.  I’ve had bad barbecue but I love barbecue and am not necessarily loyal to just one restaurant…but Rib and Loin is definitely the one I visit most often.  I would also like to point out that a few years ago, a chain barbecue restaurant that shall remain unnamed moved in next to Rib and Loin in what I can only assume was an attempt to steal some of their business.  I was worried at first but that worry was unnecessary.  That particular location of the chain is now closed….but I digress.

So, onto today’s meal.  Philip always orders the pork shoulder dinner-shredded pork shoulder and two sides (he always gets slaw and fried okra).

I have a few different things that I order, depending on my mood, but today I opted for the stuffed potato with beef topping.

Like the burger last week at Blue Ribbon Cafe, this potato was gigantic. I took about half of the meat off before saucing the potato. Underneath all of that meat were butter, sour cream, cheese, and chives, not too much, just enough to taste. I put just a little sauce on. I really like their sauce because it’s just simple-not too spicy, vinegary, or tomato-ey. I don’t really care for the bread on the side. Nothing against it, it’s just plain old bread, but it doesn’t add anything to the meal for me. To be perfectly honest with you, I don’t know what cut of meat Rib and Loin uses for their beef topping-but it’s good. A little smoky but not overly so; not fatty but not dry either; nicely shredded. I ate about half of the potato before I declared myself stuffed (I am sure that the gallon-sized cup of water had nothing to do with that). I was very happy with my lunch, but maybe not as happy as my husband was…

As I said last week, hamburgers are like a religion for me. If hamburgers come close to a religious experience for me, then I think it’s safe to say that pork shoulder does the same for Philip. That man LOOOOVVVVVES pork shoulder. And bacon and brisket and filet mignon….but anyway, pork shoulder (aka Boston Butt-that makes me laugh!) makes him very happy. So, needless to say, he was extremely thrilled with today’s lunch. Rib and Loin’s pork shoulder is very moist, and like the beef, smoky but not overly so. Their fried okra is different from what I grew up with. It has a little “jacket” of breading on it as opposed to the cornmeal dredging my mom does (for some reason I don’t make okra very often-maybe the slime, which is probably why Philip always orders it every time we go to R & L) but it’s really good and I always steal a few pieces off of his plate. Today he was threatening to stab me with his fork, but then I reminded him that I was making homemade brioche so he could have the French toast he requested for breakfast tomorrow, and he backed the fork off. Rib and Loin’s slaw, in my opinion, is really something to write home about. I am apparently not a good Southern girl and I have never cared much for plain old slaw (although I do like a good Asian slaw or just a vinegary slaw) but for some reason I really, really like Rib and Loin’s slaw. I think it’s because it’s not super-sweet (to me sweet cabbage is just weird) and because the cabbage and carrots is chopped up superfine. It’s great, great, great.

Rib and Loin has desserts, usually some cobblers and I am not sure what else (I’m thinking maybe sometimes banana pudding is on the menu). When someone says cobbler, Philip doesn’t generally let them get to the next option. The man loves cobbler. However, we did not have dessert today. The grand total was $16-something, which is interesting because that’s what the tab was at Blue Ribbon Cafe last week!

Now, don’t argue with me if you are a diehard fan of another barbecue restaurant. But if you are not loyal to anyone, definitely try Rib and Loin. It’s worth it!

Rib and Loin is located at 5946 Brainerd Road, Chattanooga, TN (423-499-OINK) and 5435 Highway 153, Hixson, TN (423-877-PORK). You can also visit their website or their Facebook page.

Rib & Loin on Urbanspoon

Blue Ribbon Cafe-April 22, 2011

Okay, so technically Blue Ribbon Cafe  isn’t in Chattanooga….but it’s in Soddy-Daisy, which, in my opinion, is close enough.  Besides, I’m from Soddy-Daisy, so it’s only fitting that I start my Chattavore adventure there.’Blue Ribbon Cafe is one of my most favorite restaurants in the world.  I am so happy that such a fantastic restaurant is located right here in good ole S-D.  The food is fresh and homemade….which makes me ecstatic.  I’ve never had anything I didn’t like there, and I’ve had several things on their menu.  Chicken fingers (handbreaded) and fries (skin-on) are a no-fail option…..so is The Hippie (shaved rib-eye on a pita with cheese, grilled onions, and grilled peppers) and Whatta Pig (BLT on grilled sourdough with cheese).  Of course, the daily specials are a huge hit, ranging from hamburger steak to chicken and dumplings, plus soups and an ever-changing range of desserts written on the chalkboard (I just LOVE restaurants who write their specials on a chalkboard!).

