Southern cooking restaurants Archives - Page 2 of 4

Mt. Vernon Restaurant (St. Elmo)

August 3, 2016

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Southern Star Chattanooga

June 29, 2016

Located in the heart of downtown Chattanooga, Southern Star Chattanooga serves homemade Southern comfort food in a welcoming atmosphere.

There’s something deeply comforting about a traditional Southern meat-and-three restaurant. Daily specials scrawled (okay, carefully written) on a blackboard, friendly servers, homemade desserts, and a hometown feel make a place like this inherently cozy.

Southern Star Chattanooga is just such a place, except that you might imagine the traditional Southern meat-and-three being on the main street block of a small, sleepy town. Southern Star Chattanooga is…not. Instead, it’s located in Downtown Chattanooga. Arrive much past their opening time (11:00 a.m.) and you’ll have to wait for a table (and, perhaps, a parking space). We were lucky to get there by 11:15 last Wednesday, snagging one of the coveted “Star” spaces in the parking lot and a table near a window – and a blackboard.

Southern Star Chattanooga bustles with servers in their Southern Star t-shirts and big smiles. I’ve never had bad service there, and I’ve been there a lot. Our server, Cassidy, was no different, quickly taking our drink orders, delivering our gigantic tumblers of water, and answering our questions about the menu. The menu here is small, leaving lots of room for the specials. A handful of starters, a few salads and sandwiches (including a burger that used to be a special only), and just a smattering of entrees decorate the one-page menu. If you can’t find anything there, you are probably not out of luck.

That, of course, is because of the ample options on the blackboards. Daily, two meats, several homestyle vegetables, a quiche of the day, and several dessert specials will almost certainly yield something that will make your stomach grumble. Fried chicken and meatloaf topped the special board, followed by such vegetables as mashed potatoes with (brown) gravy, fried yellow squash, garden peas, white beans, kale salad, and collard greens. The quiche of the day was broccoli cheddar, and desserts such as red velvet cake and chess pie rounded out the menu.

Philip jumped on the fried chicken bandwagon. I was disappointed for a split second. Their hand-breaded chicken tenders are amazing, so I could only assume that their fried chicken would be too. Alas, when we are doing blog posts, I try to order something different from Philip so we can give our opinion of multiple menu items.

Like I said, my disappointment lasted only for a split second, because if I didn’t get the fried chicken I knew that I was going to order the quiche and Star salad combo. I always try to find an excuse to order the Star salad, with mixed greens, bleu cheese, candied pecans, and balsamic vinaigrette. It’s so simple, but flavorful at the same time; I would venture to say that it’s one of my favorite house salads. I love to order the quiche, too. Let’s start with the fact that this is a slice of quiche that would feed a family of four. You will not leave hungry. The pastry crust is some of the best that I’ve had: tender, flaky, buttery, perfectly browned. The filling was brilliant, with a well-balanced mixture of tender broccoli, cheddar cheese, and an eggy custard that was firm (as in, not runny) but not tough.

I made Philip promise that he would let me try the fried chicken, and he agreed. It was crispy, tender and hot on the inside, and perfectly seasoned – perfectly seasoned – inside and out. For his three sides, Philip chose mashed potatoes with gravy, white beans, and fried squash. The mashed potatoes were wonderfully creamy and the gravy an excellent savory foil for the creamy, comforting texture of the potatoes. The squash was cut into thick half-moons, breaded in cornmeal and lightly fried. It was a little thicker cut than you might expect, but well-seasoned and tasty still. I didn’t try the white beans – great northern beans are too mealy for me – but Philip said they were well-cooked and seasoned and delicious.

As we got ready to leave, we asked Cassidy to bring us a box of 9 of their shortbread cookies with almond icing and a slice of red velvet cake. Southern Star Chattanooga makes all of their own desserts in-house, and it shows. The shortbread cookies are amazingly buttery, tender but with a little bit of a snap when you bite into them. The almond-flavored icing is a little crusty and gloriously “almond-y”, with the butter and almond flavor blending beautifully. The red velvet cake certainly looks the part of the Southern classic – a huge wedge of red sponge thickly spread with cream cheese frosting, lightly sprinkled with pecans. The cake was just a bit crumbly, but everything tasted wonderful.

Southern Star Chattanooga is a downtown hotspot, particularly at lunchtime. Their food is fresh and flavorful, and with the blackboard specials you could visit for weeks and never eat the same thing twice. In the heart of the city, they’re serving up Southern food, their slogan being “Put some South in your mouth.” Indeed. The prices aren’t too bad either – for our specials plus cookies and cake, our pre-tip total was just under $32. You can also get some of your favorites, such as chicken salad, pimento cheese, and entrees to take home.

