Chattavore

What I ate, plate by plate.

McHale’s Brewhouse & Pub-November 26, 2011

We visited McHale’s on my brother’s suggestion.  The place was pretty much empty; 0f course, it’s a bar and we were there between 6 and 7:30 on the Saturday night following Thanksgiving, so pretty much not high time for a fairly new pub in a fairly suburban area.

McHale’s is located on Ashland Terrace, in the former location of The Rusty Duck, which is now a few doors down.  It’s a dive, don’t get me wrong.  Since it’s a 21 and over establishment, of course there are some of the smoke issues that you will always encounter with a place that allows smoking, but it was faaaarrrrrr from being the worst that I have experienced.  There are a few tables in the bar area, right when you walk in the door, and more tables (quite a few more) in the other room, where there are also pool tables and dartboards.  We were greeted when we walked in the door by a very friendly server, who gave us a menu and a beer list (I’ll get back to this in a minute) and told us that, while fried pickles were not on the menu, they were available….so I quickly ordered some.  I LOVE fried pickles and was so very upset when Durty Nelly’s, my favorite place to order this treat, went out of business a few years back.

The menu was fairly limited: a handful of appetizers, including Scotch eggs (a boiled egg wrapped in sausage, traditional Irish pub fare), mozzarella sticks, and chili cheese fries (among a few other things) and a few entrees: Cornish pie, Irish Stew, hamburgers, sloppy joes, and a chicken finger salad.  Since we hadn’t heard anything about the food, we decided to play it safe and try a burger.

The fried pickles arrived without fanfare with a cup of ranch dressing on the side.  They were good, not great-very hot, fresh out of the fryer….but not Durty Nelly’s.  The burgers arrived pretty quickly, and they were pretty average as burgers go: standard bun, standard patty, a little greasy (not necessarily a bad thing), with American cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickle, and, in Philip’s case, onion, with fries that I don’t doubt came out of the freezer.  This was not a culinary masterpiece, but it also wasn’t a disaster.  Typically, a non-disaster would not qualify for a blog post, but I decided to focus instead on their brewing operation.  After all, McHale’s, like most other bars/pubs, sells food secondary to their libations.

My brother made the recommendation to visit McHale’s because he is friends with their brewmaster.  When you walk in, you look to the left, and you see their brewing operation in a room behind a glass door.  This is true microbrewing.  Philip and I actually joked about a bunch of Mr. Beers sitting in a back room, and, of course, this is much more sophisticated than that, but it is true small-batch brewing, much smaller than the other microbreweries that we think of (Calhoun’s, Big River-nothing wrong with those, but this is a much smaller operation).  Our server told us that Adam, the brewmaster, has been brewing at McHale’s since January 2011, and in May won a Pale Ale contest at the Chattanooga Market for Best Pale Ale in Chattanooga.  McHale’s offers a variety of house-brewed beers that rotate on a regular basis.  If you “like” their Facebook page, they announce the brews as they offer them.  On this particular visit, they were offering a stout, a stout injected with nitrogen, “Bloody IPA”, “Black Pixie”, a Scottish ale, McHale’s light, and a red ale.  A pint is $4.00, or you can order 6 4-oz sample glasses for $6.  They also sell growlers for $14, and you can take your growler back for a refill for $10.  Their bartender, Mike, has also created several original well drinks that include the house-brewed beer and spirits.  He and our server spent a lot of time talking to us about the drinks, the history of different beers, and the advantages of small-batch brewing.  I realize that this is something that probably wouldn’t happen if the place had been busier, but could you go to Big River and have a chat like that?  I won’t say it isn’t possible, but I will say it’s probably unlikely.

Look, I’m not a beer-drinker, so I can’t make any recommendations about beer.  What I can say, however, is that I have not seen, heard, or read anything from anyone who has tried McHale’s beer (or beer brewed by their brewmaster) that has been negative.  This is the real deal, and from all accounts, Adam knows what he’s doing.  These are down-to-earth people trying to make a small-town establishment work.  Since Philip and I didn’t shop at any local shops for Small-Business Saturday, we saw our jaunt to McHale’s as our way to promote small business.  I love to support local business, and I am fascinated by the idea of homebrewing and microbrewing and I love that McHale’s is confident enough to do true microbrewing.  I will recommend McHale’s to anyone who is looking to try a truly different beer that they can’t get anywhere else.  And look, if bars start to sell more food, they will start to focus more on their food. I am not likely to become a regular here at this time, but if someone asked me to go back, I would.  Support your local microbrewery!

