sandwich/burger/hot dog restaurants Archives - Page 9 of 11

Gollywhoppers-April 13, 2013

April 14, 2013

Gollywhoppers was a popular sandwich shop on East Brainerd Road that has closed since this review and been replaced by Greg’s Sandwich Works.

Recently I have been trying so hard to find my own photography “style”. I have a pretty good understanding of how my camera works, lighting, etc….but propping and styling is a weakness. When I look at the photos of food bloggers and food photographers that I really admire, I notice that they seem to have a “signature”…for example, Deb of Smitten Kitchen usually photographs against her charcoalish countertop, Melissa of The Faux Martha against an all-white background (which I’ve been experimenting with), and Heidi of 101 Cookbooks has an unreal white and gray marble countertop that provides an amazing backdrop for the majority of her photo. Well, I have an unattractive laminate countertop that was installed in 1977 and my, um, “backsplash” is a painted wall. I refuse to spend a billion dollars on props and we eat everything that I cook so a lot of my photos are taken in the Corelle stoneware we bought several years back. Keepin’ it real. I want a signature of my own…something that people recognize as Chattavore just like I can immediately spot a Smitten Kitchen photo on Pinterest or wherever else. I think if I can find my own propping/styling….style I can then focus on increasing the quality of my photography.

Anyway, the hunt for a signature style led us to Southeastern Salvage on Saturday in search of tile, wood, textiles, etc. We walked away with a market basket to replace the one that I bought at Target last year that is on its last leg and one of these days one of those milk jars is just going to come bursting out. But anyway….Lee Highway is not really a road where you want to make a left turn not at a light, so we ended up turning back toward Hamilton Place as we left. If you haven’t noticed, there are not an awful lot of local restaurants around HP (I suspect that the rent is too high for most mom & pop operations) so we knew we were going to end up somewhere on Brainerd or East Brainerd Road and finally decided on Gollywhoppers.

Gollywhoppers has been around for a long time (since 1997) but because we don’t spend an awful lot of time in that part of town we’ve never eaten there. They are located in a fairly large strip mall sort of building on East Brainerd Road as it nears Brainerd. When you walk in, there are menus on the table as well as menus by the entrance so you can decide what you want to order before you walk up to the counter if you’re like me and you can’t stand to feel like the cashiers are staring at you while you try to decide what you want to order off the menu over the counter. We sat down at a table to decide what to order.

The menu includes sandwiches, of course-half sandwiches or the Gollywhopper whole sandwiches, each available on French, cracked wheat, rye, or pumpernickel bread, each baked from scratch (they also serve hamburgers and a hot dog that they claim is the best in town). They have baked potatoes, including the super-stuffed potato topped with all sorts of things, including chili and cheese as well as a barbecue stuffed potato. Their salad menu includes a taco salad, a southwest grilled chicken salad, a stuffed tomato, and their salad bar. They serve several soups including soup specials on certain days and chili, of course, which can be made into chili pie, a ubiquitous Southern dish (known in some parts of the country as Frito pie and in other parts “walking tacos”) of corn chips topped with chili, cheese, and onions-theirs also has slaw, sour cream, and jalapeños. They also have a handful of homemade sides: baked beans, slaw, pasta salad, and potato salad. Finally, their dessert menu includes a laundry list of made-from-scratch bars which are showcased in a case by the registers, including red velvet bars, lemon bars, peanut butter swirl bars, Special K bars…..the list goes on. You can purchase a whole (very large) bar for $3.99 or a bite-sized (more manageable for one person) bar for $0.99.

