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

Groundhog Day brought snow to the Tennessee Valley!  Of course, for a teacher, snow on the weekend is a complete waste.  All it does is create roadway chaos and grocery store chaos, and, of course, since it was completely unexpected, I had practically nothing in the house to eat.  The snow covered the ground rapidly while we hung out on the couch after eating our breakfast, and momentarily we were unsure that we would be able to go anywhere.  Sometimes that gets a little dicey when you live at the bottom of a hill and both of your cars have manual transmissions.

Lucky for us, the temperature was in the upper twenties and the road never froze, at least not in our neighborhood.  We decided to head on out and started driving toward downtown, flipping through our Adventures in Dining coupon book to see if there was anywhere that caught our fancy.  There wasn’t, so no buy one get one free meals for us this week.  We decided instead to head to MLK for some Champy’s fried chicken.  My friend Matt, who started the Facebook Group Matt Eats Chatt a few years back, recommended Champy’s a while back, referencing their awesome fried chicken and the paper bag coozies for their beers. Hi-larious.  They actually have stickers that essentially say “chicken + 40 ouncers” = love.  I mean….that’s not what they say….but it is.  Oh, nevermind.  I should have taken a picture.  Anyway, there’s actually a Facebook group trying to get Guy Fieri to bring Diners, Drive-ins, & Dives to Chattanooga.  Does that show still come on?  I’m so out of the loop since we don’t have cable…

Driving across Veteran’s Bridge was a little sketchy…that is, it was completely frozen.  Luckily, the other motorists were equally as cautious as we were so we had no issues.  Champy’s was unexpectedly crowded for such a cold day with so much unexpected snow, but we were immediately seated in their covered and heated outdoor seating area (by the way, the place was pretty much packed out by the time we left).  Our server quickly took our drink order while we perused the appetizer menu and settled on pickled fried green tomatoes, which were delicious….lightly battered and sweet, salty, briny all at the same time.  They are served with Champy’s sauce, a slightly spicy horseradish and mayo sauce that was pretty benign at first but was burning just a little by the time our entrees came.  The tomatoes  were a little expensive-$8.75-but served in a very large portion.  I would definitely order them again.

I have actually eaten at Champy’s before, but when I eat lunch with coworkers I generally don’t whip out my phone and start taking pictures….so I didn’t blog about them.  Anyway, I had fried chicken when I ate there before and decided to order a salad this time (my coworkers ordered salads last time and they looked delicious!).  I decided on the fried chicken salad with both honey mustard and ranch dressings (they also offer blue cheese and Champy’s sauce).  I don’t usually order entree salads but this is no pansy salad.  It’s crispy romaine lettuce topped with mounds of chopped chicken tenders, a sliced boiled egg, halved grape tomatoes, red onions, chopped pickles, and shredded cheddar.  The hearty romaine stood up perfectly to the hot and crispy chicken tenders, and I especially love the ideas of chopped pickles on a salad.  I don’t think the dressings were housemade…in fact, I am such a honey mustard expert (I used to have a bit of an obsession) that I am quite certain that the honey mustard was Naturally Fresh, but they were still quite tasty.

Philip decided to get the two-piece dark meat plate, which comes with slaw, baked beans, and white bread to soak up the grease(!).  The chicken was perfectly hot, deliciously peppered and wonderfully crispy.  The beans were not overly mushy or overly sweet, seasoned just right.  Philip liked the slaw but (as usual) did not think that it was quite as good as Rib & Loin’s (no one’s ever is, Champy’s, so don’t feel bad!).

Champy’s is one of those places that “does one thing and does it well”.  You know those are my favorites.  They don’t bother to venture too far out of the realm of fried chicken….they serve wings and lots of fried appetizers (but their Mississippi Delta homemade hot tamales are quite delicious….I tried them when I ate there before).  They also offer family meals and catering.  It’s quite a popular joint and with good reason.  We’ll definitely be back.  By the way, Champy’s is a chain of sorts but still qualifies for Chattavore blogability because they only have four locations (the other three are in Alabama) and from what I can tell they started in Chattanooga (in 2009).  Can anyone confirm or refute this for me?

Champy’s wing sauce…not too hot but burns a little bit. I almost ordered the buffalo chicken salad but was afraid it might be a bit much….I was probably right!

Champy’s is located at 526 E. MLK Blvd., Chattanooga, TN 37402.  You can check out their website: http://champyschicken.com/locations/chattanooga-tn/, like them on Facebook, and follow them on Twitter.  You can call them at (423) 752-9198.

Okay, I’m not going to lie.  I was a little bit grumpy about going here.  The thing is….the last time we went we didn’t like it.  It was five or six (or maybe even more) years ago and I don’t really remember what it was that we didn’t like but we didn’t.  When family is in town, though, you have to go with majority rules, and since I couldn’t think of anywhere that I thought everyone would be happy with we just went.  And it was all good, because whatever was the problem last time apparently wasn’t an issue this time.  Hmmmm.

