What to do and eat in Chattanooga
May 17, 2015 6:19 PM Subscribe
Planning to spend a long weekend in Chattanooga, TN in June. What should I eat? What should I do? I'm particularly interested in your recommendations for restaurants -- what is the Husk of Chattanooga?
MOST IMPORTANT: Where should we eat? What's hip, what's good, what's cool? Where can I get a Prohibition-era cocktail? Where can I get smoked porkbelly that will make me cry? What's authentic? I went to Charleston last year and regretted not eating at Husk, although I really dug the bar. What is the Husk of Chattanooga?
Also important: We are planning to go to a baseball game, visit Lookout Mountain, Chickamauga, Signal Point Park, International Tow Truck Museum, the funicular, and Rock City. Maybe Old Stone Fort State Park and/or the Hunter Art Museum. What am I missing? We like to hike, but aren't going to zip line or white water.
I've reviewed previous asks on this topic, but they are old (here, here and here) -- I'm sure there are new places to eat and new things to do.
MOST IMPORTANT: Where should we eat? What's hip, what's good, what's cool? Where can I get a Prohibition-era cocktail? Where can I get smoked porkbelly that will make me cry? What's authentic? I went to Charleston last year and regretted not eating at Husk, although I really dug the bar. What is the Husk of Chattanooga?
Also important: We are planning to go to a baseball game, visit Lookout Mountain, Chickamauga, Signal Point Park, International Tow Truck Museum, the funicular, and Rock City. Maybe Old Stone Fort State Park and/or the Hunter Art Museum. What am I missing? We like to hike, but aren't going to zip line or white water.
I've reviewed previous asks on this topic, but they are old (here, here and here) -- I'm sure there are new places to eat and new things to do.
It's anything but hip, but if you want authentic Southern cooking in a Southern setting, try Bea's. Be sure to be hungry before you go.
posted by charris5005 at 6:44 PM on May 17, 2015
posted by charris5005 at 6:44 PM on May 17, 2015
taqueria jalisco - Great tamales traditional stuff, not a chain.
Allelia's - Nuevo Italian.
Champy's is ok.
Stay away from the places on the riverfront. They're touristy bullshit. Enjoy your stay.
posted by mkelley at 6:58 PM on May 17, 2015
Allelia's - Nuevo Italian.
Champy's is ok.
Stay away from the places on the riverfront. They're touristy bullshit. Enjoy your stay.
posted by mkelley at 6:58 PM on May 17, 2015
The Tennessee Aquarium is probably my favorite one I've ever visited, but I'm not a huge aquarium nerd or anything. Still, it's worth it for the freshwater 'River Giants' in my opinion.
posted by komara at 7:17 PM on May 17, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by komara at 7:17 PM on May 17, 2015 [3 favorites]
See if The Yellow Deli is still there. Sandwiches and tea, mmmm.
posted by mibo at 9:13 PM on May 17, 2015
posted by mibo at 9:13 PM on May 17, 2015
I am a gigantic aquarium nerd, and the Chattanooga Aquarium has the largest collection of freshwater species in the Lower 48. Okay, so that sounds unimpressive, but the Backstage Pass is totally worth the extra money. You get to do awesome stuff like feed the Charismatic Megafauna in the Big Tank but you can also geek out with the backstage nerds. Mr. Ant and I are systems people and we got some water-quality tech talking about monitoring HW and SW and we learned more in that half-hour than we would've done in a day in in the FOH (front-of-house).
TL:DR; the Chattanooga Aquarium is the best learning aquarium in the Southeast. And I've visited 'em all.
ALSO: The City Cafe is my favorite restaurant in East Tennessee (and I live here!) Any goddamn thing you want, at any hour of the day, at a reasonable price and with clockwork service.
So if you're going to be spending time in downtown Chattanooga, and start to wonder why the tops of the buildings' windowframes are at ankle-height, check out one of the huge forgotten post-Civil-War catastrophes: The Chattanooga Flood of 1867. Chattanooga, unlike Knoxville, was more-or-less pro-Confederacy. When the river came up and flooded all of Downtown, the goddamn last thing they were gonna do was call the US Government for help. So they dug out the best they could, built some viaducts and declared that Chattanooga's ground floor was a little higher now.
posted by workerant at 10:10 PM on May 17, 2015 [1 favorite]
TL:DR; the Chattanooga Aquarium is the best learning aquarium in the Southeast. And I've visited 'em all.
ALSO: The City Cafe is my favorite restaurant in East Tennessee (and I live here!) Any goddamn thing you want, at any hour of the day, at a reasonable price and with clockwork service.
