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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.

Clyde’s on Main (South Side)

September 22, 2014

Clyde’s on Main is a fun and trendy bar on Chattanooga’s South Side owned by Mike and Taylor Monen of Taco Mamacita, Urban Stack, & Milk & Honey fame.

When I read an article from TFP months back that the Monens (of Taco Mamacita, Urban Stack, Community Pie, and Milk & Honey fame) were turning Clyde’s Auto Glass on Main Street into a restaurant, my interest was piqued. Mike and Taylor Monen know how to start a new restaurant, and that area of Main Street is turning into a boom town. As Philip and I headed to Grocery Bar on the weekends, we would notice how the place was coming along. We don’t often go to new places pretty much immediately after they opened, but we couldn’t resist quickly checking out Clyde’s on Main, especially after seeing lots of pictures on Facebook and having one friend text me to let me know how tasty the food was. As one friend captioned his Instagram photo of Clyde’s bar: “And our next conference session today will be led by the Monens: ‘How to open dope $*&! and generally kick @$$.'” Yep.

This place is definitely all about atmosphere. It’s loud, I’ll warn you of that. Don’t go there to have a deep and meaningful conversation. However, if you just want to go to hang out and have fun, yes. There are ping-pong tables complete with brackets for tournaments on a blackboards. You can sit at a regular table, a booth, a high-top, or a pinball machine. That’s right, you can sit on a sofa placed at a pinball machine as a table. The lighting is low and the music is loud, and while I don’t remember what they were playing I know that it was good. Old school pop culture pictures hang in the restroom and an assortment of witty coozies hang at the bar. Every employee that we spoke with was extremely friendly and the vibe was great. There were plenty of families with children in the place for lunch on a Saturday (though some Facebook commentors on Meghan Pittman’s TFP review stated that they saw a poster with an “f-bomb” on it, so proceed with caution if this sort of thing concerns you-also, some of the commentors said that children are not allowed on weekend evenings, which makes sense to me as it is a place with a bar atmosphere).

I have to apologize for the menu photos. I know that they’re a little warped and there’s a shadow of my phone on them…but the ink was too shiny to take a straight on photo. Also, remember that the lights were low. But you get the point. Take your pick: appetizers, soups/salads, sandwiches, plates, and barbecue…an interesting and fun menu a little bit off the beaten path but not so far off as to be weird. There was also a list of craft beers and the old standards and a full bar including several signature drinks, with a nod to the college crowd with features like “Hunch Punch” and “Jungle Juice” (which I don’t think tastes too much like the fuchsia drink I used to get in a carton on extra special fun days in my elementary school cafeteria). While I really wanted to try some pork candy or some soft pretzels with homemade cheez whiz, we decided to pass on appetizers (and it’s probably a good thing we did, because I basically cleaned my plate). (If you’d like to see a better image of the menu, check out the menu link on their Facebook page-I tried to directly share the link here but for some reason it wasn’t working.)

Choosing an entree was a little bit daunting. The bahn mi was tempting and you guys know that I love a good burger and (since I need to revise my list) I needed to see how theirs fit into Chattavore’s top ten. I came very close to ordering the buttermilk fried chicken sandwich (buttermilk brined and hand breaded southern style chicken with lettuce, house pickles, tomato, melted American cheese, and sweet hot sauce on a Kaiser roll). However, when the manager (who was helping out our server by getting us started) told me that they still had barbecue, which they serve until they run out, I knew I had to give it a try. The friend that texted me about the food told me that when she went they were out…better get while the gettin’s good, I figured. I decided to get the pulled pork plate with barbecue baked beans and beer cheese house chips. The pork was perfectly seasoned and extremely moist and tender. I loved the rub. The baked beans were a little bit spicy and had an interesting flavor that we are fairly certain was cloves. The pickles were fresh, tangy, and just a little bit spicy. I love a good house-cut chip and these were awesome, dusted with a mildly beer-flavored cheese powder. And I was enthralled by the presentation of the barbecue sauce: six sauces (Original Red, Sweet Lily’s, Mexican Coke, Red Hot, “From Here” Mustard, and Alabama White) served in a six-pack carrier. I tasted them all (except the red hot) and decided that the creamy mayo based Alabama White was my favorite, but I also loved the tangy “From Here” mustard and the sweet Mexican Coke sauces. I loved having options.