I love a good, messy, overstuffed baked potato so I seriously considered ordering the super-stuffed potato, but I really wanted to try a sandwich so I finally settled on a half pimento cheese sandwich on cracked wheat bread (I thought about French bread but wasn’t sure how “crusty” the French bread would be and pimento cheese doesn’t really pair all that well with crusty bread) with taco soup (served with crackers or cornbread….I decided on cornbread). This is served as a combo that comes with a drink, so I got sweet tea (as did Philip). By the way, when they say “sweet tea”, they mean it. We ended up cutting it with unsweetened and I added a lot of lemon (as I always do). Here’s a fun Chattavore fact…..I used to drink “sweet tea” (as everyone likes to make fun of us Southerners for saying) constantly; it was pretty much the only thing I drank. In 2006 when Philip had a surgery and had to water up to prep for anesthesia I joined him in the water deluge and we’ve never looked back. I haven’t made iced tea in years except for a party….but it’s still an occasional dining out treat if real brewed tea (not nasty Nestea) is available.

The bread is not sliced bread but rather individual rolls. Since the half sandwich is actually served on a full roll the same size that I’d serve if I was making sandwiches on rolls at home, I’m dying to see what the whole sandwich is served on and should have asked but didn’t even think about that till just now. The cracked wheat bread was fresh and soft, obviously not 100% whole wheat but the perfect texture for pimento cheese. Their pimento cheese was not a spread like I made but more drippy with whole shreds of cheese. It was clearly homemade with large chunks of pimento. Quite delicious, and I could have eaten the whole sandwich if I hadn’t forced myself to stop. The taco soup was not like any I’ve had before (the taco soup I make has beans and corn in it, this did not) but quite tasty with lots of tomatoes, ground beef, and shredded pork, shredded cheese, and crushed tortilla chips at the bottom with perfect seasoning. The cornbread was sweet and was pretty good as sweet cornbread goes, but you know I’m a savory cornbread girl. They did get points for serving it with real butter as opposed to “buttery spread”.

Philip decided on the Reuben, which isn’t actually listed on the menu. He was going to order corned beef with whatever on it….as he started ordering he asked the cashier what came on the corned beef sandwich and the guy told him that it was up to him unless he ordered the Reuben…so if you want a Reuben, know it’s available to you. Philip decided on that with rye bread (he was given a choice of rye or pumpernickel) with chips and a drink. They have a wide variety of chips available and Philip decided on jalapeño flavored. He liked the Reuben, saying it was good, not the best he’d had, but good. I tasted it….I’m not really a judge of Reubens because I don’t care much for rye bread (it’s the caraway) but I liked it. The corned beef was tasty, the bread fresh (of course), the cheese a little melty, and the dressing and the sauerkraut brought everything together just like they should on a Reuben. I need to learn to love caraway.

After we ate we were a bit too full to sample any of the bars but I did look at the case just a little wistfully as we walked out. A red velvet bar with cream cheese icing would have ended my day perfectly yesterday but instead I ended up eating Ghirardelli chocolate chips out of the jar from my pantry at 9:30 last night. Oh well. Live and learn. The total for our two combos was about $19. The food was fresh and quick but not too quick, and the service was friendly. There were plenty of people in the store even at almost 2:00 on a Saturday afternoon, so Gollywhoppers has definitely made its mark on the area.

Gollywhoppers closed in late 2014 and has since been replaced by Greg’s Sandwich Works.

Gollywhoppers is located at 6337 East Brainerd Road, Chattanooga, TN 37421. You can reach them at 423-855-2001. You can also “like” them on Facebook and check out their website at http://www.gollywhopperstn.com. They are open Monday-Friday, 11 a.m.-8 p.m., Saturday 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sunday 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. They also provide catering with at least 24 hours advanced notice.

Sing It or Wing It-January 19, 2012

January 21, 2013

I’m not really one for resolutions, but I told Philip the other day that I thought it would be a good idea to see how far into the year we could get doing blog posts on restaurants featured in our Adventures in Dining coupon book. Adventures in Dining features buy one get one free coupons for restaurants in the Chattanooga area. I paid $35 for it (from a friend’s daughter who was selling them for Chattanooga Girls’ Choir) and we’ll recoup that amount within three or four meals. Not a bad deal. Not bad at all. I could definitely go for some savings.