If you’re looking for Southern comfort food in downtown Chattanooga, Southern Star Chattanooga is your place to find it.

Southern Star Chattanooga is located at 1300 Broad Street #300, Chattanooga, TN 37402. They are open Monday-Friday, 11 a.m. to 9.m. (closed weekends). You can call them at 423-267-8899. You can find their menu on their website, www.southernstarrestaurant.com/downtown. The Facebook page for Southern Star Chattanooga does not appear to be active at this time.

By the way, Southern Star has a second location on Signal Mountain, which I haven’t visited yet but hope to this summer.

Café on the Corner (Lookout Mountain)

June 1, 2016

Café on the Corner is located on Lookout Mountain in Tennessee. They serve “Southern food re-imagined” in a casual but beautiful atmosphere.

A couple of weeks ago I posed the question to my Facebook and Twitter followers asking if we should go to STIR, Two Ten Jack, or Café on the Corner. STIR won overwhelmingly, but I didn’t tell anyone that I had secretly hoped that Café on the Corner would win (no offense to STIR!). I’d been wanting to try Café on the Corner for years, but didn’t make it up there before the restaurant burned a couple of years back. They just recently reopened after remodeling, so I was pretty excited about finally trying it out!

Café on the Corner is located on Lookout Mountain (the Tennessee side) in the same complex that houses Talus as well as several shops. It’s bright and airy, a small space with a surprising number of tables. You would think that having that many tables in such a small space would make a place feel cramped but I really didn’t think that it did. However, we elected to sit outside because it was a beautiful day plus photography lighting (I took the restaurant pictures with my DSLR for the first time ever!).

Our server, James, quickly took our drink orders and gave us a minute to look over the menu. While the pimento cheese and hummus plate as well as the fried green tomatoes were tempting, the fried okra was the most intriguing item on the appetizer menu, as it was beer battered. It was served with a chili garlic sauce. Let me just say, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Traditional fried okra is, of course, battered with cornmeal. I’m pretty judgmental about bad fried okra, but this was very, very good. The pods were served whole as opposed to the little round slices of fried okra that you would typically expect. Happily, there was nothing frozen about this okra (my biggest beef with most fried okra). Oh, and the okra was pickled! It was a nice surprise…kind of like getting fried okra and fried pickles in the same dish. The chili garlic sauce added a nice sweet heat to finish off the flavor.

It took me a few minutes to decide what to order. I was stuck between the cornmeal crusted flounder ($13.95), served with lemon caper tartar sauce, fries, and blue cheese slaw; the Café Mac ($14.95), with Benton’s bacon, cheddar, jack, and Gouda cheese, and penne pasta; and the pasta cruda ($14.95), with angel hair pasta, chicken, fresh tomatoes, artichokes, capers, lemon, wine, pesto. I saw the Café Mac being delivered to someone’s table inside and it looked absolutely amazing. Ultimately, though, I decided that artichokes won the day for me and I ordered the pasta cruda. It was a generous portion (honestly, I think it was bigger than it looked). I was pretty full and felt like I had barely made a dent in it. Philip and I split what was leftover along with some other leftovers for dinner that night. The pasta was well cooked and it had a generous amount of sun-dried tomatoes and capers. I could have used some more artichokes, but then…I’m a little obsessed with artichokes. The chicken was well-cooked and did not have the day-old chicken flavor that I find in a lot of dishes that have chicken as a component and not the main feature of the dish. The pesto added a nice flavor and it was not oversauced (i.e. OILY). I would have liked for it to have just a tiny bit more salt, but not so much that I felt the need to reach for the salt shaker.

Philip was sold almost instantly on the meatloaf sandwich ($8.95), with sourdough bread, whipped potatoes, crispy onions, and brown gravy. It was a very large portion, with everything piled onto the bread to make an open-faced sandwich that had to be eaten with a fork (that reminds me…why have I never made an open-faced roast beef sandwich for you guys? Too basic? Tell me your thoughts.). The meatloaf had a nice, light texture, which shows that the person who made it knows how to handle meatloaf (if you squish it too much, it will get tough and dry). The potatoes were smooth and creamy, and the gravy had a great consistency and was seasoned just right. I thought that the crispy onions were a great finishing touch…I mean, how could you go wrong with crispy onions on top of anything???

