Restaurant review: My compliments to The Chef and His Wife

The Chef and His Wife may be best known as a ready-to-heat place to grab a meal, but the lunch bar at its new location in Hixson makes it a prime spot for a ready-to-eat repast.

I stopped by on a recent Friday and tested both functions of the business - the taco bar available for lunch that day plus a tub of chicken salad and a serving of chicken enchilada casserole for later. I would recommend all of the above.

THE SPACE

The Chef and His Wife occupies part of a commercial strip at the corner of Middle Valley and Boy Scout roads in Hixson. There is plenty of parking out front.

Inside are two dining rooms. The smaller has just a handful of tables leading up to the cash register, where you pay and get your tray containing a paper plate, plastic drink cup and packaged utensils. You'll pass coolers containing the restaurant's heat-and-eat foods on your way in.

The lunch bar is in the adjoining room, which has 10 tables of various sizes covered in cheery blue-and-white tablecloths. A tin roof forms a little hutch over the food bars, and rough-hewn but polished logs mark off the corners.

At first, I didn't understand why there was a microwave at the end of the line. Then I realized it was for diners who'd rather have a ready-to-heat entree from the coolers than whatever might be on the bar that day. That's smart.

THE FOOD

First and foremost, The Chef and His Wife is a heat-and-eat operation with fresh and frozen foods packaged for quick pickup to take home. The menu changes weekly, but there always seem to be a few classics in the lineup: home-style meatloaf served with steamed red potatoes and green beans ($7.99), barbecue chicken with baked beans ($6.99) and a salmon patty served with Brussels sprouts and carrots ($6.99).

That's just three of 32 selections assured this week. You'll also find pizzas, pulled pork barbecue, quiche, soup, desserts, salad dressings and various flavors of pimiento cheese.

This week's lunch bar already has featured a beef and noodle casserole, baked penne with meatballs, baked ham and chicken breast. Still to come are Chicken Parmesan today and the return of the taco bar on Friday.

It's a good idea to check out the restaurant online before you visit so you can see photos of the food, which is what sold me on stopping by. Once the food is packaged and in the coolers, you'll have to judge by the labels rather than photos - or get recommendations from the staff or other customers.

I wound up with the last tub of chicken salad on the day I was there, thanks to a customer who had already enjoyed one for lunch in the dining room. We thought there were two left when we reached in, but one was the sampler and not for sale. She was gracious enough to let me have the last. "You should take it," she told me. "I already know it's good."

Nutritional information isn't provided, but the website says each meal averages 450 calories.

THE ORDER

The midday ready-to-eat options were lined up on what's known as the HOTT Lunch Bar. Keep in mind that this is a lunch bar, not a lunch buffet, and HOTT stands for Healthy One-Time Through. Team member Pam Kelly explained that I was welcome to completely fill my plate ($7.99), but if I wanted more, I'd need to pay another $5.

Lightly breaded fish fillets and grilled chicken breasts were also available for anyone who preferred fish tacos or wanted to top a salad with chicken. A salad plate is the same price as the lunch bar, cheaper if you get a bowl ($4.99) or add one to your meal ($1.99).

I took two of the hard corn taco shells and spooned some of the seasoned ground beef inside. The meat was just-right juicy, and the drippings at the bottom of the pan did not appear greasy.

I also added refried beans and Spanish rice to my plate. Neither wanted to let go of the serving spoon, but I got fair-size servings and moved on. After tasting them, I regretted not giving the spoons a good clank against the dish, lunch lady style, so I could have had bigger portions.

As I moved on down the line, I added dollops of salsa and sour cream, lettuce shreds, sliced grape tomatoes, purple onion, black olives and shredded cheese - a colorful assortment of flavors. Rather than try to squeeze individual ingredients into the taco shells, I mounded them into what was basically a side salad to insert into the taco shells once I was seated.

Since the lunch bar was doing double duty, there were a few additional salad items, including mixed greens, carrots, a green pea salad and croutons.

I intended for the chicken salad and chicken enchilada casserole to be lunch on other days. The enchilada made it to Monday. This was a single but generous portion of seasoned chicken, green chilies and cheese layered between baked corn tortillas. Delicious.

The chicken salad didn't make it home. Despite my best efforts to ignore it, riding along on the passenger seat, it was soon out of the bag and getting acquainted with the spoon I'd saved from lunch because I didn't want to toss a clean utensil into the trash. My years as a Girl Scout are still paying off.

The chicken salad was a delicious surprise. Along with familiar ingredients - celery, cranberries, pecans - it contained garlic and blue cheese dressing, according to the label. Pungent ingredients, to be sure, but there were enough grapes to provide a nice counterpoint. Very tasty.

THE SERVICE

All aspects of The Chef and His Wife are serve-yourself, but there's plenty of help if you need it. Pam, who was manning the cash register on the day I visited, was friendly, knowledgeable about the foods and quick to help. She laughed off my question about whether she was the "wife." She's not, but she says she gets asked that a lot.

THE VERDICT

My only complaint about The Chef and His Wife is that it's not closer to downtown and easier for me to dine at the lunch bar. I would really love a sample of the beef and noodle casserole, but there was no time for that Monday.

But picking up food on the way home is just a short detour, and delivery is also an option.

The website says head chef Tim Mulderink has worked more than 35 years in the food industry and has won several national culinary competitions. His expertise shows. I can't wait to go back and see what else is in the cooler.

Contact Lisa Denton at ldenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6281.