McHale’s is located at 724 Ashland Terrace, Chattanooga, TN 37415.  You can call them at 423-877-2124, check out their website: http://www.mchalesbrewhouse.com/ or look them up on Facebook.

McHale's Brewhouse and Pub on Urbanspoon

Urban Stack Burger Lounge-November 18, 2011

Last Saturday, Philip and I had several options that we were considering for our Saturday blog post restaurant outing.  We’ve not been eating out much lately, and in fact have decided to focus on the blog when we go out to eat, which means that our eating out needs to center around local restaurants.  I was craving a burger, so when Philip suggested Urban Stack, I was game.  I had heard mixed reviews about Urban Stack, which is owned by the same proprietors that own Taco Mamacita.  I hadn’t actually heard anyone say that it was bad, but I had heard reviews from great to okay.  So….we headed downtown.

When we headed into Urban Stack, we were greeted by a very friendly hostess and seated immediately (we got there just in time, because by the time we got our food there were people waiting outside).  We immediately noticed the cool,  dark wood and interesting decor.  The atmosphere in this eatery is great…so I was sold there.  I was also sold by the poster hanging right above our table that explained Urban Stack’s commitment to local foods, which, if you have read my blog for long, you know is very important to me:

Urban Stack takes pride in our community and region. We work with local farmers and vendors for the absolute best quality of meats and ingredients available. We have specifically chosen a wide variety of meats that are either all-natural, organic, grass fed, free-range or from sustainable and humane farms. We are committed to freshness, quality and homemade goods. We would like to thank our local vendors and friends: Benton’s Family Farm, Clumpie’s Ice Cream, Niedlov’s Breadworks, Sequatchie Cove, Sweetwater Valley Farm, and Springer Mountain Farm.

 Urban Stack is the home of “killer burgers and manly drinks.”  I don’t know about the drinks….although they did have quite a lengthy beer, wince, and drink menu.  Of course, I had water.  I was hoping that the killer burger part was true, of course.  As you might expect  the burger selection was massive-20 in all, including two turkey burgers, a mushroom burger, a veggie burger, and a lamb burger.  The standard burger is 100% Angus, but you can substitute a chicken breast for $2.00 or Wagyu (from the same type of cattle that brings us Japanese Kobe beef) for $3.00 (although a couple of the burgers include Wagyu).  Burgers are served on a Niedlov’s bun made especially for Urban Stack, which can be subbed with a whole wheat Niedlov’s bun or a lettuce wrap (which makes me ask-why?  Didn’t the low-carb craze end about 5 years ago?  Give me my carbs!!!!  But I digress.).

I toyed with the idea of ordering the gourmet bacon cheeseburger: American Kobe-style Wagyu beef, bacon-onion compote, lettuce, and gruyere-blue cheese sauce.  Ultimately, though, I decided I wanted a basic, classic burger for my first try.  I figured that would make it easier for me to compare the Urban Stack burger to other burgers that I’ve had.  I decided on the basic Bacon Cheeseburger: Benton’s bacon, Tillamook cheddar, chipotle ketchup, house sauce, balsamic onions, tomato, and lettuce.  Philip decided on the Farm Burger: 100% grassfed beef, sun-dried tomato relish, Sequatchie Cove Cumberland cheese, celery mayo and lettuce. The server asked us if we wanted “pink or no pink”; of course, we both ordered pink (don’t lecture me about e coli!  I’m a healthy adult.  I’ll take my risks.).  He ordered house-cut fries, and I ordered onion rings.

The food came out within 10 or 15 minutes and looked fantastic.  Each burger had a small condiment cup with housemade pickles (I am assuming that these were refrigerator pickles-they were still very fresh-tasting and not super vinegary. They were slightly spicy and the red pepper flakes were visible). We bit into our burgers….and they tasted fantastic too.  The pink was slight but not pervasive-I don’t like to feel like I’m eating raw ground beef.  The thick-cut Benton’s bacon was fantastic, and the balsamic onions added a hint of sweetness.  The onion rings were very large and not greasy.  Philip also loved his burger.  We’re big grass-fed beef fans, and if you’ve ever had it, you know that there is a definite difference in the flavor from grain-fed.  Philip could definitely taste the “grass-fed” flavor in his burger.  The hand-cut, skin-on fries were hot and very crispy and delicious.  I think, though, that our favorite item at Urban Stack was the chipotle ketchup.  If you aren’t a chipotle fan, you won’t like it…but if you like chipotle, you will love it.  We definitely did.

