downtown Chattanooga restaurants Archives - Page 9 of 20

Porkers BBQ (Downtown Chattanooga BBQ)

March 16, 2014

Porkers BBQ is a downtown Chattanooga mainstay. They’ve been around on Market Street since 1989 and are a go-to spot for Chattanooga BBQ.

Philip and I decided fourteen years ago not to celebrate Valentine’s Day, and several years back (I don’t know, at least eight or nine years) we decided not to buy Christmas or birthday gifts either. It just felt forced to us to “have” to buy each other something when we pretty much bought what we wanted anyway. Philip, however, is a master of giving me awesome things for absolutely no reason, like the Vita-Mix he walked in with one afternoon or the Shun slicer he ceremoniously presented to me after I walked in from a trip to Houston without him (because he’d actually been slated to go on a separate trip but got sidelined due to a surgery). I have walked in twice in the last couple of weeks to find a great book in my spot on the couch, purchased on trade from McKay-the Cook’s Illustrated Baking Book for one, and Michael Pollan’s Cooked for the other.

In Cooked, Pollan recounts his experiences learning about cooking with different elements: fire, water, air, and earth. Cooking with fire = smoking meat, and Pollan learns about traditional Carolina barbecue from a famous pit master. Now, I realize that I am not likely to find Carolina-style barbecue in the Chattanooga area (and you better believe that one of these days I’m going to make it to one of the restaurants he mentioned), but that doesn’t mean that it didn’t make me crave some smoked meat. Seeing as how I don’t have a smoker (yet), this meant visiting a restaurant, so we decided to have some barbecue for this weeks review.

Porkers BBQ has been around on Market Street (near the Choo-Choo) since 1989 according to their menu, but I’m going to go ahead and venture a guess that the visit by President George W. Bush in 2007 is their biggest “claim to fame” (honestly, I’m not sure why presidents always eat barbecue when they visit CHA but at least W was taken to a truly local restaurant….Obama was served Sticky Fingers, which I know, I know, has local ties….but it is not a local restaurant). It’s a decent-sized establishment with black and white checkerboard floors and fifties-style booths with shiny vinyl seats. We seated ourselves and a friendly server took our drink orders while we perused the menu.

I decided to break from my usual barbecue restaurant form and order a plate instead of a potato. I really wanted smoked meat and I didn’t want anything to interfere with the flavor. The plates at Porker’s come with fries, baked beans, slaw, and Texas toast. I ordered pulled pork shoulder. The meat comes unsauced and you can sauce it yourself using the regular or hot sauce in the basket on the table. I tasted the sauce but didn’t love it and decided to eat my meat on its own. It had a nice smoke flavor with a decent amount of “bark” (the dark brown pieces from the outside of the smoked meat). I am not a huge fan of traditional barbecue sides like baked beans (beans should be salty, not sweet), slaw, and potato salad, but I did think that the baked beans were pretty good, with a stronger onion flavor than you usually find in baked beans. The dressing on the slaw was yellow so I assumed that it would taste mustardy, but it didn’t. It was pretty good, finely chopped which is how I prefer slaw (not the long shreds like you get in bagged slaw at the store). The fries were crinkle cut, from frozen no doubt, and were pretty much exactly what you’d expect from frozen crinkle cut fries…not bad but not shout-it-from-the-mountaintop awesome either.

Philip decided to get the brisket, which, not surprisingly, was a little drier than the pork but was just as delicious. It was well-seasoned, very tender, and perfectly smoky with lots of dark barky pieces. He liked the slaw and beans also. We ordered a side of fried okra because we always have to sample fried okra at any recipe. I’ll be honest with you, unless okra is breaded the way I make it at home-tossed in cornmeal and maybe a little flour-I always assume it’s frozen. Those little jackets of breading are too suspiciously thick to make me think anything else. It didn’t taste bad but I just wish everyone would just do it themselves. If the okra is fresh, not frozen I apologize…I’d just like to see more homestyle fried okra in restaurants; it’s indeed a difficult thing to find.

