Restaurants Archives - Page 33 of 49

Sing It or Wing It-January 19, 2012

January 21, 2013

I’m not really one for resolutions, but I told Philip the other day that I thought it would be a good idea to see how far into the year we could get doing blog posts on restaurants featured in our Adventures in Dining coupon book. Adventures in Dining features buy one get one free coupons for restaurants in the Chattanooga area. I paid $35 for it (from a friend’s daughter who was selling them for Chattanooga Girls’ Choir) and we’ll recoup that amount within three or four meals. Not a bad deal. Not bad at all. I could definitely go for some savings.

Our first Adventures in Dining meal was New York Pizza Department, which was more of a coincidence than anything else since people had been telling me and telling me that we needed to blog about it, so it was just serendipitous that there was a coupon. Meant to be, perhaps. I sat down with the book the other night and folded down the corners of the restaurants I really, really wanted to try. Some of them we’ve already blogged about (Sluggo’s, Good Dog….) but I ended up with twenty-three folded-down pages and several more that I need to research on UrbanSpoon. Now, the book will be our guide. When Philip asked me where we were going yesterday, I waved the book at him. The book has the answer.

We ended up driving toward downtown so it made sense to consider restaurants downtown. Philip thought that Sekisui sounded good but it turns out they aren’t open for lunch on the weekends. I was craving a burger anyway (Sekisui has one on their menu but who really wants to order a burger there?) since I haven’t had one since before my surgery, so at least a month (I know, crazy, right?). Sooooo…Pickle Barrel or Sing It or Wing It? Sing It or Wing It won (I love Pickle Barrel, or at least I did the last time I ate there, which was probably in college, but since it’s 21 or over I’m thinking a warm day when we can sit outside is probably the best time to go….).

When Sing It or Wing It opened by Chili’s on Market Street I was a little skeptical. A karaoke joint that serves wings? Sounds pretty limiting to me. They’ve been open for nearly three years and seem to be going strong, so I guess I stand corrected. One of my friends goes there during the day with her friends and her young children….it’s a family friendly environment (though 21 and over after 9 p.m.) and her children enjoy singing kids’ songs. She had told me that she actually really liked their food, so I was inspired to check it out.

When we arrived there was only one other table occupied. I guess 2:00 on a Saturday afternoon is not the busiest time for a karaoke restaurant…no big surprise there. There was one server, Scarlet, working, serving tables and tending bar. She immediately greeted us and told us to sit wherever we’d like, then brought us menus and asked if we needed a karaoke book (a very thick notebook of their song choices). We did not (while Philip may be a great singer he is not a karaoke fan) but she brought us one to look through and explained the menu to us. All of the menu items are named after singers/musicians and usually have some sort of correlation to the artist (e.g. the Philly cheesesteak is called the “Elaborate Elton”…you know, Philadelphia Freedom? The menu items are cooked to order with fresh ingredients, some locally sourced, and the menu was obviously someone’s labor of love. Spend a few minutes reading it. It clearly took a lot of time, thought, and effort.

Yes, the name of the restaurant is Sing It or Wing It. They offer six varieties of wings: mild, medium, hot, barbecue, teriyaki, and lemon pepper. The wings are smoked then grilled, not fried as you would usually find. However, while I like wings I rarely order them in restaurants and definitely don’t consider myself a connoisseur, so we decided to order “Pickler’s (as in Kelly) Pickles” instead. Here, I learned a valuable lesson: when you use a photo editing app on your iPhone, take the photo with your camera then load it to the app. VSCOcam pooped out while I was editing the photo of the pickles…so you get a photo of our almost empty plate. This is pathetic, people. There were a lot of pickles on that plate. The batter was a little salty for my taste, but you see that didn’t stop me from eating them, so they were definitely good. The sauce was a chipotle ranch dressing, tasty but not all that spicy. I’d order these again, but Philip didn’t like them as much as I did so that’s probably not going to happen.

