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Chattanooga’s Top Five Burgers (According to Chattavore)

June 7, 2013

While I’ve updated the list (see my new Top Ten), this is my original list of Chattanooga’s Top FIVE burgers – according to Chattavore, anyway!

*****Please note that this post has been edited since the original publishing. Based on the fact that Tremont Tavern started grinding their own beef for burgers after I ate there, I decided that I had not really tried one of their burgers. See below for details!*****

*****Also, while I couldn’t find a link, Tubby’s failed a restaurant inspection in late 2013 or early 2014. Again, I couldn’t find the link but apparently they passed a re-inspection with an 89? I told you it was a dive. Anyway, just didn’t want to catch any flak about this. UPDATE: Tubby’s closed in 2014 or 2015.*****

I’m not sure when it happened.

When I was younger, sure….I liked burgers. They weren’t something that made me want to turn cartwheels, though. At some point in my adult life, though…something changed.

If I had to choose my “top” food, burgers would definitely be in the running…along with popcorn. And maybe pasta with alfredo sauce (have I really not written about that yet?).

Anyway, last week’s jaunt to Sofa King Juicy Burger really got my readers talking about Chattanooga burgers. The consensus is definitely this: a good burger is not about hype. As Ron Swanson of Parks and Recreation said, “It’s a hamburger made out of meat on a bun with nothing. Add ketchup if you want, I couldn’t care less.” A good burger doesn’t need a lot of frufru-ness. It just needs to be good. And here are my top five “goooooood” burgers (my requirements, by the way, were that (a) the burger must be beef; (b) the restaurant must be local; and (c) the burger must be on the menu every day, not a special).

5. Tubby’s Real Burgers

My husband likes to say that when you walk into Tubby’s you’re initially afraid that you’re going to get hepatitis. It might not be as bad as all that, but it’s definitely a dive, pretty run down, which is funny since this location was built to replace the tiny hole in the wall location where Tubby’s was when I first started eating at Tubby’s while working at Monkey Business on the North Shore in 1999.

I used to order the chicken fingers when I went there because Tubby’s honey mustard is awesome, but after Philip had their burger on our review visit, I started ordering either the cheeseburger or the bacon cheeseburger. This is a ten-napkin cheeseburger. It’s (a) gigantic; and (b) super, super drippy. No frills, just burger goodness. And since Philip and I can eat there for less that $15, it’s definitely a bargain.

Tubby’s Real Burgers is located at 710 Cherokee Boulevard, Chattanooga, TN 37405. You can call them at 423-265-0069.

4. Southern Burger Company

I’m not sure if Southern Burger was the first food truck in Chattanooga or if Famous Nater’s was….but Southern Burger was the first one that I heard about. Because I’d been hearing about the food truck trend for a while on some Food Network and Cooking Channel shows, I remember jumping up and down with excitement (well, at least inside my head) when I heard about it. You know what, though? I’ve never, never had a burger from the Southern Burger truck. I never went there until they opened their Warehouse Row food court location.

Southern Burger offers several specialty burgers or a build-your-own option. The burgers consist of a thin patty, cooked perfectly to obtain crispy edges but retaining just a slight bit of pinkness in the middle. Now that’s talent. They’re served on a slightly sweet Bread Basket bun, which I love because it seems like everyone else uses Niedlov’s (not that there’s anything wrong with that-I love Niedlov’s!). Philip likes to order the Jalapeño burger, with bacon jam and jalapeño slices, and I like the classic burger with cheddar subbed for American cheese and their stellar bacon jam added to it. Yum. This makes me want to go to Southern Burger right now and have a burger with bacon jam.

Southern Burger has two locations: Warehouse Row, 111o Market Street, FC-5, Chattanooga, TN 37402 (423-825-4919) and their new Ooltewah location at 9453 Bradmore Lane, Ooltewah, TN 37363. Follow the truck on Facebook and Twitter. You can also find their website at http://www.southernburgerco.com.