Our first Adventures in Dining meal was New York Pizza Department, which was more of a coincidence than anything else since people had been telling me and telling me that we needed to blog about it, so it was just serendipitous that there was a coupon. Meant to be, perhaps. I sat down with the book the other night and folded down the corners of the restaurants I really, really wanted to try. Some of them we’ve already blogged about (Sluggo’s, Good Dog….) but I ended up with twenty-three folded-down pages and several more that I need to research on UrbanSpoon. Now, the book will be our guide. When Philip asked me where we were going yesterday, I waved the book at him. The book has the answer.

We ended up driving toward downtown so it made sense to consider restaurants downtown. Philip thought that Sekisui sounded good but it turns out they aren’t open for lunch on the weekends. I was craving a burger anyway (Sekisui has one on their menu but who really wants to order a burger there?) since I haven’t had one since before my surgery, so at least a month (I know, crazy, right?). Sooooo…Pickle Barrel or Sing It or Wing It? Sing It or Wing It won (I love Pickle Barrel, or at least I did the last time I ate there, which was probably in college, but since it’s 21 or over I’m thinking a warm day when we can sit outside is probably the best time to go….).

When Sing It or Wing It opened by Chili’s on Market Street I was a little skeptical. A karaoke joint that serves wings? Sounds pretty limiting to me. They’ve been open for nearly three years and seem to be going strong, so I guess I stand corrected. One of my friends goes there during the day with her friends and her young children….it’s a family friendly environment (though 21 and over after 9 p.m.) and her children enjoy singing kids’ songs. She had told me that she actually really liked their food, so I was inspired to check it out.

When we arrived there was only one other table occupied. I guess 2:00 on a Saturday afternoon is not the busiest time for a karaoke restaurant…no big surprise there. There was one server, Scarlet, working, serving tables and tending bar. She immediately greeted us and told us to sit wherever we’d like, then brought us menus and asked if we needed a karaoke book (a very thick notebook of their song choices). We did not (while Philip may be a great singer he is not a karaoke fan) but she brought us one to look through and explained the menu to us. All of the menu items are named after singers/musicians and usually have some sort of correlation to the artist (e.g. the Philly cheesesteak is called the “Elaborate Elton”…you know, Philadelphia Freedom? The menu items are cooked to order with fresh ingredients, some locally sourced, and the menu was obviously someone’s labor of love. Spend a few minutes reading it. It clearly took a lot of time, thought, and effort.

Yes, the name of the restaurant is Sing It or Wing It. They offer six varieties of wings: mild, medium, hot, barbecue, teriyaki, and lemon pepper. The wings are smoked then grilled, not fried as you would usually find. However, while I like wings I rarely order them in restaurants and definitely don’t consider myself a connoisseur, so we decided to order “Pickler’s (as in Kelly) Pickles” instead. Here, I learned a valuable lesson: when you use a photo editing app on your iPhone, take the photo with your camera then load it to the app. VSCOcam pooped out while I was editing the photo of the pickles…so you get a photo of our almost empty plate. This is pathetic, people. There were a lot of pickles on that plate. The batter was a little salty for my taste, but you see that didn’t stop me from eating them, so they were definitely good. The sauce was a chipotle ranch dressing, tasty but not all that spicy. I’d order these again, but Philip didn’t like them as much as I did so that’s probably not going to happen.

While I spent several minutes perusing the menu, I pretty much knew going in that I was going to order a burger. I considered the Bold Bonnie (Raitt) burger but decided to order the Bruce (Springsteen) Buster instead. The Bruce Buster is a half-pound Angus burger with Swiss cheese and sautéed mushrooms served with fries ($7.99). I decided to add bacon for $0.75. The burger came with lettuce, tomato, and red onion (which, of course, I promptly removed) and I got my fries Cajun-seasoned. The burger was very tasty and drippy. I would have liked to have had more mushrooms on it (yes, I realize this would have made it more drippy, but a drippy burger is not a bad thing). The bacon was delicious. The fries were very seasoned and a little spicier than I would have liked. Next time I go I’ll order regular fries…they were good but I just couldn’t eat too many of them (because I’m a pansy).

