The Lookout Mountain Mirror
Mirror/Cuisine
New Coastal Cuisine in the Scenic City
by Christopher Percy Collier

You'd think you'd have to move mountains and part seas to reach a good crab shack from these parts.  But not anymore.  Now all it takes is a trip to Frazier Avenue—to a place where the mountains meet the sea, and good food combines with good atmosphere.

I knew there'd be trade-offs when I left the coast behind to live up in the mountains.  Instead of sandy shorelines, there would be bluff lines.  Rather than crashing waves, there would be roaring rapids. Sure, stuffy old Boston standbys, like Sam Adams, would still be attainable.  But smooth talking locals, like Jack Daniels, would probably make for more proper company.  And as for sustenance, I had come to grips with the fact that there would be no more oysters or crabs.  Instead, I'd be developing a discerning taste for savory barbequed ribs and delectable slash and burn catfish.  Overall, it was not a bad trade.  But no shellfish was something that did take some getting used to—that is, until the Northshore Grille opened its doors.

It may have only been 7 p.m. on a Monday, but it was also opening night, when my wife, daughter and I visited Northshore—and that meant a crowd.  The four hulking windows I'd been peering through for the last few weeks were hoisted all the way open, so that the roar of a full house could be heard a good ways down the street.  With my family trailing behind, I forged ahead to see what the wait would be.

It turned out we had 20 minutes to kill, so we made our way over to the bar area, with a pager set to simultaneously beep, vibrate and blink uncontrollably when our table was ready.  Brown bottles of Bud were raised generously by a group of scruffy looking guys in their twenties in baggy jeans and low sideburns beside me.  Glasses of Chardonnay were sipped gingerly by a couple of thirty-something women in black dresses at the bar.  Meanwhile, many a martini were poured by an agile bartender scurrying from one end of the bar to the other.

Families pushing strollers, carrying babies and holding the hands of toddlers trickled in.  Senior citizens in blazers and elegant dresses spilled out.  Passersby, drawn in by the dark exposed brick walls, red tin ceilings and a lively crowd, came in to pick up to-go menus and get a sense of what this new joint was all about.  A plate filled with a dozen empty Apalachicola Bay oyster shells was ushered away from a nearby table.  A heaping dish of crab legs, corn and potatoes was put in its place.

The pager went off, and I weaved through the crowd in search of the hostess, who led us back on bright hardwood floors, past a window looking into a sparkling kitchen, to a table in the back, with a spanking new highchair pulled up to it.

We looked over the menu: Maryland crab cakes, Gulf oysters, steak and biscuits, pulled pork, "smokin" canteen chicken, fried catfish, red beans and rice and The Crabshack Boil.  We decided on crab cakes to start, followed by The Crabshack Boil (and a side of macaroni and cheese for our daughter).

The crab cakes came—and went.  Served with a shredded lettuce garnish and drizzled with a remoulade sauce, we devoured this moist, lightly breaded quarter-pound clump, faster than it takes to drive up the Tennessee side of Lookout Mountain on a no-traffic day.  Then, the massive two-and-a-half-pound plate full of long, narrow king, snow and Dungeness crab legs made its way to our table.  We rolled up our sleeves and got started.

Though armed with a cracker and a pair of small forks, the legs were pre cracked, so it wasn't hard to get at the meat.  We snapped off legs and cracked through claws.  Our two year old even ate one, with a little help from Dad.  But soon, our culinary trip to the coast was over, and I needed something to bring me back home.

After reviewing my dessert options, I found one item that fit perfectly.  It was bread pudding, something I could have found easily near the coast.  But only around here would you find it served the way they do at the Northshore Grille.  It was prepared with a special syrup, made with the help of something of a local celebrity in these parts: Jack Daniels.  It served as my own personal toast to living in the mountains—and doing so with one less coastal comprise.

Chattanooga Times Free Press
Seafood a specialty at Northshore Grille
By Anne Patterson Braly
Staff Writer

New restaurants often receive a lot of business during their first month.  Keeping those patrons means serving a consistent quality of food, as well as adjusting the menu and atmosphere to meet customer needs.  Northshore Grille Smokin' Crabshack and Canteen, the newest addition on the North Shore, is doing just that.