Bacon Cheeseburger: 100% Angus Beef burger with Benton's Bacon, Tillamook Cheddar, House Sauce, Chipotle Ketchup, Lettuce, Tomato, and Balsamic Onions, with a Side of Onion Rings

The Farm Burger: 100% grassfed beef, sun-dried tomato relish, Sequatchie Cove Cumberland cheese, celery mayo and lettuce, with a side of housecut fries

As I neared the last third of my burger, I informed Philip that I was going to finish it.  That was saying a lot, because it was huge….but I was feeling it, and I did.  I can pack away a lot of food when I’m hungry.  When I was done, though, I was definitely done, and dessert was the last thing on my mind.  I didn’t even notice the “five-dollar shakes” section on the menu, featuring shakes made with Clumpies ice cream.  Five dollars is a bit steep for a shake anyway, though, at least for someone who rarely bothers with dessert in restaurants…which leads me to my one complaint about Urban Stack.  Their menu does not say that a side is included with the burgers, so I was wondering if sides were a la carte….and when our server asked me if I wanted a side, that confirmed it.  The burgers appear to be priced the same as what you might order in a casual dining chain (mostly $7-$8 range), but remember that this does not include a side, which will run you anywhere from $2.50 (fries or rings) to $5.00 (steakhouse sides like mac & cheese or creamed spinach).  Now, I don’t have a problem with the cost…..but I would venture to guess that most people don’t even give a second thought to the concept that fries aren’t included, so they are probably a little shocked to get their bill.  I found that a bit misleading.

That, however, was my only problem…so when you go, just be aware of that!  I’ll admit, Urban Stack was not my favorite burger-that honor still belongs to The Terminal-but it was definitely a runner-up.  I can’t wait to go back and order the aforementioned Gourmet Bacon Cheeseburger, or maybe the Good Day Sunshine, which includes a fried egg (!).  Oh yeah, the menu also includes salads….but it’s a burger joint, so I won’t be ordering those anytime soon.

Try Urban Stack!  They are located at 12 W. 13th Street, Chattanooga, TN 37402.  Their hours are 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., Sunday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-midnight Friday and Saturday. You can call them at 423-475-5350, or check them out online http://urbanstack.com or on Facebook or Twitter .

Urban Stack on Urbanspoon

Good Dog-November 12, 2011

Let me tell you about me and hot dogs. We have a sullied past relationship. I have hated hot dogs since I was a very small child. I married a man, however, who thinks that hot dogs are just fabulous. He looks forward to my nephews’ birthday parties every year because odds are good that he will get a hot dog, which, until recently, has been a pretty rare phenomenon for him. About a year and a half ago, though, I decided to give them another try. I went to the store and spent $5.00 on a pack of Applegate Farm all-beef dogs, and Philip grilled mine to death. I topped it with lots of stuff, and I ate it. I decided hot dogs weren’t so bad after all, as long as they were on my terms. No boiled dogs, and no mystery dogs. I’ll gladly spend five bucks on dogs I trust.

Anyway, Philip’s sister gave us an Adventures in Dining coupon book for Christmas last year, and there was a buy one get one free coupon for an entree at Good Dog, a hot dog restaurant on Chattanooga’s North Shore. Good Dog also serves frites-twice fried, hand-cut, skin-on fries, which is one of the foods that I am quite certain will be served in Heaven….so I decided that I wanted to give it a try. We are not too big on downtown just because of the parking situation, but we have recently discovered the parking lot of a business that closes early on a Saturday and does not have restricted parking (i.e. a tow-away policy) for non-patrons parking in their lot during non-business hours. For that, I salute them. So, we decided to head downtown for some hot dogs yesterday, because Philip had been wanting one.

When we walked into Good Dog, we were impressed by the atmosphere. It’s really funky with wooden tables and a really cool facade on the counter. The floors are hardwood and there are interesting hangings on the wall. We were immediately greeted by a very friendly employee who gave us menus and explained them to us. She told us that they use Sequatchie Cove meat for the brats and sausages, which they case in-house. They also offer veggie dogs, and their hot dogs are all beef. You can order your hot dogs or frites (Belgian-style fries) plain, topped according to menu suggestions, or topped with any variety of the toppings and sauces available on the menu. The options are limited. They also serve beer from Chattanooga Brewing Company and house-made cupcakes (on this day they had red velvet, pumpkin, carrot, and devil’s food with peppermint buttercream. All sounded delish to me but we decided to forego the cupcakes….). We took our menus to the table to peruse and ordered at the counter. And both of us forgot about the coupon. Drats! Oh well….we’ll just have to find an excuse to go back before 12/31!

