East Brainerd restaurants Archives - Page 2 of 3

Toscano Italian Grill

August 10, 2016

Toscano Italian Grill is an unassuming Italian restaurant located in a strip mall in Chattanooga, TN with huge portions and surprisingly tasty food.

It has been a while – probably a couple of years – but I posted on Facebook asking readers about their favorite pizza in Chattanooga and was surprised by one of the answers: Toscano Italian Grill. I actually had to ask where it was located, because I had never heard of it. As soon as I was told that it was located in the strip mall on Lee Highway, I knew exactly where it was, but I’m rarely in that area so it took me ages to get out there.

Philip and I arrived at Toscano Italian Grill at around 4:00 on a Saturday afternoon and the place was empty. We were greeted by Haili as soon as we walked in the door and she led us to the seating area and let us choose our own table. Toscano looked basically like every strip mall restaurant I’ve ever been in: clean but basic. I will be honest, I didn’t expect much because I have had very bad experiences with trip mall Italian restaurants, pre-blog (those places are long defunct).

Haili filled our waters while we perused the menu. I had read several Yelp reviews that mentioned the Italian nachos at Toscano Italian Grill, so we decided to order those for $7.99. They were made from pita chips topped with Alfredo sauce, mozzarella cheese, chunks of grilled chicken, and pickled jalapeño slices. They were pretty tasty, though honestly, if I were making them at home I would probably leave off the chicken or cut it into smaller chunks. I loved the concept and may have to recreate it for the blog. Haili told us that the Toscano twisters (pizza rolls stuffed with mozzarella and a topping of your choice for $6.99) and the garlic knots ($5.99) are also fantastic.

Our entrees came with a Toscano salad (lettuce, tomatoes, onions, green peppers, and shredded carrots) or Caesar salad and garlic bread. We both decided on the Caesar salad, which was pretty basic: chopped romaine, shredded Parmesan, pre-fab croutons, and Caesar dressing on the side. It was good but there was nothing spectacular or “special” about it. The garlic bread was pretty much along the same lines: buttery crusty bread with garlic seasoning.

I was torn between the New York style pizza (a small – 10 inch – pizza starts at $7.99) and the baked penne. I ultimately decided that I was in the mood for pasta, so I decided on the baked penne with a creamy pink sauce, meat sauce, meatballs, or sausage, and cheese for $10.99 (I ordered mine with meatballs). I actually thought it was very, very good. The sauce was a nice balance between creamy and tomato-y, the pasta cooked to al dente, and the blanket of mozzarella….well, I love mozzarella, and there was plenty in every bite. The meatballs were good too, tender and well cooked, but honestly, I would have been just as happy with this as a meatless dish. This portion was large enough for a whole family and we brought home enough leftovers to feed both of us for lunch the next day.

Philip decided to go way out of his comfort zone and order the fruit de mari ($13.99): shrimp, calamari, chopped clams, and baby scallops cooked in a spicy marinara sauce served on top of spaghetti noodles. He typically doesn’t care for calamari and is sort of indifferent about clams, but he wanted to try something different. He said that on its own, the calamari was chewy and not great (because it’s calamari) but when he ate it with the pasta and sauce that it all paired together really well and he actually enjoyed it. One note: there was a ton of oil in this, which made it a little heavier than you might expect a seafood and marinara based dish to be.

It was before dinner time when we were there, but while we were dining a few more tables filled up and we heard Haili taking multiple orders on the phone as well. Toscano Italian Grill seems to be doing well. Like I said, I wasn’t expecting much, and I was pleasantly surprised. Was it Alleia or even Tony’s? Of course not. Was it perfectly tasty Italian food? Sure. I’m going to have to run by here on a work day and grab a small pizza for lunch so I can try it out (if I do, I’ll be sure to post an update).

If you’re in the Lee Highway area and looking for somewhere to eat, Toscano Italian Grill is worth a try!

Toscano Italian Grill is located at 6219 Lee Highway, Suite 8, Chattanooga, TN. They are open daily 10:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. You can call them at (423) 805-3888. You can find Toscano Italian Grill on Facebook and check out their website to find their menu and coupons.