The menu is wonderful, and the food is what one would expect from a restaurant with a creative chef, Gerald Crawford, and attentive owners, Pete Waddington and Pierre Behar.  The latter two are Nashvillians who relocated to the Scenic City to launch their entry into the restaurant business.

I loved seeing steak and biscuits on the menu, reminding me of college days in Nashville.  The ones at Northshore were better - tender bite-sized pieces of fillet served with wonderful biscuits and a big mound of broccoli casserole on the side.  With a side salad, the meal was too filling to finish, but the leftovers traveled well in a doggy bag and made a fitting lunch the following day.

For the next visit, po' boys were in order.  I chose the shrimp; my partner chose the oyster.  They came in a basket on a bed of fries with hush puppies.  Handling the sandwich would have been easier if it had been cut in half in the kitchen.  But I enjoyed the po' boy after I halved it myself.  The oyster po' boy, on the other hand, was too bready for my friend's taste.  He did, however, enjoy a bite or two of my shrimp.

We ordered sandwiches on two other lunchtime visits.  My hamburger was a hand-formed beef patty.  A crab cake sandwich, topped with coleslaw, was very flavorful. Both looked beautiful and tasted delicious.

Waddington said that new specials are added each week, the latest being fresh lobster.  Seafood favorites often are among the daily specials.  These have included pan-seared mahi-mahi with a green tea glaze and sautéed apples over steamed rice and bok choy; potato-encrusted red snapper over fried green tomatoes with steamed rice and smoky shallot vinaigrette; and grilled Maine lobster over cream cheese smashed potatoes, calamari salad and a Tabasco coulis.

There were some initial complaints about one of the best appetizers, Smokin' Wings, being a little costly for two chicken wings.  Now the plate comes with three of these oversize wings, along with buffalo sauce, celery and blue cheese dressing.

Being in an old brick building with a tin ceiling, there's not much padding to absorb the noise made from the crowds that have discovered the restaurant.  Waddington and Behar are working on that.  The restaurant's presence already has improved the view along Frazier Avenue.  When the weather is warm, oversize garage-style doors open up across the front to reveal the interior.

Northshore Grille has a kids meal, as well as several entrees for vegetarians, including marinated grilled vegetables with Monterey Jack cheese served over rice, and red beans and rice.

E-mail Anne Braly at abraly@timesfreepress.com

Chattanooga Times Free Press
Northshore Grille offers new twist on brunch
By Anne Patterson Braly
Staff Writer

Anne Patterson Braly Side Orders
NORTHSHORE GRILLE’S Sunday brunch is one of the best in town. Offering delicious omelets and Swedish pancakes stuffed with a variety of fruit fillings, quiche and other brunch-type entrees, the restaurant fills up quickly for the midday meal. It’s a perfect place to drop by after church.

Another brunch item seldom seen in town is the restaurant’s bloody Mary bar stocked with just about anything you could imagine. There are several types of mixes, as well as Clamato, V-8 and tomato juices.

Add a touch of hot sauce — there are several degrees of heat from which to choose. Then top it off with Worcestershire, horseradish and a stalk of celery. That’s my pick, but there are many other ingredients to try. Just order one and your glass with vodka ($2.50) will be brought to the table, then you fix it from there at no extra charge.

Northshore also has instituted an express lunch ready in 15 minutes or less for those whose lunch hour is rushed.

"It’s catching on very well," owner Pete Waddington said.

Northshore Grille is located at 316 Frazier Ave. The number is
757-2000. SPEAKING OF Northshore Grille, winners for the 17 th annual Taste of Chattanooga have been announced, and the restaurant won first place for Best Signature Dish for its crab cakes. In the Best Dessert category, judges gave the first-place nod to Famous Dave’s for its bread pudding with praline sauce. Famous Dave’s, which also picked up the most votes to win the People’s Choice Award, is scheduled to open March 10 on Gunbarrel Road.

Other winners in the Signature Dish category were Red Lobster for Lobster Pizza (second place) and StarrStruck for Orange Roughy with Tomato Lobster Crab Beurre Blanc (third place).

Also in the Dessert category were Tortilla Factory for Key lime pie and Red Lobster for Vanilla Bean Cheesecake.

E-mail Anne Braly at abraly@timesfreepress.com