3. Merv’s

I first heard of Merv’s (review coming Sunday!) when I was student-teaching and my cooperating teacher told me that the best burger around was at Merv’s on Mountain Creek Road. Back then, it was a bar and I heard that it was a little bit shady. In fact, one of our friends told us that while he liked their burgers, he wouldn’t want his wife to go there without him. Philip and I lived on Mountain Creek Road for our first year of marriage and we never even considered going in there. We’d been thinking about it a lot lately but thought it was still a bar and thus we would have to dodge cigarette smoke…but it turns out that Merv’s has a kids’ menu so no cigarette smoke (you must be 21 or older to go to Merv’s after 9 p.m., though). We had to go to Merv’s before I could write this list since about a thousand people had told us they had the best burgers in town.

We went with a friend and each of us ordered a bacon cheeseburger (with American cheese). We shared a gigantic basket of fries, but you’ll get to hear more about that on Sunday. The burgers were large and, like the Tubby’s burger, very drippy, served on just a basic sesame seed bun. The bacon was crisp and everything was perfectly cooked. Obviously you can see by their spot on this list that Merv’s did not qualify as my top burger….but as soon as I took the first bite I knew they belonged somewhere on my top five list. It’s a great burger, and if it’s been a while since you’ve been in, the atmosphere is definitely not a scary bar atmosphere (though I’ve heard some say that they liked it better back then!).

Merv’s is located at 713 Mountain Creek Road, Chattanooga, TN 37405. You can call them at 423-877-0221. Check out their website: http://www.mervsofchatt.com/Mervs_Restaurant_Chattanooga_TN.html.

2. The Terminal

I don’t think that it’s any secret that Terminal BrewHouse is probably my favorite restaurant. I love their pot roast nachos and their West by God salad with sliced steak and French fries….but my favorite is their burger. (A few commentors on Facebook have gotten a little torn up about me choosing the Terminal when I made the statement that they were my favorite restaurant….feeling like I was playing favorites. Let me clarify: the burger was definitely the menu item that solidified their status as my favorite…before Chattavore ever existed.)

The Terminal serves a bison burger, a black bean burger, and a “Philosopher’s burger” with ground lamb. Philip loves the bison burger, but I can’t bring myself to order anything but the plain old beef burger. Not that it’s plain old anything. I like mine with Gouda cheese and bacon, a half-pound of beef that I ask them to cook medium-well, served on a Niedlov’s bun with lettuce, tomato, pickles, onion (that I have removed, of course), mayo, and mustard. Perfection. Drippy but not too much so, with a delicious grilled flavor. Love it love it love it.

The Terminal BrewHouse is located at No.6 14th Street, Chattanooga, TN 37408 (right next door to the Chattanooga Choo Choo). They can be contacted at 423-752-8090. Check out their website and their Facebook page.

1. Tremont Tavern

I knew that I had to try Tremont Tavern after a friend whose burger opinion I trust very much told me that they had one of his favorite burgers. While burgers are not the only item on the menu at Tremont, they are definitely the “specialty” of this tiny neighborhood haunt in North Chattanooga.

After considering a Chuck Fisher burger (with guacamole), I decided that my obsession with pimento cheese warranted a pimento burger, with homemade pimento cheese (one of my favorite things) and bread and butter pickles on a Niedlov’s bun. Philip decided on a jalapeno jack burger, with fresh jalapeno, bacon, ancho cilantro dressing, pepperjack cheese, green leaf lettuce, sliced tomato, and red onion. The ingredients were very fresh, the pimento cheese homemade, and the meat perfectly caramelized on the outside while not too done in the center (perfect temperature). The meat was juicy enough to make the bun bottom a little soggy, which is a very good thing. Since my review of Tremont, they have started cutting and grinding their own meat and hand-pattying their burgers fresh every morning. You had me at grinding your own meat, Tremont Tavern. I wonder if they would be number one on my list now, and I will be in very soon to check it out. I promise.

I returned to Tremont on 6/20/13. I was not disappointed. I will post a full rundown of this visit as my regular Sunday review (Tremont, you are one of the few restaurants that has gotten a “revisit review”!) but just to give you some detail, I tried the Gouda burger (on a friend’s recommendation), Philip got the Dirty Gomez (50% beef, 50% housemade chorizo), and our friend Brian (who also accompanied us to Merv’s) had the jalapeño Jack. We were all raving over our burgers and I had to go wash my hands when I finished my Gouda burger. That’s a sign of a good burger, folks. And yes, I ate the whole thing. I think it is disrespectful to a great burger to leave any on the plate….thank God I still have a quick metabolism! We talked to the owner, Dustin, for several minutes about the meat-grinding process. Basically they use a whole shoulder clod, cut away the nasty stuff that people don’t want to eat (which is one of the little details that really sets their meat apart….factory ground meat just has that stuff ground right on into it), grind the meat and the fat separately, and then weigh the meat and fat and make an 80/20 mix (80/20 is widely accepted as the best ratio for burgers). I think this really sets their burgers apart. The meat is so much fresher than most places, and it gives them a claim to fame that most other restaurants don’t have. I, for one, am sold.

