Chattavore

What I ate, plate by plate.

Kioto Japanese Restaurant-September 9, 2011

I’m not going to lie to you. When I drove by what used to be Tinker’s Barbecue just down the street from my house in either late June or early July (I don’t remember which) and saw a sign saying that “Kioto Japanese Restaurant” was coming soon, I snorted a little. And yes, I know that should be spelled “Kyoto” but that isn’t how they spell it. Anyway…..I guess I’m a little snobby about little hole-in-the-wall restaurants and my policy is that I usually don’t even try them until someone I know tells me they’re good. So, when my assistant told me last week that she and her husband had dinner at Kioto and loved both the food and the prices, I decided to give it a shot, hoping that a new blog post was in the works (FYI, there have been several planned posts that got derailed because the food was not bloggable. Despite all the positive that you read on here, I don’t love every restaurant I try, but if you’ll read my post “Keepin’ it Light, People“, my mission is not to hurt anyone’s business, so my policy is, if I don’t have anything nice to say, I don’t say anything at all!).

So anyway…..last night we went with some friends and had dinner there. And it was good! I’ll go back.

When you walk in to Kioto, I won’t lie, there’s not a whole lot in the way of “atmosphere”. Tables and chairs. That’s pretty much it. If the food is good, though, I don’t really care about the atmosphere, unless it’s a bad atmosphere (for example, I’m not really a fan of the typical “sports bar” atmosphere. No offense to those who are). The server who seated us was extremely friendly, and I wish I had caught her name. She took our drink order before she left the table, then gave us a few minutes to peruse the menu.

As far as what they’re serving, Kioto is somewhere between Typhoon of Tokyo and Ichiban/Kanpai. They serve the soup and salad like the more expensive restaurants, but the prices are definitely closer to Typhoon prices. They pretty much immediately brought out the little cups of chicken broth, which, I’m not going to lie, tasted like it was made from bouillon cubes. Pretty quickly after that came the iceberg salad, and they brought out squeeze bottles of ginger dressing and “white sauce” (which was actually more pinkish-orange than white, but was very tasty). They also brought ranch dressing out for my friend’s 8-year-old to put on her salad. Again, I wasn’t a huge fan of the ginger dressing. I love the ginger dressing at Ichiban, but this was somewhat overpoweringly ginger-y. I ate it off of the top layer of my salad and then used the white sauce for the rest of my salad.

The soup-basically chicken bouillon with a few green onions floated in it.

Iceberg salad

The menu included items such as grilled vegetables, sesame chicken, shrimp, and scallops. All menu items were served with zucchini and onions (lunch entrees are served with carrots instead of zucchini). Unfortunately, there was not a lot of diversity to our order, so I don’t have very many pictures to show. We all ordered the filet mignon dinner, which, at $9.95, is a huge bargain over what you would pay at a full-service hibachi restaurant. My friend even changed the doneness of her meat from medium to medium-rare just to be funny since the rest of us ordered ours medium-rare. Soooo, I can only tell you about the filet. But that’s okay.

The food came out pretty quickly, and the meat was done very nicely, which is always impressive because it’s hard enough to get a whole cut of steak perfectly medium-rare, much less meat that is cut into chunks. There was a ton of rice, and the meals automatically come with fried rice (as in, you don’t have to pay extra like you do at the more expensive hibachi restaurants). There were peas and a little bit of corn in the rice (I’m not sure I’ve ever had fried rice with corn in it, but I don’t know. Maybe I have. It was fine, though), and onions and zucchini served on the side. The vegetables were cooked very well-the zucchini was tender without being soggy, and the onions were cooked just to the point that they weren’t quite caramelized but they also were not crispy, which was definitely a deal-maker for me, because, if you’ve read some of my posts, you know that onions that are raw or undercooked make me want to cry, and not because of the fumes. I just can’t deal.

The filet mignon dinner-tell me, what other restaurant is going to serve you filet in any form for $9.95?

