Chattanooga

At Puckett’s Restaurant, go for the live music but not the barbecue

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Name: Puckett’s Restaurant
Date: 7/19/24
Address: 2 W Aquarium Way Chattanooga, TN 37402
Order: Puckett’s BBQ Platter, smoked sausage and cheese plate (link to menu)
Pricing: $$

Monk: Puckett’s Restaurant is a Tennessee-based chain that started in Franklin in 2004. They are a southern restaurant that serves barbecue and is also known for their live music at each of their restaurants, and in particular the downtown Nashville location which has a large stage and capacity for up to 150 seated guests in the Music City.

In the past 20 years it has expanded to eight total restaurants, with most being in the middle and central part of the Volunteer State, with the exception being located in Cullman, Alabama about 60 miles south of the Alabama-Tennessee border.

Nearly 10 years ago the Chattanooga location of Puckett’s was the fourth to open, located in the Riverfront District near the Tennessee Aquarium. It is actually the largest location of any of the eight Puckett’s.

On our visit, the Monk family was seated at a four top near the stage, where a lady duo played some fun bluegrass covers. I ordered a Tennessee whiskey cocktail and Mrs. Monk ordered a Mexican Mule and we were off to a great start.

From there, we ordered a Smoked Sausage and Cheese plate for an appetizer. Mrs. Monk and I were hoping it was along the lines of a Memphis-style meat and cheese plate that we learned about from our current neighbors in Charlotte who used to live in Memphis. Unfortunately, the cheese was sliced instead of cubed and the pickles were chips instead of spears. Not to mention there was only three pickle chips. So it was all wrong for me. The red flags began to show themselves.

The Puckett’s BBQ Platter with pulled pork and brisket was my choice and while all of our food came out nice and quick, I quickly found myself disappointed. Of the two meats, the pulled pork was the better of the two but did not have much of a hint of smoke and was on the dry side. And each of table sauces were thicker, molasses-based sauces so neither were going to be of much help there.

The brisket was partially sliced and partially chopped. Or more accurately, the chopped bits were likely collected from some of the scraps of the slices from the cutting board. And they were even drier than the pork. I found it to be disappointing and mostly inedible.

The sides of sweet potato fries, baked beans, and cole slaw were nothing to write home about.

Next time I’m near one of the other seven locations of Puckett’s Restaurant in and around Middle Tennessee, if I do make my way inside I’m skipping their barbecue and going for their southern food fare while I enjoy live music.

Ratings:
Atmosphere/Ambiance – 3.5 hogs
Pork – 2.5 hogs
Brisket – 2 hogs
Sides – 2 hogs
Overall – 2 hogs

Product Review: The White Sauce

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Monk: Earlier this year, Anna from The White Sauce out of Flintstone, GA (right across the state line from Chattanooga) reached out to me about her family’s White Sauce that was created in 1978 but had just recently begun to be bottled. While I’m not normally a white sauce kind of guy (though I have dabbled in making my own), I figured something that’s stuck around for over 40 years is worth trying.

For a white sauce, chicken wings made the most sense and I just happened to buy a 2.5 lb bag of frozen chicken wings at the beginning of the “shelter at home” order here in NC. I was inspired by Sweet Lew’s in Charlotte, whose smoked chicken wings I’ve tried before are also finished with an Alabama white sauce (though that doesn’t appear to be on the normal menu, just a smoked half chicken). I sprinkled the wings with Matt’s Rub from Midwood Smokehouse and put them on the grill. Once they were nearly done, I tossed the wings in The White Sauce and finished them back on the grill.

The wings came out fantastic. The tangy white sauce was not overly sweet and perfectly counteracted the slight heat of the Matt’s Rub. It also provided a nice change of pace from a sweeter, ketchup-based sauce like Sweet Baby Ray’s or Stubb’s that I tend to use for grilling chicken. I’ve since used it on grilling bone-in chicken breasts and it only cemented how much I enjoy the sauce.

The White Sauce boasts that you can use it on “salads, dips, veggies, potatoes and more” and while I haven’t done that quite yet, I will definitely be using it on wings again. And perhaps eventually on some actual smoked chicken.

Link to The White Sauce website

Description:

Alabama is famous for its “White Sauce”. The traditional white sauce from Alabama is horseradish based and pretty tart, but our white sauce is the perfect blend of creamy and sweet. The White Sauce was first created back in 1978 by our mom as a sauce to put on smoked chicken but over the years it has been used to compliment not just meats, but also salads, dips, veggies, potatoes, and much much more! 

Our dad was a baseball coach in Chattanooga, TN, where the baseball team was responsible for running the concession stand at all home basketball games. Basketball games became synonymous with “Coach’s” smoked turkey sandwiches and white sauce. Even fans from visiting teams would come to games asking if we had the white sauce. We have never seen anyone try it and not like it! No lie!​​

We have sold The White Sauce out of our family’s restaurant in Chattanooga for years, but had not bottled it…until now! The White Sauce is now available for you to purchase and enjoy in your own home!! So order some today!

Linkdown: 7/12/17

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Linkdown: 6/28/17

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