Coming home from a cross-Tennessee drive on the “World’s Longest Yard Sale” (check it out – 690 miles of yard sales, from Gadsden, AL to Addison, MI), we hit Chattanooga, just in time for a late dinner.  Several months (maybe years) back, I heard from a friend who moved to Chattanooga about Southern Star.  We actually tried to eat here several months back when we left the Songbird Museum at a time the Star wasn’t open.

Southern Star is a modern take on the classic meat and three, that prides itself of using fresh ingredients to make every sauce, soup, dressing and side daily (according to their web site).  First to arrive was the cornbread, sitting atop fried cornbread batter.  It was sweet yellow cornbread, which I prefer and my bride does not.

We chose to go off the daily specials list.  My beloved ordered the fried catfish, with cheese grits and slaw.  The catfish was thin-cut, cornbread battered and fried well.

She’s a big fried catfish fan.  And said that this was excellent.  The grits were heavy on cheese, which is never a bad thing, but the slaw was made with both mayo and vinegar.  She didn’t care for that – I think you need to commit to one or the other.   

I went with the grilled pork chop, with smashed russet potatoes and sliced tomatoes.

The tomatoes were some of the freshest that I’ve had this year.  They hit the spot right on.  And the russets were made, simply with butter and, with a touch of salt, were delicious.  The pork chop was grilled simply, moist and tender.  There was a big crowd for a late dinner on a Friday, and based on  the tables they still had to clear, it had been a busy night.  I see why it’s a big hit.