Chattanooga barbecue is something I honestly feel indifferent about. While I have strong feelings about who has the best burger, I could never write a top five barbecue list because I honestly like the meats at most of the barbecue restaurants I’ve tried locally, and Porkers BBQ definitely wasn’t any different. The meat was great, the sides okay. I loved the atmosphere and the service was quick and very friendly. They’re conveniently located for a downtown lunch crowd and they have a good menu selection (which includes breakfast, by the way).

I’d definitely go back to Porkers BBQ.

Porkers BBQ is located at 1251 Market Street, Chattanooga, TN 37402. They are open Monday, 7 a.m.-2 p.m., Tuesday-Friday 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Saturday 7 a.m.-5 p.m. You can call them at 423-267-2726. They don’t have a website but you can check out Porkers BBQ on Facebook.

Do you have a Chattanooga barbecue favorite? Tell me about it!

Other area restaurants: Meeting Place, Public House, Urban Stack, Blue Orleans, Southern Burger, Tupelo Honey

Vine Street Market (River View)

March 2, 2014

Vine Street Market serves delicious homemade sandwiches, soups, and desserts as well as take and bake entrees. And it’s NOT located on Vine Street!

Quiz: Where is Vine Street Market?

If you said Vine Street, then you are WRONG. Vine Street Market is located on Hanover Street in the Riverview area of Chattanooga (right down the street from the former Greenlife building). I really didn’t have my heart set on any place in particular this weekend and my interest was piqued when a Facebook follower suggested Vine Street Market, adding that they make their own breads, salad dressings, and baked goods. Sounded like my kind of place!

I visited Vine Street Market once when I was a freshman in college (um, that was seventeen years ago. Whoa.), when they actually did have a location on Vine Street (next to the infamous David’s…any UTC alums remember that? I was pretty square in college-some things never change-so I never went, but boy did that place have a reputation!). I laughed when I thought about it because my roommate and her boyfriend were trying to set me up with one of his friends so we all met there for lunch. Pretty sure dude and I did not even make eye contact. The only thing that I remember about the food is that I ordered a sandwich-no idea what kind-and Ruffles. Boy, I was an adventurous eater back then….

Anyway, this location is in a cute little house with a little gravel parking lot. The staff was very friendly and the girl who took our order showed us the specials and got our drinks while we decided. I did something out of character and ordered the “Vine Street Market Famous Mint Tea”, which she told Philip lots of people like to cut with unsweetened tea because it is pretty sweet. It was indeed sweet but I didn’t find it cloying. It had a great flavor but I wouldn’t say it was extremely minty. They also serve their own special cranberry tea that I’d like to try (back before my water-guzzling days I was a big-time sweet tea drinker).

Ordering was a little bit difficult, only because there were so many things that I wanted to try. Since they make their own salad dressings, I kind of wanted to try a salad (they offer a basic tossed salad, a Greek salad, and a chef’s salad with your choice of turkey, ham, or both as well as a chicken or tuna salad plate). They serve daily soup specials, today’s being Brunswick stew, cheesy squash soup, tomato-basil, and chili, and you can build your own sandwich or choose from their specialty sandwiches. You can also do pretty much any combination you want of soups, salads, and sandwiches. They also have daily casserole specials (chicken enchilada and chicken, broccoli, and cheese). The counter was covered with lots of dessert options, including Texas sheet cake, fudgy brownies, lemon squares, and apricot bars.

I was intrigued by the cheesy squash soup…I can honestly say that I’ve never had a soup made from yellow and zucchini squash (and I’m a little mad that I didn’t think of it before visiting here, but you can bet I’ll be making it now!). I decided to get a special they were featuring with a cup of soup and a whole pimento cheese sandwich, which I ordered on honey wheat bread (remember that all of their breads are homemade) with lettuce and tomato. The pimento cheese was thick with cheddar cheese, not drippy with mayonnaise as some pimento cheeses are, and well-seasoned with pepper. The honey wheat bread was sturdy but soft enough that I could bite through the sandwich without squishing the pimento cheese out the sides, and the vegetables were fresh. And the soup? Delicious. It reminded me of a cheesy summer squash casserole made into a soup, with onions, squash, chicken broth, cheddar, and lots of pepper. It was perfectly salted as well, which is a problem I have with a lot of restaurant soups-they are either over- or under salted.

