Southern & Barbecue Archives - Page 3 of 10

Mt. Vernon Restaurant (St. Elmo)

August 3, 2016

Mt. Vernon restaurant has been around in Downtown Chattanooga for the last 61 years, and I don’t think it’s going anywhere any time soon.

Last week, I met up with Sean Phipps of Nooga.com and Date Night Dining fame for a a joint restaurant review. Why it has taken us this long to join forces, I am not sure. I would say that am also not sure why it has taken me this long to visit Mt. Vernon restaurant – it’s been around forever – but that would be a lie. Several years back (like, before the blog) I went there and remember being underwhelmed. I don’t remember why. I just remember being kind of “meh” about the whole thing. I’ve been meaning to go, though, to try out the famous Mt. Vernon amaretto cream pie, so it was one of the ideas I threw out to Sean and that was the one he chose.

We arrived at Mt. Vernon restaurant at around noon on Wednesday. The fact that they have a parking lot is a nice reprieve from the grind of attempting to find a place to park at any of the places in the heart of downtown. Despite the bustling lunch crowd (seriously, there were a LOT of people in there), we were seated immediately. Our server, Maureen, greeted us immediately and took our drink order. She was super friendly and helpful, a plucky lady who has worked there for a long time. Sean decided on the peach iced tea, a house specialty, while I got water. He ordered his tea unsweetened, as Maureen told him that the peach syrup was probably enough sweetness, and he agreed after he tasted it.

We were given two menus: a specials menu and a regular menu. Maureen recommended the fried chicken and the almond-crusted haddock. I had not heard anything about Mount Vernon restaurant’s almond-crusted haddock, but I had heard wonderful things about their potato-crusted haddock, so I ordered the haddock. For $14.95, I got two pieces of haddock covered with a creamy lemon sauce with two sides. For my sides, I chose the squash casserole and the cucumber and tomato salad, which was one of Moe’s recommendations. The funny thing is, one of my friends was sitting at the table across from us and she ordered exactly the same thing. We did not coordinate that at all!

Mt. Vernon restaurant’s almond-crusted haddock was nicely coated and sautéed until lightly crunchy. I am pretty sure it was cooked in butter. The seasoning was perfect and the fish was very tender. I loved the creamy, tangy sauce. The squash casserole was buttery and cheesy, topped with buttery crackers, just like you expect to find at any Southern potluck. The cucumber and tomato salad was nice and fresh, with an acidic hit of vinegar cut with some sugar. My only complaint was that it had big chunks of red onion, but they were large enough that I was able to easily eat around them.

Sean followed Maureen’s recommendation and ordered the fried chicken, also a special at $10.95. He decided to have his fried chicken with macaroni and cheese and pinto beans. While Sean liked the fried chicken, he said it was not his favorite and he would have preferred a crispier skin/coating. The macaroni and cheese was practically dripping with cheese, and he described it in his column as “buttery and sinful”. It looked great, and I should have gotten my fork in that bowl…but I don’t know Sean that well, and I don’t go eating off the plates of new people…might make a bad impression. He liked his beans but said that there was nothing really special about them.

When Maureen came around and asked if we wanted dessert, we were ready, having pushed away our plates in time to save room for pie. I didn’t even have to think about my dessert…it was a foregone conclusion that I was going to order amaretto pie, the dessert specialty at Mount Vernon restaurant. Sean decided to order the dessert special, lemon meringue pie. I have made amaretto pie before (I’ll be sharing a recipe eventually) but my version was creamy all the way through and theirs had a custard base with a creamy top. It was almondy and delicious, and I’ll definitely be modifying my recipe to include a custard base. The meringue on Sean’s lemon meringue pie was huge. I honestly prefer a higher lemon to meringue ratio, but I did ask Sean if I could taste the pie and the lemon filling was sweet, tart, and tasty.