Tremont Tavern is located at 1203 Hixson Pike, Chattanooga, TN 37405. You can contact them at 423-266-1996. You can “like” them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter.

Some honorable mentions include the “This Bacon is the Jam Burger” from The Honest Pint, which I would love more if it was made with cheddar rather than blue cheese, and the Blue Ribbon Café burger, which was not eligible for the list because it’s a special, only available on Friday, and Dub’s Place in Red Bank. It should also be noted that I didn’t include Southern Star’s burger, which used to be a special but is now on the regular menu. I had it years ago and loved it….but I’ll have to try it again to make sure my feelings are still the same. I have also been told that a burger list from someone who has not tried a Zarzour’s burger is basically not valid. Perhaps I’ll have to do a “Top Ten” burgers list eventually!

In preparation for this list, I decided to poll Chattavore’s Twitter and Facebook followers on their favorites. Urban Stack won by one vote, with Tremont Tavern coming in second, and Terminal and Merv’s one vote behind Tremont for third. Also garnering multiple votes were Tubby’s, Blacksmith’s Bistro, and Kevin Brown’s Burgers in Ooltewah, which apparently I must try very soon.

I have to know, Chattanooga. What do you think are Chattanooga’s Top Five burgers?

Sofa King Juicy Burger-May 31, 2013

June 2, 2013

With its wacky, off-color name and serving burgers & gourmet shakes, Sofa King Juicy Burger has (quite literally) made a name for itself in Chattanooga & beyond.

While my mom and sister were sifting through the Black Friday sale ads on Thanksgiving, I noticed a headline in the business section of TFP (Chattanooga Times Free-Press, for you non-Chattanoogans) about a new burger joint coming to the Red Bank area-Sofa King Juicy Burger. As a big SNL fan (there’s a Sofa King sketch that used to air on SNL a few years ago), I immediately broke out into laughter and ran to show the paper to Philip, who had a similar reaction.

It didn’t take long for the reaction to begin. If you don’t get the joke yet….well, I’m not going to explain it to you. I, however, am not offended in the least by expletives, real or implied, so the publicity just made me laugh even more. Sofa King even made it to Huffington Post….and so the set-up began.

As soon as the place opened in March people started asking me if I’d been yet. We actually attempted to go the week after the place opened, but the parking lot was so full that we couldn’t find a space so we just drove on to somewhere else. I definitely heard lots of opinions on the place, though. The lines instantly became legendary, and they ran out of buns on the first day, forcing an early closure and prompting a hysterical YouTube video. The thing about me, though, is that no matter how hyped a new restaurant is, I’m not going to wait 30 minutes or an hour or whatever. That’s not my style. After the “no parking” situation we quickly decided that we were going to wait for a weekday, not-during-a-meal-rush opportunity to go there. Friday I tweeted the following and Philip suggested that we could check out Sofa King:

We definitely got there at a good time. There were plenty of parking spaces and, while there were quite a few people inside, there were only a couple in front of us. Of course, you instantly notice the decor….the walls are lined with sofas and there are lots of retro signs, ads, and pictures hanging everywhere. Of course, I had to post the logo on Instagram….

