Southern & Barbecue Archives

2 Sons Kitchen

November 22, 2017

2 Sons Kitchen and Market, owned by Chef Nathan Flynt of Famous Nater’s food truck fame, serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner in Downtown Chattanooga.

I’ve been meaning to get down to Nathan Flynt’s (of Famous Nater’s fame) new restaurant ever since it opened earlier this year. We don’t get out much, at least not during the week. When 2 Sons Kitchen first opened they were not open late on Saturdays, which meant that we weren’t going to make it since Philip was working every Saturday morning.

Ironically, they are now open later in the afternoon and evening on Saturday but I actually visited for brunch. Becky from A Calculated Whisk and I like to meet for coffee or lunch or dinner or whatever excuse we can make to get together from time to time, so we decided to do some brunching at 2 Sons Kitchen. By the way, breakfast/brunch is served until 10:30 a.m. on weekdays but until 3 p.m. on Saturdays.

When you enter 2 Sons Kitchen, you grab a menu off of the counter (specials are listed on a blackboard on the wall as well) and order from a cashier. You are given a number, you choose a table, and your food is brought to your table.

The promise of a homemade biscuit is really all I need to be happy, and if there is chicken on it, even better. I didn’t even have to think about my order of a fried chicken biscuit ($4) with a hash brown ($2) on the side, plus a coffee ($2.50 because I wanted a lot of coffee). Unfortunately, the cashier misheard my order of “chicken biscuit” for “bacon biscuit” so that’s what came out at first, but the mistake was quickly corrected and I got my oversized fried chicken biscuit with a drizzle of hot sauce and housemade pickles. The pickles and the fried chicken batter were both just a little spicy, and paired with the hot sauce it made for a pretty spicy biscuit sandwich (I would have actually preferred for the hot sauce to be served on the side as indicated on the menu, but it was still delicious). Nathan cuts his biscuits with a knife instead of cutting them with biscuit cutters, which results in having to work the dough less and therefore a more tender biscuit (this is the trick I use, too). The biscuit was pretty perfect – flaky and tender…I consider myself an expert biscuit maker and I was definitely impressed. The hash brown was incredibly brown and crispy, well seasoned, and SO good. I could have eaten nothing but hash browns.

Becky went for the quiche of the day ($6.50), which was listed as a wild mushroom quiche but turned out to be a kale and cheese quiche. Since there were greens in the quiche, she subbed hash browns for the mixed greens with lemon vinaigrette. She said that the quiche was very tasty but she did feel that it could have been just a little bit warmer, and while she liked the greens in the quiche she was disappointed that they didn’t have the wild mushroom quiche. She too really liked the crispy hash brown.

The service at 2 Sons Kitchen was great; all of the employees that we encountered were very friendly. The atmosphere was great – very clean, bright, and modern. The only issue was with my biscuit and that was quickly addressed. The prices were very good – the total for my biscuit, a hash brown, a 16-ounce coffee, and the quiche + side was $16.39 + tax. I definitely recommend 2 Sons Kitchen for breakfast, and knowing Nathan’s cooking, I’m going to take bet that it’s a great place for lunch or dinner as well.

2 Sons Kitchen and Market is located at 422 E. MLK Boulevard, Chattanooga, Tennessee, 37403. They are open Monday – Wednesday, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Thursday – Saturday, 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Breakfast is served until 10:30 a.m. daily except on Saturdays, when it is served until 3 p.m. You can call 2 Sons Kitchen at 423-661-8709. For more information, you can check out their website, www.2sonskitchen.com. You can also follow 2 Sons Kitchen on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Thatcher’s BBQ (Ringgold, Georgia)

October 4, 2017

Thatcher’s BBQ in Ringgold, GA, is serving up delicious smoked meats in all of your favorite BBQ restaurant standards and a few unexpected favorites!

As the sun glinted in through the glass door, I wondered if we should move or maybe I should put on my sunglasses. Squinting at my menu, I decided against it, seeing as the tiny dining room at Thatcher’s BBQ was pretty much jam-packed at 4:00 in the afternoon. Only one other small (4-seater) table was available, so I decided that the sun would move soon. We stayed where we were.

I didn’t catch our server’s name, and since it’s been a couple of months since I wrote a restaurant post, I forgot to ask. She got our waters to us quickly, keeping our styrofoam cups full to the brim the whole time we were there and offering us to-go lids as we paid our tab. She gave us a few minutes to peruse the menu, which I’d already been stalking online. I was pretty sure I knew what I wanted, until I wasn’t.

