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Dominica’s Caribbean Kitchen

December 14, 2016

Dominica’s Caribbean Kitchen is a restaurant in Hixson, Tennessee, serving fresh and delicious Caribbean cuisine in a friendly environment.

A few months ago, I met my friend Becky (who writes A Calculated Whisk) at Noodle & Pho for dinner. As I climbed out of the car, I noticed something new a few doors down: Dominica’s Caribbean Kitchen. My interest was piqued, but a little Facebook research revealed that it wasn’t open just yet. A couple of weeks later, it was open, and people have been mentioning to me that I need to go and write a review ever since.

I like to give new restaurants a couple of months to get their bearings before I check them out, so I just now got around to going. Actually, I was going to go a few weeks ago…and found out that they are not open on Monday. Oops. That’s okay. We went for dinner on a Wednesday, and since we arrived at 5:30, there was only one other table occupied (several others filled while we were dining). We were quickly seated by Dominica (pronounced Dominique-a) herself and our server, Cassara, quickly got us our waters.

We perused the menu for a few minutes considering appetizers. I knew that the jerk items would be too spicy for me, so we considered getting the shrimp fritters. Philip then mentioned that he wished that they had the Jamaican patty on the dinner menu, as he had the Jamaican patty meal when he ate lunch there with a friend and really liked it. Well, the Jamaican patty is on the appetizer menu, so I suggested that we order that for $3.99. Now, a Jamaican patty is not just a patty of meat…it’s spicy ground beef wrapped in a flaky pastry. Dominica’s serves theirs with a slightly spicy chicken au jus. It was quite good, just a little bit spicy but definitely not overly so.

I decided on the coconut shrimp ($13.99) with rice and peas and fried plantains (you choose your own two sides) for my entree. The coconut shrimp was coated with slightly sweet shredded coconut and fried to a perfect golden brown crisp, and it was absolutely delicious. The mango sauce that it was served with was sweet and spicy – the perfect complement to the shrimp. The “peas” in the rice and peas were actually kidney beans. The rice was well cooked and could have used maybe just a touch more salt, but was still good. I was expecting crispier plantains – these were more sautéed than fried. They were tasty, but definitely had a more banana-like texture, so if you don’t care for that, order a different side.

Philip decided to get the West Indies Style Curried Chicken – Tender chicken simmered in a light curry sauce with diced potatoes and fresh bell peppers, served on a bed of steamed rice with grilled island flat bread ($12.99). It was not very spicy, but Dominica mentioned to us that they have toned down the spice a little bit for the Hixson crowd. They do have a spicy bottled sauce (Calypso sauce) on the table for those who would prefer a spicier version, but Philip thought that it took away from the flavors of the curry itself. He really loved the flavors of the curry, which he ate on the flatbread, which was simple but tasty and flaky. He did not care for the plantains (see my note about the texture above).

Our server, Cassara, and Dominica were both friendly and attentive. The restaurant decor is simple but the place is clean and well-kept. The service was very quick and the food was tasty and seemed fresh. The price was a little bit more than I expected but I did not think it was exorbitant, and I love that there’s another option for something a little unusual in Hixson.

If you’re looking for something different, try Dominica’s Caribbean Kitchen!

Dominica’s Caribbean Kitchen is located at 5450 Highway 153 Suite 164, Hixson, TN 37343. They are open Tuesday – Saturday, 11:30 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. and 5:00 – 9:00 p.m. and Sunday 11:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. You can call them at 423-475-6916. For more information, you can check out Dominica’s Caribbean Kitchen’s website or find Dominica’s Caribbean Kitchen on Facebook. You can also follow @dominicas.caribbean.kitchen on Instagram and @dscaribbean on Twitter.

Happy Birthday, Tremont Tavern!

December 7, 2016

Chattanooga’s most popular burger spot, Tremont Tavern, turns 10 this month. They’re celebrating with a weekend full of fun!

When I decided to write a top burgers in Chattanooga list, I discovered just how passionate Chattanoogans are about burgers. Honestly, I was a little taken aback by how strongly people felt about their burgers. It was an eye-opening experience.

Over and over again, I have been told (or read, or otherwise heard) that Tremont Tavern has the best burger in town. Indeed, it is one of my favorites too, and with good reason. Huge burgers made from house-ground beef with any number of toppings – how could you go wrong? Plus, there’s the whole tavern/place where everybody knows your name vibe.