Philip decided to get the Elaborate Elton (named after none other than Sir Elton John, of course), which is a classic cheesesteak with sautéed onions and peppers and cheese sauce (love a cheesesteak with cheese sauce instead of slices!). He got regular fries. The fries were hot and crispy (though I could not immediately deduce if they were housemade or not) and the cheese sauce seemed to be mixed in with the chopped steak. The whole steak/cheese sauce/onion & pepper mixture was just a little spicy, which was pretty interesting. I might try this myself at some point in time. Our total, minus one sandwich thanks to our coupon, was about $16.00, give or take a little change.

Like I said, the menu here is creative and well thought-out. Since it is a karaoke bar, there is a large appetizer menu….and I’m all about appetizers, so I like that. Next time I’d like to try the Skynyrd Pretzels-soft pretzels covered with parmesan cheese and served with marinara sauce-or maybe the Go-Go bites-broccoli cheddar nuggets. I also thought that the Chicken Martina (McBride)-a chicken breast topped with barbecue sauce, bacon, and Swiss cheese-sounded lovely, and I’d be interested to sample their smoked pulled pork sandwich, called “Sensational Scotty” for American Idol Scotty McCreary (by the way, Lauren Alaina sang karaoke here, if you’re an Idol fan-I’m not). There are some interesting, unique menu items, like the Godfather (a bologna burger that Philip almost ordered) and the Diffie Delight (a sloppy Joe). They also have a selection of salads, a kids menu (with names after your favorite teenyboppers), and several desserts (I wish I’d seen the Handsome Harry-named after Harry Connick, Jr.-beignets! Woohoo! Next time.).

It’s doubtful that I’m going to be headed to Sing It or Wing It for dinner because crowds of people just aren’t my thing….but I’ll definitely go back for lunch. I recommend that you try it out, and if you are in to karaoke, be sure to warm up your voice before you go! Sing It or Wing It is located at 410 Market Street, Chattanooga, TN 37402 (next door to Chili’s). They are open Tuesday through Sunday with lunch starting at 11 a.m. (a closing time is not listed on their website, but since they are a “bar” I would guess till the wee hours of the morning). They also serve Sunday brunch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Karaoke is available anytime that they are open. You can call them at 423-757-WING. Check out their website, singitorwingit.org, “like” them on Facebook, and follow them on Twitter.

Dub’s Place-November 10, 2012

November 11, 2012

How long have you lived in Chattanooga? Chances are if you’ve lived here very long at all, and have done any amount of driving in the Red Bank area, you’ve noticed Dub’s Place on Dayton Boulevard. It’s been there forever; since 1952, to be exact. Prior to yesterday, I had been there once in my life….I was probably about ten. I remember that they served ice cream and not much else. And that they always closed in the winter.

I recall last winter driving by, noticing that they were open, and thinking, “Huh. That’s weird.” Then I didn’t really think much more about it until my sister-in-law sent me a text that I needed to check it out and that they had a new owner. Dub’s was on my “list”, but since I thought they served ice cream confections with any other food being an afterthought and therefore likely substandard, we hadn’t visited yet. Now that I knew they had a real menu, though, we decided to check it out Saturday when I was craving a burger (it happens every couple of weeks. I can’t help it.).

