A New Chapter for Chattanooga

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.

Read More

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.

Read More

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.

Read More