Boathouse Rotisserie & Raw Bar

Daniel and I are in a season of life where date nights are hard to come by... our last official date was in March, which is a far cry from the year we intentionally went on more than 52 dates. This is partially because we have not committed to finding a reliable babysitter, and partially due to Daniel's work schedule. 

I know there will come a time when we will date more consistently again, but for now we will continue to make due with family date nights and be grateful for the evenings we can slip away, just the two of us.

Thanks to Daniel's dad and his wife, Friday night we had the opportunity to go on an actual date. While our boys enjoyed pizza with grandparents we went to the Rock Creek Outlet to shop without distractions, and then grabbed a bite to eat across the street at the Boathouse Rotisserie & Raw Bar.

We arrived around 6:30 and had a 20-minute wait. The first available table was on the porch overlooking the water. which was perfect for us. 

Porch fans and misters kept us cool even though it was a hot summer evening. We had a view of the Bluff District and North Shore with the sun dipping behind Signal Mountain in the background. 

Daniel tried the Trout Almandine while I had the Extra Large Grilled Shrimp (they were really huge!). Both were served with a side of olive fries (fried in olive oil) and a cabbage slaw in sesame oil. 

We finished up by sharing a slice of decadent Key Lime Pie. It was all delicious. 

With good food and a lovely view we didn't want to leave, but we had two little boys waiting at home.

We love our boys, but every once in awhile it's nice to enjoy a meal without having to discuss things like Paw Patrol...

 

Birthday Dinner: Public House

I am woefully behind on my blogging. So many happenings in the last two months of the year!

So my 35th birthday was last month. On the day of, a good friend asked if I was doing anything special. The truth of the matter is that a Wednesday birthday (at any age) is tough. But especially when you are a grown-up with a spouse who is at the very end of a very long (two-year) project and you have littles at home. I'm not complaining, but that is how the dice fell this year.

I literally spent my birthday "dinner" in the drive through at Starbucks while my boys napped in the back before church.

My mom is the master at assigning different dates for different events (her birthday and anniversary are on the same day, so she has always chosen a separate day to celebrate), so this year we did the same... It just took over a month to find a date we had a sitter available AND that Daniel didn't have to work.

So a week ago (or two, I don't even know the days any more), Daniel's mom was in town for Isaac's baby dedication and we took the opportunity to sneak off for a dinner date.

During Thanksgiving, Daniel had met his sisters for a Collective Soul concert at Track 29 and before the concert they ate at Public House. It was so good, he knew he had to take me back.

Since it was a Saturday, we called ahead to make a reservation. When we arrived we were surprised that the place wasn't overly crowded. They started to seat us at a tiny table right by the door, but we requested a booth further in the restaurant (thankfully they granted our request).

We enjoyed a solid two hours of talking, just the two of us. And I don't think we talked about kids (if we did, it was minimal). It was such a nice, and much needed, change of pace.

The food was glorious. My youngest sister-in-law said it best when she said the Peanut Butter Pie was like a high five in your mouth. All of the food was truly a high five your mouth, in the best possible way.

We started our meal with an appetizer of fried pickles and pimento cheese with crostini. Daniel would not typically eat (much less try pimento cheese), but he really liked it. The crostini was charred perfectly and had an amazing smoky flavor.

For our main dishes, Daniel chose the salmon with rice pilaf while I had the fried chicken with mac-n-cheese. All of it was amazing. The salmon had a smoky flavor that I don't think I could copy at home and the fried chicken is probably the best that I have had.

To top the meal off we chose the Peanut Butter Pie with coffee for me (decaf). A serious high five in the mouth! The food was so good and the restaurant didn't feel pretentious, a plus in our books. We would give it 5/5 stars.

 

Off the Grill II, a Revisit

Last year we tried a new restaurant on Signal Mountain called Off the Grill II. We had heard good things about it, but we had a disappointing experience and had not returned.

Recently some friends told us they had tried the BBQ and it was pretty good. So last Friday, when our local standby was packed, we decided to give it another chance.

I was a little concerned when we first walked in the door. The location is a really old house and it has a distinct old house smell to it. Jack (age 3) immediately plugged his nose and kept asking, "What is that smell?" I shushed him and let him pick our table. There are four rooms with seating to choose from. Incidentally he picked the same table we sat at before.