We were a little confused when we got there. A hoard of people happened to be wandering up to the door from a nearby neighborhood when we pulled in to the parking lot, but the doors were locked and the “closed” sign was up. Jordan, the owner (or “captain”, as he calls himself) unlocked the door and explained that, while their posted opening time is 11:00 a.m., they pretty much open when people start showing up, which is usually around noon. We went in and started checking out the menu, which contained just a few food items: burgers, hot dogs, a few sandwiches (blt, pimento cheese, etc.), fries and a few other sides, and barbecue, which is not officially on the printed menu yet but which Jordan has recently added to the full-time menu…he smokes his own Boston butts (pork shoulder) and makes his own sauce. He gave us a cup to bring home so we could try it out (after we went on and on about how much we love smoked meat and homemade sauce) and it really is delicious. The meat is smoked till it has a little bit of a crust on the outside (heaven help me) and the inside is perfectly tender then chopped fine and sauced with Jordan’s homemade sauce, which starts with a North Carolina-style vinegar base to which he adds some tomatoey thickness and sweetness to satisfy Tennessee tastebuds. The sauce has a spicy zing that hits you in the back of the throat and lingers just a little without being overwhelming. Very tasty.

Since we went there specifically to satisfy my burger craving, I ordered a 1/2 pound patty burger with cheese, lettuce, tomato, mayo, and spicy mayo. If I’d noticed that relish was on the topping menu I would have thrown some of that on there too (I know it’s usually a hot dog topping but it is GREAT on burgers!), hand-cut fries (yippee!) and lemonade. Kookie, who, well, does the cooking, delivered it to me maybe ten minutes after we ordered. Um, wow. This is a gigantic burger, obviously hand-patted, and you can see the seasoning on the outside of it. The toppings were very fresh, not wilty or mushy, and the burger was perfectly cooked. Delicious. The fries were indeed hand-cut, which is obvious by the enormity of some of them. In the kitchen, uniformity can sometimes be a sign that food is prepackaged. This food is not. These were fantastic.

When I asked Jordan what a crumble burger was, his response was, “You aren’t from Red Bank, are you?” Indeed I am not….I am from Soddy-Daisy and our high school football teams have a legendary rivalry. Thank you very much (my team = not doing so well these days, but when I was in high school….well, those were the glory days, I tell you!). Anyway, like I said before, I’ve only been to Dub’s once in the past, so no, I didn’t know what a crumble burger was, but apparently it’s been around since the advent of Dub’s place in 1952. Jordan began describing what I know as a “loose-meat” sandwich (referred to as a Maid-Rite in some parts of the country) with crumbled ground beef, onions, pickle, and mustard on a bun. Jordan described it as tasting like a Krystal; I might blow some of my foodie cred here but Philip and I love Krystals (hey, I’m a die-hard Chattanoogan!). Philip decided to order a large one, with cheese, which Jordan assured him would help hold the sandwich together, plus fries and a chocolate malt (which can be added to the combo for an additional charge). It came just as Jordan described and indeed tasted a lot like a Krystal. A little greasy was Philip’s only negative comment, but I suspect that if the meat was drained too much then it would be really crumbly, too crumbly. It was well-seasoned and delicious, though. He liked the malt a lot too…he would have liked a little more malt powder (we like our malts to be über-malty, almost bittersweet) but loved that it was well-mixed; there are only two other places in town that know how to mix a malt.

In addition to the hamburger shop offerings, Dub’s has a traditional ice cream shop menu that includes an extensive listing of shake flavors (including the usual chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla, plus more unusual flavors like watermelon and mango. There are sixteen flavors in all.) and fifteen sundae toppings. They also offer soft serve in a cup or a cone….plus chocolate or cherry dips (kind of like Magic Shell). The DQs around here only do chocolate dips but a friend took me once to the DQ in Lenoir City and they did cherry dips. Yum. (That DQ is no longer there, by the way). Next time I go I’m going to have to try the orange creamsicle, because creamsicles were truly my childhood obsession.

We had a conversation with Jordan as we finished our lunch. He told us about his goal to really make Dub’s stand out for its customer service….he wants people to remember the friendliness of the staff as well as the excellence of the food. He shares my philosophy on what restaurant menus should be: small and well-executed. He really did take the time to make friendly conversation with every customer that walked in the door, and there were actually quite a few while we were there-most of whom appeared to be regulars. With the great, fresh menu items that they are offering, Dub’s is sure to gain some more regulars!