While I spent several minutes perusing the menu, I pretty much knew going in that I was going to order a burger. I considered the Bold Bonnie (Raitt) burger but decided to order the Bruce (Springsteen) Buster instead. The Bruce Buster is a half-pound Angus burger with Swiss cheese and sautéed mushrooms served with fries ($7.99). I decided to add bacon for $0.75. The burger came with lettuce, tomato, and red onion (which, of course, I promptly removed) and I got my fries Cajun-seasoned. The burger was very tasty and drippy. I would have liked to have had more mushrooms on it (yes, I realize this would have made it more drippy, but a drippy burger is not a bad thing). The bacon was delicious. The fries were very seasoned and a little spicier than I would have liked. Next time I go I’ll order regular fries…they were good but I just couldn’t eat too many of them (because I’m a pansy).

Philip decided to get the Elaborate Elton (named after none other than Sir Elton John, of course), which is a classic cheesesteak with sautéed onions and peppers and cheese sauce (love a cheesesteak with cheese sauce instead of slices!). He got regular fries. The fries were hot and crispy (though I could not immediately deduce if they were housemade or not) and the cheese sauce seemed to be mixed in with the chopped steak. The whole steak/cheese sauce/onion & pepper mixture was just a little spicy, which was pretty interesting. I might try this myself at some point in time. Our total, minus one sandwich thanks to our coupon, was about $16.00, give or take a little change.

Like I said, the menu here is creative and well thought-out. Since it is a karaoke bar, there is a large appetizer menu….and I’m all about appetizers, so I like that. Next time I’d like to try the Skynyrd Pretzels-soft pretzels covered with parmesan cheese and served with marinara sauce-or maybe the Go-Go bites-broccoli cheddar nuggets. I also thought that the Chicken Martina (McBride)-a chicken breast topped with barbecue sauce, bacon, and Swiss cheese-sounded lovely, and I’d be interested to sample their smoked pulled pork sandwich, called “Sensational Scotty” for American Idol Scotty McCreary (by the way, Lauren Alaina sang karaoke here, if you’re an Idol fan-I’m not). There are some interesting, unique menu items, like the Godfather (a bologna burger that Philip almost ordered) and the Diffie Delight (a sloppy Joe). They also have a selection of salads, a kids menu (with names after your favorite teenyboppers), and several desserts (I wish I’d seen the Handsome Harry-named after Harry Connick, Jr.-beignets! Woohoo! Next time.).

It’s doubtful that I’m going to be headed to Sing It or Wing It for dinner because crowds of people just aren’t my thing….but I’ll definitely go back for lunch. I recommend that you try it out, and if you are in to karaoke, be sure to warm up your voice before you go! Sing It or Wing It is located at 410 Market Street, Chattanooga, TN 37402 (next door to Chili’s). They are open Tuesday through Sunday with lunch starting at 11 a.m. (a closing time is not listed on their website, but since they are a “bar” I would guess till the wee hours of the morning). They also serve Sunday brunch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Karaoke is available anytime that they are open. You can call them at 423-757-WING. Check out their website, singitorwingit.org, “like” them on Facebook, and follow them on Twitter.

Bea’s Restaurant-January 12, 2013

January 13, 2013

Okay, I’m not going to lie. I was a little bit grumpy about going here. The thing is….the last time we went we didn’t like it. It was five or six (or maybe even more) years ago and I don’t really remember what it was that we didn’t like but we didn’t. When family is in town, though, you have to go with majority rules, and since I couldn’t think of anywhere that I thought everyone would be happy with we just went. And it was all good, because whatever was the problem last time apparently wasn’t an issue this time. Hmmmm.

Bea’s is a Chattanooga institution. Located on Dodds Avenue (wayyyyyy downtown), it’s been around since the fifties, when an all-you-can-eat meal was $0.75. I didn’t catch the cost this time around since my parents were paying…but it was more than that.

The concept at Bea’s is likely quite different than what you have encountered at other restaurants. It’s all you can eat, sure, but there’s a limited menu. That is, it isn’t a buffet…you don’t get a tray and walk through a line. Instead, you sit at a round table with a lazy Susan in the middle. Your server brings out baskets and bowls of food-whatever is being served up that day-and places them on the lazy Susan, along with sweet tea and water and various “extras” like pickled beets, onions, and some relishy stuff that I didn’t recognize (chow-chow perhaps?). Here’s the catch: depending on how many people are in your party and how crowded they are, you may end up sitting with people you don’t know. This is not our idea of a good time (I haven’t made a secret of this in the past: we avoid Ichiban unless we are with a large group for this exact reason) but luckily (a) it wasn’t crowded; and (b) we were with a large group, so we did not have to sit with strangers.

