Chattanooga ups it's gluten-free game!

Just before the Avalon location of Bantam+Biddy closed in 2018, one of the partners informed us that there was a location opening in July in Chattanooga.  Since our in-laws live there, for the last 16 years we've been regular visitors to the area.  There have been VERY few times when I encountered exciting gluten-free options.  Tony's Trattoria is heads above the rest in terms of gluten-free menus/delicious gluten-free food, but they are the exception. Terra Nostra was pretty impressive, but they are closing for good this summer.  So yeah...Chattanooga isn't on anyone's list to visit for the gluten-free options.  It's the opposite of say...Asheville, NC.

When we were in Chattanooga last September, Bantam+Biddy wasn't open, but it opened soon thereafter.  Upon our return, a couple of weeks ago, B+B was open and we finally got to try it.  The menu was either the same, or very similar to the Ansley Mall location here. We started with the fried green tomatoes (with VERY spicy goat cheese spread), and I had fried chicken tenders and Brussels sprouts.  My husband had some biscuit sandwich (not gluten-free) that he really enjoyed. We were so stuffed (we usually don't order an appetizer at lunch!) so we had to skip dessert.  I'd hoped we could pop back in for dessert during the visit, but the Ironman competition was that weekend and it was TOO crowded in town.  It's so exciting to have such an amazing place to enjoy when in Chattanooga!

Also, most people there don't know all the chicken fingers at B+B are gluten-free.  If you're going with a gluten eater, don't mention it until they tell you how amazing they are...lol!  Even then, you might have a hard time convincing them they just had gluten-free chicken fingers. Not sure why it's such a hard concept to grasp, but apparently for some people, it most definitely is ;)

You can read more about the wonderful addition to downtown Chattanooga - location, etc. - here. 

    

Best chicken fingers in the ATL!

We've been going to Bantam + Biddy for several years now.  Mostly we go to the Avalon location,  but when visiting to the HIGH Museum, we like going to the Ansley Mall location for brunch.  The owner, Shaun Doty (who also owns Chick-a-Biddy and YEAH! Burger) has been serving up gluten-free specialty items for many years now - most of which are exceptional. 

Though I'd love to be more adventurous when dining out, I'm more likely to get the same dish at a place once I know I love it, than to risk trying something unknown.  Therefore, I almost always (or at least, 95% of the time) order the fried chicken fingers at Bantam + Biddy.  The dish comes with two gf sides, plus a gf corn muffin - what's not to love?!

To explain how amazing the chicken fingers are, let me share a funny story about a lunch outing with a very good friend of mine, who does not eat gluten-free. I ordered the chicken fingers as usual, and my friend ordered the same thing. She didn't mention she needed them gluten-free - assuming there were two versions of the item.  There are not.  During the course of our meal, my friend commented on how good the chicken fingers were, which made sense to me, since many people think all gf food is either horrible or not so great. As our conversation progressed, it became clear that my friend thought she had ordered "normal" (aka not gf) chicken fingers - different than what I had. It was pretty funny, but also kind of sad, to think that someone could be so surprised that there is such a
thing as delicious gluten-free chicken fingers.

Though I'm a faithful B+B customer, I've always thought it was odd that there wasn't anything gf for dessert. Eventually I think they had macaroons (or something like that), but never anything I was interested in.  That was until my last visit last week.  To my surprise, there were cakes in the front case (Avalon location) marked gluten-free! We were on our way out and our server (who knew three in our party of 6 were gf) didn't offer us dessert. Our friends had already left before we confirmed the cakes were gluten-free so we took a piece of Butter Pecan Cake to go. It was both gluten and dairy free and the frosting was insanely delicious. The cake was fine, but it did seem dairy free - if that makes sense. The frosting didn't seem anything free - I could eat it by the spoonful!  I think the other cake they had that night was German Chocolate so I might try that another time.

Also, during the visit noted above, the chicken fingers and corn muffin were both better than I ever remember them being. My friend agreed that each item was more moist than in the past which made them even more delicious than you'd imagine.  Now the chicken fingers are among the best I've had ever - with or without gluten!

Looking forward to trying The Federal, Doty's latest venture, sometime soon! Now all we need in this area is a YEAH! Burger at the Halcyon complex....think about it, Shaun!