We quickly picked our entrees as our noses adjusted to the smell. I picked the Ribs and Daniel chose the Salmon. The plates were big enough that Jack just shared with us. The food was really delicious. My fried okra and baked beans had a smoky taste to them that paired nicely with the fall-off-the-bone ribs. The ribs were definitely some of the best I have tried and Daniel's salmon had good flavor as well.

Besides the smell of the restaurant, my only complaint is that they serve the food on plastic disposable plates and utensils. At $10-$15 per entree, it feels odd to eat on plastic.

The owner came by our table while we were eating. He was very friendly, making jokes with our two little ones. The restaurant has live music on Saturday nights and tables on the front porch. You can also get take out.

Overall, we felt like the food was good and we had a much better experience than our first visit.

Date Night

Daniel and I really lucked out this week and managed not just one, but two date nights. Saturday Daniel's sister, Emily, came to spend part of the weekend with us. Saturday night she hung out with Jack – they went to the Pumpkin Patch and out for Chinese food, while Daniel and I had a night on the town.

First up, we decided to try the Flying Squirrel (since we couldn't go in with a toddler a couple of weeks ago). We love the architecture of the Flying Squirrel, and were excited to check it out. Unfortunately for us, the main focus of this establishment was drinks and adventurous food in the form of tapas. We don't really drink and Daniel is not an adventurous eater. But this was a bit much, even for me. The menu had items like Sweetbread Po'Boys and Sambal Oelek. Daniel tried duck tacos – which were delicious, while I had scallops on a bed of quinoa and smoked mushrooms. The mushrooms were soaked in sambal oelek that sent me into a coughing fit.

While we enjoyed visiting and dreaming about elements of the architecture that we would like to incorporate into a house if we ever built one, we weren't dying to spend more money on interesting tapas. instead I told Daniel I could really use a burger from Five Guys. So, that's what we did.

When we walked out of the Flying Squirrel, we got to see a Tesla and talk to the owner. It was a very cool car. The owner said that one lady kept walking around it looking for the engine (the trunk and hood were both open). She didn't believe that there wasn't one! The car can go from 0-60mph in under 3 seconds, and 0-100mph in 10 seconds. It can also drive 300 miles on one charge. It was a very sweet vehicle.

 
After our expensive appetizer followed by a burger, we went to the movies at the Majestic 12. We saw Lucy which had some interesting ideas. I didn't love how the movie kept flipping back and forth to clips from nature and science, but it did have an intriguing premise.

When the movie was over, we decided to walk down to the riverfront to catch the end of the Riverfront Nights concert. The Chicago-based band Cornmeal was playing – their music is "jamgrass" also known as progressive "newgrass." After watching part of their set, we walked back to our car and happened to run into some friends from when we lived in Hollywood, which was a nice surprise.

It was lovely to go out together. Life has been hectic and we are grateful for the times we can sneak off on our own.

Local Food

The city of Chattanooga, and the people who live here, really emphasize the importance of eating locally. This means that most of the money you spend stays in the community. Also, many of the local restaurants use local food sources, so your money is going even further than just the restaurant. Here are my thoughts on some of the local places we have tried recently...

The Big Table, base of Signal Mountain
Daniel heard about this little cafe at the base of Signal Mountain and suggested we try it out one night. It is a little dainty restaurant that serves fresh southern food. We ate on the front porch so that Jack wouldn't bother those sitting inside. 

The portions were big enough that we were able to order two adult portions and share with Jack. Daniel tried the trout with a side salad while I had the casserole of the day – Poppyseed Chicken. Both were good.



Olive Bean, Signal Mountain
Olive Bean is a restaurant that recently opened on Signal Mountain. They serve a limited, but excellent selection of gourmet coffee. I am so thrilled to be able to go out for coffee (close to my house) and I also like that they have outdoor seating.

I have heard that their brunch and sandwiches options are excellent – I look forward to trying brunch soon. The Olive Bean is also a local grocery store that sells organic and local foods. It is expensive, but not astronomical by any means. I hope they stay open for a long time!


Off the Grill II, Signal Mountain
This is also a new restaurant on the mountain. According to the local weekly paper, it promised to be a great place for BBQ. Unfortunately it did not live up to expectations. The night we went, the water was turned off. We should have just left, it kind of weirded us out that they were running a kitchen with no water. Also, it just felt overpriced and the food wasn't that great. I don't think we will go back.