Please forgive me for the terrible, blurry photos. The lighting was NOT good!

Today’s meats were fried chicken (famous city-wide and served every day) and barbecue. The chicken was quite tasty today, hot but not burn-your-mouth hot, crispy, and seasoned just right. My picky-eater 7-year-old nephew gnawed two pieces of chicken till he got every bit of the meat and coating off of them. The barbecue was not quite as attractive….a reddish color, very sweet. Philip said it reminded him of something you might get in school cafeteria, although he did comment that he liked that there was just a hint of spice to it. There was also chicken and dumplings, southern-style (flat dumplings, very thick gravy-like sauce, and shredded chicken mixed it). I liked the chicken and dumplings a lot, though the sauce was thicker than what my mom, my sister, or I make (my gold standard…I’ll share that recipe sometime).

The vegetables were new potatoes, fried okra, coleslaw, potato salad, and pinto beans. I don’t typically eat potato salad, so I have no comment on it. It just isn’t my thing. I also didn’t try the coleslaw….my mom liked it, but Philip felt like it needed “something”. The new potatoes needed some salt but didn’t have a bad flavor. We ate about three dishes of fried okra. I couldn’t decide if the okra was made there or frozen. It had the thick “jacket” coating which usually means it was previously frozen, but I can never tell because maybe other people know how to get that thick coating on their okra (?). I’m embarrassed to admit it, but I’ve come to the conclusion that I like fried okra whether it’s freshly made or frozen. So shoot me. The pinto beans were quite good, well-seasoned and just the right texture (not hard but not mushy). Often pinto beans served in restaurants are virtually tasteless. These were great.

As far as bread, they serve rolls and cornbread muffins. The rolls were extremely buttery (or maybe margarine-y, since there was Land O’Lakes buttery spread on the table…..waaaaaaahhhhhhh) and I am guessing they are probably packaged. The cornbread was southerny (that is, not sweet), which we appreciated….while we will eat sweet cornbread if it is all that’s available, I personally would rather stab myself in the eye than add sugar to my cornbread. It wasn’t as tender as my cornbread, though. You can’t have it all. I did enjoy the cornbread crumbled on top of a little bowl of beans (pinto beans & cornbread is an “easy” meal in my house, one that I plan for those days when I know I’m going to have too much going on to have any inclination to really cook anything).

There’s one dessert on the menu each day at Bea’s. For this day, it was peach cobbler, which was basically canned peaches swimming in a thick topping. That sounds like a slam, but it isn’t. My mom makes her peach cobbler like that (except that her topping is thicker…theirs was a bit liquid-y) and it’s definitely a comfort food for me (except that she always serves ice cream with it, so this felt incomplete). It was very, very sweet (as was the tea) and Philip and I were definitely having a sugar crash on the way home. The sweetness didn’t stop us from each eating two of the little bowls of it, though.

So, here’s the verdict. Bea’s isn’t a high culinary experience. I am sure that many foodies (you know how much I love that word) would shun them for their cuisine. Like I said, though, it’s a Chattanooga institution. The fried chicken is crispy, the tea is sweet, and the staff is very, very friendly. Our server was so nice, and the cashier was joking with my mom as he ran her card. It’s hard to get a table some nights. It’s been around forever, and it’s not going anywhere soon. The delivery of the food is definitely different…good or bad, that’s up to you and your personal feelings about it. Since I was dining with family, I was okay with it.

Bea’s is located at 4500 Dodds Avenue, Chattanooga, TN 37407. You can call them at 423-867-3618.

New York Pizza Department-January 5, 2013

January 6, 2013

When I was a kid I didn’t like pizza. No joke. I don’t think I was awakened to the fact that pizza was, in fact, a good thing until I was about middle-school age, when our teachers would occasionally allow us to partner up with a classmate and order from the nearby Pizza Hut for lunch. I have no idea what my aversion to pizza was-the sauce, perhaps, or the toppings that my parents ordered (supreme, usually) but I would beg for everyone’s crusts because that was the only part of the pizza I would eat. Now, I have to admit, pizza is one of my more frequent “impulse dining out” indulgences, since there is a Domino’s two miles from my house. Admittedly, Bi-lo is in the same plaza, so I should probably just go there and some mozzarella and make my own…but sometimes, I just….don’t. When you’ve had a rough day, carryout is just easier. You’ve all been there.