The total for our entrees, two slices of pie ($5 each) and a glass of tea was $43 pre-tip….not the cheapest in town but not a bad price considering the amount of food we got. The decor here, updated a few years back, is homey and a little old-fashioned (Sean likened it to “your grandmother’s house on Lookout Mountain) and the atmosphere is bustling but not loud. Everyone was extremely friendly and helpful. I would definitely go back to Mt. Vernon restaurant for more of that delicious haddock and amaretto pie!

If you’re looking for old-fashioned Southern cooking in St. Elmo, check out Mt. Vernon Restaurant.

Mt. Vernon Restaurant is located at 3535 Broad Street, Chattanooga, Tennessee 37409. They are open Monday – Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday, 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., and Saturday, 4 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. You can call them at 423-266-6591. Check out Mt. Vernon Restaurant’s website, mymtvernon.com. You can also like Mount Vernon restaurant on Facebook and follow @myvernon on Twitter.

Double Barrel BBQ (Signal Mountain)

September 28, 2015

If you’re looking for delicious barbecue on or near Signal Mountain, Double Barrel BBQ serves tasty barbecue (and great beer!) in a great atmosphere!

I recently discovered something called bullet journals and now I am obsessed (mine isn’t nearly as pretty as the one in that post, but I love the idea of keeping my calendar, notes, and lists organized as opposed to having random notebooks floating around and having to dig through them to figure out where things are. This weekend I updated my list of restaurants I need to try and posted the list on Facebook to see if anyone had anything to add. Turns out I have a lot of places to visit in Cleveland and North Georgia…those take some planning. We ended up at Double Barrel BBQ on Signal Mountain, which a friend suggested on my Facebook post (I have a handful of other places on Signal to try as well).

Double Barrel BBQ is on Taft Highway just a little past the Signal Mountain “business district” in the building that used to be Pepper Jack’s. Double Barrel started as a food truck and in August opened their static location. They are currently operating off of their food truck menu but will be expanding starting with their grand opening in October.

We were offered the options of being seated in the bar or the dining room and were seated immediately by a very friendly server. It’s a log cabin so the decor consists of lots of wood, but it’s not dark. They have lots of cool pendant lights hanging all over the dining room and interesting wall hangings. There are televisions in the dining room as well as the bar.

Our server, Tabitha, came pretty quickly to take our drink orders and brought a beer list at Philip’s request. They have a pretty impressive list of craft beers-both bottles and draft-at great prices, including some local brews from Chattanooga Brewing Company. Philip ordered a Straight to Ale Lily Flagg milk stout, which was listed on the list as a bottled beer for $2.50 but was actually on draft for $3.50 (still a pretty amazing price). He’s had that particular beer before and loved it. I, of course, stuck with water.

They have a pretty lengthy list of sides that come in a side-size portion or as an appetizer, and we decided to order some fried pickle chips, which the menu purported to be hand-bettered. We got the appetizer sized portion for $5.75…it was a pretty large portion and we probably should have stuck with the side-size portion for $2.50. Oh well. I never cry over more fried pickles. They were indeed hand-battered and were very tasty, well seasoned and with just enough batter to add crunch and flavor but not so much to mask the pickle flavor. They were served with ranch dressing which was just basic ranch dressing.

Right now the menu consists of a selection of meats and some hot dogs. I decided to get the 1/2 pound pulled pork plate for $9 (you can get a half-sized portion for half the price) with a side of fried squash, which the menu also said was hand-battered. I was a little less convinced about the squash being hand-battered than I was the pickles, since the coating was fairly thick. It tasted good, though, and was well-seasoned with Cajun seasoning. The meat was tender and smoky and was pulled and served on top of a couple of toasted dinner rolls. I had enough to bring home for lunch the next day.

Philip decided to order the 1/2 pound of brisket ($9.25), chopped (you can also order it sliced) with fried okra. The brisket was chopped into bite-size pieces and had a spicy rub on it (it was also served on top of toasted dinner rolls). The fried okra was lightly coated and was also seasoned with Cajun seasoning.