Philip decided to try Brunswick stew-something he’d never had-and a Reuben. I’ve mentioned before that Philip loves Reubens but he’s had a hard time finding a restaurant that serves one he really, really likes these days…but he has to look no further. He took one bite and proclaimed this one the best he’s ever had. Let’s review: the bread and salad dressing are homemade. Pair that with Boar’s Head corned beef and melted Swiss and just the right amount of sauerkraut and grill it up…and you have a perfect Reuben. The Brunswick stew was thick with carrots, potatoes, and mushrooms with shredded beef and chunks of chicken in a smoky broth. Like my soup, it was well-seasoned and very peppery.

We decided to pass up the desserts this time, but I can guarantee you that next time I’ll be trying something…or getting it to take home (by the way, they do catering and take & bake meals). I regret that it took us this long to make it to Vine Street Market. This was definitely one of the best meals we’ve had in a laid-back and friendly atmosphere. A handful of people came in while we were there who were clearly regulars, as the employees called them by name and seemed to know what was going on in their lives.

This is definitely the kind of place you want to come back to…and I can’t wait to go back to Vine Street Market.

Vine Street Market is located at 1313 Hanover Street, Chattanooga, TN 37405. They are open Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-6 p.m., and Saturday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. You can call them at 423-266-8463. You can also visit their website, vinestreetmarket.com or like Vine Street Market on Facebook. For their regular menu, click here; you can find the catering menu here.

Also in the Riverview area: Tremont Tavern, The Farmer’s Daughter

Got any restaurant suggestions for me in the greater Chattanooga area (includes Dayton, Cleveland, and North Georgia)? Leave a comment!

The Farmer’s Daughter (CLOSED)

January 19, 2014

The Farmer’s Daughter, formerly located in River View near Downtown Chattanooga, is now closed. The Daily Ration, run by the owners of The Bitter Alibi, has moved in to take its place.

Seemingly ages ago (I think it was about 2 years in actuality), it was announced that Ann Keener, literally the farmer’s daughter (her parents farm at Sequatchie Cove) and her husband would be opening a restaurant at the former Exxon station at the corner of Hixson Pike and Tremont, across from the old Greenlife building and next door to Tremont Tavern. It seemed to take forever, but this past October, the Farmer’s Daughter finally opened for business. Much to my chagrin, their hours are 7-2 (which bugs me only because my opportunities to go anywhere during those hours are extremely limited). Philip and I have been meaning to go since they opened, but every Saturday we seem to think about it at about 1:40, and I hate being the person that goes into any sort of establishment right before they close. I think it comes from my days of working at Chuck E. Cheese’s as a teenager, when people would actually walk in the doors literally when the manager was locking the door for the night and they would inevitably stay for at least two hours (corporate policy prevented us from asking them to leave…but who keeps their kids out that late?!?!?! And I was a kid too, with homework to do and tests to pass!).

Anyway, I’m not here to vent about all those hours of lost teenage sleep. Someone asked us last week if we’d been to The Farmer’s Daughter yet and we decided that we must purpose to go there this weekend. So, we woke up super-early (6:40) in the morning on Saturday (actually, that wasn’t by choice, it just happened) and didn’t eat breakfast, which was really not a good decision because I was pretty much hollow by the time we got there at about 10:20. The parking lot wasn’t super-crowded, and even though there was a short wait (as in about five minutes) for a table, the spacious atmosphere kept feelings of being cramped at bay.