When a reader (aka superfan: Hi Michelle!) suggested Thatcher’s a few months back, I made a mental note to get there eventually. I didn’t check out the menu immediately, but if I had I probably would have gone there, well, right away. Barbecue restaurants around here have pretty standard offerings: sandwiches, plates, perhaps stuffed potatoes. Thatcher’s BBQ has all of that, but they have some pretty non-standard options too.

A glance at the menu online revealed several salads, and not just some iceberg lettuce with a drizzle of dressing and a little smoked meat on the side…the salads here will make you want to eat your veggies. They have all the standard sandwiches, of course, but lots of others, too: burgers, fried chicken sandwiches, a smoked bologna sandwich. They also have handful of creatively topped hot dogs.

My eyes were drawn, however, to the shovels and buckets. Not literal shovels and buckets, mind you – at Thatcher’s BBQ, a shovel is a pile of white corn tortilla chips topped with your choice of meat, melted cheddar, and other toppings, depending on the type of “shovel” that you get (I was eying the BBQ Oink Shovel, with smoked pork, baked beans, BBQ sauce, and coleslaw). A bucket is basically the same thing, except with tots instead of tortilla chips.

For those of you who, like me, are dying to see these dishes, well…sorry to disappoint you. After Philip decided to get something with pulled pork on it, I decided to go for a different meat, because, well, the meat is the most important part of a BBQ restaurant. I decided on the Brick House Spud, with shredded smoked brisket, cheddar cheese, butter, BBQ sauce, and sour cream. Um, not a mistake. The spud was gigantic and loaded up with toppings, including some of the best brisket I’ve ever eaten. Dang, that stuff was tender, and SO flavorful.

Muttering about how he was probably going to live to regret it, Philip settled on the Ole Hickory Cheeseburger, with a 5 ounce hamburger patty (it’s also available in a half pound), smoked pork, melted cheddar cheese sauce, and BBQ sauce. Meat and cheese heaven on a bun, y’all. It was super flavorful and not overloaded with toppings, so I don’t think that he lived to regret it, though he didn’t finish the whole thing. He did mention that he would have preferred it with just regular cheese instead of cheese sauce, as the cheese sauce made it a little more “goopy”.

Now, great fried okra is like my BBQ restaurant white whale…every BBQ restaurant serves fried okra, but I’ve yet to find one that was up to my standards. I had to try to fried okra, as I’d seen lots of raves about it on Yelp, but found that it was the same thickly coated frozen fried okra that I find at pretty much every other BBQ restaurant. If you guys know of a BBQ restaurant that is serving hand-breaded okra, please let me know! They are, however, making their own (delicious) BBQ sauce, which, when that is inexplicably rare among BBQ restaurants, totally redeems them for the frozen okra.

I’m glad I found Thatcher’s BBQ (thanks again, Michelle), because I will definitely go back. It’s a little bit of a drive since we don’t live anywhere near North Georgia, but it’s not too far from the shop so it’s feasible for takeout on an evening I’m working or if I meet Philip after a morning shift. Reasonable prices, great food, and a friendly staff make it worth a visit.

Thatcher’s BBQ is located at 2929 US-41, Ringgold, GA, 30736. They are open Tuesday – Saturday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. You can call them at 706-935-6465. For more information, you can check out their website, thatchersbbq.com/location/ringgold/ (by the way, there are other locations: Chickamauga, Trenton, and Calhoun. I will probably try the Chickamauga location next time). You can also find Thatcher’s BBQ on Facebook and on Instagram.

Farm to Fork (Ringgold, GA)

June 7, 2017

Farm to Fork is a popular restaurant in Ringgold, Georgia that serves fresh, homemade, Southern-style food in a friendly environment.

Every once in a while, I will actually go to a new restaurant and decide not to blog about them, for no reason other than it just doesn’t fit into my schedule at the moment. This was the case when I first tried Farm to Fork in 2014. I was getting ready to start a new job, car shopping (the kind of car shopping that involves watching YouTube videos, reading Consumer Reports, and generally doing everything you can to make sure you choose the right car), and kind of losing my mind. I really liked the food but just couldn’t quite get myself in the mindset to write about them. I think I even took pictures! I definitely did not intend to take three years to get back down there.

