So, I’ve completed the trifecta. Hair of the Dog is owned by the same people who own The Honest Pint and Terminal BrewHouse, two of my very favorite dining spots in Chattanooga. Since Hair of the Dog is a bar….errr, pub (i.e. a smoky environment) we have been waiting for warm weather so that we could dine al fresco (there’s no non-smoking section as there is in The Honest Pint). Yesterday was a beautiful day and it was perfect for sitting on the deck. We’ve been to Hair of the Dog before, a couple of different times, but we’ve only eaten appetizers and both of those visits were long before the Chattavore days.
Since we love the other two spots so much, we were pretty excited about Hair of the Dog, especially since I read on the Main Street Farmers Market website the other day that the bartender was experimenting with locally grown/produced food in the menu specials, and I was actually in line behind her on Wednesday when she was picking up produce at the Fall Creek Farms stall. On the Hair of the Dog website there were several weekly specials listed featuring local food, but we didn’t see this until after our visit (otherwise we would have asked about them) and there was no mention of them from our server or on the chalkboard outside listing the beer specials. Of course, by Saturday afternoon they could have been fresh out of these items….we’ll have to ask next time!
On one of our past visits, we had soft pretzels with beer and cheese soup for dipping; on another, Philip ate some Reuben rolls (just as they sound….eggroll wrappers stuffed with corned beef, sauerkraut, and Thousand Island dressing). This time, we decided to order chips, drowned in beer cheese soup. You can also get them plain, wet (covered in white gravy), or overloaded (wet, drowned, and topped with bacon). We were thinking actual chips, but they turned out to be fries. I guess we should have been thinking in more of an “across the pond” mode, since this is a pub, after all, but we weren’t. If we had known they were fries we would have gotten them wet! Anyway…the beer and cheese soup is interesting, with chunks of carrots and celery in a mild and not super-liquidy cheese soup. Appetizers don’t usually come with chunks of veggies, so these are healthy, right? Anyway, the fries are hand cut and not super-crispy. So drippy and messy….but that’s okay! I really liked them but was secretly wishing for bacon.
I toyed with the idea of getting a burger, but that wasn’t really what I wanted. I looked over the menu about fifteen times and finally decided to try out the fish & chips, an item I rarely order….but it seemed appropriate. The funny part of this is that when I ordered it I knew that the “chips” coming with the fish were fries, but still hadn’t made the connection that the “chips” coming in my appetizer were not potato chips. So anyway…I ended up with double fries! Good thing I adore fries, right? They were really good plain with some malt vinegar sprinkled on top, and also dipped in ketchup. I could eat fries every day, do you understand???? The fish was great too…three pieces of cod in a very crispy but not greasy batter. I love fish & chips because (a) it’s fried; (b) it’s crunchy; and (c) it tastes great with malt vinegar. My college roommate and I used to go to Captain D’s (I’m so ashamed!) on a regular basis to eat pieces of fish completely soaked in malt vinegar (we called it “eating a little food with our fat”). This fish was definitely not Captain D’s….I would definitely order it again! The tartar sauce was pretty much amazing…clearly housemade. It wasn’t goopy and it had big chunks of pickle in it. The fries also tasted great with the tartar sauce. Win!
Philip decided on the Winner, Winner, Chicken-Fried Chicken Dinner, a gigantic butterflied boneless chicken breast, breaded and fried and served with white gravy on top. He ordered hash brown casserole and broccoli with almonds as his sides. The chicken breast, as I mentioned before (and as you can see below) was extremely large and very crispy but extremely juicy and well-seasoned. The gravy was good but according to Philip not as good as mine (he’s a little spoiled, you see…besides, mine’s made with bacon grease-hard to beat!). The hash brown casserole was also good, crispy, cheesy, and creamy, all important hash brown casserole characteristics. The broccoli was fresh and well cooked, but he did feel like it needed a little salt. Overall definitely a blogworthy meal….
Hair of the Dog is nice, casual environment with a tasty pub menu. Remember that it’s a 21 and over establishment, and if you don’t like smoke, go on a warm day so you can sit outside. Support your local farmers and ask about their local specials! Hair of the Dog Pub is located at 334 Market Street, Chattanooga, TN 37402. You can call them at 423-265-4615. Check out their website, http://www.hairofthedogpub.net, “like” them on Facebook, and follow them on Twitter. Oh, and tell them Chattavore sent you!
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