There are a few specialty burgers, including a “classic”, the Awesome burger with Boursin and strawberry jam, and the Nutty burger, with peanut butter and bacon (intriguing, but I’m not sold). I considered the Awesome Burger but ultimately decided to go with something basic so I could judge the burger based on its….”burgerness”, not on an interesting combo of ingredients. I just went with the “build your own” with a beef burger (there’s also a veggie burger, which is a grilled portobello) on a white poppy seed bun with classic sauce (more or less a Thousand Island-ish dressing), cheddar ($1.00), bacon ($1.00), lettuce, tomato, and pickle. Philip decided to go with the Classic Burger-a beef burger on a white bun with lettuce, tomato, and classic sauce. Since our burgers were basically the same….I’m not going to talk about them separately. Mine’s first with the cheese and bacon. The burgers are made with grass-fed beef, which is always a plus. Each burger is made with two thin patties, which allows for a bit of a crispy edge (which I really like). The buns were very fresh and everything had a good flavor. I liked the sauce a lot….I really like the mayo-ketchup-relish combo and often add it to my burgers at home. I would rate the burger as good, and I really appreciate the use of local, grass-fed beef….but I wouldn’t place it in my “top five” (that’s gotta be a Friday list soon).

We decided to split an order of onion rings, battered with Budweiser (not PBR? What’s up, hipsters? There was a huge stack of PBR cases in a little storage area in the back….more on the beer in a minute) and Aretha Frankenstein’s pancake batter (Sofa King shares an owner with Aretha’s and Crust Pizza) and a milkshake-we decided to go with the Cat Man Du-vanilla ice cream, Himalayan sea salt, cashews, and, on the cashier’s recommendation, we added caramel to it. The onion rings were pretty good…sweet, more crumbly than I was expecting from a ring coated with pancake batter (I guess I was expecting a more tempura-like consistency). I really liked the shake (which had more of a soft-serve consistency than a shake consistency and needed to be eaten with a spoon); Philip liked it okay but said he wouldn’t really want to order it again. I really liked the sweet/salty combo of it.

Okay, back to the beer. They have a sign outside that boasts $1.00 beers. What? Okay…that’s PBR, Budweiser, or High Life. There’s no drink fountain, and those three canned beers cost less than canned Coke products (at $1.50) and are the least expensive drinks on the menu (there’s also a craft beer list for “beer snobs”, which we did not view). “Gourmet” sodas like Blue Sky are $2.50 apiece, and a Steaz coconut water is $4.95. Hmmmm. That brings me to my final verdict…

Sofa King Juicy Burger has been hyped a lot. I’ve talked to a few people who said they loved it, and I’ve heard a lot of people express disappointment in the quality of the food, and honestly I think when a place is so overly hyped you are pretty much doomed to be disappointed. I try not to let the hype get me, and I wasn’t disappointed with the food. It didn’t blow me away. I’d eat there again, but probably only if someone else was paying or I was going with a group and that’s where everyone else wanted to go. My big problem? The price. For 2 pretty basic burgers, an order of onion rings, and a milkshake (or a “liquid nitrogen milkshake”, whatever that means) we paid $25.00. I kind of feel like Sofa King Juicy Burger is all hype and not a lot of substance, and there are definitely other places that deliver food-wise without the hefty price tag. So, I didn’t hate it, and I’m not going to tell you not to go there.

Try Sofa King Juicy Burger at least once and make up your own mind….but don’t expect too much or you might be let down.

Sofa King Juicy Burger is located at 1743 Dayton Boulevard, Chattanooga, TN 37405. You can call them at 423-490-SOFA. Check out their website: http://www.sofakingjuicyburger.com. You can also “like” them on Facebook.

Vietnamese Bistro (Dayton)-May 18, 2013

May 18, 2013

Vietnamese Bistro is a tiny and quaint Vietnamese restaurant in Dayton, Tennessee with delicious food and friendly service.

Vietnamese food is not exactly easy to come by in this area, and I’m not going to lie….the first time that I noticed a “Vietnamese Bistro” in Dayton, I was a little suspicious. Dayton is pretty much a hole in the wall sort of city, a “don’t blink or you’ll miss it” sort of place (just like my hometown of Soddy-Daisy, so I’m really not making fun) and I just had to wonder how well they could really do Vietnamese food. Which was a dumb thing to wonder because of course Vietnamese people know how to make Vietnamese food, and several months back I got an email from a reader who was raving about the Vietnamese Bistro in Dayton, telling me that it was better than Old Saigon. Well, ma’am, you have my attention, because I freaking love Old Saigon, so….

