Start Restaurant, Thrive, Repeat

In my 7 months living in Chattanooga, I have almost rounded out a food conglomerate. Milk & Honey, Taco Mamacita, Community Pie, Urban Stack, and Clyde's on Main are all owned by the Monen family. My previous post was about Taco Mamacita and Milk & Honey (both of which I've eaten at MANY TIMES), so this post is about the others I have visited.

I went to Urban Stack and Community Pie (on different days - I'm not quite that gluttonous!) with my friend Dell. Now that Dell isn't busy educating the children of tomorrow, she has more time to spend with me trying out different restaurants!

Urban Stack (www.urbanstack.com) is located downtown in what used to be the Southern Railway Baggage Building. The site is really cool - lots of exposed brick, cool modern updates - all right next to train tracks. The menu is full of many different kinds of upscale burgers. They also have an extensive drink menu. I had a hard time choosing what I wanted but I had the waiter's help. I was trying to decide between the New Yorker (imagine a Reuben ON TOP of a burger) and the N. Carolina Chili Cheeseburger. He recommended the chili so that's what I chose. It wasn't bad but it wasn't my favorite. 

 I don't like pickles so I didn't eat those. The slaw came on the side but I felt it was better ON the burger. The chili wasn't bad but it was kind of bland. The whole burger itself ended up being just a "meat-fest". Honestly, that sounds kind of appetizing but somehow it wasn't. I would've liked a bit more flavor, a bit more texture. I think the pickles would have added to it but they're just not my thing. The fries were really good and the bun is local (from Niedlov's) but it overall wasn't that satisfying. I only ate about half. Interestingly enough, better as leftovers....
I would definitely be up for trying Urban Stack again, but next time I'm going for the Reuben. Dell had a regular cheeseburger with regular fries and I think she enjoyed it pretty well - just not super exciting.

Next time, maybe we'll both be a little more adventurous! Urban Stack DOES offer Milk & Honey Gelato but only in the form of milkshakes. :(

Let's move on to Community Pie. Community Pie (www.communitypie.com) offers traditional New York Style and authentic Neopolitan pizza. They use special "deck ovens" to bake the pizzas. One great thing about this restaurant? There's a mini Milk & Honey right inside!! I ordered the "Drunk Pig" but the waiter suggested the "Vodka Pie" which was made Neopolitan Style. I decided to trust him and I was rewarded.

The Vodka Pie has vodka sauce (duh), ricotta, homemade fennel sausage, mozzarella, parmesan, and red pepper (I nixed the red pepper). It was delicious. The "burnt" areas of the crust - I'm sure they're called something fancy but I don't know what - added a nice taste to the pizza. The vodka sauce was wonderful and I especially loved the ricotta. This pizza has a nice thin crust (my favorite!). I ate about half the pizza and took the rest home...where I then finished it on the same night. Add to the delicious pizza a dessert of Milk & Honey served in a cute little glass bowl? You've got yourself a winner! I will definitely be going back. 

Now I just have to check out Clyde's....

Scenic City

Welcome to Chattanooga, Tennessee! Since I can't find a list of the top 100 dishes in my new city, I may just have to make my own. The first would have to be at a local favorite - Taco Mamacita (www.tacomamacita.com). This restaurant is owned with a few others in the area including Milk & Honey, Urban Stack, and Community Pie, all of which I will be visiting at some point.

I went to Taco Mamacita with my friend Dell from college. This was not our first trip. She's a Chattanooga native and, even though I'm new here, this would mark probably the 4th (?) time I've eaten there. What I love about TM (which is what I'm going to call it now because I'm tired of writing it out) is the taco "combo" where you can get 2 tacos and a side for less than $10 - and it will fill you up. TM is more of a tex-mex restaurant in my opinion and they have a large selection of drinks, entrees, and even sides. I love the tacos menu - where else can you find tacos with sloppy joes, korean bbq, and jerk chicken? The sides include a corn and black bean salad, sweet potato fries, and (my favorite) Mexican street corn. The Mexican street corn is available on or off the cob.

I've tried several different tacos here but on this particular visit, I found the one I love - the Korean BBQ - my Top 100 dish. All the tacos are served on flour tortillas. This one has "red pickled onion, Korean BBQ sauce, braised beef short rib, Sriracha cream sauce, cabbage, and radish". Being the slightly picky eater that I am, I opted for no radish but I did keep the pickled onion. The sweetness of the BBQ and the sharpness of the pickled onions worked so well together....I wish I'd gotten 2 of them! My other selection was the Oy Vey ("slow-cooked chipotle beef brisket topped with Mama's Ranchero Sauce, crispy lettuce, pico de gallo, monterey jack cheese, guacamole, and fresh escabeche"), which was a little bland but possibly because I nixed the guacamole and pico de gallo. I can also wholeheartedly recommend the Sloppy Jose, which is their version of a Sloppy Joe (it has fritos on it, people!) Ahhh, I love this place.

After dinner, we traveled across the parking lot to Milk & Honey (http://milkandhoneychattanooga.com/) for some gelato. I first tried M&H (I know - I'm being lazy) when I was with my friends Lena and Shelly at The Chattanooga Market and it was wonderful. What I like about them is that their standard cup includes THREE flavors of gelato. No need to pick a favorite. Their gelato is made fresh daily and includes local ingredients. On this wonderful evening, I chose the Lemon Buttermilk, Peanut Butter & Oreo, and Coffee & Cream. Dell and I sat down in a comfy booth and discussed my upcoming trip to Disney World. It was heaven. All 3 flavors were so smooth and creamy and perfectly balanced. The lemon wasn't too tart, the coffee wasn't too overpowering, and...how could you mess up peanut butter and Oreos? 

Do yourself a favor and try these great places. Taco Mamacita also has locations in Nashville and Sullivan's Island, SC. Milk & Honey is just local (good for Chattanooga!).

Guess Who's Back....

So I'm honestly surprised my blog hasn't been cancelled because apparently it's been almost TWO YEARS since I've had a post! I really decreased my foodie restaurant visits and that's something I definitely regret. I'm going to try to get started again.

I moved from Charlotte to Chattanooga in September and so I have a whole new city of restaurants to conquer! Before I left, I visited Fran's (of course) one more time and ate the bread pudding (also of course):

My favorite

The last restaurant on my list to be completed was Good Food on Montford. I went with Natalie, a friend from church. Good Food has a number of small plates that you share instead of larger entrees with sides and all that jazz. The dish listed on the 100 best list was the steamed pork bun:

Deliciousness between 2 pillows

This dish is more Asian-inspired. The pork belly is spiced with Asian spices and served with pickled vegetables on a steamed bun. I would have honestly been happy to just eat a bunch of those and nothing else (although everything else was good). The bun was so soft but not doughy, and the pork was spiced so well. The vegetables added a little crunch. I guess serving a smaller portion just leaves you with a really good experience and you can't get tired of it.....

And thus concludes my dinners in Charlotte (insert sad face here). My plan for Chattanooga is to visit as many great restaurants as I can (as money and time allow) and maybe make my OWN Top 100 list.

Until next time!!