Hummingbird Pastaria, Signal Mountain
A couple of weeks ago, we took advantage of family visiting and let them babysit Jack while we ran out for a late cup of coffee and dessert. At first we weren't sure where to go since a lot of places on the mountain close early and we only wanted dessert (we even considered walking to the local gas station for coffee!), but then I remembered that the Hummingbird Pastaria (previously Ninos) served dessert. 

This was our first visit since it changed owners. We only had dessert but it was delicious. I had the Tiramasou and Daniel had the Chocolate Mousse. I also ordered their French Press Coffee. Unfortunately the coffee didn't taste that great – probably because I ordered decaf instead of regular. The desserts were a win and we will be going back to try their meal time offerings.

Clumpies, NorthShore (Chattanooga)
Last week we went to Clumpies for ice cream before attending Movies in the Park. 

They make their waffle cones and ice cream from scratch and it was all amazing! Daniel chose peanut butter ice cream, Jack picked strawberry with sprinkles and I had a waffle cone with espresso chocolate chunk. I can't wait to go back!

BrewHaus, NorthShore (Chattanooga)
Last week we attempted to go to the Flying Squirrel in an effort to support the LiveStrong program at our local YMCA. Unfortunately when we arrived, they told us that you had to be 21 to enter. Since we had Jack with us we had to find another place to go, so we settled on the Brewhaus in Northshore. 

The Brewhaus (which is also a bar) had no problems with kids eating at their establishment. It was a Tuesday so we thought we would get right in, however it was Trivia Night so the place was packed. After about a 10-minute wait, we lucked up with seats on the back porch with a great view of Lookout Mountain and the Walnut Street Bridge. It was great to watch people while we waited. And wait we did. I don't know if they are normally this slow or if Trivia Night had them going slower, but it was SLOW. 

Thankfully the food made up for the slow service. Daniel had a burger with bleu cheese and I tried the Rooster Schnitzel Weiner Art with a side of veggies and potato cakes. It was all amazing. Jack gobbled up the potato cakes. I hope we go back and try some of the rest of their menu (maybe when it isn't so busy). Jack was a trooper considering we were out until 9pm!

Little Libby's Catfish Diner

Daniel and I have come to the conclusion that we must be getting old. Yesterday, we stopped at Mellow Mushroom for lunch in Jones Valley (Huntsville) before heading home after church. It was loud, crowded and the food was just "okay." Typically we love Mellow Mushroom, but listening to a ballgame that is on TV screens every 4 feet above our heads is not our cup of tea. The only redeeming thing was that it was kind of cute to watch Jack clap every time other patrons clapped and yelled over a good play. Maybe this has more to do with our apathy towards football than it does our age...

Anyhow, a couple of weeks ago, we visited Little Libby's Catfish Diner in Madison and had a much better dining experience. Maybe we just like dives better?

Libby's is a meat-n-three kind of place, with catfish being the main offering for your "meat."

The portions were humungous and the sides were pretty amazing – it all tasted like something your Grandma would make you. We could have easily split one lunch special between the three of us. If you go for the normal portions, get the small. Daniel got 2 pieces of catfish and it was way too much food. We were also served a complimentary piece of red velvet cake – it was not as good as the actual meal, but free is always nice.

Libby's was a much better experience than Mellow Mushroom. 

Thatchers Barbecue and Grille

This post is a week overdue, but I really wanted to take a moment to blog about Thatchers Barbecue and Grille in Trenton, Georgia. We stopped here before we headed up to Cloudland Canyon and Urbanspoon did not disappoint us. 

With a rating of 94%, this little roadside restaurant could have easily been located in a bigger city. The store branding was great {as a graphic designer, that strikes a chord with me}.

Even better, the food was excellent and the prices were reasonable. The menu was large enough that we will definitely be dropping in again sometime to try out other eats on the menu.

Daniel had a chicken sandwich, while I tried a pork and chicken platter with pinto beans, sweet green beans and fried pickles that I shared with Jack. All of it was excellent.

If you make a trip to Trenton, Georgia to visit Cloudland Canyon or the Wilderness Outdoor Theater, MAKE SURE you stop by Thatchers. They are worth it!