Dub’s Place is located at 4408 Dayton Boulevard, Red Bank, TN 37415. You can call them at 423-875-3151. You can email Jordan at DubsPlace1952@comcast.net and like them on Facebook. They are closed on Monday and open 11-9 Tuesday-Thursday, 11-10 or 11 on Friday and Saturday, and 1-9 on Sunday. They are OPEN ALL WINTER (besides about 2 weeks at Christmas-everyone needs a vacation!).

Chattavore//Nashavore: Burger Up Cool Springs, October 12, 2012

October 14, 2012

Have you figured out yet that local food is a big deal to me? If you’ve been a regular reader for a while you know that (while I still visit the grocery store) I buy the majority of my food at the farmers market. I try to eat at local restaurants as much as possible (and don’t profile chain restaurants-other than “local chains”-on Chattavore. Period.). The best of both worlds? A local restaurant that serves food from farmers markets. More and more restaurants in Chattanooga are making an effort to do just that, but most of them tend toward a few items on the menu that are local and everything else is from who-knows-where.

Philip and I visited Nashville for a couple of days this week just to get away on my fall break. One of my friends, who is an animal lover/vegetarian/local food fanatic, met us for lunch on Friday. I asked her to recommend some good local places, so she threw out some suggestions. All of them sounded good….Calypso Café (Caribbean fare), Puffy Muffin (“dessert bakery and restaurant”), and Burger Up (self-explanatory). She mentioned that just about everything served at Burger Up is sourced locally and that they serve Krispy Kreme bread pudding. Sold! Philip loves Krispy Kreme and bread pudding, and you know we both love a good burger.

According to their website, Burger Up Cool Springs was born from the idea to start a follow-up restaurant to the Burger Up location at 12th and Paris in Nashville. The farm that sources the beef (Triple L Beef) for that restaurant is located in Franklin, so this restaurant is an homage of sorts to that farm. The farm that sources the beef for the Cool Springs restaurant (Bear Creek Farm) is also located in Williamson County. The menu features grass-fed beef, free-range chicken, Sweetwater Valley cheese, Benton’s Bacon (oh yeeeeaaaahhhhhh), etc. Even the chocolate used in their brownies and the ranch dressing served with their fried pickles are local. For a complete rundown of their vendors, check out this page: http://www.burgerupcoolsprings.com/vendors.html.

Philip took one look at the menu and pointed out what he knew I was going to order: the ramsey pimento cheese burger. Duh. House-made pimento cheese, pickles, red onion, Bibb lettuce. Perfection. On my friend’s suggestion, I ordered the truffle fries (unlimited house fries are included in the price of the burger, but you can sub any other side-truffle fries, sweet potato fries, vidalia onion rings, or steamed baby spinach-for $1.00 extra) which are drizzled with truffle oil, topped with parmesan, and served with honey dijon aioli. These are my dream fries, with or without the truffle oil…hand-cut, crispy but not overly so….obviously made in house. The aioli was amazing, a stepped-up version of the honey mustard I used to obsessively dip my fries in. The burger…wow. It had the amazing flavor of grass-fed beef (if you’ve never compared the two….you really can tell the difference), the pimento cheese (in which you could see the shreds of cheese) was just creamy enough and you could taste the pimentos just a little, the vegetables were fresh, and the bun was soft but not squishy. Me = happy camper.

Oh dear. My photo looks terrible! Sorry for the blur.

Similarly, Philip immediately knew what he was going to order: the woodstock. Benton’s bacon (again, oh yeeaahhhh), Sweetwater white cheddar, and Jack Daniels maple ketchup (see? Another local product!!). He decided to get the regular house fries so that we could compare the two. Like me, he thought the fries were perfect, and he liked their ketchup, which he doesn’t usually eat. They make it there and it has a different texture and flavor from storebought…and it contains Coke! Fun. He took one bite of the burger and his eyes rolled back. The bacon was awe-evoking…..not super-crisp, perfectly salty, and with the sweet flavor from the Jack Daniels maple ketchup…wow. Of course, the burger itself was wonderful too.