Here’s the thing. This was a ton of food. I kind of wish I had just skipped the soup and the salad and saved that stomach space for the entree. It’s not that the soup and salad were bad, but they just weren’t anything to write home about. The main dish, though, was very tasty, and I could have finished it if I hadn’t ended up with a stomachache. I definitely overdid it, which is not something that I do very often, but it does seem easy to do at a hibachi restaurant for some reason. I also ingested copious amounts of the white sauce. At the end of the meal, we were brought a fortune cookie, which always makes me laugh-a Chinese cookie at a Japanese restaurant? Did you know, though, that fortune cookies were actually created right here in the US of A? So really, it’s an American cookie masquerading as a Chinese cookie being served at a Japanese restaurant. But I digress. Anyway, my fortune told me not to oversleep today-that it was going to be a productive day. What? Clearly Confucious did not know that today was Saturday, and I ignored the advice and slept all the way till 8:30 this morning (that’s late, right?). Anyway….

Including the tip, two filet mignon dinners (we drank water) cost us about $27.00. If we had gone to Ichiban, that would have been more like $50 or so. Now, I’m definitely not saying that we’ll be going to Kioto in place of Ichiban. Ichiban, in my opinion, is the gold standard for Hibachi restaurants, but it’s a special occasion sort of place, and we don’t go very often because, honestly, it’s a little weird to sit with people you don’t know. Kioto is a little more expensive than Typhoon, but it’s also infinitely closer to us (less than two miles away!) and we will definitely go back. If you want a show and the atmosphere, spend the money and go to Ichiban. If you just want some tasty hibachi food, save your cash and check out Kioto.

Kioto is located at 8719 Hixson Pike, Hixson, TN 37343 (near the Dallas Bay Bi-Lo). You can call them at 423-521-8444 or 423-521-8445. They are open Sunday-Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. You can call ahead and pick up at their walk-up window. Kioto does not currently have a Facebook page or website. However, they did have take-out menus, so I’ll share it with you!

Kioto on Urbanspoon

The Terminal BrewHouse-August 20, 2011

So….Wednesday was my birthday. Alas, we went out to dinner on Tuesday night because we were short on time and I was craving queso….so on Wednesday I forced myself to use up the eggplants I bought at the farmers market to make eggplant parmesan. Anyway this has been a stressful couple of weeks (school started on the 10th, and the first month of school is always the most stressful!) and I was definitely getting a decent meal out somewhere, although until last night I wasn’t sure where. When I got home from work yesterday, though, Philip showed me a picture of the pimento cheese fritters that he had tried while eating lunch with friends at The Honest Pint. If you’ll remember my Honest Pint post, I mentioned that The Terminal and The Pint are owned by the same people….so that made me start thinking about the terminal, and my mind was made up. Lunch today would be had there.

We’ve been to The Terminal a lot, and we’ve never been disappointed (well, except for the time that we tried to go there with a group of four friends on a Saturday night and couldn’t get seated for an hour…so we had to go elsewhere. That was disappointing). The Terminal BrewHouse is located next to the Chattanooga Choo Choo (THE Terminal) in the Stong (no, there is NOT an R in that word) building, a posh hotel back in the day. It is fully renovated (clearly) with wooden booths and cool tables made from reclaimed pine, a large bar taking center stage downstairs, brick walls, three floors, and a “green roof” where you can sit outside and they often host musical acts.

The Terminal is called a BrewHouse because the are a microbrewery, with six beers brewed on the premises. Their website promises that “the beer you hold in your hand is pulled fresh from the tank,” and also reminds diners that they “do not order more beer, [they] craft more beer,” and therefore some of their beers may be temporarily unavailable. I don’t really drink beer….I don’t really drink alcohol at all….but I have great respect for restaurants that are going out of their way to craft something-anything-from scratch. Great beermaking is a science and an art, and from everyone that I’ve heard from, The Terminal has mastered it.

