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!).