The sauces at Double Barrel are made in-house. I didn’t think to get a photo, but there was one called “Old Faithful” that was sweet and chunky…it was our least favorite. There was a molasses-based sauce that had a deep molasses flavor and a little bit of spice. The third sauce was a sweet and spicy blend, and it was very spicy.

Our total for this meal was $29.22 pre-tip, which included fried pickles, a beer, a pork plate, and a brisket plate. The service at Double Barrel BBQ was friendly and the food was tasty. I like the atmosphere in this restaurant, and it didn’t hurt that the mountain air was nice and cool and just made it nice to be up there (I love what I call “shorts and long sleeves weather”). I can’t wait to see what they unveil for their expanded menu. By the way, they also serve a breakfast buffet daily and offer growlers of beer to go. There are daily specials as well.

Double Barrel BBQ is located at 3720 Taft Highway, Signal Mountain, TN 37377. You can call them at 423-777-5491. They are open 7 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday-Thursday and 7 a.m.-12 a.m. Friday-Sunday. You can check out their website, www.doublebarrel.me and like Double Barrel BBQ on Facebook.

Puckett’s Grocery Chattanooga

September 14, 2015

Puckett’s Grocery Chattanooga is a fantastic Southern restaurant located on the riverfront near the Tennessee Aquarium.

This weekend we decided to take advantage of the amazing weather and head downtown to walk on the bridge. We talked through our options for lunch…I’m still avoiding burgers for another week or two. I have a few places that I want to try, including Talus on Lookout Mountain and I need to check out Main Street Meats‘ expanded space. However, since we were in the area, we decided to check out the newly opened Puckett’s Grocery Chattanooga location.

Puckett’s Grocery opened just a few weeks ago in the former TGIFriday’s location next to the Tennessee Aquarium. If we want to get technical about it, Puckett’s is a chain, but it’s a very small (4 locations), regional (Nashville based) chain so, like Tupelo Honey and Universal Joint, it fits in my guidelines for Chattavore. I’d heard good things about the Nashville locations of Puckett’s Grocery, though I actually hadn’t heard anything about the Puckett’s Grocery Chattanooga location. I was excited to try it out.

It was around 1:30 when we got there Saturday afternoon, a little late to try their breakfast (which is served daily from 7-11 a.m.) but that was okay because we weren’t really interested in trying breakfast anyway.We were told that the wait would be twenty minutes or less and that they would text us when our table was ready. It took maybe ten minutes before we got the text and were seated near the bar.

Our server, Ashton, quickly greeted us and took our drink orders. Philip asked if they served beer flights and Ashton checked with the bar, telling us that it had been discussed, but they do not (yet, anyway). He decided on a Blackstone Pumpkin Ale, which he thought was fantastic (and he plans to do a review if he can find a bottle of it).

We got stuck on the appetizer menu, trying to decide whether to order fried pickles, fried green beans, or fried green tomatoes. We ultimately decided to order the fried green tomatoes since we had fried pickles last week at Couch’s and fried green beans the week before at FEED Co. All three are served with bacon-chipotle ranch dressing, which is quite tasty, with a distinctive bacon flavor and a sneaky but sharp bite from the chipotle. The tomatoes were nicely breaded with an herby cornmeal crust (hi guys, how do you get your cornmeal crust to stick so nicely????) that was quite delicious. The tomatoes were wonderfully crunchy and not greasy at all.

The lunch menu is full of options, including plates with meats & vegetable sides, a selection of salads, and a large variety of sandwiches. I had a hard time deciding between the grilled cheese sandwich with pimento cheese (you can also choose American, Swiss, Cheddar, or Pepper Jack) or the Brisket Taco Salad: romaine drizzled with BBQ Ranch and topped with black beans, house-made pico de gallo, shredded cheese, tortilla strips and slow-smoked beef brisket. I asked Ashlyn and she said both! buuuuutttt….if I had to choose, to get the taco salad. I was not sad that I chose this. The salad was very fresh, topped with a generous but not outrageous portion of very tender and flavorful brisket (so so good), monterey Jack and cheddar cheese, and a generous amount of pico. The BBQ ranch dressing was, I assume, made with their signature BBQ sauce (which you can purchase bottled in the store). I would highly recommend this salad!