Dustin Choate, Tremont Tavern’s owner, set out in 2006 to create a new beginning for himself after a dissatisfying stint in the corporate world. We all know about restaurant failure rates, and at the time that Tremont opened, the area wasn’t exactly a prime restaurant location. It would seem that the odds were stacked against the survival of a hole-in-the-wall dive bar in a previously vacant building…but the odds can be wrong. And wrong they were.

Instead, Tremont turned into a destination for Chattanoogans and out-of-towners alike. What started as a tiny two-room bar has more than doubled in size – but that doesn’t mean there’s a lot of space. That just means more people can squeeze in, and squeeze in they do. On a recent visit, Philip and I could only find seating at the minibar in front of the windows – there wasn’t a table to be had.

It’s pretty much undeniable that Tremont Tavern set the bar for burgers in this town. They’ve not only won local accolades, being voted the Best Burger for the 2016 Times Free Press Best of the Best, but they’ve also been recognized in Garden and Gun as one of the best burgers in the South. The burgers and the beer are not the only good things about Tremont, though – they have a small but varied and well-crafted menu and everything on it is good, as far as I can tell. The fish and chips and Reuben that we had on our recent jaunt certainly were.

And the atmosphere is pretty much unmatched. Like Waffle House, Tremont Tavern is one of those places that everyone just fits in, regardless of who you are. It might be a tavern, but it’s cool to take the kids; everyone in the neighborhood does it, for sure. It’s just as great of a place for a casual date or a night out with friends, though.

Tremont Tavern is turning 10 this month. They’ll be celebrating Friday and Saturday (12/9 and 12/10) with food and drink specials and live music from Mike McDade, Gabriel Newell and Jordan Hallquist & The Outfit on Friday and BJ Hightower, Slim Pickins, TJ Greever and Danimal Pinson on Saturday. Don’t miss your chance to stop by and say happy birthday! And be sure to have a burger while you’re there.

Tremont Tavern is located at 1203 Hixson Pike, Chattanooga, TN 37405. They are open Monday 4 p.m. to 12 a.m., Tuesday – Thursday, 11:30 a.m. to 1 a.m., Friday, 11:30 a.m. to 2 a.m., Saturday, 12 p.m. to 2 a.m., and Sunday, 12 p.m. to 12 a.m. You can call Tremont Tavern at (423) 266-1996. You can find more information about Tremont Tavern on their website or their Facebook page.

BiBa’s Italian Restaurant

November 30, 2016

BiBa’s Italian Restaurant in Hixson, Tennessee offers a variety of tasty Italian favorites at fair prices – including $10 off your meal on your birthday.

I have a little obsession with Italian food going on right now. Has anyone noticed? Starting with Boccaccia this summer, then Hummingbird Pastaria a few weeks ago, and now BiBa’s. BiBa’s was an early Chattavore stop, so you can read my first post about them if you keep scrolling, but I thought I’d update with some fresh pictures.

Philip and I went to BiBa’s for dinner last Monday night. There wasn’t much of a wait when we arrived at about 5:30, though the restaurant was filling up by the time we left a little under an hour later. Our server, Brooke, was quick to get our drinks to us and take our order, because it didn’t take us long to decide what to order. She quickly brought our rolls, then our salads. BiBa’s rolls are definitely the stuff of legend…fluffy knots coated with garlicky oil and parmesan cheese. These seemed a little smaller than usual, but they were as tasty as ever. Carry breath mints when you plan to eat these rolls. I love the Caesar salad at BiBa’s. The lettuce is always fresh and cut nicely, and the creamy housemade Caesar dressing is so tasty. They put plenty of cheese in it, too (though this one could have used a few more croutons).

I’ll go ahead and apologize for the fact that I ordered the exact same thing on this visit as I did on my last visit. I am basically incapable of ordering anything else when I go to BiBa’s. I mean, I’ve had other things, and I’ve liked them all…but tortellini Gabrielle just lures me in almost every time. What’s not to love about cheese tortellini coated in a thick layer of cream sauce and mozzarella, with just a touch of tomato sauce? I am sure that there is nothing authentic about it, and certainly nothing healthy about it, but when you need some comfort food, this provides all the fat and carbs that you need. I realize that the picture leaves a lot to be desired…I do think that they should work on their plating skills.

