Equal parts butcher shop and casual eatery, the specialty here – the owners are Erik and Amanda Niel, the duo behind another local hot spot, Easy Bistro – is, as the name implies, all things meaty. The lip-smacking charcuterie makes for a terrific starter, but it’s the simple, yet sublime sandwiches that really are a knockout. The MSM Pastrami Reuben, for example, combines salty meat, sour cabbage and pickles, and subtly sweet Russian dressing for a deeply satisfying and addictive effect.

When you’re a small city two hours from Nashville and Atlanta, it can be hard to get the attention you deserve. Chattanooga flies under the radar but keeps a lot of aces up its sleeve -- it's outdoorsy, affordable, and a damned delicious place to spend a weekend. Start with back-to-back meals at restaurants by James Beard semifinalist Erik Niel. His charcuterie is aged in-house at Main Street Meats, and he sources cheeses and beef from Tennessee farms. Then, it’s on to Easy Bistro & Bar for a Southern style brunch -- order the bacon omelet, tomato pie, and buttermilk biscuits.

Chef Erik Niel of Easy Bistro & Bar and Main Street Meats (Chattanooga) said, “We make a lovely Mortadella (fancy bologna) at Main Street Meats with lots of peanuts, black peppercorn and chunks of pork fatback, and then stuff it in beef bungs to poach it sous vide. Thick-sliced and griddled on the flat top then served on multi-grain with mayo, mustard, and chow-chow. It’s pretty boss—I put it on the menu because it’s fun and people love it. Plus, who doesn’t love a hot bologna sandwich?” 

In May 2005, Niel opened Easy Bistro & Bar in the old Coca-Cola Bottling Plant in downtown Chattanooga. Ten years after opening Easy, he made his mark on the opposite side of town with the opening of Main Street Meats, a neighborhood butcher shop that provides top-quality meats to restaurants including Easy, Alleia, St. John's, 212 Market, The Flying Squirrel and Dorato Kitchen + Bar at the newly opened Westin.

Main Street Meats, Easy Bistro's sister restaurant, specializes in meats that have been processed in-house, like andouille made with pork from Knoxville-based Southern Natural Farms and various steak cuts from Lake Majestik Farms just 45 miles away in Flat Rock, Alabama. At the restaurant, the local beef burger is the MVP, but the MSM BLT is a strong contender for runner-up, with house-smoked bacon, heirloom tomatoes and bread from Niedlov's Breadworks right next door.

Main Street Meats knows its way around proteins. The staff grinds the meat, cures the bacon, ages the beef and salami-fies the salami on the premises. Former assistant manager Kevin Combs says the burger, which comes with house pickles, caramelized onions, bacon and Gruyere, “is becoming a rite of passage.” Toast your initiation properly with the Homegrown, a madcap mix of Chattanooga whiskey reserve, Mexican coke and salted peanuts.

The fireman dabbed his lips with a cloth napkin. Shirtsleeves rolled, hat removed and resting on the stool alongside, he leaned into the counter for another bite. As juices traced his wrists, and a stray rope of tobacco-colored onion slid from the griddle-toasted bun, he turned my way. I was hovering, waiting for a seat to open at the six-top bar, installed alongside the butcher case at Main Street Meats in downtown Chattanooga.

Main Street Meats, a former butcher shop, serves up one of the best burgers in the southeast, plenty of surprisingly good veggie options, and killer lemon-lavender cake.