Fat Boy’s Roadside Eats

June 22, 2016

Fat Boy’s Roadside Eats is a roadside trailer in the East Brainerd area that serves all your favorite guilty pleasures-and some you haven’t thought of yet.

Did I just write the other day about trying to eat more healthfully? Pretend for the next few minutes that you didn’t read that post. I refuse to apologize for my life-long love of burgers, fries, and Doritos. (<–That was foreshadowing. Look at me being all literary.)

I had never heard of Fat Boy’s Roadside Eats until last month when Chattanooga Eats was doing their burger poll. They were one of the contenders for the East Brainerd area. I passed Fat Boy’s while on the road for work a week or two later. It was then that I decided to look it up. I was overcome with the need to try them out. Their menu was decidedly decadent, featuring foods that you might expect to find at a fair. I had to go.

Philip and I headed out to Fat Boy’s Roadside Eats at lunch time on a Wednesday. They did not appear to be extremely busy; another couple was ordering when we arrived and a few people came to pick up orders while we were there. The menu is taped to the counter in front of the window; the counter was pretty high so my 5’3″ self had a difficult time reading it. Looking back, I should have asked for a take-out menu. I wish that they had a larger menu or even just one of the takeout menus posted in a more accessible place. We quickly placed our order then took a seat at one of the picnic tables. Our order arrived within 10 or 15 minutes.

The menu at Fat Boy’s Roadside Eats is divided into the following categories: BBQ, loaded baked potatoes, sandwiches and burgers, burritos and bowls, tacos, quesadillas, sides, family meal deals, and “other” which encompasses snack/appetizers type things. I had taken a look at their Facebook page before we went and knew that I wanted to try their cheese stuffed Doritos. Cheese stuffed Doritos are described by the menu as “Cheddar cheese breaded in crushed Doritos and deep fried to perfection, served with a side of ranch”. Sounds like my kind of food. We got a half order (5 pieces) for $3.49. They turned out to be a great, fun treat, especially for some who finds Doritos to be addictively delicious like myself. The concept was similar to a mozzarella stick, except with cheddar and Doritos instead of mozzarella and breadcrumbs. By the way, the menu notes that some items in the “other” category may not be available every day.

Because the cashier was waiting, I felt a little rushed to order. That’s silly and I should have asked for a menu and taken my time. Instead, I jumped to order a cheeseburger ($7.99). All of the burgers and sandwiches are served with fries and fry sauce. The burgers, as noted on the front of the menu, are huge. I could only eat a little more than half of mine.

The cheese was American cheese, which is my burger choice because of its meltability. The buns were pretty standard burger buns, and the burgers were served with lettuce, tomato, onion (which I removed), pickle, mustard, mayo, and ketchup. The meat was cooked very well – a little crispy on the outside – and the burgers were well seasoned and delicious. My only complain was that it was extremely messy. The fries were pretty standard; due to space issues, they use frozen fries-but they were crispy and well seasoned, so I was fine with them. I really liked the fry sauce, a slightly spicy amalgamation of mayonnaise and ketchup.

Philip got the bacon double cheeseburger ($10.99). If my burger was huge, his burger could only be described as gargantuan. He had to cut it in half just to be able to pick it up! He agreed with me, though, that the burger was very good.

Like I said, I wish that I had gotten something besides the burger. That definitely isn’t because I didn’t like the burger, but there are so many things on the menu that I wish I had tried something else, especially since Philip had a burger as well. I plan to visit Fat Boy’s Roadside Eats again in the near future so that we can try something different and give a more comprehensive opinion on the food that they offer!

The back of the menu gives a little insight into why the family decided to start their business in the Standifer Gap area. It’s a small, family-owned place in an area without a lot of food options, so I hope that they continue to get the support that they need to continue serving fun food to the East Brainerd area. Our total, pre-tip, was $24.55, which, at first glance, seemed a little pricey to me. However, when I considered what I would pay for the same meal in a casual dining restaurant or from a more traditional food truck, as well as the sheer quantity of food that we were given, I realized that the price really wasn’t particularly steep.