Philip and I drove down to exit 348 this past Saturday to give it another go. The current location of Farm to Fork is in a strip mall behind the Ringgold Cracker Barrel. They have two parcels of the strip, between Rock Bridge Church and the Rock Bridge offices. The space is warmly decorated, with wood tables and country-style decor on the walls. A bar serving beer and wine is in one space with tin (or faux tin, I didn’t get close enough to tell) tiles on the wall. We arrived at around 1:00 and while it was still fairly crowded from the lunch rush, we were seated in a booth immediately.

Usually I am really good about getting our servers’ names, and if I forget, the name is usually on the receipt. This time, I didn’t, and it wasn’t. Our server was a sweet girl with curly dark hair. It took her a few minutes to get to us, since it was so busy, but she was very apologetic and we were not in a rush. She got our waters and took our appetizer order. We decided to try some fried green tomatoes ($7.00); they also have fried pickles, an appetizer portion of onion rings, and pimento cheese with pita points, along with a few other apps. The fried green tomatoes were served with a dressing on the side. The menu didn’t indicate what it was but I think it was a Russian/Thousand Island sort of deal – creamy and a little orange/pink, a little tangy and sweet. The fried green tomatoes were coated with a panko crumb coating and crisply fried, well seasoned. They were very good; my only suggestion would be that they could have been blotted a little bit before plating – there was a lot of oil on the plate.

The menu includes appetizers, soups and salads, entrees, burgers, baskets, and sandwiches. For my entree, I vacillated back and forth between the pulled pork tacos (2 tacos and fries for $7.95, or another side for an additional $1) and the loaded chicken breast ($11). I ended up deciding on the chicken, which was an 8-ounce grilled chicken breast topped with barbecue sauce, bacon, and cheddar cheese, served with a choice of 2 sides. I decided to go for the hand-cut fries and a side salad (which is an additional $1.50). The salad was made with mixed greens, bacon, and shredded cheddar cheese, served with Farm to Fork’s homemade dressing; I decided on ranch. The salad was excellent – very fresh, with real bacon (not bits) – and the dressing was delicious. My salad actually got to the table before the fried green tomatoes, so I ended up dipping some bites of my fried green tomatoes into the ranch dressing.👍🏻

The chicken breast was well grilled, with a great grilled flavor but still juicy. It had enough sauce and toppings to give it good flavor without overwhelming the flavor of the chicken itself. The fries were very thick cuts – I would almost call them potato planks – and I was honestly a little concerned that they would not be done all the way through. I needn’t have worried. They were perfectly soft in the middle, just a little crispy around the edges, and perfectly hot and well seasoned. They were excellent dipped in the smoked mayo that Philip got for his onion rings.

Philip contemplated getting the hamburger steak entree ($11) but decided instead to get the jalapeño, bacon, and cheddar burger. This burger is a gigantic (half pound!) burger grilled and served on a bakery bun with cheddar cheese, bacon, and fried jalapeños ($12.25). The grilled flavor was excellent, and the portion of fried jalapeños was very generous (I had to dodge them to take a bite). He ordered onion rings as his side; the onion rings come with a side of jalapeño ketchup or smoked mayo, but we paid and additional 25 cents to get both. The jalapeño ketchup was fairly standard – ketchup with a little bit of a jalapeño flavor/bite – but the smoked mayo was fantastic – mayo with a smoky hit. Philip didn’t care for the batter-dipped onion rings and ended up eating quite a few of my fries, but I really liked them. I love light, battered onion rings, and these were well cooked and well-seasoned. I think that Philip might have just been on fried food overload.

I regret that I didn’t pay any attention to the dessert menu, because I would have loved to take some of their Hawaiian cake or coconut cake home (they also have banana pudding, brownies, and floats). But, alas, I didn’t, so I will have to make it a point to go back sooner than three years from now…even more so because they will be moving into a new space soon. Sometime hopefully in July, they will be moving a little farther north into a much larger, free-standing location off of exit 350, where they will be able to have patio seating, space for large groups, opportunities for live music, and a full bar.

Our total, pre-tip, was 34.24. Our server was very friendly and much more apologetic than needed for a little bit of a wait for our food. The food was very good and everything was very fresh – nothing frozen or packaged. No matter where they are located, Farm to Fork is worth the drive to North Georgia for some great food!

Farm to Fork is located at 118 Remco Shops Lane, Ringgold, GA 30736. They are open Monday – Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday – Saturday, 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. (they serve breakfast these days), and Sunday 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. You can call Farm to Fork at (706) 937-3675. You can find out more about Farm to Fork on their website, FarmToForkGA.com, and you can also follow Farm to Fork on Facebook.