Philip decided on the buttermilk fried chicken plate with Clyde’s Power Greens and hot mustard slaw. The chicken was served with the sweet hot sauce that came on the buttermilk fried chicken sandwich. It was indeed sweet and Philip didn’t think it was extremely hot at first but it was definitely a building heat and he was breaking a sweat by the end. He was served two pieces of boneless chicken with a perfectly seasoned and crispy crust, cooked through and juicy. The slaw was fresh with a light mustard dressing that Philip pronounced was “good not great”. However, he loved Clyde’s Power Greens: kale, spinach, and collards, cooked until tender, well-seasoned and just a little spicy.

Look, we basically loved Clyde’s on Main.

The only thing that we might have changed was the noise level, but even that was definitely not a deal-breaker. The decor was great, the food was fantastic, and the staff was accommodating and friendly. Our server, Kaitlunn, was very attentive and chatty (but not in a bad way)! The prices were pretty much par for the course for a place like this. Our total was $31.31 pre-tip, which included our entrees and an IPA.

Clyde’s on Main is located at 122 Main Street, Chattanooga, TN (next to Mean Mug Coffee House). They are open Sunday-Wednesday 11 a.m.-12:00 a.m. and Thursday-Saturday 11 a.m.-2:00 a.m. You can call them at (423) 362-8335. Check out their website, http://www.clydesonmain.com. You can also like Clyde’s on Main on Facebook and follow Clyde’s on Main on Twitter.

Other restaurants in this area: Mean Mug Coffee House, Blue Orleans, Terminal BrewHouse

Fresh Pot Café (Hixson, TN)

August 25, 2014

Fresh Pot Café, located in Hixson, Tennessee, serves delicious Ecuadorian cuisine and other café favorites, like sandwiches and salads!

Can I just say how much I love it when you guys tell me what to do? I love getting emails, comments, and Facebook posts/messages asking me to make a particular recipe or recommending a specific restaurant. I have to say a big thank you to Pam for emailing me about Fresh Pot Café. It’s been on my radar for a while, but I honestly just assumed (based on the name) that it was just a coffee shop that served maybe sandwiches and desserts. I was wrong. Also, I’ve heard a few jokes about the name (Fresh POT Café-har har) and no, it’s not that kind of place. Anyway.

I’ve driven by Fresh Pot Café (located in Hixson next to Planet Fitness) quite a few times. I’m not really sure how long they’ve been around but definitely several months. We went at about 2 p.m. on Saturday and there were two other tables occupied. We were seated immediately and the young lady who seated us (the daughter of the owners, I assume) explained the menu to us. The family is Ecuadorian and, while the menu is not an Ecuadorian menu, they had several Ecuadorian specials, including two types of fried plantains on the appetizer menu and an Ecuadorian fried pork plate served with corn, plantains, potato cakes, and avocado. They had two soups of the day-garbanzo bean was one but I don’t remember the other.

We decided to have the naturally sweet fried plantains as an appetizer. They were served topped with provolone cheese and had pico de gallo as an accompaniment. Plantains have a texture similar to bananas (not too surprising) though they are a little firmer, and they have a faintly banana flavor. The cheese was a nice contrast to the slight sweetness of the plantains, and the pico added a slightly spicy, oniony bite.

