Restaurants’ Southern Fare Pleases Palates
Published Feb 16, 2009
Grilled chicken salad is a favorite at Mt. Vernon Restaurant.
Pull up a chair, unfold your napkin, loosen your belt and get ready for some good, old-fashioned Southern cooking. Many restaurants in the region are known for serving tasty comfort foods – from meats and vegetables to decadent desserts – that satisfy the most discriminating appetites.
An institution on Broad Street in Chattanooga, Mt. Vernon Restaurant features signature dishes including Southern fried chicken, sautéed chicken livers, fresh vegetables and homemade desserts.
Owner Cindy Messinger and her husband, Jeff, are carrying on a tradition started by her grandfather, Gus Tombas, who purchased the restaurant in the mid-20th century.
“My grandfather came to America from Greece before 1900. He came to Ellis Island and went into New York City to work to get enough money to get to his brother in Chattanooga,” she says.
“We’ve always been kind of upscale Southern,” Messinger adds. “We’re known for our fresh vegetables that change twice daily – and the desserts.” Mt. Vernon still features many of her grandmother’s recipes, but the amaretto pie is a dessert she and her husband came up with.
“We have lots and lots of fresh fish and make fresh soups every day. Our claim to fame is we try to do as much as we possibly can in season and fresh.”
For those who want a preview of the day’s menu, Messinger reads it aloud on a local radio station each morning.
Catering to the Lunch Crowd
Rick and Nancy Adams decided to open Southern Star in Chattanooga in 2000 because of the city’s vibrant downtown and the potential for a strong lunch business. With locations on Broad Street and a carryout shop on Signal Mountain, Rick Adams says the business has been very fortunate.
Blue Plate Specials change daily, and everything is made from scratch.
“People come here for the fresh meat and vegetables,” he says. “We have a diverse menu.” Popular selections include meat loaf, chicken salad and banana pudding.
Park Place Restaurant on Lafayette Road in Fort Oglethorpe, Ga., near Chickamauga National Military Park, opened in 1992 and is also well known for its wide variety of menu choices, owner Jack Goodlet says.
Among Park Place’s 30 daily entrees are a boneless breaded pork chop, chicken-fried beefsteak with white gravy, beef tips over rice, homemade salmon patties and hand-breaded shrimp. There are 25 vegetable choices daily, including the recently added fried onion rings and fried green tomatoes.
“We’re a family-style restaurant,” Goodlet says, “with a family-friendly atmosphere.”
Story by Anne Gillem
Photo by Ian Curcio
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