Philip (unlike me) loves spicy food, so he decided to order the Music City hot chicken sandwich, though he traded the Texas toast that the sandwich is usually served on for sourdough instead (Nashville hot chicken is normally served with plain old white bread, as in Colonial or Wonder Bread, but Philip just can’t deal). The sandwich was just spicy chicken (hot chicken is made with a generous amount of cayenne pepper) and pickle slices, with coleslaw and fries on the side. Philip said that the sandwich definitely got hotter as he ate it, which is how it goes typically. The chicken was well-cooked, juicy, flavorful, and well-seasoned. He also liked the fries and the slaw.

Other menu items included several burgers (of course), a regular fried chicken sandwich, a smoked bologna sandwich, and quite a few traditional Southern entrees, like Southern fried chicken and Cajun shrimp & grits. They have a pretty delicious menu of Southern desserts, too…chocolate chess pie, banana pudding, maple pecan pie, a deep fried brownie (!!!!) sundae, and a cobbler of the day (which was blackberry yesterday). Of course, we were too full to eat dessert. Regrettably so.

One thing I wanted to mention….something happened with our order and it took longer than expected to come out. Our server and two managers came by to apologize to us and we were also offered a complimentary soup or salad to eat while we waited. The thing is, we’ve both worked in food service and we know that those things happen. If the food or the service had been bad, we would have been upset…but both were great and the fact that they acknowledged the mistake and offered to “make it right” if need be totally made up for it.

I definitely recommend Puckett’s Grocery Chattanooga for a great atmosphere, great service, and delicious Southern food. Our pre-tip total, including a beer, an appetizer, my salad, and Philip’s sandwich was $35.56, which is on par with other similar restaurants. By the way…they also have live music at least one night at week. Go by and check them out!

Puckett’s Grocery Chattanooga is located at 2 West Aquarium Way, Chattanooga, TN. You can call them at 423-708-8505. Check out Puckett’s website: puckettsgro.com, like Puckett’s Grocery Chattanooga on Facebook, and follow @PuckettsGrocery on Twitter.

Couch’s BBQ – Ooltewah, Tennessee

September 7, 2015

Couch’s BBQ is a popular, family-owned barbecue restaurant in Ooltewah, Tennessee, near Chattanooga.

When Philip and I were trying to decide on a place to try this past weekend, I had two criteria: it needed to be somewhere that I would not regret not ordering the burger (I’m taking a month or so off from burgers after writing the list) and I didn’t want to have to walk any sort of distance to get there, as grass or ragweed or something that is blooming is killing me. That second caveat effectively killed just about any place downtown. We went to McKay’s to peruse their used books (where I found Sarah Wu‘s Fed Up with Lunch, about which I was pretty excited) then decided to head over to Couch’s Bar-B-Que in Ooltewah, just a few short miles away.

Couch’s BBQ came highly recommended, as Amanda from Dish T’Pass had told me a while back that it was her family’s go-to barbecue joint and Southern Living recently proclaimed Couch’s Bar-B-Que one of the top fifty barbecue joints in the South. Besides, it’s been around since 1946, so they are clearly doing something right.

It was around 2 when we arrived but there was still a fairly hefty lunch crowd (though we didn’t have any trouble finding a seat). A friendly server brought us our waters while we checked out the menu and we ordered fried pickles because, you know, I have a rule (i.e. if fried pickles are on the menu I’m required to order them). I was a little disappointed when they turned out to be the same frozen fried pickles we were served at Choo-Choo BBQ and Kevin Brown Burgers, but oh well. Fried pickles are like pizza…even when they aren’t great they’re still pretty good.