Support a family-owned business and give Fat Boy’s Roadside Eats a try!

Fat Boy’s Roadside Eats is located at 8106 Stander Gap Road, Chattanooga, TN 37421. They are open Sunday through Friday, 11:30 to 8. You can call them at 423-715-0059 or email them at fatboysroadside@gmail.com. They do not have a website at this time, but you can like Fat Boy’s Roadside Eats on Facebook.

Molcajete Mexican Restaurant

December 25, 2015

Molcajete Mexican Restaurant is a beautiful restaurant on Lee Highway in Chattanooga, Tennessee that serves delicious Mexican food!
A couple of months ago, I posted on my Facebook page asking what everyone’s favorite Mexican restaurant in the Chattanooga area was. I got a ton of responses-several of which corresponded to my personal favorite (Delia’s, DUH) but lots of which I had never heard of. You’ll forgive me if there’s a disproportionate number of Mexican restaurant reviews for the next few months, right??? I’ve got a lot of work to do!

One restaurant that several people mentioned was Molcajete. Philip actually ended up eating there a couple of weeks ago and really liked it, so we decided to go back last weekend. We went at about 1:30 or 2:00 on Saturday afternoon, and while there were quite a few people in the restaurant, we were seated immediately. Our chips and salsa were delivered quickly and our server, Grace, took our drink orders. We also ordered a small bowl of queso because why not??? I will tell you that one of my readers highly recommended the choriqueso (queso with chorizo) but I didn’t want to go that heavy plus we typically order regular queso so I wanted a point of reference.

The chips, salsa, and queso were all pretty standard Mexican restaurant versions. The chips were thin, very crispy, and not too greasy. The salsa was just slightly spicy and pretty smooth (which is how I like it-I don’t care for chunky salsa) with a decent amount of cilantro. The queso was very thin and not very spicy. ⬅️I feel like these are very bland descriptions. Everything was good, but like I said, pretty standard…so I just don’t have much to say!

I decided to order the taquitos with ground beef. Taquitos are rolled corn tortillas stuffed with meat and fried (flautas are the flour tortilla version). Their taquitos are served with guacamole salad (basically just guacamole and shredded lettuce), shredded cheese, rice, and beans. I have to admit, the taquitos were delicious. The tortillas were very crispy-impressively so-and the meat was very well seasoned. On its own, I found the guacamole to be a little too spicy (it had chunks of jalapeño in it), but scooped onto the taquitos it worked perfectly. The beans were, again, pretty standard. Not bad but not earth-shattering. The rice was well seasoned and well-cooked.

Philip decided quickly on a chimichanga (pretty much his standard order) but then noticed the chimiRica-a chimichanga filled with grilled chicken or steak, onions, chorizo, and special sauce, topped with queso sauce. He ordered the small with beef, and I’m pretty sure that if he had ordered the large we would have been in bad shape. In fact, he didn’t even finish the small! It was pretty gigantic. The meat and onions were well-cooked and the cheese sauce made it super-gooey. He didn’t really notice the special sauce, though. His one complaint was that it didn’t come with rice and beans and that, a la carte, they would have cost $4 ($1.99 each) extra. I had plenty, though, so I shared with him.

The decor at Molcajete is very nice. The servers and other staff were very friendly and the food was tasty and fresh. The menu is extensive. It’s definitely (at least mostly) Americanized Mexican food, but that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t taste good. They have a full bar as well. The prices were on par with other similar restaurants-our total for the queso and two entrees (we drank water) was $18.00 pre-tip. If you are in the Brainerd/Lee Highway area, give Molcajete Mexican restaurant a try!

Molcajete Mexican restaurant is located at 6231 Perimeter Drive, Suite 127, Chattanooga, Tennessee (in the same complex as Sportsman’s Warehouse and Pin Strikes). They are open 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Sunday-Thursday and 11 a.m.-10:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday. You can call them at 423-760-8200. You can like Molcajete on Facebook.