Since Philip and I started going to The Terminal, I have heard more than one person say, “Isn’t that a bar? I don’t like bar food.” This is not bar food, my friends. This is just good food. The menu is divided into nine sections: beer, appetizers (“Start Me Up”), soup and salad “stylings”, entrees (Market & Main dishes), “outstanding” pizzas, “Galactically Famous BrewHouse Burgers, sandwich shop, sides, and desserts (happy endings). The menu items have funky names, like Mr. Frog’s Super Happy Fun Journey (an appetizer sampler), Navin R. Johnson (a salmon entree), and the FruFru, a grilled chicken, brie, and pear sandwich.

Our server, Jennifer, came to our table within 15.2 seconds and took our drink order, then as she walked back by Philip asked her to bring us an order of FESTO (Feta Basil Pine Nut Olive Oil spread, or Feta Pesto, baked to “gooey perfection” on Niedlov’s bread). The FESTO came out quickly, and we scarfed it down just about as quickly. This stuff is so good. It has the salty briny taste of feta with the nutty bite of pine nuts, all bound together with olive oil, spread on crust bread, baked until the edges are just perfectly crispy, and sprinkled with basil. Oh my. We get this every time we go. I keep thinking that we need to order another appetizer, like Twisted Hummmmmmmus (“Tahini and Garbanzo mixture tweaked out with black bean and roasted red pepper goodness. Served w/ fresh chips and pita bread”) or the BrewHouse Nachos (not on the online menu, these are back by popular demand-slow cooked maple chipotle pot roast, queso, onions, and diced tomatoes on corn chips. I’m thinking that’s more of a meal than an appetizer, and that’s probably how I’ll order it)….but we just can’t ever bring ourselves to not order the FESTO.

Feta Basil Pine Nut Olive Oil Spread: We call it FESTO - Slathered on fresh bread from around the corner and baked to gooey perfection.

It didn’t take me long to decide what I wanted. In fact, I knew what I was going to order before I walked in the door. I gave the menu a quick once-over just in case I changed my mind, but I didn’t. I had been craving a West By God salad for about a month. I couldn’t possibly order anything else. Now, I almost never order salads as my meal in a restaurant. In fact, this is the only one. I’ve never had a salad like this anywhere else (unless you count the copycat that I make at home). The West By God is described in the menu as “Grilled steak and French fries over house greens, candied pecans, tomatoes, onions and bleu cheese. We climbed the mountain and brought down this West Virginia classic (we left the crushing poverty though).” I order it with the Terminal’s housemade Ranch dressing, as recommended by the server the first time I ordered it. I realize that for some, French fries on a salad may seem strange, but don’t knock it till you try it. The combination of grilled steak (it’s shaved before it’s grilled, so it is similar to what you might find on a Philly cheesesteak as opposed to if you grilled it first then sliced it), French fries, and bleu cheese is not to be believed. It’s like a sandwich….on a salad….and the candied pecans are icing on the cake. Of course, I order mine without the onions, because raw onions make me want to cry (and it’s not the automatic eye-watering effect that comes from slicing an onion. I love cooked onions but I HATE raw). The ranch dressing-wow. If you’ve never had ranch dressing that didn’t come from a bottle, I encourage you to try it. Here’s the recipe I use. It’s fresh, herby, and delicious, and it’s the perfect compliment to the wonderful-ness of this salad, which contains delicious bitterness from the mixed greens, grilled spiciness from the steak, warm, salty, crispiness from the hand-cut, skin-on fries, pungent tanginess from the bleu cheese, and sweet toastiness from the pecans. Do you get my point? This salad has so many flavors going on that you might think it would be too much…but it isn’t. It’s a perfect salad. Perfect.

West By God: Grilled steak and French fries over house greens, candied pecans, tomatoes, onions and bleu cheese. We climbed the mountain and brought down this West Virginia classic (we left the crushing poverty though).

