Not to eat and run -- our pronouncement that Chatt-Food-Critic was over and done (and stuck a fork in it) proved to be a bit too hasty! Not only have we had a broad based show of support, we've also had several offers of other critics willing to bring a "second helping" to you hungry readers... So we're proud to announce that Chatt-Food-Critic will carry on, just under new (and more consistent) management. Please keep an eye out for new entries (and perhaps some new formats) coming very soon from the new and improved Chatt-Food-Critic!
We'll have more!
Well it should come as no surprise that we here at Chatt Food Critic are laying down our pens and picking up our forks... While we had every good intention of being a valuable and worthwhile foodie blog -- content rich with relevant and realistic critiques of the Chattanooga food scene -- we have to admit, sadly, that we are just not up to the task. Our real lives and day jobs have gotten in the way of providing you pithy up-to-date reviews of all-things-foodie in town. For that we apologize. We had hoped to be much more consistent.
Alas, you must stick a fork in us! Our days of writing this blog are done.
However, if anyone out there would like to take this site over from us, please email us immediately at chattfoodcritic@gmail.com and we'll gladly give you the keys and some driving instructions.
In the meantime, keep eating good food Chattanooga!
We're on a quest to find the best place in Chattanooga to get a plate of pulled pork -- day in and day out. As you can guess, there are a heckuvalot of barbecue joints in town and it is going to take us some time to visit them all. But we're up for the challenge, so each week we'll be visiting at least one place in town and grading them. If there are places you want to be sure we know about and visit, please tweet us or email us: chattfoodcritic@gmail.com.
Our criteria:
We're sampling only pulled pork plates for our purposes. We might taste test ribs too, but that's not what we're basing our grades on. We have five categories that we rate, with each category receiving a possible 4 points. The better the grade, the higher the score. So if a plate received the highest grade possible it would get 20 points.
The five categories we grade on:
Score: two unenthusiastic spoons out of four
Alleia has established itself as downtown's fine-dining Italian restaurant. Since opening, it has received many accolades for it's interior design and décor. The wait-staff has been unfailingly enthusiastic (almost effuse) and helpful.
Chef/owner Daniel Lindley describes the food as "Italian inspired" and rustic. The menu, which changes a little seasonally, lists 8 (or so) antipasti, salads and a soup, 6 pasta dishes -"Primi"- (house made daily and available in half-portions on request), 6 "simply grilled" entrees-"Secondi", pizze and side dishes-"Contorni". The menu is written in the pretentious "insider" style, referring to a tomato sauce as "pomodoro", with repeated references to "balsamic," "reggiano" and "hand dipped ricotta" and generally not translating/describing the dishes.
Ok readers, in case you hadn't noticed, food blogging is not our day job. We love to eat and we love good food and we love to write about it when we can. But lately our day jobs and other obligations have been getting in the way of the four of us contributing anything meaningful and consistent to this site.
So we're putting out a call for more of you join us! Do you like to eat? Do you like to write? Can you write about what you eat? If you answered "yes" to all three of those questions, then we need your help.
Please email your review of Chattanooga's Alleia restaurant and we'll see if you have the foodie know-how necessary to make our team better. Please send your article to chattfoodcritic@gmail.com and we'll get back with you pretty quickly.
Remember, the pen might be mightier than the sword, but it's weaker than the belly.
Score: two and a half out of four spoons
There doesn't seem to be much that Chattanoogans love more than the opening of a new fine or casual dining restaurant -- particularly when it is one of our local guys making good. Mike Monen's Urban Stack has been the talk of town when it comes to the question of where to eat. And most of the buzz has been positive. Mike has plenty of experience in the food scene, starting with Sticky Fingers, then with Taco Mamacita and now his new "killer burgers & manly drinks." So we went two or three times to try it out. And here's what we thought.