There aren’t an awful lot of places in this area making pizza from scratch so I was intrigued when I saw the storefront for New York Pizza Department pop up across from Wal-Mart in Hixson. I don’t remember what was there before it came in or if anything was there at all, but I remember wondering if it was to be locally owned or if it was a chain/franchise. One day last summer Philip and I were out and about and realized that we needed to eat, so we stopped there. I checked on my phone and came to the conclusion that New York Pizza Department was a chain, presumably because there were several other locations that popped up in the search engine.

Since then, several people have suggested that I blog about them, and I once told someone that I wouldn’t blog about them because they were a chain. He called me out, saying that he was pretty sure they were not a chain, so I messaged them and found out that they are indeed locally owned. The owners are originally from New York and saw a need for true New York-style pizza in this area. They decided to name the restaurant New York Pizza Department because of their family ties to first responders in the New York area and to honor those who served on 9/11 and continue to serve-in New York and around the world-as first responders, armed forces, etc. Since my dad is a firefighter and my grandfather was an officer in the Air Force, I love the nod to those who make these sacrifices for others.

Since we are still recovering from the holiday eating frenzy, we weren’t looking for a huge, rich meal. Pizza seemed a perfect answer to our burgeoning hunger, plus we had a coupon for a free entrée from our Adventures in Dining guide. We had tried to go the week before Christmas, but they were packed out with shoppers (I am not exaggerating…people were lined up to the door). They were pretty crowded when we went in…I guess we hit the last of the lunch crowd at 1:45 because I snagged the next to last table then suddenly all the tables around us were open. When you walk in, there is a wrap-around line with pizzas displayed in a case. You choose your pizza (stromboli, etc.), order, and sit down, then someone calls you to a window several minutes later to give you your order.

There’s quite a selection of pizza, but on this day the Blue Light Trooper (ahem, BLT) pizza caught my eye. If you are a regular reader you will understand why BLT pizza reeled me in (um, my love of bacon and the story in this post). The Blue Light Trooper is a slice with sauce, mozzarella, bacon, tomatoes, and lettuce/light mayo on request (which, of course, I ordered….you can’t have the “L” without lettuce!). Now, these slices are huge and I can’t imagine how someone can eat two, which is what is included in the daily lunch special (2 slices of cheese and a drink for $6.95) but the guys behind us each had 2 slices plus garlic knots, so I suppose it can be done. I did well to finish this slice. There was plenty of bacon, which was definitely a good thing, not too many, not too few slices of Roma tomatoes, chopped iceberg lettuce, and a light drizzle of mayo. The crust is thin and crunchy but chewy at the same time (not cracker-y like what you would find at Crust). Quite good.

Philip decided on the Blazin’ Brooklyn Buffalo, with tomato, mozzarella, grilled chicken, Buffalo sauce, and ranch dressing. When the slice first came out, he did not think it had enough Buffalo sauce on it…you couldn’t see the sauce, so I am not sure if it was under the cheese or not, but he didn’t taste it, so he went up and asked for more. The guy at the window generously drizzled the sauce over the top of Philip’s pizza…I mean, he covered Philip’s pizza with Buffalo sauce, which Philip declared “more like it”. He really liked the pizza but would have preferred it with blue cheese dressing since he feels that Buffalo and blue cheese are pretty much the perfect pair….and he didn’t like it as much as the first Buffalo chicken pizza he ever had, at Portland Pie Company in Portland, Maine…but I don’t think anyone is ever going to measure up to that pizza.

We also had an order of six garlic knots with a side of marinara. The marinara here is slightly spicy, a little chunky, and perfectly seasoned. Very tasty. The garlic knots were not quite as soft as they were the time we ate here before, but instead just a little bit crispy on the outside (which was still a good thing) with a nice amount of garlic butter and parmesan sprinkle on the outside. Not overpowering and not swimming in butter like the garlic knots that you order at some restaurants.

