Mellow Mushroom preps for Rail Jam - Jan. 25

I stopped by Mellow Mushroom Waterside on a sunny day. The sky was clear blue; the weather dry and pleasant. It was hard to imagine that in a week's time, six tons of real snow would be dumped across the front lawn, transforming the landscape into a winter wonderland. On Jan. 25, Mellow Mushroom Waterside and Dodge City Ski are presenting the second annual Rail Jam event complete with a snowboarding competition, ramps, prizes and, did I mention, six tons of real snow.

"We wanted to do something Chattanooga has never seen, and it's been so much fun," Mellow Mushroom Chattanooga owner and managing partner Samantha Jones said. The highly anticipated event begins at 4:30 p.m., when spectators can come to watch it "snow." The competition begins at 6 p.m. and includes a men's, women's, and youth division. Prizes include a custom snowboard, a Dodge City Ski prize pack, a Mellow Mushroom prize pack and a free DJ party from DJ Scuba Steve, who will also be lending his musical stylings the day of the event.

"The Mellow Bake Bus will be there selling [pizza] slices," Samantha reported. A $5 donation to Tennessee Riverkeeper gets you a slice of pizza or an adult beverage. "We set up an adult-beverage utopia," Samantha added. "There's a Chattanooga Whiskey bar, Gnarly Head wine bar, Three Olives Vodka bar and the Budweiser of Chattanooga craft-beer bar."

If you need to slip inside Mellow to warm up for a bit, any number of the menu's hot and hearty menu items can help. "The Mighty Meaty is so popular," Samantha said. The pizza is topped with mozzarella, pepperoni, sausage, ground beef, ham and Applewood-smoked bacon.

If you're looking for something lighter, Mellow's Skinny Shroom menu offers all sorts of dishes under 600 calories. The stuffed Portobello, filled with sun-dried tomatoes and melted feta and provolone cheeses, drizzled in a balsamic glaze and served on a bed of spring mix, is just 400 calories. A large slice of Mellowterranean pizza, topped with chicken, onions, roasted red bell peppers, olives, chives and a blend of cheeses and served with a side of tzatziki sauce, is 460 calories.

Or you can warm up with a winter ale. Mellow's expansive bar boasts 64 beers on tap. The selection can be intimidating, but the staff seems to know their stuff, so don't be afraid to ask for suggestions.

"Some of the best winter ales include Highland's Winter Warmer, SAm Adams Winter Lager, or Thunderstruck Coffee Porter," assistant manager Tom Shields told me. "There's Catawba Valley's King Winterbolt, Sweetwater Festive Ale, Schlafly Christmas Ale, Schlafly Coffee Stout, Terrapin Moo-Hoo," Samantha added. Indeed, the staff at Mellow knows their craft beers. But do they know their way around the rail?

"I'm not a snowboarder. I can barely ski," Samantha told me, but she said Rail Jam's most memorable moment last year was when a woman stepped up and snowboarded in the men's competition. "She won a snowboard!" Samantha said. "She also happened to work at Mellow downtown." ?

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