Philip decided to go for the chicken Francesca, which has emerged as his favorite meal on the BiBa’s menu. Lightly breaded chicken breast, sautéed then tossed in a lemony sauce and served over angel hair (or spaghetti or fettuccine, your choice) is hard to beat. It’s a generous portion, as I’ve found with pretty much all I’ve ever ordered here. We both had our leftovers for lunch the next day (and Brooke even brought us a second basket of rolls, which we packed right on up in our to-go boxes). Like mine, Philip’s could have used a little “flair”, like a sprinkle of parsley, to make the picture pop, and maybe a vegetable side. It was tasty and well-cooked, though.

Brooke was a great server. She was extremely attentive, keeping our drinks filled and clearing our dishes quickly. The prices are pretty average – $32.67 pre-tip (there’s a bit of an upcharge for Caesar salad versus house salad) – especially considering that we got two meals out of this. Would I call it the best Italian food I’ve ever eaten? No, nor the most authentic. However, it tastes good and it’s close to my house. It’s definitely a good dinner option when you’re eating in Hixson.

BiBa’s is located at 5918 Hixson Pike, Hixson, TN 37343. They are open Sunday, 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Friday-Saturday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. You can call BiBa’s at (423) 843-0001. You can find more information on BiBa’s Facebook page or on their website.

Original Post

Did you know that BiBa’s in Hixson offers $10.00 off on your birthday dinner? Well, technically, it’s a “free dinner” up to $10….so let’s just say it’s $10 off.

Anyway, that’s how we ended up there. It was the birthday of one of our friends, and she decided that she preferred to go to BiBa’s rather than the, um, other Italian restaurant in Chattanooga that offers a free birthday dinner. We were invited to go along, and since a BiBa’s blog post had been planned anyway and we had a coupon, we took the offer.

We arrived at 4:45 p.m., and let me tell you, that’s the time to go! If you go on a Friday or Saturday night or Sunday after church, be prepared to wait. Weeknights aren’t so bad….but when we arrived there was only one other table with guests seated. Our server, Callen (who also happens to go to our church), quickly brought out our drinks. We arrived a few minutes before our friends, and that gave me time to talk myself out of the specials-chicken ponza (chicken with mushrooms, garlic, and artichokes served with pasta with lemon butter sauce) or spinach ravioli (with broccoli and carrots and alfredo sauce) and decide instead on my favorite menu item, tortellini Gabrielle (cheese tortellini with alfredo sauce and a touch of marinara). Philip decided on shrimp scampi. Meals at BiBa’s come with a house salad, but we each added a Caesar for $1.50 extra. Our friends decided on chicken parmesan and fettucine alfredo.

The best, and I do mean the best thing about BiBa’s is the rolls. I mean, the other stuff is good….but the rolls-wow. Housemade knots brushed with garlic butter and sprinkled with parmesan. Very delicious. And they are very forthcoming with the rolls, which is always a plus. At some restaurants you have to fight over who is going to get the last roll in the basket. Philip and I usually end up cutting it in half (bread is ~~our~~ my weakness) but at BiBa’s they always bring out two for every person at the table and happily refresh your basket when you are “getting low.”

I do believe these rolls will be in Heaven!

The Caesar salad at BiBa’s is also fantastic. The dressing is housemade. It’s very different from the Caesar dressing that I make at home, mainly because it is creamy, but you can definitely taste the different components that make up a good Caesar dressing…the garlic, the salty brininess from the anchovy (no, it doesn’t taste fishy) or the Worchestershire sauce (which is what I use at home-much easier to keep around). Their croutons are not soggy but not so hard that you need to get dental work after eating them. I don’t know about the parmesan that they use, and that’s my only issue. I should have asked the server but didn’t think to. Of course, you know that I am a parm snob and buy blocks of Parmigiano-Reggiano at the grocery store that I then grate over everything. The parm served here is definitely the powdery kind….but mixed into everything I can’t tell if it is the fresh powdery kind or if it’s the bulk jarred kind that I remember so well scooping into shakers when I worked at Chuck E. Cheese’s. It’s fine, though. Everything tastes really good, so I’m not too worried about it.

Yummy Caesar salad!

Another advantage of arriving at your dinner destination at 4:45 p.m. is that your food comes out very quickly. Philip and I were starving, so we pretty much Hoovered our salads, and as we set the bowls over to the edge of the table, Callen arrived with the entrees. Now, I love, love, love cheese tortellini, and I also love alfredo sauce. Marinara sauce=not my favorite, but I really love how the small amount that they use to top the tortellini Gabrielle mixes with the alfredo, which is made on the premises. It’s one of the best alfredos I’ve ever had…nice and thick and not too salty. They don’t say this on the menu, but there is also mozzarella on top of the pasta. Yum! Unfortunately, the tortellini isn’t made on site (I asked on a previous visit). I guess you can’t have everything.