Henpecked Chicken

June 1, 2017

Henpecked Chicken is a restaurant in downtown Chattanooga that serves smoked or fried chicken and boasts “sober chicken and drunken milkshakes”.

Okay, let me know start by saying that I usually give restaurants two or three months to be open before I write about them. The folks from Henpecked, though, had invited me first to the soft opening, which ended up being cancelled, then to a little media party they had. I at first accepted the invite to the media party then canceled because I had family in for just a few days. I promised I’d get in ASAP to try out their chicken, and Sunday proved to be the day.

We had thought about going to the Chattanooga Market, but it had rained and it was sooooo muggy, then I saw a picture of the crowd on Instagram and that sealed the (no) deal. Philip was curious about Henpecked so we decided to make good on my word.

It was around 1:00 on Sunday afternoon when we arrived and while the place was nowhere near empty, there was no one in line. We perused the menu for a bit (you can grab a paper menu from a little pocket hanging on the half wall or look at the big menu boards on the wall) and the cashier, Lauren, kindly answered our questions, explaining to me that the drunken milkshakes could be ordered at the bar and also explaining that, because it was our first time in, we got free house made frozen custard (👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻). We placed our order and took our number to our table. Our food was out in less than five minutes.

I decided on the Coop sandwich ($10) – a fried chicken thigh served on a soft bun with pimento cheese, Henpecked sauce, jalapeño bacon, and sweet pickles. The sandwich was huge…I ended up eating only half of it in order to save space for my frozen custard (because yes, I drank probably over half of the milkshake and ate the free frozen custard). The breading on the chicken was delicious and a little bit spicy. The pimento cheese was creamy and pretty traditional. Henpecked sauce was similar to Zax sauce or another slightly smoky, peppery dipping sauce, and the jalapeño bacon was, well, hot, at least for my pedestrian tastebuds. I had the crinkle cut fries on the side plus a side of Alabama white sauce. The fries were pretty standard crinkle cuts…a little crispy but still a little soft. The white sauce was spicier than what I make at home with a more vinegary hit than mine, which is more horseradish and garlic.

Philip decided on the 1/4 Nashville hot chicken ($9.50) with a side of cheddar grits and fries (he initially asked for coleslaw but was told that they were out – a sign over the counter asks for understanding when they run out of their homemade sides). The hot chicken was served in the traditional way – on a piece of thick white bread, which he didn’t touch (he never does). The quarter chicken was a leg and a thigh, and while it was well-cooked and he didn’t not like it, he said that he probably wouldn’t order it again. Essentially, because the sauce that coats Nashville hot chicken is oil-based, he feels like it makes the chicken a little more greasy than he prefers. He liked my sandwich more than his chicken, and enjoyed the fries and the grits though he felt that the grits could have used more cheese.

As for the frozen treats, it was worth a trip just for those. My Bushwacker drunken milkshake ($9.83), with homemade custard, Kahlua, creme de cacao, and dark rum, was delicious, albeit maybe a little dangerous because it didn’t taste alcoholic at all. That said, it might not have contained that much alcohol, so unless you can down several milkshakes you’ll probably be just fine. The bartender, Wes, described it to me as “basically a mudslide” but I describe it as “basically fantastic”. The frozen custard that we got for free for being first timers was amazing as well. It is only available in one flavor (vanilla) but if you get it in a bowl you can also get strawberry or chocolate syrup on it (the syrups are homemade as well). It was creamy and custardy (duh) and had a deep vanilla flavor. I would have preferred a sugar cone to a cake cone (I’ve never cared for cake cones) but it was free and hey, beggars can’t be choosers!

Henpecked Chicken is a tasty, casual restaurant that serves a variety of chicken dishes at reasonable prices, and their ice cream (ahem, frozen custard) is worth a visit. Their staff was extremely friendly. We’ll definitely make a trip back.

Henpecked Chicken is located at 405 Market Street, Chattanooga, TN. They are open Monday – Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Friday – Sunday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. You can call Henpecked Chicken at (423) 710-1951. You can find out more about Henpecked Chicken on their website, henpeckedchicken.com or on their Facebook page. You can also follow @henpecked423 on Twitter and on Instagram.

Rock City and Café 7

May 5, 2017

Perhaps Chattanooga’s most famous attraction, Rock City is beautiful, kitschy, and fun. And Café 7 offers delicious food at totally reasonable prices!