Colleen ordered the tomato-basil soup as a starter and our server brought us three spoons so that Philip and I could try it too. It was creamy and tasted like a non-alcoholic (ha!) and slightly spicy (just slightly!) version of my vodka sauce. Mmmmm. She ordered the Marathon burger, a quinoa and black bean burger served with lettuce, tomato, red onion, and cilantro-lime crème fraiche. Wow. I would love to go back and order this sometime. She eats there fairly regularly and always orders this. She said that she really likes it because (a) it tastes good; (b) they cook it perfectly so that it is a little crunchy; and (c) it isn’t non-meat trying to masquerade as meat (a la Boca burgers) which is my criteria for a good vegetarian burger as well. It looked amazing.

And, finally, we ordered the Krispy Kreme donut pudding with housemade raspberry sauce (they also serve milkshakes and a brownie). It came in a fairly large rectangle, definitely big enough for two (actually, I think it could have served three but Colleen didn’t eat any…she insisted that since we don’t have access to this restaurant on a regular basis we had to eat the whole thing). It was perfectly moist and not overly sweet (like you might fear that Krispy Kreme pudding would be) and the raspberry sauce was sweet and just slightly tart and nicely “raspberry-y”. It complemented the pudding just right. We ate the whole thing.

All I can say is…..a-MAH-zing. I’m in love with this restaurant. It’s probably a good thing I don’t live there or I’d be eating at Burger Up all the time. Good for them but probably not good for the state of my waistline. It’s definitely ranked right up there with Southern Burger in my burger rankings (and it’s a good thing they aren’t open all the time or I’d be in trouble here too!). I love the mission of serving as much local food as possible and Burger Up is definitely going above and beyond that call. I’ll be back.

Burger Up Cool Springs is located at 401B Cool Springs Boulevard, Franklin, TN 37067. You can call them at 615-503-9892. Check out their website: http://www.burgerupcoolsprings.com/. You can also like them on Facebook or follow them on Twitter. The website for the original location at 12th and Paris is http://burger-up.com/.

Purple Daisy Picnic Cafe-July 6, 2012

July 8, 2012

My mom and I have been trying to make it back to the Purple Daisy for, like, two years now. All the way in St. Elmo, it’s not exactly close….but since we were taking my aunt to the Lodge Outlet in South Pittsburg on Friday (where she and my mom cleaned up, by the way! If you haven’t been, you should go…) that provided us the perfect opportunity to stop off.

The Purple Daisy is a pretty small place, two rooms packed with tables and some seating out front (though somehow they manage to fit quite a few people in without crowding everyone). One room is bright and airy, the other room a little darker, but somehow that’s not an issue. The first thing that you notice when you walk in is the cheery decor-bandannas tied together hanging over a high window, Christmas lights (the kind contained within plastic tubing) hanging on the wall, lots of cool retro items like metal lunch boxes and a wooden ironing board hanging up. My aunt pointed out that there was a picnic basket like my grandparents used to have on a shelf, and my mom saw a lunch box like my other grandfather (Papaw) used to take to his job as an ironworker. In the bathrooms, the sinks are metal washbasins. Cool stuff. Adding to the atmosphere is the intoxicating scent of smoke (as in from the smoker). Yum.