Hong Kong Chinese (East Brainerd)

February 23, 2015

Hong Kong Chinese restaurant is a great Chinese restaurant with delicious food and great service on East Brainerd Road in Chattanooga.
I didn’t start eating Chinese food until I was a junior in college. Actually, it was probably more to impress a guy than anything else…but he married me so I guess it all turned out okay. Plus, it turned out that I actually liked Chinese food…I have no idea why I was always so convinced that I wouldn’t. I guess it’s too late to wonder, though. Anyway, when we were dating and early in our marriage, Philip and I used to frequent China Inn, a Chinese buffet in the TJ Maxx complex at Northgate. Friendly staff, good prices, and great food-we loved that place! We were crushed when it closed, though we shifted our affections toward Mandarin Garden…which then closed. And Philip doesn’t like Formosa (for the record, I do). In fact, we have found the Chinese options in our area to be rather disappointing overall.

However, Philip has a friend who lives in East Brainerd and they frequently visit Hong Kong Chinese, which is in the complex where the East Brainerd Publix is. I know when they’ve been because Philip comes home with a box of cereal, a telltale sign that he had to buy something in order to get cash back at checkout-Hong Kong only accepts cash or checks. He has sworn to me for a couple of years now that the food at Hong Kong is delicious, but it’s a little bit of a trek especially when you never carry cash, so it’s taken us a little time to get out there.

It’s been quite a week here in Chattanooga, what with ice and snow and temperatures nearing zero. Us Southerners aren’t built for that type of weather and neither are our Public Works departments…I mean, it really doesn’t make financial sense to spend a lot of money to purchase a lot of equipment meant to deal with weather events that may happen once or twice a year if that. So…I was off work all week (and I might add…Tennessee schools tack a little time on to the end of each day so that snow days are built in, so it’s not like we just get free days-I’ve seen a little complaining about that this week) and feeling just a little stir crazy after being in the house 95% of the week. We ventured out in still a little bit of slush so Philip could check out the craft beer selection at Sigler’s, then we headed to the Kitchen Spice Indian store next the to East Brainerd Goodwill…then we went to Publix and bought cereal so we could eat at Hong Kong.

There were no other customers eating in the restaurant, which looks pretty much like your stereotypical mom and pop Chinese restaurant-a few basic tables, some floral border on the walls, and pictures of menu items above the counters. The people in the back were very busy preparing to-go orders and the phone rang frequently (not to mention the steady stream of people picking up their orders). The lady who took our order recognized Philip and told him that they were out of tofu, because apparently he likes to order tofu. Anyway….

We got there at 3:01 so we were just a little too late to order off of the lunch specials menu, which includes entree, chicken fried rice, an egg roll, and soup or a soda. Instead, for $15 and some change (plus a little that Philip dropped in the tip jar), we ordered the combination plates. When I asked Philip what was good off of their very large (as Chinese menus tend to be) menu, he assured me that everything he’d had was good (by the way, I’ve included the menu at the bottom of the post). In the end I got an order of sesame chicken and he decided on chicken with cashew nuts. Each order came with chicken fried rice and an egg roll, and we drank water.

Sesame chicken is my favorite Chinese menu item but I often find that the sauce is so thick and sweet that it becomes cloying. I did not find this to be an issue with this chicken, which was sweet but not tooth-aching, crunchy, and not too sticky. There was a little broccoli, though I would have liked to have had more. The rice was well-cooked and peppered with peas and carrots. My only real complaint is that the egg roll had a little bit of weird pink pork in it…which always freaks me out a little bit. The pink color just comes from the salt used to cure it, but the neon hue is just a little unnerving. Still, the egg rolls were delicious.

Philip’s chicken with cashew nuts was far more vegetable-laden than my sesame chicken, with lots of carrots, celery, water chestnuts, mushrooms, and cashews. Rather than being breaded like the sesame chicken, the cashew chicken was simply velveted (coated in cornstarch before being sautéed) and had a light, slightly sweet sauce. The portions were decent sized but not overly gigantic…we both ate most but not all of our meals and didn’t feel stuffed after.

