EDITOR'S NOTE: This is one in a series of reviews featuring our staff's favorite places to dine. They are either go-to spots we frequent for good service and conversation, the favorite dishes we order over and over or the one-of-a-kind Chattanooga restaurants that make us love our Scenic City that much more.
When temperatures cool, the urge for comfort food heats up. Comfort foods may be sentimental childhood dishes, indulgence foods or even stress foods linked with emotional eating.
But for me, comfort food is a dish that warms me up from the inside out on a cold or rainy day. And that go-to is the chicken potpie at Bones Smokehouse, a steaming indulgence of pulled smoked chicken in a creamy pepper sauce over mashed potatoes, all topped with a flaky pie crust.
If calories weren't an obstacle, I'd roll though Bones' drive-through every week to get one. Instead, I have to choose judiciously, but those waits just build anticipation so I savor the dish even more.
THE MENU
Bones is East Brainerd's neighborhood smokehouse, a gathering spot where all ages run into their friends at dinner. After its original location closed for the widening of East Brainerd Road, the restaurant reopened on East Brainerd Road nearer Gunbarrel Road. The new space is brightly lit, has lots of parking and can seat more folks (about 190).
Diners have their choice of pork, beef brisket, turkey or chicken in myriad choices that include sandwiches or platters, combo platters, rib platters, tacos, barbecue chicken pizza, enchiladas and more.
Every Friday night, Bones offers a special - and trust me when I say most every Bones fan has a favorite and we're all willing to wait for a seat inside or in the drive-through line to pick it up. These crowdpleasers range from smoked prime rib to smoked chicken pasta to shrimp and grits.
The majority of the menu's entrees sell for family-friendly prices ($8.50-$10.95), however a full-slab rib platter will run about $22.
THE DISH
Bones chicken potpie starts with chunks of pulled smoked chicken mixed with a savory blend of fresh peas, corn, carrots, green beans and chopped potatoes. That mixture is stirred into a creamy, seasoned sauce.
If you go
› Where: Bones Smokehouse, 7601 East Brainerd Road› Hours: 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Saturday› Prices: $4.25-$21.95› Alcohol: Yes› Phone: 423-710-3382
Four ounces of homemade mashed potatoes are spread across the bottom of the serving dish, then 8 ounces of the chicken-veggie blend is ladled over that. It's topped with a pie crust and baked until the mixture is bubbling and the crust is golden brown.
Once you tap through that flaky crust, you'll discover a filling meat-and-potatoes meal that takes the chill off any cold night.
It's so much food, that it takes a 6 1/2-inch bowl in which to serve it. It is easily enough for two people, just add a side salad for each. Or eat half and save the other half for dinner the next night. It reheats well. Two meals from one $8.95 dish is a good deal by any standard.
THE VERDICT
Don't even try to compare this chicken potpie to the frozen imitations that come from a grocery freezer. This is the real deal, a homemade delight that would make your mother green with envy.
This chicken potpie is any mom's secret weapon for a quick, filling meal on a wintry school night. Just pick it up in the drive-through on the way home. And in coming weeks a new beef potpie is being added to the menu.
But a word to the wise: Each potpie takes about 20 minutes to prepare since it is homemade. Call ahead so you don't have to wait.
Contact Susan Pierce at spierce@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6284.