The Purple Daisy is a very casual atmosphere, but they will seat you, give you a menu, and come take your order at your table. There were several specials listed on a folding whiteboard outside the door, including brisket and pork or chicken tacos. My mom ordered their fruit tea, which is pretty much brimming with pineapple juice and is very yummy, I ordered water, and my aunt ordered unsweetened tea (she’s from Texas, which I do not officially consider the South). The Purple Daisy’s menu consists of a “build your own sandwich”, which features chicken salad, pimento cheese, cucumber spread, and a variety of breads, meats, cheeses, and veggies. Purple Daisy is known for their barbecue (which I have yet to try) which can be ordered in plate form, on a sandwich, or atop a gigantic baked potato or plate of nachos. They also have quesadillas, grilled cheese, hot dogs (grilled), salads, chili, a smoked chicken sandwich (with or without buffalo sauce), and hamburgers (charcoal grilled) that are served on Thursday and Friday only.

I’ll admit, I haven’t tried any of the above items. I should, I know, but I can’t. Why not, you say? Because I have been rendered unable to order anything but the Rainbow Sandwich. What’s that? Oh, let me tell you. The Rainbow Sandwich is (and this is the menu description): A three-layered sandwich with homemade chicken salad, pimento cheese, and cucumber spread on crustless white and wheat bread served with chips and a pickle.

Help me.

I love this sandwich so much. The first time I came here, I didn’t know. I ordered something like a roast beef with cheddar on sourdough. It was good, sure…but one of the friends I was with had the Rainbow sandwich, and I was fascinated, so the next time I came, I had to have it. I was a little unsure of “cucumber spread”….but it’s wonderful. Cucumbers and cream cheese are the main ingredients. The pimento cheese is homemade, and you can see the little shreds of cheese. The chicken salad is made with smoked chicken. The person that dreamed this up is a genius, I tell you. Look at the pretty layers of white and wheat bread. This is one of the few occasions where I love just plain old soft white bread. I always know I shouldn’t eat the whole thing-that’s four slices of bread!-but I always do. Because it’s goooooooood. And as my side, I always sub hash brown casserole for the chips. If you haven’t had hash brown casserole…..mmmm. My mom makes it all the time, so it’s definitely a comfort food for me. Creamy, with mushroom soup, butter, onions, and cheese, served piping hot with paprika sprinkled over the top, theirs is very “authentic”. Not a culinary opus…but sometimes you don’t want a culinary opus. You want comfort. In a styrofoam cup. By the way, they also have slaw, hot slaw, baked beans, and potato salad as sides.

My mom ordered exactly the same thing as me, and my aunt (the vegan), ordered a baked potato with butter (she cheated a little!) and chives (which were actually green onions). I didn’t take a picture because I figured hey, we’ve all seen a baked potato. Only I should have taken a picture because it was seriously the size of the basket. Gigantic, I tell you. There’s not a whole lot to say about a baked potato, but hers was nice and fluffy, with plenty of butter and onions on top. It looked delish (I love baked potatoes).

We were all pretty much stuffed when we got done (my mom and I had, after all, just eaten the equivalent of two sandwiches), but if we had been so inclined we could have ordered banana pudding (which, the menu proclaims, was voted Chattanooga’s best 2009) or Alabama dirt (which I know as dirt cake, and if you’ve never heard of dirt cake you aren’t from Tennessee. It’s basically chocolate pudding, Cool Whip or whipped cream, and Oreo crumbs.). Instead we eased on down the road to see what we could see at Lodge.

My only complaint about the Purple Daisy is the parking lot. I despise their parking lot. It’s tiny. There are never any spaces available and even on those rare occasions when you can actually find a spot, it’s super-cramped. It’s no big. You can park next door at the Incline for $1.00 (for all day!). That’s what we did….no finagling out of your space there.

If you want casual, delicious comfort food in the form of barbecue or a fantastic, creative sandwich, I highly recommend Purple Daisy (yes, I know I haven’t actually tried the barbecue. But I have heard great things about it from people whose opinions I trust, and if the smell is any indication…yowza!). By the way, they also do catering. The Purple Daisy Picnic Café is located at 4001 St. Elmo Ave., Chattanooga, TN. They are open Monday-Friday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Saturday 12-4 p.m. You can call them at 423-822-6477. Check out their website, http://www.thepurpledaisy.com. You can also like them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter.

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