New York PIzza Department’s menu lists seventeen specialty pies plus cheese, Sicilian, and top-your-own (slices ranging from $2.75 to $4.50-I think and gigantic whole pies ranging from $14.95 for plain cheese to $25.95 for the 911, which has tons of toppings). They also offer sandwiches, calzones and strombolis, pinwheels (fillings rolled up into dough like a cinnamon roll), salad, appetizers, and desserts. Our order was $11 and some change, including our garlic knots, $0.50 for a side of marinara, 2 drinks (which was part of the coupon stipulation) and my slice. Philip’s slice (which would have been $4.50) was free with the coupon.

I have seen people argue over who has the best pizza in Chattanooga. NYPD? Crust? The Pizza Place? Lupi’s? Honestly, they all serve a different type of product, so it would really be impossible to declare a winner. I think all of the above are excellent pizza restaurants, making their products in-house, putting lots of thought into their menu, and serving up great pizza to a city that is anxious to devour locally-made products. It all comes down to taste, and I have to admit that I love them all. I love pizza. New York Pizza Department has definitely filled a niche in the Hixson area that needed to be filled and Philip and I were commenting that they probably need to expand their smallish space to accommodate their customer base which is apparently growing quite large. Good for them.

New York Pizza Department is located at 5731 Highway 154, Hixson, TN 37343. You can call them at 423-531-8830. Check out their website, http://www.indoughwecrust.com/index.html and their Facebook page.

Totto Sushi and Grill: December 28, 2012

December 30, 2012

One of Philip’s friends was in town for the holidays last week so we spent a couple of evenings with him. The first evening was spent at The Honest Pint, eating pommes tots and feckin’ awesome bread pudding (that’s really the name in the menu) and the second we decided to head to the North Shore-in the rain-to check out Totto.

I guess there was initially a little confusion about seating because it took a few minutes for anyone to come to our table to take our drink order. Our server was very friendly, though, so all was forgiven. We ordered our drinks and an order of shrimp spring rolls, which were wrapped in rice paper and fried crisp, served with white sauce and an interesting pile of carrot shavings or curls or whatever you want to call them. The spring rolls were quite tasty and fresh tasting and the white sauce was yummy, a little bit sweet. I’ve never had a spring roll served with white sauce but I liked it, although I did get a good laugh, as I always do, at the fact that white sauce is now served everywhere. I guess it’s a big hit with the locals. I hear it’s mainly a Southern thing…..yes, let’s perpetuate the stereotype that everything we eat is fried and laden with mayonnaise. But it tastes good, so what can you do?

The menu is arranged into “grilled” entrées (hibachi-cooked), katzu, which is bread-crumb coated and fried meat or vegetables (both grilled entrées and katzu are served with miso or chicken broth soup and and iceberg salad dressed with creamy ginger dressing), udon noodle soups, and Bento boxes (which showcase one of the grilled items plus soup, salad, rice, tempura, fried beef dumplings, and a California roll). There’s also a sushi menu, of course, but I’m going to break this down for you: I like sushi. I do. I eat it-yes, the cooked kind and the raw kind-but I don’t do it all that often and I don’t feel like I know a whole lot about sushi to be telling you about it. So I skipped the sushi menu. Forgive me, please.

I contemplated the grilled teriyaki chicken but ended up asking for the beef Bento box. Our server suggested that I try the bul-go-gi beef, spiced Korean-style beef that had been cooked with green onions and carrots (and apparently some garlic too, because though the taste wasn’t overwhelming while I was eating it, it was pretty strong afterward!). I asked for fried rice and miso soup, which I have had once, at a restaurant in Myrtle Beach. I hated it then but I was pleasantly surprised by this slightly salty soup with tiny chunks of tofu (I can take it in small doses) and seaweed that gave it a mildly fishy flavor (but not in a bad way). The salad was good….I’m never that impressed by the greens in these salads but this one was at least cut into small chunks as opposed to big, icy cold chunks that you can sometimes get at other restaurants, and the sweet, creamy ginger dressing was very good.