Tortellini Gabrielle: Cheese tortellini with alfredo sauce and a touch of marinara (and mozzarella!). That’s the marinara in the middle-not oil (which is what it looks like)!

Shrimp scampi is a dish that I love to make at home-shrimp sauteed in a garlic butter and white wine sauce served over linguini. Philip’s pasta was very fresh with a good balance of garlic and white wine flavor. I tried to get more out of him, but he doesn’t write this blog and I guess he’s not as much with the words about the food as I am. Ha. Anyway, he said it was extremely tasty and he would definitely order again. I didn’t want to grill our friends about their meal, but I did take pictures for you to see. By the way, the portions are huge, so you will probably take some home with you-like we did. You should know, though, that when you reheat your leftovers….you will see all the oil from the sauce. If you are like me, you will drain it off. Tasty, but not lowfat. Fine by me.

Shrimp Scampi: shrimp sauteed in a garlic butter and wine sauce over a bed of linguini

Fettucine Alfredo

Chicken Parmesan

BiBa’s also serves pizza, which I have never had….but they look very good. And they are served on a lovely silver cake pedestal, so the presentation is very nice. The ambiance is very nice in the restaurant, with dark colors, nice paint and pictures, a wood bar (separated by a wall from the dining room) and bottles of wine on the table to gently “suggest” that customers buy a bottle. In my opinion, BiBa’s is much better than the national pasta chains around Chattanooga. We don’t go there often, but then we don’t go to many restaurants (Chick-fil-A aside) very often. Give BiBa’s a try!

BiBa’s is located at 5918 Hixson Pike, Hixson, TN 37343, in front of Publix. They can be reached at 423-843-0001. Check out their website or their Facebook page.

St. Elmo Deli & Grill

November 23, 2016

St. Elmo Deli & Grill offers salads, burgers, hot and cold sandwiches, and wraps for lunch and dinner (on weeknights) near the Incline.

Philip’s new work schedule has really thrown off our Saturdays of late. For nearly 15 years, he didn’t work on Saturdays. Now…he works on Saturdays. He loves his job, so I’m not complaining, but it has definitely made visiting some restaurants challenging (never mind the fact that I have to have a snack before he gets home lest I get hangry).

St. Elmo Deli is one of those restaurants. A friend had recommended St. Elmo Deli a while back, so I’ve been wanting to go. They close at 4:00 on Saturdays, and we hate to go into restaurants near closing time. Since he usually doesn’t get home until 3:15 or 3:30, it’s hard to make it to St. Elmo before 4:00. Last Sunday, though, we went to Finley Stadium for my nephew’s football game (they won the Scenic City Championship) and headed over to St. Elmo Deli afterward.

The place was basically dead when we got there around 2:30. There was a family finishing up when we arrived but they left shortly after we got there and we were all alone. I didn’t notice the stash of takeout menus by the register, so we stood and stared at the huge chalkboard wall until we decided what to order. They serve salads, vegetarian sandwiches, burgers, hot pressed sandwiches, wraps, and toasted sandwiches.

I considered getting a Reuben (and after we ordered, I kind of wished that I had so we could compare it to others around town) but instead I ordered a Philly Cheese Wrap for $8.50 plus and additional $1 for fries (chips are included in the price of the wrap). The Philly cheese wrap is roast beef, provolone cheese, portobello mushrooms, sautéed peppers and onions, and horseradish cream sauce wrapped up in a jalapeño-cheddar wrap. The flavors were spot on and the cheese nice and melty. I loved the way that the horseradish cream complemented the other flavors in the wrap. I was disappointed that there was a lot of fat in the meat, though…I ended up having to pull a lot of it out of my mouth. The fries were frozen; I thought that my friend had recommended the fries but as we were leaving I noticed that the chips are housemade chips and thought that must have been what she recommended. You guys know I love a good housemade chip. The fries were good, but they were just standard frozen fries.

Philip decided to go for the bacon cheeseburger ($9), the price of which included either fries or chips (he chose fries). The bacon cheeseburger included two beef patties, cheddar cheese, and thick-cut bacon on a Bluff View pretzel bun. He was impressed by the burger, which was nicely crispy and just a little bit greasy, not in a bad way – just the way you expect a pan-fried or griddled burger to be. The pretzel bun was a nice package to serve it up in.