Somehow it still took us a while to get down there. I don’t really know why. I guess it’s because there’s really not a lot to do in Dayton, so the typical Saturday doesn’t really see us driving thirty minutes just to eat Vietnamese food. This week, though, I was off on Friday so we’d gotten our typical running around out of the way. We stopped at the antiques store in Sale Creek for a fruitless Fiesta ware search (lots of pieces but not a single one in a color that I want) then headed down to the Bistro.

There were a couple of tables occupied in the tiny restaurant, which was truly a blink and you’ll miss it sort of place; in fact, I had to point out the Philip exactly where it was in the former Wal-Mart complex as we drove by to park. There were probably not more than ten tables. A friendly young man told us to sit wherever we wanted then brought us menus and took our drink orders. The place is definitely about food, not atmosphere….several large photographs of Vietnamese scenes on the wall and photos of menu items under the glass on the tables is pretty much all the decoration you’ll find. I didn’t go there for atmosphere, though, so no big.

The menu is large and a little confusing to read; I actually found the to-go menu a little easier to follow for whatever reason. The regular menu begins with vegetarian selections then moves into the regular (carnivorous) selections. We decided on a couple of appetizers: 2 pork & shrimp spring rolls for $3.50 and an order of fish ball dumplings (which I never would have ordered on my own but Philip wanted to try them) for $1.99. The appetizers came out quickly, the dumplings on a skewer and drizzled with sriracha and some other sauce (hoisin, perhaps?). They tasted like…fish. The texture wasn’t weird and the flavor was fine, but I don’t know that I would order them again. But that’s just me. The spring rolls were amazing, stuffed with shrimps, a thin slice of pork, rice noodles, lettuce, and mint leaves. The mint really set off the flavor. I’ve got to make these things at home. I’m not positive what the sauce was….I want to say that the menu said it was ginger sauce, and it had fried shallots and some chili oil in it as well. It was pretty tasty and just a little spicy.

I pretty much knew before I went here that I wanted to order the phở bò (beef rice noodle soup), which is the Vietnamese national dish (by the way, that is pronounced fuh bah). I waffled briefly, though, when I saw a rice noodle salad on the menu…but in the end the regular-sized bowl of phở bò ($6.99) won out (by the way, chicken phở is called phở gà). What came to me was a gigantic bowl of broth, strips of beef, meatballs, rice noodles, onions, scallions, and cilantro, with a side dish of bean sprouts, basil, and lime, and bottles of sriracha and hoisin. I pulled the cilantro off the sprigs and dropped it in, tore up several basil leaves and dropped them in, put in a couple of handfuls of bean sprouts, and doused it with a little sriracha. This stuff was not easy to eat, because (a) it was so hot! and (b) how do you eat the noodles? Fork? Spoon? I ended up doing both, and once the soup cooled down enough I pretty much put my face in the bowl and shoveled it in (as evidenced by the photo below). The meatballs had some oddly textured little pieces in them but tasted good; the strips of beef were perfectly textured and delicious, and the broth was flavorful and perfectly seasoned. I would order this again…and again….and again.

Philip got much deeper into the entrée portion of the menu than I did, eventually settling on the thit kho (which I believe was pronounced “teet kuh”-no comments from the peanut gallery, please!) for $7.99, which was described as caramelized pork in condensed fish sauce (most of the descriptions that I found online called it caramelized pork belly, which this was not). All of the plates were served with either steamed rice or a choice of rice or egg noodles. Philip asked our server what he would recommend and he said that he usually eats it with steamed rice, so that’s what Philip ordered. It came with cucumbers (which Philip gave to me), bean sprouts, and shredded carrots on the side and a little bowl of spicy dipping sauce. It was thinly sliced, braised pork that was then caramelized and sauced with, well, a condensed fish sauce. Fish sauce is interesting stuff, very salty and stinky but delicious. The meat was indeed pretty salty and definitely had that fish sauce flavor but was tender and delicious. The rice was pretty plain (which is how Philip likes it) and the sauce on the side was spicy but not overwhelming.

A little piece of paper under the glass on the table said “desserts available, please ask your server” so we did. If there was anything disappointing about this restaurant, the dessert menu was it. I was hoping for a dessert menu like that at Old Saigon, which includes fried bananas, rice pudding, and mango sticky rice. Our server told us that sometimes they have two or three items available, but all they had that day were mung bean wontons. At $0.50 each, it was hard to pass up at least trying them, so we each ordered one. They were filled with a creamy batter made from mung bean puree and fried crisp. I was a little concerned about how the beany batter would taste, but I needn’t have been. It was just a sweet, custardy, vanilla-y paste in a perfectly crispy fried wonton. Pretty tasty and a nice sweet end to the meal.