The Bento box was served with a fairly large portion of the beef, which I liked but I have no comparison point (Taco Sherpa does serve bulgogi from time to time so I’ll have to give it a try there sometime) but the owner of the restaurant is Korean so I’m going to assume she knows what she’s talking about. It was just a little spicy-not overwhelming at all. I really liked the fried rice…it had a flavor that I’ve never tasted in a fried rice before. I couldn’t quite taste it but this was some of the best restaurant fried rice I’ve had. Again, I can’t really be a judge of the California roll…honestly, I would never order a California roll off of a sushi menu because I’m not a lover of crab….but it was all right. The fried beef dumplings, made of ground beef fried up in wonton wrappers, were crisp and slightly spicy. I loved the tempura-two pieces of shrimp, a slice of sweet potato (yes, sweet potato-it was good!), zucchini, onion, and red pepper. It was just as good the next day, warmed on a preheated (to 450 degrees) baking stone for 10 minutes (which also works perfectly to crisp up fries, pizza, etc., etc. Try it…it works. I promise!).

Philip couldn’t resist the call of the grilled (hibachi) filet mignon, cooked in garlic butter (alternately he could have requested it cooked in soy sauce), with fried rice. It was also served with a small serving of fried udon noodles (I did not get a picture of these) and a large portion of hibachi-cooked vegetables (onions, green onions, red peppers, broccoli, mushrooms, and zucchini). He ordered his filet medium rare and it was perfectly cooked. It never ceases to amaze me that hibachi chefs can cut a piece of red meat into tiny pieces and manage to perfectly sear the outside while keeping the inside from cooking to a dull grey pallor. That’s talent. The filet was really delicious. The vegetables were also quite good, nicely seasoned, and the fried noodles were soy saucey and sweet.

Our total before tip was about $48. Definitely not a “regular” stop by any means. We did have enough leftovers to eat for lunch the next day, and, like I said…if you know the right reheating tricks, even tempura can be good the second day. Sometimes getting two meals softens the blow of a meal that cost a little bit more than you were anticipating. We enjoyed the food at Totto quite a bit and it was nice to be able to have a hibachi-cooked meal without the fanfare and having to sit with people you don’t know that comes at most hibachi restaurants (I mean, sure, it’s fun from time to time, but Philip and I avoid Ichiban unless we are going with a group because we are really antisocial and don’t want to sit with a bunch of strangers). They also serve a lunch buffet during the week and have an all-you-can-eat sushi special for lunch for $11.95. There is a 1/2 off drink special daily.

Totto is located at 330 Frazier Avenue, Suite 124, Chattanooga, TN 37405. You can call them at 423-508-8898. Check out their website: http://www.tottonooga.com/index.html and like them on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Totto-Sushi-Grill/166745636787345.

Terra Nostra Tapas & Wine-December 15, 2012

December 16, 2012

Yes, there are now two restaurants in Chattanooga with the word “Terra” in the name. Yes, I wrote about the other one (Terra Mae Bistro) yesterday. It is sheer coincidence that I am writing about Terra Nostra Tapas & Wine today. I purchased a Groupon for Terra Nostra some time back (September? October?) that was specifically to be used in December. I’m having surgery Friday so we figured if we were going to use this thing, now was the time….so we made our reservation.

We’ve never eaten tapas (basically, a meal comprised of “small plates” or small portions of everything, ranging from appetizers to salads to items that would normally be served in a larger portion as a main dish). I have a funny story about tapas, though, and will forever associate this story with Terra Nostra: several years back, when Philip worked at Unum, he was having a conversation with a lady at work about restaurants. He mentioned that he really wanted to try the tapas restaurant. She thought he said “topless” restaurant and punched him in the arm in shock. Um, no. Anyway…

Philip had to drop me off because we were running way late after an unsuccessful attempt to take a self-portrait with our camera (set up on the tripod, with a timer). I was wearing stilettos and we did not see the sign in the front that says “parking in rear”, so Philip dropped me at the front door and parked in Coolidge Park. Oops. Oh well. I then entered the restaurant and told the hostess, “I have a Haymaker….I mean, I have a reservation for Haymaker…” Good grief. I was seated immediately and the hostess brought water to our table. Our server, Catherine, came to introduce herself and I perused the menu while waiting for Philip.

