I love Chattanooga. My wife absolutely loves Chattanooga. There’s just something about the way the sunlight hits that city during golden hour that makes it feel like the only place on Earth. It’s only a little under two hours away from our house, and the laid back vibes make it the perfect destination for a weekend getaway when we’re feeling a little burnt out. This past weekend, we strolled into town on Saturday after what was essentially two weeks of running around like chickens with our heads cut off in preparation for our wedding.
We aren’t going to take our honeymoon until 2023, but we still wanted somewhere to get away to after what was essentially two years of planning this wedding. I think we deserved to prop our feet up a little bit, so when we started talking about a quick ‘mini-moon,’ Chattanooga was among the first places that popped up and ultimately, it’s what we landed on. We agreed to (mostly) try new places this time – we’ve been down a million times at this point, and we certainly have our favorites, but given the occasion, decided we’d make the effort to get out of our normal routine. Of course, I have to take some time to shout out the establishments and people who made our trip so relaxing and memorable.
My Weekend in Chattanooga
The Chattanoogan Hotel – We’ve been going down to Chattanooga once or twice a year every year since 2012, and yet, somehow, I had never even heard of The Chattanoogan Hotel until recently. We had no intentions of going down on Saturday night, but some plans fell through, and when I started looking for a last minute room, this one stood out. Since we were trying new things, I figured, “why not?” Good thing, too – because we’re still talking about how nice this hotel is. From the moment I walked in the front door, it felt like a nice, professional, and luxurious hotel. It has a spa, restaurant, rooftop bar, and a coffee shop. What more could we have asked for? It was so nice that we actually found ourselves just wanting to crash right away and binge Stranger Things at 4PM. But, we had a sunset atop Lookout Mountain to see.
Urban Stack – I’ve got a full review of Urban Stack from when we went down to cover the 2018 Chattanooga Film Festival here. Oddly enough, when Aura and I went on Saturday night, I got the same thing I had four years ago – the Fried Green Tomato burger, and it was just as flavorful and juicy as it was all those years ago. This one definitely qualifies as a ‘regular rotation’ for us, but considering we were staying a short walk away, we couldn’t resist. It’s amazing how different the vibe is in Chattanooga – parking was only $5 for 12 hours, and we didn’t have to wait at all to be seated. The weather was perfect out back, and we couldn’t have asked for a better experience. We started off with some drinks and wings before our burgers arrived, and left feeling satisfied as usual.
McKay’s – I am a junkie when it comes to used books and physical media. There’s a McKay’s used book store over in West Nashville that I try to make it out to a few times a year, and I’ve been meaning to venture out to the one in Chattanooga for years, but it’s far enough out of town to make it just enough of a pain in the ass to get to that we never made time for it before. Saturday was finally my lucky day when the stars aligned. We had just enough time to squeeze in a quick lap around the store before we risked missing the sunset. I came away with a Louis L’Amour book for a dime, a history book on the Alabama Crimson Tide, a few poetry anthologies, a Hellboy novel, Eight Crazy Nights on DVD, and a Blu-Ray copy of Sherlock Holmes. If not for an $11 book that my wife found that she wanted, I would’ve come out spending less than $25 on all that shit. Fantastic.
Sunset at Point Park – Lookout Mountain is easily one of my favorite places on Earth. It’s the one spot that we absolutely have to make time for every time we venture down to Chattanooga, whether it’s a stroll through Rock City Gardens, a hike down to Ruby Falls, or a walk at Point Park. There’s something about it that’s just magical – maybe it’s all the fairy tale shit. We rolled up to Point Park with about 45 minutes to spare – I paid our entry fee into the park, and the ranger informed us that the sunset would drop at around 8:47PM with the park closing at 9PM. We enjoyed every minute we had. I said it before – the way the light hits this city is simply enchanting. My wife and I took about a million photos, but it’ll bog this post down even more if I share them all. So, I’ll stick with two of my favorites and say that if you haven’t watched the sun set from Point Park, you need to add it to your damn bucket list.
High Rail – Once we made it down Lookout Mountain and back to The Chattanoogan, we decided to have a night cap by the fire at the hotel’s rooftop bar and restaurant, High Rail. I had a fantastic Old Fashioned made with Chattanooga Whiskey, and a Hutton & Smith Promenade before we decided to hit the hay. I can’t remember the last time I was this relaxed – just enjoying the ambience with the silhouette of Lookout Mountain in the distance.
Noogans Coffee Market – A Moon Pie Mocha?!?! Are you kidding me?! And, it’s in the lobby of the hotel?! Easiest choice I made all weekend.
The Spa at The Chattanoogan – The next day, Aura practically forced me into getting a massage even though I hate people touching me. Since it was our mini-moon, I relented…even though I didn’t pack a single pair of underwear that didn’t have holes in it. Luckily, no one forced me to go completely nude. And, they took great care of us. Homeboy worked on my back for what felt like 40 minutes before hitting me with a “dude, you should probably go to a chiropractor – you’ve got some issues.” Real talk – I don’t think my back has felt that good and that loose in 15 years.
Tremont Tavern – Tremont Tavern was recommended to me as the best burger in Chattanooga several years ago, and I’ve been going back ever since. I love the discreet location – you wouldn’t know it was one of the coolest spots in town if you simply drove by the location. Unless I’ve completely missed it, there isn’t even a sign on the building telling folks what it is. Tremont Tavern has a great beer list, a damn good patty, and god tier steak fries.
Hotel Indigo – Remember, this was only supposed to be a one-night trip for us. My original reservation was for the Hotel Indigo on Sunday night. Instead of just seeing if I could tack on an extra night there Saturday, I elected to try something new in The Chattanoogan. A weekend of firsts, indeed. So, after our massages and a lunch at Tremont Tavern, we checked into the Hotel Indigo. It’s lovely – the rooms are chic, and the hotel is decorated in the artsy fashion you’d expect out of the Hotel Indigo brand. We had a king bed, and I don’t know that I’ve ever had such a good, deep sleep in a hotel bed.
Boathouse – Aura had been talking about dinner at Boathouse all week long. It was the one thing we knew we were going to do that weekend going into it. After a lazy afternoon watching Stranger Things, we finally got dressed and ventured down the river for dinner. I had the best salmon burger I’ve ever had, Aura had the wood grilled shrimp. We started with some golden, flaky onion rings. And, I had a couple of mojitos that were refreshing – they didn’t skimp on the booze either. The bill came in at about $120 tip included, but it was worth it to me. A fine way to spend an evening.
The Wanderer – Time for another night cap. On Sunday night, we stopped by the bar in the Hotel Indigo on our way up after dinner at Boathouse. I ordered a Spanish Coffee, which was basically just straight liquor (there’s good reason they limit guests to two of these bad boys). Aura ordered a glass of wine. We watched a little of Boston-Miami Game 7 before we went back to the room to finish off the new season of Stranger Things.
Sleepyhead Coffee – We’re always looking for slick coffee shops on vacation, and this one was no different. Aura found Sleepyhead Coffee on Instagram on Saturday, and lo and behold, we happened to drive right by it looking for a breakfast spot on our way out of town Monday morning. We both got honey lattes (mine hot, Aura’s iced), but the coconut maple donut stole the show for me (lemon lavender was a distant second).
That’s it. That was our weekend! I can easily see The Chattanoogan, Boathouse, and Sleepyhead becoming apart of our regular Chattanooga rotation. What’s your favorite spot in Chattanooga? List ’em in the comments below.
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network, and a Dogs Playing Poker on velvet connoisseur. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD, #BeBetter, and ‘Minds right, asses tight.’ “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, Yankee Candle, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
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