Philip decided on the classic brat: simmered in beer and onions and topped off on the griddle, then served with Bertman’s brown mustard and topped with crisp kraut. Not my thing, but he was pretty excited. I decided on the pimento cheese dog: a hot dog with pimento cheese, frites sauce (I’ll talk about that in a minute), and tomatoes. We also ordered a large cone of frites to share. Since the brats take a little while to cook, they went ahead and brought our frites out to us. We decided not to have them topped, but we each got a small cup of frites sauce, or Remia fritessaus, a Dutch mayo-based sauce; there is also a selection of sauces on each table, including wasabi ketchup, curry ketchup, honey mustard, and regular old Heinz ketchup. I tried them all, but I honestly did not think that the curry ketchup was quite as good as that at The Honest Pint, and I couldn’t really taste the wasabi in the wasabi ketchup (but Philip could). The “fritessaus” was definitely my favorite. The frites were amazing….I just love skin-on fries. They are served in a paper cone that the server sets down in a hole in your table. Fun!

Frites: Belgian-style Fries, Hand-cut, Skin-on, and Twice-fried. WORD.

Finally, the moment of truth came. Honestly, I was scared to death that I was going to hate this hot dog, since it was not grilled to death. I mean, seriously. I char my dogs at home. This was griddled, but not charred. There was not so much pimento cheese that it was overwhelming. The bread was very fresh and soft. I took a bite….and I loved it! It was absolutely delicious. I think I probably could have eaten one without toppings! That’s saying something.

Pimento Cheese Dog: Hot Dog with Frites Sauce (or Fritessaus!), Pimento Cheese, and Chopped Tomatoes

Before Philip bit into his brat, he commented that it smelled terrible. He even told the server it smelled like a dead man’s feet. But when he bit into it, his eyes rolled back into his head and I could tell that the taste did not mirror the smell. He said that it was absolutely fantastic. Kraut doesn’t smell good….but, according to Philip, it tastes good, and so, apparently, did the brat itself. He was a very happy man.

Classic Brat: Bratwurst with Bertman's Brown Mustard and Crisp Kraut

As we were eating, I laughed about the fact that a couple of years ago I never would have imagined myself sitting in a restaurant eating a hot dog. Honestly, I doubt that there are many restaurants around where I would do that now. Good Dog, though, has earned my seal of approval. I will definitely go back, and really look forward to seeing the periodic changes that they make to their menu. And next time, I’ll be ordering one of their beautiful (but not overly-iced!) cupcakes! And maybe some BLT frites. By the way, Good Dog also serves a selection of salads and soups, and in addition to the frites they also had some veggie side specials, including (I think) sweet potatoes and turnip greens. I wasn’t paying too much attention to that part, since I knew I’d be ordering frites!

Good Dog is located at 34 Frazier Avenue, Chattanooga, TN 37405. You can call them at 423-475-6175. They are open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., Sunday-Thursday, and 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Check out their website or find them on Facebook or Twitter.

Eat at Good Dog!

Good Dog on Urbanspoon

Crust Pizza, Signal Mountain Road-October 28, 2011

After half a day of work today, I had to make a trip downtown to pick up some equipment for work.  Philip went with me so we could eat lunch out somewhere.  Of course, being the middle of the day on a Friday, anywhere downtown was pretty much out.  Traffic and parking were a nightmare, and it was raining, so parking and walking were not really in the cards.  We debated for a few minutes and decided to eat at Crust on Signal Mountain Road (there’s also a Crust off South Broad Street).

Crust is located in a former Long John Silver’s building.  You might expect it to have that weird repurposed restaurant vibe….usually, when one restaurant takes over another, you never quite get rid of the vibe of the original.  That’s definitely not the case with Crust.  The outside and the inside are decorated in funky orange and green, down to the booth seats.  Vintage pictures cover the tabletops, and vintage posters hang on the wall.  Honestly, if you didn’t know that it used to be Long John Silver’s, I don’t know that you’d ever guess.  I was also very impressed with the “landscaping” out front, which I’d never really noticed before.  They grow their own herbs right out front-well-groomed rosemary and basil, which our server told us they use in their pizzas.

Crust grows their own fresh herbs!

Can YOU tell this use to be Long John Silver’s?