As for lunch options, they had several salads (some, if not all, of the dressings are homemade), sandwiches (served with side salad, cup of soup, fresh fruit, or fries), entrees, and pastas. I considered getting the Ecuadorian fried pork special but ultimately decided to get the Louisiana crispy fish sandwich, which was recommended by Pam (who emailed me about the restaurant). I’ve been on somewhat of a fish sandwich kick lately-that’s what I had for my birthday lunch last week at 1885, and while I loved the sandwich at 1885, I have to say that I think I liked Fresh Pot’s fish sandwich a little bit more! It was crispy fried white fish with homemade remoulade, which was slightly spicy and had a relishy flavor (and I love relish), and very fresh tasting lettuce and tomatoes. I decided to have my sandwich on a hoagie (the other options were ciabatta, a garlic wrap, or a spinach wrap) and loved that the hoagie was toasted very crisp. I also decided to have the side sautéed kale salad mix, with sautéed kale, green and purple cabbage, broccoli stems, Brussels sprouts, orange juice, and sriracha. Let me say…that sounds like an odd combination, but it was delicious. It was like a warm slaw, everything chopped up very finely, not too much or too little of any one ingredient, with just a hint of orange flavor from the juice and a little burn (but not too much) from the sriracha. I would order both of these items again (and again, and again).

It took Philip about two seconds to decide that he wanted to try the shrimp and crispy grits, and he decided to add a side strawberry spinach salad (with feta and homemade strawberry vinaigrette). Everything on the salad was very fresh and the dressing was vinegary but sweet and had a nice strawberry flavor. The shrimp and crispy grits included tasso ham, corn, red pepper, and green onions. It met Philip’s two main shrimp & grits criteria: fried grit cakes and cream-based sauce. You might not expect much from a teeny little restaurant in a strip mall, but these shrimp & grits were excellent-some of the best Philip has had. The grit cakes were perfectly fried, the sauce was delicious and well-seasoned, and the ingredients were perfectly balanced.

We debated on dessert but we were pretty stuffed by the end of our meal. However, we’ll have to go back and try out both the crème brûlée and the bread pudding. Our total for our appetizer, the fish sandwich, shrimp & grits, and a side salad was $31 and it was well worth it, as this place was as good as any restaurant where you would expect to pay that much or more for a lunch or dinner. I have to say, we were very pleasantly surprised by how good this place was, which just goes to show that you really can’t judge a book by its cover (not that we were expecting it to be bad, we just had no clue it would be that good). The food at Fresh Pot Café was extremely fresh and delicious and the staff were so friendly. We will definitely be back.

Go and support local, family-owned business (and it’s in Hixson, which is so lacking in locally-owned restaurants) at Fresh Pot Café.

Fresh Pot Café is located at 5425 Highway 153, Suite B4, Hixson, TN 37343. They are open Monday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-9 p.m. and Sunday, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. You can call them at 423-805-3773. They don’t have a website at this time but you can find them on Facebook.

The Big Chill and Grill (North Shore)

August 12, 2014

The Big Chill and Grill is a popular bar on Chattanooga’s North Shore that offers great food in an atmosphere that is family-friendly during the day.

The Big Chill & Grill has been around in Chattanooga for quite a few years, recently moving from Market Street (next door to Taco Mac) to the North Shore at the corner of Cherokee and Manufacturers. In the process of the move, The Big Chill became a non-smoking establishment (though they do have a terrace for smokers), making it a more diner-friendly environment. During daytime hours, The Big Chill is no longer a 21 and over establishment.

The Big Chill and Grill is a seat-yourself environment with lots of seating options: low tables in an open-air indoor seating area in the front, high-top tables or the bar, or low tables in the the back as well as the terrace where smoking is allowed. We were there around 5:30 on Sunday afternoon so it was not terribly crowded. We took a seat and our server was with us quickly, bringing menus and water.

The Big Chill and Grill is known for their strong drinks. Frozen drink mixers are constantly running behind the bar and they have a huge list of “concoctions”-frozen specialty drinks. I’ve had one of these drinks exactly one time and that was the time that I discovered exactly what my limit was (don’t have one of those drinks on an empty stomach-you’ve been warned!)….so I stuck with water. They also have an extensive selection of draught and bottled beers.