Our total was about $24 before tip. Like I said, the atmosphere is lacking, but who cares? The food was fresh and delicious. They’ve been there for about five years and to last that long in a small town like Dayton speaks volumes about the quality.

I highly recommend that you check out Vietnamese Bistro!

Vietnamese Bistro is located at 200 Able Drive, Suite 11, Dayton, TN 37321. You can call them at 423-570-0100 or 423-285-7106. They are open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday-Saturday. Since they are located in a larger shopping complex, there are curb cuts that allow for wheelchair accessibility, but the very cramped quarters would keep this from being an easy/comfortable place for a diner who uses a wheelchair.

Choo Choo Bar-B-Que Hixson-May 4, 2013

May 5, 2013

Choo Choo Bar-B-Que is a popular barbecue joint located on Hixson Pike in Hixson, Tennessee…less than five minutes from Publix.

May the 4th did not exactly turn out how I had hoped. I have had a craving for some sort of fish or shrimp dish all week long and had hoped to find a restaurant with a decent seafood menu and spend a little time perusing antiques at the Knitting Mill. Two problems with that, though: (1) UTC’s graduation happened yesterday morning, which meant that everything downtown was bound to be ridiculously crowded; and (b) it has been raining since early Saturday morning. Raining a lot. This weekend weather is really starting to get on my nerves, truth be told. It’s been in the 70s and 80s and generally sunny or at least dry most weekdays for the past several weeks, but it has been chilly every weekend and rainy for the past two…and rain (though not chill) is in the forecast for next weekend as well. Ugh.

So, like I said, May 4th did not turn out exactly how I had hoped. If I’m being honest, I would have preferred to not leave the house at all….but I needed a blog post and I needed a birthday present for my nephew Elias, who turned six on Friday and whose birthday party is today. We headed to Toys-R-Us to pick up some karaoke supplies and made a stop-off at Books-a-Mill because I wanted to take a look at a couple of cookbooks I’m considering (surprise, surprise), then we headed back toward home while trying to think of somewhere to eat.

We’ve eaten at just about every locally-owned restaurant in this area that has been recommended. There are a couple that I won’t go to, but one of the few remaining is Choo Choo Bar-B-Que in Hixson. There actually used to be two Hixson locations-one across from Wal-Mart on 153 and the one on Hixson Pike-but the 153 location closed; the building is now located behind the Hixson Krystal and it’s named something else. I have a funny Choo Choo Bar-B-Que story, actually. What I assume was the original location used to be located on Amnicola Highway, next to the emergency animal hospital. Philip and I used to always find that hilarious-a barbecue place next door to an emergency animal hospital? Seemed a little suspect to me, and we always joked that we should take a picture and send it to Jay Leno. Also, Philip used to work in the banquets department at the Chattanooga Choo-Choo….but my sister somehow thought that he worked at Choo Choo Bar-B-Que. Funny stuff. Or maybe just to me.

Anyway, we had two $15 credits to Choo Choo Bar-B-Que that we had purchased from Double-Take Deals so it just made sense to stop there. There was only one other table occupied in the restaurant so we had our choice of tables. The menus were on the table and the server quickly took our drink order. You know I couldn’t resist the fried pickles, though the killer potato skins, with cheese and pulled pork, sounded pretty tasty. The fried pickles came out quickly, very hot (the only, only problem I have with fried pickle spears is that I always burn my mouth on them). They had a cornmeal coating that looked like it had a lot of dill in it, though there wasn’t a strong dill flavor. They were served with ranch dressing, though you can order blue cheese if you’d prefer it. I’m pretty sure it was just Sysco ranch dressing, so pretty “meh”, but the pickles were good.