The menu is divided into seafood, meat, and vegetarian sections, and each of those sections is divided into hot and cold tapas. A triangle signals house specialties and a little squiggly that kind of looks like a backward 6 indicates gluten-free items. We knew almost immediately that we wanted some bacon-stuffed dates with Spanish blue cheese-a house specialty. Catherine agreed that this was a good choice. They came out quickly and, well, wow. The sweet date, the salty bacon (not overpowering but a nice background note) and the pungent blue cheese worked perfectly together. These didn’t last long, so we had to make another decision (making decisions here: not easy).

Upon Catherine’s recommendation, we ordered the avocado and shrimp, baby shrimp tossed in remoulade, served on an avocado half with a side salad with white wine vinaigrette. Shrimp and avocado? Yes please. We also ordered the spinach filo (similar to spanakopita, phyllo/filo dough stuffed with spinach, onions, and feta). Sadly, Catherine returned to our table and told us that she had just found out they were out of avocado (tear!). We decided instead to order the smoked salmon, served with capers, Boursin cheese, and housemade bread. While I was disappointed that I didn’t get to try the avocado and shrimp, I thought that the smoked salmon was delicious. It was wonderfully salty and smoky and paired perfectly with the herby Boursin (I puffy-heart love Boursin) and the soft yet crusty bread. I even ate some capers. Happily. The spinach filo was delicious, the cheese melting out of the hot pastry, the spinach seasoned just right and cooked till perfectly tender. It was served with a side salad and their white wine vinaigrette was pretty much perfect.

Finally, we decided to order a prime beef empanada (another house specialty): beef, onions, raisins, and olives stuffed into a puff pastry, and Darda’s artichoke dip, with roasted onions and a panko crumble. The artichoke dip came out first, bubbling and looking like someone’s hot chicken casserole (and I’m not saying that’s a bad thing). The dip was cheesy and creamy, the panko crumbs on top buttered and crispy. There were some wheat crackers served with it, and they were okay…but I was happy eating it with a fork. It was wonderful, but then I have to admit that you could put artichokes in just about anything and I’d love it. Philip liked it too, though, so it must have been good. There was just a slight peppery spice to it that I didn’t quite catch until I’d eaten several bites. Mmmm. The empanada was tasty too…I liked it more than Philip did, though. The spiced beef tasted of cinnamon (admittedly, different for my American tastebuds, but interesting. In my opinion, it worked) and sweetness, with salty whole green olives hanging out. Bravely I ate an olive…..that was a big step for me. They are not usually my favorite, but I felt like they worked beautifully with the meat.

Dessert was not an easy decision for us. Philip has a knee-jerk reaction to seeing crème brûlée on a dessert menu, which is, of course, to order it. I was interested in the flan, though, with Mexican chocolate, coconut, and Brandy Alexander. In the end, we ordered both. Good decision. The vanilla bean crème brûlée was topped with sugar so burnt it was bitter (this is a very, very good thing) and cracked into shards when we tapped it with our spoons. The bottom was full of black flecks of vanilla bean, and Philip’s eyes rolled back into his head when he took a bite. The chocolate flan was spicy on the back end, creamy and a little gelatinous at the same time (Catherine had described it to us as a cross between Jell-o and pudding) and so, so darkly chocolate. Both were worth ordering again.

This wasn’t an inexpensive meal….before our $40 Groupon, the total was $56 and some change. The food was amazing, though, and to some degree you are paying for the experience. The atmosphere is fun and Catherine was a terrific server, making helpful suggestions and handling Philip’s sarcastic humor like a pro. Supposedly the sangria is fantastic here, and I was so, so tempted to try one, except that (as you all well know) I hate wine so I probably would have ended up being very unhappy. They definitely have something for everyone, as the vegetarian menu was fairly large and I definitely could have made my entire meal off of it (Pear and walnut quesadilla? Artisan cheese tasting? Asparagus au gratin? Yes, yes, and yes….). Don’t go expecting a quick, inexpensive meal…but go. Just do it.

Terra Nostra is located at 105 Frazier Avenue, Chattanooga, TN 37405. They are open Monday-Thursday, 4:30-10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 4:30-11:00 p.m.; Sunday, 4:30-9:00 p.m. You can call them at 423-634-0238 or email them at info@terranostratapas.com. Check out their website: http://www.terranostratapas.com and like them on Facebook.

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