I considered ordering a barbecue sandwich. The sandwiches here are topped with lettuce and tomato, which I find to be an interesting concept and I’m certain one that I would enjoy. In the end, though, I decided to order the pork “Couch Potato”, which apparently is somewhat of a claim to fame for the establishment as they have several signs stating that they are the “home of the Couch Potato”. In my opinion, the potato here is a cut above most other places around town-they are crusted in salt then topped with a generous but not exorbitant amount of butter, sour cream, shredded cheese, and whatever meat you choose. They are also served with a couple of rolls (pre-packaged).

One thing about the pork here, as you may notice in the picture, is that it is not pulled or even sliced but rather shaved. According to Grant, who writes the blog Marie, Let’s Eat!, Couch’s BBQ uses uncured hams rather than the usual Boston butt (aka pork shoulder), smokes them, then shaves them on a deli slicer. It is definitely a different barbecue experience, but not different bad or even different good-just different. We liked it; the meat was flavorful (if maybe just a smidge dry) and paired well with both of the housemade sauces (signature and sweet, which had a telltale molasses hit). The fact that they make their own sauce here is a huge advantage, as I have found very few places around here that do. There is nothing that I hate more than walking into a barbecue joint and being greeted with a food service container of sauce sitting in plain view.

Philip decided to get the pork plate, which is served with three sides and rolls. He decided to get the slaw, baked beans, and fried okra. Honestly, he was fine with all of the sides but didn’t think that they were anything outstanding. The okra was the familiar frozen okra and he couldn’t really tell if the other sides were homemade or not. I will say, again, that Grant touts their hot slaw on Marie, Let’s Eat! as delicious albeit “magically weird” (actually, in his first review of the spot he says, “It has a smell-the-back-of-your-brain kick and leaves a sharp and very strong aftertaste. It is all kinds of fantastic. I have no idea what is in it. I am absolutely clueless, but they don’t list it as a side on the menu so you have to know to ask for it.”) I’m not sure if Philip forgot to ask for it or just decided against it.

If we hadn’t been so full, I would have loved to have had a slice of one of their homemade pies: coconut, pecan, buttermilk, key lime, and (I think) chocolate. We just. couldn’t. do it. So, instead, we paid our bill ($21.03 pre-tip) and headed back toward home.

Couch’s BBQ was good, but it’s quite a drive for me so I don’t think we’re going to become regulars anytime soon. As seems to be par for the course, they pay a little less attention to their sides than to their meat, which I guess makes sense for a barbecue restaurant but good grief, I just want to find a spot that fries their own okra. Still, I’d definitely go back to Couch’s Bar-B-Que, and I highly recommend the Couch potato.

Couch’s Bar-B-Que is located at 8307 Old Lee Highway, Ooltewah, TN 37363. They are open Monday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-8 p.m. You can call them at 423-238-4801. You can check out Couch’s website, www.couchsbbq.org, and like Couch’s BBQ on Facebook.

Disclaimer: This post contains an Amazon affiliate link for the book Fed Up with Lunch, because I think it’s so eye-opening that you should read it if school lunches affect you in any way. If you click through and buy this book from this link, I will make a small commission. For more information, read my disclosures/privacy policy.

FEED Co. Table & Tavern

August 31, 2015

The FEED Co. Table and Tavern is a fabulous restaurant on Main Street in Downtown Chattanooga serving great Southern food and other classics created by Chef Charlie Loomis.
When it was announced a while back that Dustin Choate of Tremont Tavern fame, Miguel Morales, own er of 1885, and Charlie Loomis, 1885’s chef, would be joining forces to open a new restaurant, FEED Co. Table & Tavern, in the Craftworks building on Main Street, I got awfully excited. I was a fan of Chef Loomis’s cooking at the now long-since defunct Elemental, which Loomis left to take the helm at 1885 Grill. I adore 1885’s dressed-up Southern food and the amazing atmosphere and service there. And, of course, Tremont has won me over with their amazing burgers.

I was decidedly against the idea of having a burger today. There are several places that people have suggested that we needed to go to try burgers but y’all, Ima have to pace myself. I’ve eaten a lot of burgers over the last few months. They’re one of my faves, but I didn’t want to go to any of those suggested places. Not just yet.