It had been a while since the last time that we went to Crust, but we’d only been on Sundays after church and for some reason were under the impression that their lunch buffet was only on Sundays.  Actually, it may be an all-day buffet.  I meant to ask our server, and I forgot.  Someone help me out here!  The buffet includes an amazing salad (which is listed on the menu as Saladmander)-lettuce, cucumber, Roma tomato, garbanzo beans, onion (which I gave to Philip), sunflower seeds, sliced mushrooms, and mozzarella cheese.  Their homemade dressings include kalamata feta, cracked pepper ranch, honey rosemary French, roasted tomato vinaigrette, and creamy bleu.  Philip loves the kalamata feta, so of course he ordered that, and I chose the roasted tomato vinaigrette.  Delicious!  I don’t like olives, so I can’t really comment on Philip’s dressing, but the roasted tomato vinaigrette is so basil-y.  It reminds me of the super-yummy tomato soup I make, and that’s a very good thing.  The salad makes you feel a little bit better about the pizza buffet…..and I love that they serve it in metal bowls.  Don’t ask me why.  I just do.

Salad with kalamata feta dressing

Salad with roasted tomato vinaigrette

Apparently we came in right after a lunch rush, so the buffet was a little bare when we first came in.  I started with a slice of cheese and a slice that had green peppers, applewood bacon, and just a tiny bit of ground beef (this particular pizza also had Italian sausage, but I’m not a fan so I chose a piece that didn’t have any).  Philip had a slice of this as well (with sausage),  a slice with pepperoni and sausage, and a slice with kalamata olives, green peppers, and mushrooms.  We each had a 2nd slice of the beef/bacon/green pepper/sausage pizza, then they put out a pepperoni and we had a slice of that as well.  Then we were stuffed, so we decided to forego the cupcake that we had discussed getting before we ate….but anyway…….

Pepperoni

Cheese (in the back) and ground beef, bacon, and green pepper in the front

Green pepper, bacon, ground beef, Italian sausage (back); pepperoni & sausage (middle); kalamata, green pepper, & mushroom (front)

Crust’s motto (if you can call it that) is “Home of the Cracker-Thin Crust”.  I was reading some of the reviews on Urbanspoon, and several people had less than kind things to say about the crust.  So, let me say this: if you are not a fan of thin-crust pizza, you will not like their pizza.  Order from their pasta, sandwich, or salad menu.  If, like me, you are a fool for thin-crust pizza, you are likely to love this place as much as I do.  This crust is one of the best that I’ve had.  I love their sauce as well; it’s slightly sweet and slightly spicy and clearly homemade (and it does not taste like Chef Boyardee, as one Urbanspoon reviewer perpetuated).  The curst really is as thin as a cracker, and they cut it into pseudo-squares, similar to the way that Domino’s cuts their thin-crust pizza…but this pizza is so much better than any national chain restaurant could possibly turn out.  I am going to have to order pizza off of the menu sometime, because I really want to try their pesto sauce.

As I mentioned above, there is a selection of pastas, salads, and sandwiches that you can order if you don’t like thin-crust pizza or you just aren’t in the mood for pizza.  Everything on the menu has an interesting name, like the Dick Dastardly sandwich (house-roasted Italian sausage slathered with red sauce and loaded with mozzarella), Pasta LaVista (angel hair tossed with seasoned oil, parmesan, mozzarella, Italian sausage, and ricotta), and the Greenzilla salad.  You can order a choose-your-topping pizza or order one of their specialty pizzas, like the Sleestak (pepperoni, mushrooms, Italian sausage, and ricotta).  Finally, as I mentioned before, they sell housemade dark chocolate cupcakes with buttercream frosting.  At $1.99, they are a bargain over the $3- $4 cupcakes you find in all the trendy cupcake shops right now, and the icing wasn’t 3 feet high, which is always a plus….but we were stuffed so we refrained.  I definitely want to try them at some point, though.

So, to sum it up….if you are in the mood for a great salad and the best thin-crust pizza you’ve ever had, make a trip to Crust.  I think you’ll find that it’s worth your while!

Crust is located at 100 Signal Mountain Road, Chattanooga, TN 37405 and 3211 South Broad Street, Chattanooga, TN 37408.  You can call the Red Bank location at 423-710-3780 and the Broad Street location at 423-756-4040.  Check out their website or find them on Facebook.