We decided to have the fried green tomatoes appetizer. It came with honey dijon mustard and a slightly sweet-spicy Asian chili sauce for dipping. The cornmeal coating was light and the tomatoes were cooked well. They could have been drained a little better-they were slightly greasy-but they were well-seasoned and tasty. Other appetizers included the standard mozzarella sticks and fried mushrooms, chips and salsa, chips and queso, and nachos (which I had on the night of the aforementioned drink when I realized that I was making a huge mistake drinking that strong drink on an empty stomach. They were quite good.).

The meal selections included salads, sandwiches, burgers, and entrees (they also have brunch from 11-3 on Saturday and Sunday and serve a lunch menu from 11-3 Monday through Friday). Tina, our server, recommended the chicken salad melter, which she described as “kind of like a grilled cheese sandwich with chicken salad”. Pretty good description. The melter is chicken salad, made with hard-boiled eggs and pickle relish, and cheddar, grilled on sourdough bread. I decided to take her recommendation and ordered the melter with house-made chips. I liked the sandwich a lot and remembered that Philip had eaten it once before, which was actually when I discovered that I like chicken salad made with eggs and relish (why haven’t I made that for you guys yet?). It was not greasy and it was a very large sandwich (I wasn’t able to finish it). The chips were not quite as crispy as I would have liked but still tasted pretty good. They were dusted with seasoned salt and were a little tiny bit sweet-I could swear that they were also dusted with a little sugar. By the way, fries and fried okra were also offered with sandwiches (and I’m sure that, perhaps with a bit of an upcharge, you could sub in one of the other sides like the homestyle green beans, which I’ve heard are amazing).

Philip decided on the chicken fried chicken, which is two large pieces of boneless fried chicken topped with white peppered gravy, skin-on mashed potatoes, fried okra, two deviled eggs, and a Sister Schubert’s roll (really! It’s on the menu!). He thought that the chicken was really juicy and flavorful, though he was pretty sure that the gravy was from a mix. The mashed potatoes are made from scratch and were well seasoned and had a great texture. I didn’t try the deviled eggs, but they had pickle relish in them and were sprinkled with paprika (I just like the fact that they include them on their menu….deviled eggs are quite an unusual menu item!). I am fairly certain that the okra was from frozen, though it still tasted pretty good and didn’t have the super-heavy jacket coating that so many fried varieties have. I just want to find a restaurant that makes fried okra from scratch!

All in all, though there are a few menu items that are frozen or from a package, I think that the menu and The Big Chill and Grill is pretty good for a “bar” menu and I know that there are quite a few items that are made fresh in-house. The prices are reasonable, with our total for fried green tomatoes, a chicken salad sandwich, and chicken fried chicken coming to $28 and some change. By the way, those frozen drinks are $6.50. The new location is really nice and well-decorated. I read some complaints about loud music on Urbanspoon and we definitely did not think that the music (which was early nineties hits like Bell Biv Devoe’s “Poison”-score!) was too loud, though I’m sure that they turn it up at night when it’s more of a bar crowd.

Check out The Big Chill and Grill for great homestyle food and delicious drinks!

The Big Chill and Grill is located at 103 Cherokee Boulevard, Chattanooga, TN 37405. You can call them at (423) 267-2445. They are open 11 a.m. to 3 a.m. Monday-Saturday and 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. on Sundays. Their website is http://www.bigchillandgrill.com. You can also like the Big Chill & Grill on Facebook. By the way, The Big Chill was recently cited for overserving with a consequence of having their license to serve alcohol suspended for six days. According to their website, as of 8/9/14 they are appealing this decision and are still serving alcohol until the appeal is considered.

Other restaurants in this area: Food Works, Elemental, Taco Mamacita, Milk & Honey

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