The atmosphere at St. Elmo Deli is, well, deli-like. Simple decor, clean, basic. The food was pretty good, aside from that unfortunate fat in my sandwich. The prices were about what I’d expect from a deli in this area, at $20.21.

If you are looking for a deli sandwich or a burger in the St. Elmo area, St. Elmo Deli is a solid option.

St. Elmo Deli & Grill is located at 3931 St. Elmo Avenue, Chattanooga, TN 37409. They are open Monday – Friday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sunday, 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. You can call them at 423-825-5555. For more information, you can check out St. Elmo Deli’s website or find St. Elmo Deli & Grill on Facebook.

Champy’s Chicken East Brainerd

November 16, 2016

The East Brainerd location of Champy’s Chicken serves up the same fried chicken & Mississippi Delta favorites of their other locations in a fun atmosphere.

Champy’s Chicken has been around in the downtown Chattanooga area for quite some time, and it’s been a few years since I wrote about that location. Located near the campus of UTC, it’s a pretty popular spot, and no doubt people in the East Brainerd area were pretty excited when another location opened on Lee Highway.

Philip and I decided to check out the new Champy’s Chicken on a Saturday afternoon around 4:00 p.m. It was pretty crowded, but we only waited about ten minutes for a table – not too bad considering that there were multiple large parties waiting to be seated.

The Champy’s Chicken East Brainerd location is just as “dive-y” as the downtown location, with lots of graffiti on the wall and defaced dollar bills stuck everywhere (shhhh, don’t tell the Treasury). There are indoor and outdoor seating areas, both filled with people from all walks of life. We were seated inside and our server, Katz, brought our waters to us while we checked out the menu.

When I did my original review of the downtown Chattanooga Champy’s, they didn’t serve fried pickles but rather fried pickled green tomatoes. They no longer serve the fried pickled green tomatoes, but they do serve fried pickles and fried green tomatoes. We decided to try out the fried pickles, which are spears coated in a batter similar (maybe the same as?) their fried chicken coating and served with ranch dressing for dipping. Now, you guys know that fried pickles are my favorite, but I prefer chips to spears. My main reasons for this are that you can eat the whole chip at once and not lose the batter, and you’re much less likely to burn the roof of your mouth on pickle chips. The fried pickle spears were good, though. Unlike the pickle spears served at many restaurants, these were hand-breaded. They were fried crispy and golden, and the coating was crunchy and a little spicy.

It has been a long time since I ordered chicken tenders and fries at a restaurant, but I decided to check out Champy’s Chicken’s version of chicken tenders. Their chicken tenders basket includes 4 breaded and fried chicken breast tenders and French fries, served with Champy’s sauce. The chicken was crispy, and like the pickles, a little bit spicy. The fries, while I’m pretty sure were frozen, were still pretty good and had a little bit of a smoky seasoning on them. Champy’s sauce was similar to Chick-Fil-A sauce, like a combination of honey mustard and barbecue sauce. The chicken tenders were huge, so I only ate two and took the other two home (we ate them on biscuits for breakfast the next day).

Philip decided to go for the Mississippi Delta Farm-Raised Catfish plate, which was several pieces of cornmeal-breaded catfish fried till crisp and lightly golden, with fries, coleslaw, hush puppies, and tartar sauce. The catfish was tasty, a little spicy, albeit kind of “fishy” (I know it sounds ironic to say that fish is fishy, but you know what I mean) – I think of catfish as a kind of fishy fish, though. Philip liked the coleslaw but it was, well, coleslaw. I ate the hush puppies, and they were very good – spicy with jalapeno and just a little bit sweet.

Our server was very friendly, and the service was quick. Do they serve the best fried chicken in town? Probably not (I have yet to make it to Lamar’s, which is rumored to serve the best). It’s not the cheapest, either – our pre-tip total including the fried pickles (which were a bit pricey in the $9 range), the chicken tenders basket, the catfish, and a beer was $40.36. But the food is good, and the atmosphere is fun and good for everyone from families to college students.

For tasty fried chicken and a great atmosphere, check out Champy’s Chicken East Brainerd.

Champy’s Chicken East Brainerd is located at 6925 Lee Highway, Chattanooga, TN 37421. They are open Sunday – Thursday, 10:30 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. and Friday – Saturday, 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 a.m. You can call them at 423-803-2800. You can find more information about Champy’s Chicken on their website or on their Facebook page.

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