There were specials listed on the wall-fried catfish and chicken & dumplings (the specials change daily and the specials for each day are actually listed on the menu) but I wanted to try the smoked meat so I didn’t really give much consideration to them. I considered a pulled pork sandwich but I have decided that if a barbecue stuffed potato (aka a killer potato) is available I am basically unable to order anything else. I ordered a potato with pulled pork. The potato was, of course, large, cut into chunks and topped with melted cheddar cheese, sour cream, and pile of pulled pork. The sauce was on the table to be applied by the diner (regular and hot, which Philip said had a little spice but wasn’t really “hot”, though I don’t always trust his opinion on that….we have very different definitions of hot). I really liked the fact that the cheese was so melty….it added a lot to the texture of the whole meal. It wasn’t overly covered with sour cream and I liked that the sour cream was drizzled rather than scooped for maximum coverage. The meat didn’t have quite as strong of a smoky flavor as I would have liked but it was pretty good, and the sauce was nice, sweet but not too sweet.

Philip also ordered his usual barbecue joint order, a pulled pork plate without Texas toast (he hates Texas toast!) with sides of okra and coleslaw, though he did consider the baked beans. Like me, he liked the pulled pork he did say that it didn’t have the “chew” he was expecting-it was a little more moist (as in wet) than the smoked pork you generally find at a barbecue place but it was still good….it wasn’t soggy, not to worry. He thought the coleslaw was just okay….he really loves the slaw at Rib & Loin and honestly I don’t know if anyone else’s mayonnaise-based slaw will ever measure up. The okra was pretty good though I am guessing because of the thick “jacket” of coating it was probably frozen, which seems to be par for the course (and since this is the South that’s a little disappointing-what does everyone have against tossing some fresh okra in cornmeal, flour, and seasonings and giving it a quick fry like my Mama does?????). Pretty good but not eye-rolling good.

While the desserts (chocolate or coconut cake, banana pudding, and strawberry shortcake) sounded tempting, we were stuffed and decided to skip it this time. Our total before tip was $18 and some change. We only used one of our credits so we’ll be going back to use the other one. I’m interested in trying their special chicken salad sandwich-made with smoked chicken-or maybe one of their burgers or barbecue quesadillas. Scrolling through their Facebook page, some of their specials looked pretty tasty too-homemade soups, homemade chicken & dressing, and the chicken and dumplings all jumped out at me. I wouldn’t say that Choo Choo Bar-B-Que is my favorite barbecue place but it’s definitely one of the closest to my house and it was definitely good barbecue. I left smelling like smoked meat and in my opinion that’s never a bad thing.

Choo Choo Bar-B-Que is located at 6410 Hixson Pike, Hixson, TN 37343. You can call them at 423-843-9554. They do not have a website but you can find them on Facebook.

Milk and Honey

April 28, 2013

Milk and Honey is a popular spot on Chattanooga’s North Shore serving breakfast, lunch, gelato, sorbet, housemade paletas (popsicles), & a variety of drinks.

Drawing on their backgrounds in the restaurant business, Mike and Taylor Monen started Taco Mamacita (read my reviews here and here) in 2008 and haven’t looked back. It seems that they have built a restaurant empire in Chattanooga, adding Urban Stack Burger Lounge in 2010 (read my review here), Community Pie early this year (read my review here), and Milk & Honey just last month (they also have Taco Mamacita locations in Nashville and Sullivan’s Island, SC). Milk and Honey is the answer to the lack of desserts at the Monen’s restaurants. According to Lauren Evans, Operating Partner, Taylor (who masterminded all the recipes at Milk and Honey) had always dreamed of opening a sweets shop and the need to add desserts to their menus provided the perfect opportunity to start a shop that would operate as its own entity but also provide desserts for their other restaurants: paletas (fresh fruit popsicles) for Taco Mamacita, gelato as the base for Urban Stack’s milkshakes, and gelato for Community Pie.

When I arrived at Milk and Honey at 3:30 on a Tuesday afternoon to chat with Lauren, the space was teeming with afterschoolers seeking a treat….I saw a lot of popsicles and cookies (thumbprints and cereal bar cookies) being consumed. The line was out the door but was quickly moved along by cute and friendly girls wearing shirts that said “Let’s Spoon” on the back. The black and white color scheme of the shop permeates every facet, down to the straws (pictured below).