Bea’s is a Chattanooga institution.  Located on Dodds Avenue (wayyyyyy downtown), it’s been around since the fifties, when an all-you-can-eat meal was $0.75.  I didn’t catch the cost this time around since my parents were paying…but it was more than that.

The concept at Bea’s is likely quite different than what you have encountered at other restaurants.  It’s all you can eat, sure, but there’s a limited menu.  That is, it isn’t a buffet…you don’t get a tray and walk through a line.  Instead, you sit at a round table with a lazy Susan in the middle.  Your server brings out baskets and bowls of food-whatever is being served up that day-and places them on the lazy Susan, along with sweet tea and water and various “extras” like pickled beets, onions, and some relishy stuff that I didn’t recognize (chow-chow perhaps?).  Here’s the catch: depending on how many people are in your party and how crowded they are, you may end up sitting with people you don’t know.  This is not our idea of a good time (I haven’t made a secret of this in the past: we avoid Ichiban unless we are with a large group for this exact reason) but luckily (a) it wasn’t crowded; and (b) we were with a large group, so we did not have to sit with strangers.

Please forgive me for the terrible, blurry photos. The lighting was NOT good!

Today’s meats were fried chicken (famous city-wide and served every day) and barbecue.  The chicken was quite tasty today, hot but not burn-your-mouth hot, crispy, and seasoned just right.  My picky-eater 7-year-old nephew gnawed two pieces of chicken till he got every bit of the meat and coating off of them.  The barbecue was not quite as attractive….a reddish color, very sweet.  Philip said it reminded him of something you might get in school cafeteria, although he did comment that he liked that there was just a hint of spice to it.  There was also chicken and dumplings, southern-style (flat dumplings, very thick gravy-like sauce, and shredded chicken mixed it).  I liked the chicken and dumplings a lot, though the sauce was thicker than what my mom, my sister, or I make (my gold standard…I’ll share that recipe sometime).

The vegetables were new potatoes, fried okra, coleslaw, potato salad, and pinto beans.  I don’t typically eat potato salad, so I have no comment on it.  It just isn’t my thing.  I also didn’t try the coleslaw….my mom liked it, but Philip felt like it needed “something”.  The new potatoes needed some salt but  didn’t have a bad flavor.  We ate about three dishes of fried okra.  I couldn’t decide if the okra was made there or frozen.  It had the thick “jacket” coating which usually means it was previously frozen, but I can never tell because maybe other people know how to get that thick coating on their okra (?).  I’m embarrassed to admit it, but I’ve come to the conclusion that I like fried okra whether it’s freshly made or frozen.  So shoot me.  The pinto beans were quite good, well-seasoned and just the right texture (not hard but not mushy).  Often pinto beans served in restaurants are virtually tasteless.  These were great.

As far as bread, they serve rolls and cornbread muffins.  The rolls were extremely buttery (or maybe margarine-y, since there was Land O’Lakes buttery spread on the table…..waaaaaaahhhhhhh) and I am guessing they are probably packaged.  The cornbread was southerny (that is, not sweet), which we appreciated….while we will eat sweet cornbread if it is all that’s available, I personally would rather stab myself in the eye than add sugar to my cornbread.  It wasn’t as tender as my cornbread, though.  You can’t have it all.  I did enjoy the cornbread crumbled on top of a little bowl of beans (pinto beans & cornbread is an “easy” meal in my house, one that I plan for those days when I know I’m going to have too much going on to have any inclination to really cook anything).

There’s one dessert on the menu each day at Bea’s.  For this day, it was peach cobbler, which was basically canned peaches swimming in a thick topping.  That sounds like a slam, but it isn’t.  My mom makes her peach cobbler like that (except that her topping is thicker…theirs was a bit liquid-y) and it’s definitely a comfort food for me (except that she always serves ice cream with it, so this felt incomplete).  It was very, very sweet (as was the tea) and Philip and I were definitely having a sugar crash on the way home.  The sweetness didn’t stop us from each eating two of the little bowls of it, though.

So, here’s the verdict.  Bea’s isn’t a high culinary experience.  I am sure that many foodies (you know how much I love that word) would shun them for their cuisine.  Like I said, though, it’s a Chattanooga institution.  The fried chicken is crispy, the tea is sweet, and the staff is very, very friendly.  Our server was so nice, and the cashier was joking with my mom as he ran her card.  It’s hard to get a table some nights.  It’s been around forever, and it’s not going anywhere soon.  The delivery of the food is definitely different…good or bad, that’s up to you and your personal feelings about it.  Since I was dining with family, I was okay with it.

Bea’s is located at 4500 Dodds Avenue, Chattanooga, TN 37407.  You can call them at 423-867-3618.