Welcome to my first Chattanooga tourism post! I mean, I guess Chattavore has always been about Chattanooga tourism, what with my focus on locally-owned Chattanooga restaurants, but why not throw some do-not-miss spots in for people visiting the city (or those of us who want to find something fun to do on the weekend)?

My original plan for last weekend was to check out the National Cornbread Festival in South Pittsburg. After a little thought, though, I decided that I wanted to start with a truly local Chattanooga spot…and what better place for my inaugural post than what is probably Chattanooga’s most world-famous tourist spot, Rock City? I mean, really…aside from The Chattanooga Choo Choo, what iconic Chattanooga location is more famous than Rock City, which people know from all the Rock City barns all over the world?

Rock City, atop Lookout Mountain, is actually located in Georgia (shhhh, don’t tell anyone). According to Rock City’s website, a couple named Garnet and Frieda Carter developed the trails that we now know as Rock City in the 1920s as part of a community that they were developing known as Fairyland. Frieda planted gardens around the property that have grown, along with the naturally occurring foliage, into the beautiful scenery that we see today.

Not only does Rock City include naturally occurring attractions such as Fat Man’s Squeeze and Lover’s Leap (see the image below for the legend there), it also includes a swing-along bridge (see below for my feelings on that bridge…but hey, I did it). For those of you who just can’t stomach it, there is a way across that does not move.😬By the way, I feel like this is a good place to mention that because of the narrow passages and steep stairs, strollers are not permitted on the Enchanted Trail. Rock City recommends child carriers.

One of the last things that you see as you near the end of the Rock City trail is the kitschy and fun Fairyland Caverns and Mother Goose Village, which feature sculptures that the Carter’s contracted Atlanta-based sculptor Jessie Sanders to create.

And, of course, you can’t leave out the unbelievable views of seven states – Tennessee and Georgia, of course, Alabama, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia. Sadly, it was an overcast day and we forgot our quarters, so we didn’t get to use the binoculars. It didn’t make the views any less spectacular.

And…Café 7. Located by the See Seven States overlook, Café 7 features outdoor seating so you can enjoy the views while you enjoy your lunch. I have to admit…I wasn’t expecting a lot from this restaurant. I mean, how many restaurants in a tourist attraction are more than restaurant-supply store grade fast food? Dumb. I was dumb to think that. The food at Café 7 was actually fan-freaking-tastic. The menu changes, but the menu that was available on the day of our visit was comparable to any of our favorite locally-owned casual dining restaurants in the valley. Appetizers, sandwiches, entrees, desserts, and a respectable beer list (Philip got a Chattanooga Brewing Company beer for $2!)…what more could you ask for?

Of course, the menu is not the only thing that’s important. Would the food taste good? I was skeptical, but that was silly. My Choo Choo nachos, with pulled pork, cheese, barbecue sauce, sour cream, and caramelized onions atop housemade potato chips, were perfect, and at $8 definitely a respectable price for an entree. Philip decided on the chicken fried chicken with a side of edamame succotash and mac and cheese. The fried chicken was a boneless chicken breast that was fried to absolute perfection, and the edamame succotash (in place of the usual turnip greens) was fresh and flavorful. He thought the macaroni and cheese was a little “meh”, which, honestly, is my usual reaction to restaurant mac and cheese. At $15, his was a little more pricey than mine, but still reasonable. Unlike most tourist attraction restaurants, the food here was not outrageously priced, and it was delicious. I found our service to be great too, and, let’s be honest – you can’t beat that view. If you would prefer, you can consider Big Rock Grill at the entrance of Rock City for short order items or Cliff Terrace for snacks. There is also a Starbucks located at Rock City.

Another thing? Rock City is pet-friendly! You are welcome to bring your leased pet to walk the trails and even dine on the terrace at Café 7 with you. They even provide a list of pet-friendly hotels in the area for those who are visiting with their pets.

Finally, Rock City offers lots of special events. Everyone knows about (or at least I think they do) the Enchanted Garden of Lights around the holidays (I’ve been twice and it’s spectacular), but their website lists several other special events that I didn’t know about.

Rock City is located at 1400 Patten Road, Lookout Mountain, Georgia. Rock City’s hours are seasonal, and you can view the hours by season on their website. Tickets are $19.95 for adults and $11.95 for children 3-12. Parking at Rock City is free and Rock City is partially accessible for visitors with disability (find more info about accessibility in their FAQs). For more information about Rock City, check out their website or their Facebook page, or call them at 706-820-2531 or 800-854-0675.