There are a few booths inside the shop plus stools at the counter, but I have a feeling the real draw for diners here is the open seating area by the entrance. A long counter runs along the front wall with seating on either side, so you can sit outside or inside and enjoy the weather on a nice day. A sandwich board proclaims not only the gelato and sorbet flavors for the day but also the “nooner” and other lunch items. The nooner is the lunch special, which is served from 11 a.m. until it runs out and changes weekly. When I visited, the nooner was a NY-style corned beef Reuben.

A chalkboard style menu showcases all of the amazing and unique creations, from coffee drinks, tea, and homemade ginger ale to housemade gelato (which is Italian ice cream, made with milk and denser than American-style ice cream) and sorbet (in rotating flavors that are never the same as what are being offered at Community Pie), the colorful paletas (also in rotating flavors), and breakfast served daily from 6:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. (and sometimes later) Monday-Friday and until 3 p.m. as Saturday and Sunday brunch (they even provide carhop service!). The muffin of the day, the Milk & Honey birthday cake, cookies, granola, handmade caramels, and caramel popcorn in beautiful displays round out the countertop accoutrements. Milk & Honey obtains as many ingredients as possible from local sources like Pure Sodaworks, Benton’s, and Sequatchie Cove, which you know is a Chattavore plus!

I spent a few minutes talking to Lauren about the shop. The opening of the shop has been met with overwhelming enthusiasm from the community. I asked Lauren if there was a time that they weren’t crowded, and she said that indeed, 4-8 p.m. on weeknights provides some relief from the crowds (I imagine that once school is out that window will shrink a little bit). The weekends, however, are busy from 9 a.m. to 10:45 p.m. (and they close at 10!). It has been a bit of a learning experience for these restaurant business veterans, who are used to the traditional busy times (lunch and dinner times). Because people tend to gravitate toward Milk & Honey for dessert, the shop gets busy at later times than a traditional restaurant would.

When I asked Lauren what her favorite items on the menu are, she told me that her favorite drink is the horchata latte: a double-shot of espresso with horchata (a sweetened rice milk flavored with cinnamon). Her favorite dessert item is the stracciatella gelato, which is made with the signature milk & honey flavored gelato layered with housemade magic shell that eventually gets crunched up to make a unique chocolate chip gelato. Her favorite breakfast item? The mega biscuit, which features red pepper spread, eggs, sausage, white cheddar, onion, shallots, and spinach. Her favorite lunch item is the turkey & brie pita with raspberry preserves. The biggest sellers overall have been the gelatos and the coffee drinks.

While I was intrigued by Lauren’s favorite horchata latte and have heard that the coconut milk latte is to die for, the lavender & honey latte grabbed my attention, since I am obsessed with all things lavender flavored (as evidenced here, here, and here). For $4.53 I got a small latte ($3.75) and a thumbprint cookie ($0.40). While the coffee tasted great, I was a little sad that I didn’t really taste the lavender, which is infused into the honey….however, I have been inspired to try to make a super-lavender flavored coffee creamer (with half and half, of course) at home (maybe I’ll share that with you all later!) and next time I’m definitely trying the coconut latte. Or the horchata latte. We shall see. The cookie was delicious, with a crumby (not soft) texture and a lovely almond flavor. My friend who met me after I talked with Lauren decided on the burnt sugar gelato and a thumbprint cookie. I didn’t taste her gelato but she said that it was indeed pretty tasty. I can’t wait to return to try breakfast…and lunch…and every flavor of gelato, sorbet, and paleta under the sun (except maybe the ones that have habanero in them…)!

Even if you don’t have the chance to make it by Milk and Honey for a while, you can find them all over the community. As I said before, you can find their wares at Taco Mamacita, Urban Stack, and Community Pie….but you can also find the “Ollie Pop” at Elemental, a new restaurant located by Whole Foods Market. The Ollie Pop is a brown-cow style popsicle featuring vanilla gelato (though they have used other flavors, like banana) dipped in chocolate. You will also be able to find their products in a case at Enzo’s Market on Main Street, which will be opening on May 10. They’ll be selling paletas, gelato, and coffee at the Chattanooga Market on Sundays.

Milk and Honey is located at 135 North Market Street, Chattanooga, TN 37402 (next to Taco Mamacita). You can call them at 423-521-3123. You can also check out their website, http://milkandhoneychattanooga.com, or you can find them on Facebook.

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