Before I go any farther, let me mention that The Farmer’s Daughter is also home of Chattanooga’s newest coffee bar, Copacetic Coffee. Copacetic is operated by my very, very favorite coffee purveyors, Velo Coffee Roasters. They have a walk-up bar right when you walk in the door in case you want something to sip while you wait or if you just want to slip in for a coffee (and maybe some baked goods, too….there were butternut cinnamon rolls, muffins, and peanut butter cookies on the counter). A limited menu of coffee drinks featuring Velo roasted coffee and Cruze Dairy Farm milk promises nothing but perfection, but unfortunately there was no decaf available. Philip, sadly, can no longer have caffeine, and since I was not going to drink delicious Velo in front of him, we just had water. Velo decaf, by the way, blows the others out of the water.

The menu at The Farmer’s Daughter is pretty tiny, which, if you have read my blog much, you know I find to actually be a strength in a restaurant. The more items on the menu, the less time you have to focus on making sure that each item is perfect. They feature almost exclusively locally-produced foods, including Link 41 bacon (more on this in a minute), other pork products as well as cheese from Sequatchie Cove Farm, grits from Riverview Farms, and Gregg’s Eggs. Until 10:30, they serve breakfast, then at 10:30 they switch to brunch (on Saturday) or lunch during the week. We got there at 10:20 so we were at that perfect nexus in time where we could order off of either menu, and while the breakfast quiche with kale, mushrooms, and cheese sounded stunning, we both ended up ordering off of the brunch menu.

Now, there was a pimento cheese sandwich (served with a choice of side) that naturally appealed to me, since pimento cheese is one of my obsessions. I also briefly considered the power salad, which with quinoa, french lentils, roasted roots or pumpkin, marinated veggies, pumpkin and sunflower seeds, shaved parmesan, and lemon-miso dressing sounded amazing, I was in a breakfasty mood. So….I turned my attention to deciding between grits and greens-a bowl of Riverview Farm grits with Cumberland cheese, topped with Crabtree Farm collards slow cooked with Link 41 cured bacon, and topped with a farm egg-or Mike’s potatoes-3 potato hashbrowns, served with housemade applesauce, organic sour cream, fried Sequatchie Cove ham, and an egg. Haley, our server, told me that while the grits were great, the hash browns were pretty much fantastic and that would be her recommendation…so I got them. She did not lie. They were excellent, cooked to crispy perfection with just the right amount of salt and not too much grease. The ham was wonderfully salty and delicious, and the egg was very nice too, though I was expecting (and hoping for) fried. I loved the accompanying applesauce and sour cream, which made me feel like I was eating latkes. The only thing that could have made this better is a biscuit!

Philip was a little bit upset by the lack of bacon on the menu. If you’ll notice, I mentioned it above in the grits & greens, but that’s the only menu item featuring the Link 41 bacon. An off-duty employee was dining at the table next to us and told him that it has a lot to do with the sheer volume of requests for Link 41 bacon that would inevitably come if it was a regular menu item. We don’t want Link 41 to run out of bacon! This meant that he had to settle (I say that sarcastically) for the breakfast sausage, which was a thick, well-cooked, perfectly seasoned patty alongside his blueberry cornmeal pancakes, which he had with house made vanilla syrup and sorghum plus a sunny-side up egg (for an extra charge). The pancakes were deliciously light and fluffy, though for some reason only the top pancake in the stack of three had blueberries. He wasn’t too put off by that since he really only ordered those over the regular buttermilk pancakes since they came with the sausage. The vanilla syrup was good but he really loved the sorghum, though nothing could ever replace good old maple syrup.

Our bill was a little under $20 pre-tip….not a discount brunch but definitely not expensive considering the high-quality local food that we were served. Our server, Haley, was wonderful-attentive, friendly, and a little bit sarcastic in a good way (but only after we were a little sarcastic with her in jest)-we like that in a server. The atmosphere is bright, the decor beautiful because of its simplicity….and the food the same-beautiful because of its simplicity. We were impressed.

The Farmer’s Daughter is located at 1211 Hixson Pike, Hixson, TN 37405. They are open from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday. You can call them at 423-355-5372. You can find The Farmer’s Daughter on Facebook or check out their website, thefarmersdaughterchattanooga.com.