So anyway, BRC often posts their daily specials on their Facebook page.  Friday’s special is always cheeseburgers and fish tacos-two of my favorite things.  I’ve been dying to go on a Friday specifically for this purpose…..but that darned job thing is always getting in the way (we don’t go out to eat on Friday nights very often because of crowds…..and fatigue)!  Good Friday provided the perfect excuse….so off we went.

Something you should know about me is that cheeseburgers are like a religion to me.  I don’t just go anywhere and order a cheeseburger.  I have to eat at a restaurant a few times before I take that step….but if you can win me over with your burger, well, you’ve won me over.  Clearly, I had to get the cheeseburger.  Secretly, I hoped that Philip would order the fish tacos so we could share, but he decided on the burger too.  Oh well.  Summer is coming up, so maybe another Friday trip is in the stars.

Let me tell you about this burger.  It was gigantic.  The buns are homemade, and they were the size of our heads!  There was nothing fancy about this burger….no aioli or parmesan cheese crisp or onion jam.  No need.  Meat on a bun with nothing (Parks and Recreation, anyone?)…well, with a melted slice of cheese.  The owner, who took our order, brought out a bottle of mustard and a bottle of mayo before our food came, and there were a few pieces of onion and some lettuce, tomato, and pickles on the plate (I skipped the onion, as is my usual practice).  The burger, when all was said and done, probably weighed at least 3/4 of a pound,  maybe more.  And I ate almost all of it.  I could have finished it, but I have a weird thing about cleaning my plate in a restaurant.  Somehow I think the meal will not make me gain weight if I leave a few bites on the plate….so I left about 3 bites of the burger and maybe 10 (amazing) fries.  Philip finished his burger….but he ate fewer fries than me, so I think we’re even.

The total cost for the two enormous burgers was $16 and some change.  The service was great, and if I had any more space I would have loved to have shoveled in some Coca-cola cake….but that will have to wait till next time.  And there will definitely be a next time!

Some other popular menu items at BRC include hand-battered chicken tenders, served with coleslaw and fresh-cut fries; Curly Joe, a pasta salad with sliced almonds, grilled chicken, and parmesan cheese; the Jimmy Buffet, a mixed green salad with mango-pineapple vinaigrette; the Hippie, shaved ribeye with melted cheese, grilled onions and peppers, and tzatziki sauce served on a pita; and the Wednesday special, chicken and dumplings served with a roll.  The dessert menu is reason alone to visit, however.  It features ever changing and always fabulous treats like Coca-Cola cake, Mountain Dew cake (To. Die. For.), banana pudding, Rocky Road cake, Caramelicious Brownies…..I could go on for a while.

Update: On July 22, a friend came over for an informal breadmaking class.  As “payment” for the class, she treated me to lunch at Blue Ribbon (she lives in Murfreesboro and was excited about trying the restaurant, especially since it was cheeseburger Friday).  You know what that means-cheeseburger Friday is also Fish Taco Friday!  So, I finally got to try my fish tacos.  I should have asked what type of fish they use, but I forgot.  It was very mild, so I am guessing it was tilapia or cod or something of that sort.  These fish tacos were somewhat different from my fish tacos.  There were a few strips of fried fish and some lettuce on each flour tortilla (I make mine with cabbage and corn tortillas).  There was a pink sauce that was very mildly spicy.  It was actually pretty similar to my mayo & sour cream based sauce.  It was served with a side of pineapple salsa, black bean and corn salad (black beans, fresh white corn, red onions, and tomatoes), and rice.  Everything tasted great.  I am sure that purists would argue that they were “not authentic”, but I wonder what is really considered authentic.  I really enjoyed the black bean and corn salad.  I snapped a picture with my phone…I wish I had thought to take a picture of my friend’s cheeseburger!  She was extremely excited about it, especially since she’s a bread snob like I am and the buns are homemade.  However, I was almost certain she was going to go into a food coma when we got back to my house!

I had already eaten half the taco when I thought to snap a picture!

Blue Ribbon Cafe is located at 9705 Dayton Pike, Soddy-Daisy, Tennessee.  They are open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday through Friday.  You can reach them at 423-332-5005.  Oh, and they do special orders for their baked goods-hooray!

For a more recent review of Blue Ribbon Cafe, click here!

Blue Ribbon Cafe on Urbanspoon