At home I’ve eaten the same breakfast every morning for decades: a strawberry-mango smoothie pumped up with powdered milk for extra calcium. I like it, and blending it up while a pot of tea brews has become my morning routine.
But much of the fun of travel comes from busting out of a routine. When I’m on the road, I look forward to a change of pace at breakfast. These two spots in Chattanooga couldn’t have been more different but each gave me an uplifting start to the day.
A blooming breakfast awaits at Petal and Pour
A heady aroma of cut flowers greeted Patti and me when we walked into Petal and Pour (800 Broad Street, Suite 100). Bouquets rested in big containers, waiting to be taken home and plopped in a pretty vase. But we were in search of breakfast, so we continued past the flowers and past a carefully curated selection of housewares. We were drawn toward the scent of coffee wafting from the cafe at the back.
Keegan Chitwood opened Petal and Pour this spring in an 1890s building in the heart of downtown. He retained the original brick walls and some of the wooden trim to anchor his fanciful mix of food, flowers, and other temptations. Then he scattered tables throughout the long narrow space. This is a place to linger over coffee from a local roaster and a chocolate croissant from a local bakery while contemplating whether you really need that glass-stoppered decanter that caught your eye.
For a whole lot of south in your mouth, try Big Bad Breakfast
On the North Shore of the Tennessee River, Big Bad Breakfast (313 Manufacturers Road, bigbadbreakfast.com) is the brainchild of chef John Currence, recognized by the James Beard Foundation as Best Chef South in 2009. Currence made his name at City Grocery in Oxford, Mississippi, a showplace for his sophisticated blend of Southern and Creole cuisine.
Currence is a big fan of breakfast. In 2008, he opened the first Big Bad Breakfast so that diners could start the day with hearty fare made by chefs who know that it’s the most important meal of the day. From its start in Oxford, Big Bad Breakfast has spread throughout the South and made its way to Chattanooga.
Currence is a big fan of breakfast. In 2008, he opened the first Big Bad Breakfast so that diners could start the day with hearty fare made by chefs who know that it’s the most important meal of the day. From its start in Oxford, Big Bad Breakfast has spread throughout the South and made its way to Chattanooga.
I could have ordered the shrimp and grits or fried chicken and cheese on a biscuit. But I opted for the namesake Big Bad Breakfast Plate with two eggs. The eggs were cooked just the way I liked them, but it was the sides that elevated the classic meal. The bacon had a touch of spice and the grits were made with cornmeal from Kentucky’s historic Weisenberger Mills. The black pepper buttermilk biscuit was the star of the show, especially when I slathered it with housemade peach jam.
Big Bad Breakfast is a place to power up before heading forth to meet whatever the day throws your way. No matter what, you won’t need to worry about lunch.