Philip took a little bit longer than I did to decide what he was going to order, but not long. He considered the bison burger (which he’s ordered before) and even looked at the Philosopher’s Burger (which is new and not yet on the online menu-ground lamb, seasoned with cinnamon, oregano, shallots, and sea salt, served with feta aioli and candied red onion on a Niedlov’s bun) before settling on a regular beef burger with cheddar cheese and bacon, fully dressed with lettuce, tomato, onion, mustard, and mayo, with hand-cut fries. We always order our burgers here medium. Now, the menu doesn’t point out where the beef comes from, and I didn’t think to ask, but so many of their ingredients are locally sourced that I am going to assume that I can trust their beef. Besides, they have a statement in their menu (I wish I’d written it down!) about the doneness of their burgers. They’ll cook it any way you want it. Medium is the way to go….but then, if you know me, you know I’d rather poke my eye out than eat overcooked beef. Some people are grossed out by pink-ness. I am grossed out by brown-ness, black-ness, charred-ness. What’s the point? But I digress. This burger is just amazing. So far, it’s my favorite burger in town (I love FoodWorks’s burger….but The Terminal has them beaten by a smidge). The handmade Niedlov’s kaiser roll is amazing, the meat is perfect (it’s just the right amount of greasy!)….it’s so fresh, the vegetables are always right. I can’t say enough good things about this burger. It’s also gigantic, so if you order it, prepare to be stuffed because if you’re like me, you won’t be able to leave any on your plate (and you know my rule that I always-almost always, anyway-leave something on my plate).

Galactically Famous BrewHouse Beef Burger: All burgers are ½lb and fully dressed with lettuce, tomato, onions, mustard, and mayo on a Niedlov’s Kaiser. Served with fries or Sweet potato fries.

When we were done, Jennifer tried to tempt us with dessert. Specifically, she tried to tempt us with floats made from Clumpie’s ice cream and beer. Now, that doesn’t sound like my thing, but if you are a beer lover, perhaps it’s yours. People tend to have very strong feelings about mixing/not mixing their beer with things. What does sound tempting, though, is the Brewer’s Wife Stout Bundt Cake. Alas, we were stuffed, and dessert was not to be had. Someday.

If you aren’t in the mood for a burger or salad, I’ve heard great things about (but have yet to try) the pizzas. The stuffed sandwiches are great and made a convert of a friend of mine who for some reason did not like the food on his first visit. The It’s Always Sunny In Philly (cheesesteak) is great, and Philip really liked the Dirty Hippy, a mushroomy vegetarian sandwich.

If you haven’t tried The Terminal BrewHouse, I encourage you to give up your notions of “bad bar food” and give it a try. Tell them Chattavore sent you.  The Terminal 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.

The Terminal Brewhouse on Urbanspoon

Taco Mamacita-August 6, 2011

Saturday night we decided that we were going to go downtown to eat and then pick up groceries at Greenlife after.  Our first thought was to go to The Terminal, but because it was Saturday evening we weren’t too sure how long we’d end up waiting if we went to a more “bar-ish” restaurant.  We tossed around a couple of ideas and then Philip suggested Taco Mamacita.  I had been once, and, to be honest, was not bowled over that first time.  Not that there was anything bad, I just wasn’t dying to go back.  Since Philip hadn’t been, though, I was willing to give it another try-and I’m glad I did.

We got there pretty early-around 5:30 or so-so we didn’t have to wait at all.  We walked right in and got seated, and our server came over immediately, took our drink orders (two waters, of course), and talked to us about the menu.  I had tried their chips and salsa the first time I was there, so we ordered chips and queso.  They came out very quickly.  The chips were hot and fresh, and the cheese sauce was very similar to what you get in more “traditional” Mexican restaurants, but a thicker with a little more complexity to the flavor (look at me throwing out all the fancy terms!).  Still, pretty much standard queso-which is not a bad thing.

Chips and queso

Our server went over the menu with us really quickly when she took our drink orders.  She recommended that if we were really hungry we would probably want to get a salad or enchiladas, which are both a full meal.  Philip’s ears perked when she pointed out the brisket rancheros enchiladas (I believe I have mentioned that he has a thing for brisket) but in the end we both decided that the name of the restaurant isTACO Mamacita, so we wanted to get the namesake.  We each ordered the two tacos and a side meal.