Also in the Riverview area: Tremont Tavern (AKA Chattavore’s current top burger)

Community Pie: New York Style Pizza

December 15, 2013

Community Pie has fantastic pizza, both Neapolitan style and their new New York style pizza. Is it authentic? No clue. Do I care? Nope. It’s delicious!

I first wrote about the Monen’s pizza restaurant, Community Pie, in February. I’ve written about all of their other establishments-Taco Mamacita, Urban Stack Burger Lounge, and Milk & Honey-as well. In October I received an email letting me know that they were now serving New York style pizza at Community Pie, followed by a Facebook message offering me a gift certificate to come in and check it out (and as a thank you for all the free plugs for their many great restaurants). So there you go…now you all know that I ate (mostly) for free on this visit. However, if I didn’t like it….you know I wouldn’t write about it. That’s just my style.

We needed to head downtown to pick up some coffee at Velo anyway, so Philip and I decided to go to Community Pie for a late(ish) lunch. There weren’t a ton of people in the restaurant when we got there at about 1:30, but it definitely wasn’t dead for an after-lunch crowd on a cold, rainy, and dreary Saturday. We were quickly seated and our server took our drink orders and talked to us about the newly introduced New York style pies, which come in 14 and 19-inch whole pies as well as slices. You can order a specialty pie or top your own, and the slices come in cheese, pepperoni, supreme, and “home slice” which is the special of the day (the special when we visited was the aphro, short for Aphrodite, with lemon roasted chicken, tomato, feta, kalamata olives, roasted red peppers, red onion and pepperoncini peppers.

The last time that we were here we split an arugula salad, but I had really wanted to try the raw kale salad, of which I’d heard so many good things, so I ordered one. Philip ordered a Caesar salad, and we decided to get an order of garlic knots as well. The garlic knots came first, hot, crispy, and covered with parmesan cheese and julienned fresh basil. They were quite tasty, and the marinara was very interesting, with a smoky flavor that reminded me of chipotles (but it wasn’t really spicy). Our server told us that there was bacon in the sauce, which is probably where the smokiness came from. The sauce also contains San Marzano tomatoes and a little bit of chocolate. Amen and amen.

I loved the kale salad. Let me say that again: I loved the kale salad. I really, really enjoyed the arugula salad before, but the kale salad was over the top delicious. If you are someone who is convinced that kale is gross….well, stop it. Just stop. Kale is fantastic….you just have to know how to treat it. Massage (literally!) and a little acid will break down the fibers of the kale and make it yield to chewing much more easily. This kale was wonderfully tender, well-dressed with a tart-but-not-overly-so champagne vinaigrette, with dried cranberries, slivered almonds, and grated parmesan. It was amazing, and I want to eat it every day (I should really make this kale salad again soon!). Philip liked his Caesar as well. The romaine leaves were well-coated in a very lemony Caesar dressing (too little Caesar dressing is a travesty) and topped with grated parmesan and plenty of house made croutons. I hate getting a Caesar that has approximately 2.5 croutons and a sad little sprinkling of cheese. This was not that salad.

Now, before I start talking about the pizza, I need to say something. I have never been to New York and therefore I’ve never had “real” New York style pizza. I have heard from many that the pizza at New York Pizza Department is pretty authentic, but I have no experience to draw on there. I was scolded by a friend after that review for getting toppings that no New Yorker would ever order on their pizza (I got BLT and Philip got Buffalo chicken) but we ordered what sounded good to us because our reviews are based on what sounds and tastes good to us. So, I have no idea if Community Pie’s New York style pizza is “authentic” (by the way…this is why I’ve never written about sushi).