For the price and the friendly service (I saw some reviewers on Urbanspoon refer to the service as rude and state that they’ll walk away if you aren’t ready, but they’re BUSY. While we decided on our order, the lady taking the orders walked away to work in the kitchen, then she came back after a couple of minutes to take our order), I think that Hong Kong Chinese is a great option. It was definitely the best Chinese food that I’ve had around Chattanooga in quite a while, and it didn’t leave me with an MSG aftertaste or a telltale MSG bloat after (too much MSG makes me feel puffy and swollen). Obviously, the location will prevent us from going on those work nights when I just don’t feel like cooking…

…but when I have a Chinese craving that I can’t shake Hong Kong Chinese will be my go-to. Judging from the number of people picking up takeout, it seems that quite a few people in the area agree.

Hong Kong Chinese Restaurant is located at 8644 East Brainerd Road, Suite C2, Chattanooga, TN 37421. They are open daily, 11 a.m.-10 p.m., except Sundays when they are open 12 p.m.-9:30 p.m. You can call them at 423-899-4878.

Also in this area: Bones Smokehouse

Bonefish Grill Chattanooga

October 6, 2014

Bonefish Grill Chattanooga recently won the Times Free Press Best of the Best award for best seafood restaurant for the 7th year in a row.

Let me start this by saying that Chattavore always has been and always will be a blog focused primarily on promoting local restaurants. That said, decided to try an experiment. I am actually invited fairly regularly to attend openings and other events at chain restaurants. I have always kindly declined the invites, but last month I decided to accept an offer, even if I only do it once, just to see how I would approach a dining review (a) when my meal is complementary; and/or (b) at a chain restaurant.

A couple of weeks ago I was contacted by a PR representative for Bonefish Grill. Bonefish Grill Chattanooga was just voted best seafood restaurant in Chattanooga in the Times-Free Press “Best of the Best” readers poll for the seventh year in a row and has recently unveiled a new menu with the hashtag #hellonewmenu. They wanted to invite me in to try out the restaurant. We hadn’t been in many years, so I decided to take them up on the offer. I will let you know up front that I was given a dining voucher and quite a few “extras”, though we did pay a small portion of our tab as well as tax and tip. Because of this I am going to take a more objective “just the facts” approach to the review than I normally do. However, anything positive that I say is my own opinion!

Since we attend church on the East Brainerd side of town, we decided to dine at Bonefish Grill Chattanooga for Sunday lunch. We were actually unaware until we arrived that Bonefish Grill serves brunch on Sundays (perhaps Saturday as well, but I’m not sure). Brunch offerings include a selection of omelets, “Brunch favorites” including French toast, a burger, and oatmeal, and a variety of eggs Benedict dishes. For $20.90, you can order one of their brunch items plus endless bellinis, mimosas, or blackberry sangria. We were not in the mood to go all out with brunch, but they did bring us some French toast to sample. The French toast was bruleed (which was a nice touch) and served with pancake syrup, whipped cream, strawberries, and mint, and bacon. Since we were also getting Bang Bang shrimp we should have left more on the plate…but it’s a sin to waste bacon, right?

Angela, our server, brought us a couple of drinks, including the blackberry smash, which was literally smashed blackberries, coconut water, mint, and soda water, and a house lemonade, which is made with lemongrass syrup and house made lemonade base. It’s served in a sugar-rimmed glass and is quite possibly the tarted lemonade I’ve ever had in my life, which is not a bad thing. I particularly liked the blackberry smash, though…the mint was a wonderful touch (I’m a little obsessed with mint. And know I’m thinking that I need to recreate this…but perhaps include some lavender as well). She also brought us a plate of warm bread with pesto dipping oil.

The brunch menu offers a smaller selection of “Signatures starters” and “Starters + Sharing” menu items than the lunch or dinner menus, but the Bang Bang shrimp is always available. I had never tried the Bang Bang shrimp but have heard a great deal about it and wanted to try. Bang Bang shrimp is fried shrimp tossed in a creamy, spicy sauce. It was a decent but not huge portion. We enjoyed the Bang Bang shrimp a great deal…it was just a little spicy but not too much. I’d like to recreate this in a baked version at home. The ahi tuna sashimi (seared and sliced tuna) is another popular appetizer (we ordered it on a previous trip and liked it a great deal. We also each decided to try a salad. I had the house salad, which was an unusual play on the traditional house salad with mixed greens, grape tomatoes, kalamata olives, pumpkin seeds, and hearts of palm, dressed with a citrus-herb vinaigrette. I decided to add Danish blue cheese for $1.50. The salad was fresh and well dressed. Philip chose the Caesar salad, fresh romaine lettuce with a light, not super creamy Caesar dressing, garlic croutons, and Parmesan cheese. During dinner service they also offer a wedge salad and a couple of entree salads (Cobb, cilantro-lime shrimp salad).