 I decided on the Oy Vey (slow-cooked chipotle beef brisket, topped with ranchero sauce, crispy lettuce, pico de gallo, monterey jack cheese, guacamole, and fresh escabeche), the black bean taco (housemade black bean cake topped with crema, crispy lettuce, pico de gallo, monterey jack cheese, guacamole, and fresh escabeche), and Mexican street corn (off the cob).  Philip decided on the Memphis (slow-braised pork, diced white onion, chopped dill pickle, jalapeno corn slaw, dry rub seasoning, and barbecue sauce) and the Taco Royale (double-stacked taco-yes, as in double decker a la Taco Bell-with roasted chicken, salsa verde, shredded lettuce, pico de gallo, crumbled chorizo, black bean mash, and chipotle cream sauce) with churros beans, which our server described as beans in a vinaigrette.  Those four tacos really just scratched the surface-Taco Mamacita offers fourteen different tacos!

As I mentioned before, I wasn’t totally sold on my first try here.  I guess I ordered the wrong thing!  My tacos were really, really great today.  The chipotle in the brisket gave a really nice smoky flavor, and all the different flavors and textures really worked together.  I wasn’t too sure about a “black bean cake” on a taco, but the server recommended it (she pointed out that the shrimp po’boy BLT taco I was contemplating was “pretty fattening.”  She clearly doesn’t know me!) and I was willing to give it a try.  I wasn’t sad that I did!  It was like a great black bean burger, but on a taco.  The corn was really good, too….but it was corn.  No big news there.  Philip’s “Memphis” taco was simply fantastic.  I will definitely order it when I go back.  It had all the classic barbecue flavors, and the dill pickle really set off the flavor.  I didn’t try the Taco Royale, but Philip said that it was really good.  The charros beans were very interesting-I’ve never had beans in vinaigrette before.  Tasty!

Oy Vey on the left, black bean on the right...

...and again

Taco Royale in front, Memphis in back...

AAAANNNNND again!

By the way, Taco Mamacita serves their tacos on flour tortillas.  I really prefer corn, but I guess with all the toppings flour tortillas hold together a lot better (corn tortillas fall apart if you look at them too hard!).  I was hoping that they were housemade, but my server checked and told me that they buy them.  However, she did point out when she was going over the menu with us that everything is made fresh to order, so if you want them to leave something off (or add something, I presume) they’ll be happy to do so.

I always feel like I should at least mention atmosphere, and with a lot of small local restaurants I feel bad because I am always trying to gloss over the lack of decor.  I don’t feel like it’s necessary to judge a restaurant on its appearance, but Taco Mama definitely has atmosphere.  It’s brightly (but not eye-jarringly) decorated with large pictures on the wall, decorative tabletops, and pendant light fixtures.  There’s also a patio so you can eat outside if you like, but it was so hot that we did not think that was a good idea!  There were families with children there, so I think it’s safe to say that it’s a family-friendly atmosphere (the toddler sitting at the table next to us apparently enjoyed his/her food, as it was all over the floor!).

If you are in the mood for Mexican food with an interesting twist, I’d definitely recommend that you try Taco Mamacita.  They are located at 109 North Market Street, Chattanooga, TN 37405 (the old Durty Nelly’s location).  They can be reached at 423-648-6262.  Check out their website or Facebook page.

Taco Mamacita on Urbanspoon

The Sandwiche Shoppe-July 29, 2011

The Sandwiche Shoppe in Soddy-Daisy is easy to miss, if you don’t know it’s there.  It’s just a restaurant, in a very nondescript brick building, with another store located in the same building.  If you aren’t looking for it, you might drive right by!  I am not sure how long it’s been around; it started in a different location and moved to this location years ago.  We affectionately refer to it as the “sandweesh shoppie” because of the spelling…because we’re silly like that.  And we love the Sandweesh Shoppie, so it truly is affectionate!