Philip thought the Demarco pizza, with fresh and shredded mozzarella, hand torn basil, extra virgin olive oil and pecorino romano, sounded good. And it did, but I kind of wanted to try a more signature Community Pie…pie. He was also into the Spicy Bianca, with olive oil, fresh mozzarella, ricotta, garlic, basil, pecorino romano and calabrian chiles (no tomato sauce), but I was scared that one might be a little spicy for my wimpy palate. The Drunk Pig sounded great, with vodka sauce, Community Pie ricotta, homemade fennel sausage, fresh mozzarella, parmesan cheese and crushed red pepper (you know my love for vodka sauce) but ultimately, we decided on the Bianca Supreme (olive oil, fresh mozzarella, spinach, mushrooms, bacon and gorgonzola-no tomato sauce). The 14-inch, which our server described to us as “good for two people” was pretty gigantic. It was cut into six slices, of which I ate one and Philip had two (we brought the other three home).

This pie was sturdier than the Neopolitan pies that we sampled on our first visit, which I preferred to eat with a fork. The crust was very thin until we got to the edge, when the border was wonderfully chewy and crunchy at the same time. The amount of cheese was perfect and the pizza was topped with just the right ratio of each ingredient, including a liberal amount of bacon. Philip did comment that he would have liked a little more gorgonzola, but overall, this pizza was perfect that way it was.

More pizza in Chattanooga: Crust, Lupi’s Pizza Pies, New York Pizza Department, The Pizza Place, Hill City Pizza

Now, I cannot leave an establishment serving gelato-especially Milk & Honey gelat0-without having some, so we ordered some salted caramel and pistachio (two separate flavors, but you can get up to three flavors in your cup) to split. Other flavors available were the signature flavor, Milk & Honey, chocolate Oreo, and vanilla latte. As always, the gelato was perfect. I was a little surprised to find that I preferred the salted caramel to the pistachio, but I would order either (or both) again.

Our total for this visit was $39 and some change pre-tip. As I’ve said before, it’s not a place to go for a cheap pizza dinner, but for a creative and delicious pizza I think it’s worth it as an occasional treat. Is it authentic? I have no clue. Do I care? Nope.

So, I think you should try New York style pizza at Community Pie.

For another review, check out my bloggie friend Emily’s recent review.

Community Pie is located at 850 Market Street, Chattanooga, TN 37402. They are open Sunday-Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Friday-Saturday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. You can call them at 423-486-1PIE. Check out their website, CommunityPie.com. You can also like them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter.

Tupelo Honey Café Chattanooga

October 13, 2013

Tupelo Honey Café Chattanooga is a trendy spot serving classic, fun Southern food in at Warehouse Row in Downtown Chattanooga.

Tupelo Honey Café Chattanooga opened last month at Warehouse Row. It has been much hyped (at least in my Facebook feed!) and I was anxious to check it out. We ate at the original Tupelo Honey in Asheville, North Carolina a few years back and were pretty impressed by the BLT and the sweet potato pancakes. It’s now a chain, but since it’s still regional and small I decided that it still fit into the confines of Chattavore.

I was a little nervous about crowds since it’s downtown and still fairly new, so we decided to go early. We arrived at a few minutes after 5 p.m. on a Wednesday night and were immediately seated. Since the weather was perfect-o, we decided to sit outside. Our server, Leslie, greeted us quickly and took our drink order, suggesting fried green tomatoes (served with goat cheese and basil) or cheesy grit cakes as an appetizer, but we decided against ordering an app (besides, I probably would have gone for the pimento cheese and tortilla chips if I had wanted an appetizer). Every diner gets a biscuit with blueberry jam and honey (Tupelo honey, I presume). The biscuits were pretty good but the jam was great-not too sweet, not too gooey…just perfect.