I made a short list of places to check out and let Philip pick. He chose Feed Co. since we went to Clyde’s a couple of weeks ago (so I could get a picture of their burger) and saw people going in. We had actually kind of forgotten until then that they were open. We parked on the street (which is free if you can find a space). If you can’t find a spot on the street, there’s a Republic lot behind Clyde’s. For lunch, you enter on the Tavern side (the Table side doesn’t open until dinnertime).

The hosts told us that the wait would be 15-20 minutes and took our phone number to text us. We had barely walked down the sidewalk to get a few shots of the outside before they texted us, though. We were seated at a bar in front of the arcade games (really!) and our server, Brian, immediately greeted us and took our drink order. They have an extensive beer list and Philip ordered a Yazoo Sly Rye Porter. They also have lots of specialty cocktails…I entertained the idea of ordering a 50 Shades of Pimm’s martini (Pimm’s No. 1, muddled strawberries, orange mint, and cucumber, fresh lemon juice, and Pure Sodaworks strawberry jalapeño soda) but ultimately decided against it.

Brian suggested the Brussels sprouts & artichoke dip, served with fresh farm bread, which did indeed sound delicious. However, I of course noticed the fried pickled green beans. So did Philip. Fried pickles are fried pickles, you guys, regardless of whether the pickles are cucumbers or green beans. So of course we ordered them. All I can say is oh.em.gee. They were fantastic, briny and tart with a light tempura-like batter, served with ranch dressing for dipping.

My eye went straight to the fish & chips as I was deciding on what I would order for my meal. I briefly entertained the idea of ordering the sloppy Joe (grass-fed sloppy joe, yellow mustard, Niedlov’s bun) because how many restaurants serve sloppy Joes?!?!?!?! In the end, though, I went with my gut instinct: CBC beer-battered cod, house cut fries, house pickles, cole slaw, and malt vinegar tartar sauce. The batter on the fish was thick and just slightly bitter with the flavor of the beer, the fish just cooked through. The fries were ultra-skinny, skin-on, and perfectly seasoned. The slaw was a little creamy, a little vinegar-y, with cabbage, carrots, red onion, and Brussels sprouts, and the tartar sauce had the unmistakeable tang of malt vinegar with chopped pickles and a little whole grain mustard. Those house pickles were pretty on point too.

Philip decided to step out of his comfort zone and go with the hempnut burger with a quinoa & hempseed patty, pickled okra, basil mayo, lettuce, tomato, and onion. He ordered tater tots as his side (other options include the fries, buttermilk whipped potatoes, french green beans, cole slaw, and vegetable succotash). The burger had an unmistakeable grilled flavor and the texture was much more “burger-like” than you might have imagined. We weren’t really sure whether the pickled okra made it into the burger somehow…Philip said he didn’t taste or notice it. Not that it mattered…he really loved the burger. The only complaint that he had was that it was a tad crumbly, but the flavor made up for it. The tater tots were pretty standard.

The atmosphere at FEED Co. Table & Tavern is fantastic. The tavern side is completely laid-back and casual with a huge patio for outdoor dining and, as I mentioned, arcade games for killing a little time (or if you just need a Dr. Mario fix. I am not kidding. Angie, we gotta go!!!). The “table” side is a little more dressed up but still completely cozy. The menu is great-inventive but not off the deep end. I would expect no less of Chef Loomis. Our service was wonderful-Brian was very friendly, attentive, and professional. The FEED Co. Table & Tavern has definitely won our seal of approval.

The FEED Co. Table & Tavern is located at 201 W. Main Street, Chattanooga, TN 37408. The food service hours are 11 a.m.-10 p.m., Monday-Saturday, and the “tavern” hours are 11 a.m.-12 a.m., Monday-Thursday, and 11 a.m.-2 a.m. Friday-Saturday. You can call FEED Co. at (423) 708-8500. You can check out The FEED Co. Table & Tavern’s website. You can like The FEED Co. on Facebook and follow them on Twitter and Instagram.

« Previous Page