All in all, we were very pleased with our visit to Café on the Corner. It’s a cute little neighborhood establishment and the food was great. James was very friendly and helpful, checking on us, making sure our drinks were filled, etc. The prices were about average for this type of establishment (our pre-tip total for an appetizer, Philip’s sandwich, my entrée, and the craft beer that Philip ordered was $39.22). It’s kind of out of the way, but honestly, that makes it a bit more appealing to me! It was nice and quiet. We really enjoyed it.

What are you waiting for? Get to Lookout and check out Café on the Corner!

Café on the Corner is located at 826 Scenic Highway, Lookout Mountain, TN, 37350. They are open Tuesday-Saturday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. (closed Monday). You can call them at 423-825-5005. Check out their website, cafeonthecornerlookoutmountain.com. You can also like Café on the Corner on Facebook.

Puckett’s Grocery Chattanooga

September 14, 2015

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Zarzour’s Café (Downtown Chattanooga)

May 30, 2015

Zarzour’s Café is a Chattanooga classic. It’s been around since 1918 and serves delicious burgers plus meat and three and desserts!

I have been meaning to go to Zarzour’s Café since I wrote my first burger list in 2013 and a commenter declared my list invalid since I had not tried Zarzour’s, which is the oldest restaurant in Chattanooga, having opened in 1918. The problem is, they are not open on the weekend and they are only open 11-3 on weekdays. Plus, I wasn’t sure if they took credit cards (they do not) and I never have cash so I knew that visiting would take some planning ahead so I wouldn’t get caught without a way to pay. Since I’m off from work right now (woohoo summer break!) this gave me the perfect opportunity to plan ahead. We grabbed some cash and headed downtown.

We got there around 12:45 or 1 and were able to easily find parking on the street (there is a small lot next to the restaurant as well). The place is small (and smells like burgers-that is, glorious-and it was fairly crowded but there were still several tables open. We seated ourselves and perused the menu that was on the table, even though we really didn’t need to. There are a handful of items that are on the menu all the time-burgers and fries and a couple of salads-plus rotating daily specials and desserts. The specials come with two vegetables and tea or you can add a soda for an additional charge.

A server took our drink order then when she returned with our waters she took our order-two cheeseburgers, one all the way and one with no onions, plus fries. A lady (who turned out to be the owner, Shannon) was manning the flat-top griddle and the fryer behind the counter while joking around with customers and dropping a few curse words (so beware-and maybe sit in the back room-if you have ears that are sensitive to that sort of thing…I do not), and it appeared that the two servers were getting the other items from a stove in a small room in the back. Most of the people that came in while we were there ordered burgers but a few did get specials. There were several people that left while we were there who were obviously regulars and were on a first name basis with the staff. I also saw a server helping a man with a cane carry an order to his car. That’s service, guys.

Our orders came out fairly quickly, especially considering that one person was preparing all the burgers and fries. I’ll get the fries out of the way first…they were standard frozen crinkle-cut fries. Pretty good but nothing special as fries go. It doesn’t matter, though, because it’s all about the burger here. One bite and I was hooked….the meat had that crispy quality to it from being browned on the griddle, but the inside was juicy and the whole thing was perfectly seasoned…I’ll give the meat a 4 since it was cooked perfectly but I assume that it is just regular, nothing special about it ground beef. The bread gets a 5…it was a Niedlov’s bun and GAH. It was cooked to a perfect crisp on the flat-top. Toppings are a 3.5 …just the right amount of condiments (mayonnaise and mustard) so it was not dripping and the pickles, lettuce, and tomato were fine. Cheese also a 4-American cheese is just the best for melting but others contribute more to the flavor. As for structural integrity, I’ve got to give it a 5…it was darn greasy but it held together perfectly all the way to the last bite. Size is also a 5…it was not huge and I didn’t feel stuffed after eating it but I was not hungry for several hours after. Overall, this burger gets a 4.4. I feel like it needs a bonus, though, and I’m going to hold onto that for later because this burger was just so darn good (and that crispy bread tho!) that even though a lot of its components were nothing special everything together just worked so perfectly.

So I can’t tell you much about Zarzour’s other than that it’s a popular place with a salty-mouthed owner manning the griddle (which I found hilarious). And it serves amazing burgers.

I’ll have to go back to try out the specials and the desserts because those desserts sounded pretty delicious. But I know that restaurants don’t stick around for nearly 100 years if they aren’t fantastic, so they are definitely doing something right. By the way, our total was $18 even pre-tip (you put your tip in a jar on the counter). So go there!

Zarzour’s Café is located at 1627 Rossville Avenue (not Rossville Blvd.), Chattanooga, TN 37408. They are open Monday-Friday, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. You can call them at (423) 266-0424. They do not have a website, but you can like Zarzour’s Café on Facebook.

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