Tupelo Honey serves breakfast all day. I really wanted the Eggs Betty-“two free-range, medium-poached eggs on a biscuit with all-natural city ham and homemade lemony hollandaise”-but that’s the one breakfast item that they don’t serve all day (they stop serving it at 2 p.m.). The fried egg BLT-“two fresh, free-range eggs prepared over hard, two strips of maple peppered bacon, lettuce, tomato and smoked jalapeno aioli on our exclusive sourdough wheat”-sounded pretty good too….but I decided I didn’t want breakfast. I flipped back to the entrées, where I seriously considered the vegetable plate (three of the veggie sides for $9.95 or four for $12.45)…but then I noticed Shoo Grill Cheese, Have Mercy Served with a Big Hearty Mug of Soup-“Havarti, pimento cheese, caramelized onions, maple peppered bacon, all natural city ham, fried green tomatoes and fresh basil served on our exclusive sourdough wheat bread”, served with tomato soup or cheesy onion bisque, which Leslie described as sort of like a creamy French onion soup. I decided on the bisque and also ordered a side of the brown butter Brussels sprouts. The sandwich was large and very, very messy. There was a lot going on so I couldn’t really tease out the flavor of the pimento cheese, but all of the flavors worked really well together. I really enjoyed the soup. The onions were perfectly soft and worked wonderfully with the creamy broth, which didn’t have the overly salty flavor that many restaurant soups have, and the croutons floating on top were crispy and delicious. The flavor of the Brussels sprouts was good, but I did feel that they needed a little salt….and, well, in my opinion, Brussels sprouts always benefit from the addition of bacon. Sue me. They’re not as good as mine (my husband said so!).

Philip though about ordering the sweet potato pancake-“one large buttermilk pancake flavored with cinnamon and sweet potatoes, topped with whipped peach butter and spiced pecans”-but, like me, decided against breakfast. Shrimp & grits is one of his restaurant go-to items, but the menu item he looked at-Shoo Mercy Shrimp & Grits-was $22.95. Upon perusing their menu, it appears that they have two versions of shrimp and grits-Brian’s Shrimp and Grits-seven large shrimp served over Goat Cheese Grits and anointed with a spicy roasted red pepper sauce ($15.95)-and Shoo Mercy-Chef Brian’s Shrimp and Grits – and then some. A dozen shrimp with bacon, carmelized onions, spinach and sautéed mushrooms over Goat Cheese Grits. Oh well-next time. He decided to get the Southern Fried Chicken Saltimbocca with Country Ham and Mushroom Marsala-“crispy fried natural, hormone-free chicken breast topped with country ham, melted Havarti cheese and basil. Served with a mushroom marsala sauce, cheesy smashed cauliflower and a fresh asparagus garnish” for $15.95. He loved the chicken, which was a boneless chicken breast, perfectly fried, with cheese melted on top, mushroom marsala gravy poured over, and bits of country ham sprinkled on top. The cheesy mashed cauliflower was really tasty, cooked till tender and combined with cheddar cheese, and I really liked the asparagus, which was very, very lightly steamed and just a little undercooked for Philip’s taste (he doesn’t like asparagus quite as much as I do!).

When Leslie mentioned dessert, we were all ready to decline until she mentioned brown butter pecan pie. Pecan pie is Philip’s second favorite dessert (after crème brûlée), and theirs is served with vanilla bean and caramel sauce, so we decided to get a slice to bring home and eat later that night. Sorry, I forgot to take a picture! It was tooth-achingly sweet but still quite good, with the brown butter adding a nice richness to the filling. Good but not the best I’ve had.

At around $40 pre-tip, this was definitely not an inexpensive dinner out. We liked it but it definitely won’t be a regular destination for us, especially since Southern cooking is one of my specialties so I could recreate the things that we ate there for a lot less than forty bucks (and perhaps I’ll check into the Tupelo Honey Café Cookbook to help me do just that).

Still, if you’ve been itching to check it out, Tupelo Honey Café Chattanooga is definitely worth a try.

Tupelo Honey Café Chattanooga is located at 1110 Market Street, Chattanooga, TN 37402. You can call them at 423-779-0040 or email info@tupelohoneycafe.com. Check out their website, tupelohoneycafe.com. You can also like them on Facebook. I did not find Tupelo Honey Chattanooga on Twitter, but you can follow the original, @tupelohoneycafe.

More restaurants in this area: Southern Burger Company, Public House, Meeting Place

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