Take Out: Try a sandwich in a cup

Editor's note: Take Out is a new twice-monthly feature of the Times Free Press Taste section. To suggest a restaurant to be featured, email Barry Courter at bcourter@timesfreepress.com.

What's for lunch?

It's a question that's on the lips of office workers everywhere. In this new column, we'll try to introduce you to some new options for takeout dining in the Chattanooga area.

Today, there is an added degree of difficulty in finding lunch because today's meal is a tune-up for tomorrow's all-day feast. Do you go light today or do you try to give your stomach a little hint at what is coming?

The other day, I was feeling froggy and passed on my usual smoked butt sandwich at Petunia's Silver Jalapeno at Warehouse Row and instead got the pork and bean bowl ($6.95). While my intent was to step outside my comfort zone, this was about as risky as ordering a bowl of soup instead of a cup.

The pork and bean bowl is essentially a pork sandwich with a Styrofoam container and a jalapeno flat corn cake substituted for the bun. Everything else, and I mean everything, is thrown into the cup. It starts with barbecue pork, then layers on sauce, baked beans, slaw and the cake. A couple of pickles are thrown on top.

It was an entire meal in a cup, and it was delicious with the right mix and proportions of everything. It was also easier to take out and to eat, meaning I only needed one napkin instead of the usual half dozen.

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