Crust Pizza on Urbanspoon

 

River Street Deli-October 20, 2011

 In my recent post about Tubby’s Real Burgers, I mentioned that I worked at a store named Monkey Business while in college…that’s how I discovered Tubby’s.  Another eatery that I learned about while I worked at the Monkey was River Street Deli, which was right under our store.  My boss’s husband was the manager, and he and the owner, Bruce, were “real” New Yorkers who started a real New York deli right here in little old Chattanooga.  I was too young and stupid about food to know that I should eat there.  My main experience was with the free drinks that we got from there every day…but I do recall trying a fantastic dessert called “Snicker bread pudding” (think chocolatey, cakey, caramelly, yummy…..), and I also recall that RSD is the first place where I ever tried a turkey sandwich with cranberry sauce, and, if I remember correctly, cream cheese.
Back in 1999, it sounded like an odd combo….but now it’s one of my favorites.
Fast-forward a few years….I definitely wouldn’t call myself a regular, because I don’t exactly frequent a lot of downtown establishments (due to my whole working 2 miles from my house and all)….but now I know a whole lot more about what constitutes a good deli, and, my friends, Subway ain’t it (not that I never eat Subway).  RSD, though, has a great menu, with daily specials and all the classics you’d expect to find on any good deli menu.
A few months back one of my friends posted a pictures on Facebook of a fantastic-looking brisket sandwich and a bowl of cream of spinach soup.  I asked her about it, and she told me that it was a River Street special served on Thursday.  So, last Thursday, I suggested to Philip that we jaunt on down there and try it out.
The brisket sandwich is described as “Brooklyn-style, with slaw and Russian dressing on a Kaiser roll.”  Both of us were practically salivating by the time we got there at 12:30ish, trying to avoid the heavy part of the downtown lunch crowd.  Dumb move, it turns out, because they were already sold out of brisket.  Frowny face!  Bruce offered me a sandwich made in the same style as the brisket sandwich but with their fabulous rare roast beef, and I happily accepted.  I also ordered a “mini soup”, because I love spinach soup.  Philip decided to try the Tuscan turkey panini, described as “regional flavors and tastes of Italy grilled to perfection on homemade focaccia bread”.  He also ordered a mini soup.  We both ordered waters; drinks are self-serve.  Our food came out within 10 minutes.
While I was disappointed that I didn’t get to try the brisket-and will definitely have to make a trip back on a Thursday (super-early!)-I was very happy with my meal.  Let me tell you, this was a 5-napkin sandwich.  It was sufficiently drippy with the homemade Russian dressing (which, in case you didn’t know, is similar to a non-chunky Thousand Island, made with mayo and ketchup), and I love, love, love their roast beef (their roast beef sandwich is made with Boursin cheese and is to die for).  The soup was even better, and I have to try to figure out how to make it at home.  It did not contain cheese, but was buttery and creamy with the perfect amount of spinach-enough to taste, but no so much as to make the soup stringy.  It was served with a few very crunchy pieces of baguette to float in the soup.  I ate all of the soup and about 2/3 of the sandwich.  I probably could have finished the sandwich, but I probably would have needed to be carried out on a stretcher.

Roast Beef Sandwich, "Brooklyn Style", and Cream of Spinach Soup

Philip said something in regard to his panini that I found very surprising.  I am fairly certain that I have mentioned it before, but Philip loves brisket.  LOVES it.  On this day, however, he actually said he was glad that they didn’t have the brisket because he loved his panini so much.  Normally, he likes paninis, but finds them to be a little bit greasy due to the oil or butter that they are usually coated with before being pressed.  He said that this one was not greasy and did not seem to have any fat added to the outside, which he found to be a definite plus.   The sandwich had thick slices of turkey and grilled vegetables (red pepper, onion, zucchini).  I should have taken notes, because Philip couldn’t remember if it had cheese or not; if it did, it didn’t make much of an impression on him-but the sandwich itself definitely did.

Tuscan Turkey Panini and Cream of Spinach Soup

Before we left, I introduced myself to Bruce and let him know I would be posting a blog about River Street Deli soon.  He told me that they make everything from scratch-a definite plus in my book-and that next time I come on a Thursday I should come early, as the brisket sells out quickly.  He also told me about a sandwich with roast beef and garlic aioli he had been experimenting with.  Sounds like a winner to me!  If you are looking for something fairly quick and absolutely delicious for lunch (or an early dinner) on the North Shore, definitely check out River Street Deli!

River Street Deli is located at 151 River Street, Chattanooga, TN 37405.  You can call them at 423-756-3354, or check out their website or Facebook page.  River Street Deli is open Monday-Friday, 10:30-4, Saturday, 10:30-5, and Sunday, 11-5.  On some Fridays, they offer a reservations-only themed dinner, with seating starting at 6:30; find more details at the website.  You can also find their menu here.

River Street Deli on Urbanspoon