Restaurant review: Southern Traditions Restaurant offers great value, big personality

Thursday's special at Southern Traditions Restaurant is chicken and dressing with two sides, cranberry sauce and two rolls for $6.95. Sides include fried okra and macaroni and cheese, shown above. Other choices include green beans, pinto beans, sliced tomatoes, cottage cheese, peaches, pickled beets, potato salad, a small tossed salad, coleslaw, mashed potatoes and french fries.

Enjoy a ridiculously generous cut of country ham, two eggs over medium, two biscuits and a healthy bowl of gravy for $7.75 at Southern Traditions Restaurant in Red Bank. From 6 to 9 a.m. daily, don't miss a breakfast special of two eggs with bacon or sausage, grits or homemade gravy, toast or biscuits and coffee included for $3.50.

I'm sitting at a booth in Southern Traditions restaurant in Red Bank, and in walks Bob. Followed by Juanita. Then Bill, Bruce and Sue. Carolyn sits in a booth in the back. Mr. and Mrs. Nash are enjoying the same breakfast they've loved for more than 30 years. Howard pulls up a stool and perches at the bar. His coffee is already waiting on him.

I don't know any of these folks, but the servers call them each by name as soon as they step through the door. It's all smiles, waves and hugs from a group of ladies who've been serving good old-fashioned soul food for decades at a small, unassuming, white building on Dayton Boulevard.

The co-owner, Angie Hargis, will tell you that Southern Traditions has been around since the mid-'60s. While they were well known for their barbecue in the early years, now they're serving the kind of stuff my grandmother made when I was growing up in East Tennessee. And my grandmother set a pretty high bar for country cooking. She also taught me to keep an eye out for those little mom-and-pop restaurants that sometimes hide off the beaten path, because that's where you'll find the kind of stuff to write home about. And here I am, writing about ridiculously big portions, handed-down-for-generations recipes, old-fashioned ingredients and affordable prices that will make you think the menu is full of typos.

THE FOOD

Breakfast is key; don't miss it. Remember the "affordable prices" part? Try this one: From 6 to 9 a.m. every day of the week, you can take advantage of the breakfast special. Your server will bring you two eggs with bacon or sausage, grits or homemade gravy, toast or biscuits and coffee included for $3.50 (that's $3.82 after tax). And beyond that, you've got dozens of options to choose from for the first meal of your day. Staples like pancakes, waffles, French toast and omelettes are all there, and you can maximize your protein intake with a tenderloin, grilled chicken breast, country ham or corned beef hash.

I tore through a plate of country ham, two eggs, two biscuits and gravy for $7.75, and that price did not include the wheelbarrow needed to carry me to my vehicle after eating a slice of country ham seemingly bigger than my right arm. And brother, it was delicious.

I went back for dinner and found everything from country vegetable plates, chicken livers and chili dogs to custom hand-patted cheeseburgers, bologna sandwiches and seasoned grilled shrimp. And if you ask any of the die-hard regulars who've loved this place for the better part of their adult lives, they'll agree that it's hard to go wrong.

You should also take advantage of the $6.95 specials. For that price on a Thursday, I dove into some chicken and dressing (Hargis' grandmother's recipe), creamy macaroni and cheese, fried okra, two rolls and cranberry sauce. These daily specials offer up a ton of variety - Monday salmon patties, Tuesday meatloaf, Wednesday spaghetti or lasagna, Thursday chicken and dressing, and Friday all-you-can-eat catfish for $9.95. You can also order haddock on Fridays, which easily bests your typical chain meat-and-three.

THE SERVICE

If you strike up a conversation with any of the sweet ladies at Southern Traditions, chances are they'll remember you the next time you walk through the door. This is a family-owned, family-run business, and they know how important customer service is to their livelihood. With that in mind, expect to be treated like one of their own. Buckle up, folks, because you will be called "sweetie," "darlin'," and "honey." That's just the kind of restaurant this is. Lindsey, Becca and Rhonda, who I just met, made me feel like I'd been sitting at their tables for years.

They all have some pretty awesome stories to tell as well. Ask Lindsey about the time a 94-year-old man they call "The Colonel" nearly got into a fistfight with another elderly man at the bar. (The Colonel had the advantage with not one, but two canes.) Or the time a car came crashing through the front of the restaurant (thankfully, no one was injured).

THE SPACE

Ten minutes away from downtown Chattanooga, the building has stood in the same location for more than 57 years. It feels like stepping into a classic diner with sparse walls, old photos, aluminum-legged bar stools, dark maroon booths, all in a tight space. But don't be fooled; with an area in the back, it could seat up to 85 comfortably.

Two large black chalkboards hang at the front with the day's specials, and to see them, you may have to look past several old, white-haired men with overalls and their sweet grinning wives, construction workers, laughing ladies with adorable children, a Red Bank city official or two, police officers, hipsters with thick, black-rimmed glasses and, on weekend mornings, groups of squint-eyed, hung-over 20-somethings from downtown with comic-book T-shirts and flip-flops.

THE VERDICT

If you're the kind of person who wants a white tablecloth on your table, garnish on your plate and an upstanding server in a tie who bows after taking your order, steer clear of this place, bud.

Southern Traditions restaurant is the kind of place you go in your pajamas before showering on a lazy Saturday morning following a night of debauchery. Or the kind of simple meeting place to share a cup of coffee at the bar with a friend you haven't seen in 15 years. Or the kind of place to sit quietly in a booth working on a crossword puzzle watching the news while enjoying a homemade fried apple pie.

It's the perfect place to gorge yourself on authentic Southern home cooking while learning a life lesson or two from a smiling, gray-haired couple at the next table.

From the delicious, ridiculously affordable country cooking to the sweet staff and friendly regulars, Southern Traditions is worth your time.

Contact Matt McClane at 423-757-6590 or mmcclane@timesfreepress.com.