One of the changes that Bonefish Grill recently made to their menu was to begin offering “hand-helds”. Don, the managing partner, told us that this was to make Bonefish Grill more accessible to those who just wanted an easy, casual dinner out. The hand-helds include a burger, fish tacos, Bang Bang shrimp tacos, and fish & chips. They also offer a lobster grilled cheese during lunch and dinner service. I decided on the Baja fish tacos, which Don told us are sometimes made with tilapia but are current being made with pollock. The fish was blackened and the tacos were served with shredded lettuce, a fresh mango salsa, and lime creme on slightly crisped-up flour tortillas. Hand-helds are served with your choice of a green salad or house-cut chips, and you guys know what I chose (I cannot pass up a house-cut chip). The chips were warm, fresh, and well-seasoned and the fish tacos were nicely seasoned and tasty.

The menu also includes a selection of wood-grilled fish and sautéed and baked entrees. The dinner menu also offers wood-grilled steaks and chops and a selection of bowls, like a spicy tuna bowl and a shrimp pad Thai bowl. They also offer a seasonal specials menu, and Philip decided to order the swordfish with pumpkin ravioli with crispy sage, shallot brown butter, and feta cheese, which Don told us was a concept imagined by the founder of Bonefish Grill to bring in Fall. The dish was served with a succotash made with corn, edamame, and sausage. Philip really enjoyed the salmon, which was well-cooked and seasoned, and the ravioli. He liked the succotash but didn’t love it as much as the other items on the plate. The portion was sizable but not huge and the ravioli was filled well and nicely seasoned. Other specials included a Vintner’s burger and Atlantic salmon with bacon jam butter.

Don insisted on bringing us some desserts and I was honestly expecting a small sample of a few of the dessert menu items. I was quite surprised when we were served a full-size portion of each dessert! The desserts include a very dark, rich flourless macadamia nut brownie (not for the faint of heart-this was one of the most chocolatey things I’ve ever eaten), served with ice cream and raspberry sauce and friendly for the gluten-free set, a sangria flatbread-brioche flatbread with berry sangria preserves and mascarpone cheese, topped with pecans and wine custard sauce (we liked it but didn’t love it), coconut pie-a creamy coconut custard topped with Myer’s rum sauce (pie good, sauce excellent), key lime pie (fresh, light, and a great balance of tart and sweet), and pumpkin creme brûlée, which is a seasonal dessert (and tastes just like someone mixed pumpkin pie with creme brûlée…which cannot be a bad thing). We couldn’t take more than a few bites of any of them! We were 100% stuffed.

Bonefish Grill Chattanooga is striving to be an elevated chain restaurant.

Their goal is to provide a menu, service, and atmosphere that are a step above other chain restaurants (and that isn’t a knock to chain restaurants, because, as I said before, I do eat in chains). Their changing menu is meant to meet the needs of their customers whether they want to have a quick dinner on the way home from shopping or an experience meal and they are working to follow the trends of the culinary world. You can find their full brunch menu here and the dinner menu here. By the way, they also offer a Saturday lunch menu with more casual combo items (like soups/salads) and a gluten free menu.

Bonefish Grill Chattanooga is located at 2115 Gunbarrel Road, Chattanooga, TN 37421. They are open Sunday 10 a.m.-9 p.m., Monday-Thursday 4:30 p.m.-10:30 p.m., Friday 4:30 p.m.-11:30 p.m., and Saturday 11 a.m.-11:30 p.m. You can call them at 423-892-3175. You can check out the website at http://www.bonefishgrill.com.

« Previous Page