Chef Erik Niel calls his restaurant “a Southern-inspired French Bistro.” Specializing in seafood and bistro classics, Niel gives his dishes a Southern twist with regional ingredients. “I cook what is readily available and seasonal. It is the whole farm-to-table simple food for everyday use. That is where we start.” His menu features Gulf shrimp and oysters, and dishes like local Rainbow Trout a la Grenobloise, Roast Chicken “Grand-Mère” and Steak Frites.

They are located in the historic world’s first Coca-Cola bottling room in the center of downtown, but expect a more local crowd. “We originally designed our restaurant to target a much larger percentage of the tourist traffic in our area because that’s what everyone else had done in this area of town. But we quickly realized that churn and burn was not our strength. We renovated the restaurant and menu and are now locally-driven, but in a heavily touristy part of town.”

Here is chef Erik Niel’s Insider Guide to Chattanooga. To get his full guide, download the Find. Eat. Drink. iPhone app.

Find | Locally Made Products

MoonPie General Store

“They’ve been made in Chattanooga since the early 1900s.”

429 B Broad street, Chattanooga, TN 37402

T: 423.877.0592 | www.moonpie.com

Pure Sodaworks

“They are a bunch of hard working kids who are just trying to figure out how to make it in soda world. They make a honey Lime soda that is my go-to. It is fresh and really refreshing.”

www.puresodaworks.com | Where to Buy

Find | Farmers Market

The Chattanooga Farmers Market

“The Sunday farmers market is one of the best in the country and is the place to be for all things cool and culinary. There are great local farmers, ranchers, and producers all in one spot, and it’s a social scene as well. I go as many Sunday mornings as I can to buy for the restaurant and for my family. You can have a locally brewed beer and browse for produce.”

1829 Carter Street, Chattanooga, TN 37408

www.chattanoogamarket.com

Find | Ice Cream

Clumpies

“For a mid-day ice cream cone. I am partial to the Key Lime Pie. And then the chocolate chip is great because they use stracciatella. It has tiny flakes of chocolate that they mix in when the ice cream is freezing at the very end. It crumbles and it becomes this really cool chocolate chip.”

26 Frazier Avenue, Chattanooga, TN 37405

T: 423.267.5425 | www.clumpies.com

Drink | Coffee

Chattz Coffee

“I come here for an afternoon chai or espresso. They roast their own beans and keep everything super fresh, plus they have wonderful service. There is an art to roasting coffee where you get the caramelization, but you don’t burn it and they have never burnt the coffee. It makes the balance of sweetness and acidity really nice.”

1010 Market Street, Chattanooga, TN 37402

T: 423.756.8890 | www.chattanoogacoffeecompany.com

Drink | Beer

The Flying Squirrel Bar

“For a beer and a bite – ceviche, duck tacos and fried quail. They have incredible architecture and great style, it's really gorgeous. It is a beer bar for the most part, but they have really good cocktails.”

55 Johnson Street, Chattanooga, TN 37408

T: 423.602.5980 | www.flyingsquirrelbar.com

Drink | Cocktails

Chrystal Lounge at Lamar’s

“Fried pork chop dinner (especially after a long night of drinking), strong cocktails, velvet wallpaper and an incredible jukebox. It's the first place that I came to in Chattanooga that I thought was cool. Until I came here I didn’t think I would stay. You walk through a vacant hotel lobby and into the back room with a perpetually hanging Happy Birthday sign. The bartender is the cook and the server. You order chicken and he vanishes to the back, comes back to make you a drink and then back to check on the chicken. It takes a while, but it is pretty damn good.”

1020 East Martin Luther King Boulevard, Chattanooga, TN 37403

www.lamarsrestaurant.com

Get the full Chattanooga city guide with pros eating, drinking and shopping recommendations by downloading the Find. Eat. Drink. iPhone app.

Eat | Breakfast

The Bluegrass Grill

“They serve breakfast foods all day.”

55 E Main Street, Chattanooga, TN 37408

T: 423.752.4020 | www.bluegrassgrillchattanooga.com

Eat | Quintessential Chattanooga

Zarzour’s

“It is a little greasy spoon shack and is the oldest restaurant in Chattanooga. Come here for a cheeseburger and fries.”

1627 Rossville Avenue, Chattanooga, TN 37408

T: 423.266.0424

Bea’s

“This is a very old school Southern Chattanooga restaurant and their speciality is fried chicken. I think they dip it in honey. You sit at a giant table with a Lazy Susan and in the middle they put creamed spinach, corn, friend okra, green beans and tomatoes and you spin it around and eat what you want.”

4500 Dodds Avenue, Chattanooga, TN 37407

T: 423.867.3618 | www.pulleybones.com

Eat | High End

St. John’s Restaurant

“I love their poached lobster and frisée salad. I come to the bar here for cocktails and wine. They have exceptional service and wonderful cuisine and drinks.”

1278 Market Street, Chattanooga, TN 37402

T: 423.266.4400 (Book at Table) | www.stjohnsrestaurant.com

Eat | Off The Beaten Track

Taqueria Jalisco

“This is a guy who used to work for us as a server’s assistant. His family had a food truck and they parked it at a building and now they have a restaurant there. They make really authentic Mexican food. Their tacos are all great across the board.”

1634 Rossville Avenue, Chattanooga, TN 37408

T: 423.509.3430