The decor at The Sandwiche Shoppe is spare….diner-style tables and chairs, a few pictures hanging on the walls, and a few snapshots on the counter.  It’s okay.  Honestly, I don’t expect a lot of “ambiance” from a restaurant like this.  It’s definitely not an unpleasant atmosphere.  One thing that I really like is that the food prep area is right in the middle of the dining room, surrounded by a counter.  There is no funny business going on, and the proof is right there for you to see!  Of course, my favorite part of the decor is the table of desserts that are pretty much front and center….but more about that in a minute!

The menu is very simple.  Sandwiches, salads, desserts, drinks, and a very limited number of sides.  There are seventeen (yes, seventeen!) sandwiches available, plus a corndog…maybe that fits into the sandwich category?  I’m not so sure about that, but I’m not likely to order a corndog there (or anywhere).  Four salads are available: garden, chef, teriyaki, or cajun chicken.  I haven’t tried the salads, and to be honest, I probably haven’t even looked at the salad menu!  Now that I look at it, though, I need to try the teriyaki!  Sounds good.  But anyway…

The sandwich menu, as I said before, is pretty extensive.  It ranges from standards (BLT, Club, Roast Beef) to more unique or unusual, such as the Muffaletta (I know this is not “unique” but you don’t see this on a lot of menus…it includes Genoa salami, ham, provolone, olive salad, and onion), The Pizza Sub (sauce, cheese, pepperoni, ham, bacon, beef, onion, olives, and jalapenos or pepperoncini), and the Hawaiian Hero (ham, swiss, pineapple, mayo, and lettuce on a honey-wheat bun).  Choose between 14″ ($7.75) or 7″ (4.95); the price includes the sandwich and a side of chips or homemade potato salad (by the way, potato salad, chicken or tuna salad, and pimento cheese can be bought by the pint or half-pint).

On this visit, Philip decided to try the Manna Sub-kind of a Maid-Rite or sloppy Joe sort of sandwich with a twist.  I had eyed that one, but since he decided to order it I decided to take a bite of his and order myself a French dip.  The Manna is described as “perfectly seasoned ground chuck with Swiss and special sauce”.  It was very nicely seasoned, and the sauce was slightly sweet with an unusual flavor (in a good way!).  Philip had the potato salad; I am not really a potato salad fan but I tasted it and it was very good.  The French dip is described as “sliced roast beef, provolone, mayo, and au jus dipping sauce”.  I had chips (original Lays) with mine.  It was great!  The cheese was perfectly melted, there was just a little bit of mayo, and the roast beef tasted great.  The jus was warm…not too salty, not too oily.  The bread on both sandwiches was fresh.  We were impressed.

The Manna Sub

The French Dip

On to desserts…on any given day, when you walk into the Sandwiche Shoppe, you will find an assortment of cakes and pies (usually four or five).  On the day we were there, there was Key Lime cake, Italian Creme cake, chocolate cake, and Hershey chocolate cheesecake.  Some others available are pineapple upside down, red velvet (I must find out when they have this!), and strawberry.  They also offer several pies, such as pecan, key lime, and coconut creme.  We decided to split a slice of chocolate cake for $3.25.  Now, the cakes are gigantic-three layers.  The chocolate cake was super-rich.  It tasted good, but it was just chocolate cake.  I have a feeling I would have been happier with key lime cake-but Philip doesn’t like key lime…oh well.  I wasn’t sad that we got it!  Whole pies can be ordered for $14.00, and whole cakes can be ordered for $24.00-$26.00.

Chocolate Layer Cake

If you are in Soddy-Daisy, please check out The Sandwiche Shoppe.  It’s been around for at least ten years (more, I believe-if anyone knows, let me know!), and to be around that long they must be doing something right.  I have never had anything there that I didn’t like, and every time I go I think that I should go more often.  They also offer catering services.  They do ask for 24 hours notice for catering or whole pies or cakes.

The Sandwiche Shoppe is located at 8855 Dayton Pike, Soddy-Daisy, Tennessee.  They can be reached at 423-332-0320. Their hours are 11:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.


Sandwich Shoppe on Urbanspoon

The Honest Pint-July 9, 2011

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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