So if you're going to be spending time in downtown Chattanooga, and start to wonder why the tops of the buildings' windowframes are at ankle-height, check out one of the huge forgotten post-Civil-War catastrophes: The Chattanooga Flood of 1867. Chattanooga, unlike Knoxville, was more-or-less pro-Confederacy. When the river came up and flooded all of Downtown, the goddamn last thing they were gonna do was call the US Government for help. So they dug out the best they could, built some viaducts and declared that Chattanooga's ground floor was a little higher now.
posted by workerant at 10:10 PM on May 17, 2015 [1 favorite]
I've been gone 20 years, only get back occasionally, but I asked friends and so far got back:
posted by straw at 6:39 AM on May 18, 2015 [1 favorite]
For evening: Clyde's on E. Main for hip friendly crowd and good food. For breakfast: Bluegrass Grill on E.Main and Camphouse on MLK. and of course: Bea's on Dodds. .. because, well.. Bea's although Champy's and The Terminal is also good.I can vouch for Bea's. And that smokehouse that used to be on the right past the tunnel on Brainerd Road. And Eddie is long dead and the university bought the building and I'm sure everything has changed, but last I heard, Chako was still running the little coffee shop in the Dr's Building on McCallie, and that place gives me all the nostalgias.
posted by straw at 6:39 AM on May 18, 2015 [1 favorite]
Additional notes from CHA friends:
Pretty good rundown in that article. I'd also add that the downtown shuttle service runs til 9pm and makes it easy to get from the Southside to the Aquarium - but of course, 9pm is pretty early. And I'd add that breakfast is good at Aretha Frankensteins - though seating is minimal, so be prepared for a wait - or go early. Oh, and another thing : Lamar's. And also, JJ's Bohemia (for shows).posted by straw at 8:17 AM on May 18, 2015
I live in the burbs and don't eat meat, so my tastes may not be your tastes, but when I get downtown, I do love 212 Market for a nice (affordable) dinner and my out of town guests always love the English Rose Tea Room. Tupelo Honey in Warehouse row is part of a tiny regional chain out of Asheville and is a perfect lunch or dinner spot.
Roam around on Cherokee on the North Shore, just across the Market Street bridge and then have a picnic in Coolidge Park. If you don't mind twisty roads and elevations, go up Signal Mountain and look at the spaceship house.
Depending on when you'll be here, you might want to check to see if there are any shows at Track 29 that might appeal. The options are eclectic.
Feel free to MeMail me before you come or while you're here if you want a mini-meetup or just directions for the easiest way to get from one place to another. (FWIW, the suburbs are only about 15-20 minutes away when it's not rush hour, and there are more great restaurants out here, and you may find hotel/motel rates out in the Hamilton Place mall area to be less expensive.)
posted by The Wrong Kind of Cheese at 2:04 PM on May 18, 2015
Roam around on Cherokee on the North Shore, just across the Market Street bridge and then have a picnic in Coolidge Park. If you don't mind twisty roads and elevations, go up Signal Mountain and look at the spaceship house.
Depending on when you'll be here, you might want to check to see if there are any shows at Track 29 that might appeal. The options are eclectic.
Feel free to MeMail me before you come or while you're here if you want a mini-meetup or just directions for the easiest way to get from one place to another. (FWIW, the suburbs are only about 15-20 minutes away when it's not rush hour, and there are more great restaurants out here, and you may find hotel/motel rates out in the Hamilton Place mall area to be less expensive.)
posted by The Wrong Kind of Cheese at 2:04 PM on May 18, 2015
The grilled okra at Sugar's is fantastic, as is everything else they serve there.
The Bitter Alibi's a good place to get your craft beer on. Pretty decent sandwiches as well.
Rembrandt's Coffee House in the Bluff View Arts District is a nice stopover if you're doing the Riverwalk (which is highly recommended).
posted by evoque at 7:38 AM on May 19, 2015
The Bitter Alibi's a good place to get your craft beer on. Pretty decent sandwiches as well.
Rembrandt's Coffee House in the Bluff View Arts District is a nice stopover if you're doing the Riverwalk (which is highly recommended).
posted by evoque at 7:38 AM on May 19, 2015
I ate at Mudpie and loved it, though that was about ten years ago.
posted by mermaidcafe at 8:34 AM on May 19, 2015
posted by mermaidcafe at 8:34 AM on May 19, 2015
This thread is closed to new comments.
These are the three places I always make sure to go visit when I'm back in town seeing family. Sorry for the lack of links but I'm dealing with an unruly toddler tonight.
posted by julie_of_the_jungle at 6:33 PM on May 17, 2015