If you go
› Where: Matilda Midnight lounge inside Dwell Hotel, 120 E. 10th St.› Phone: 423-710-2925.› Website: www.matildamidnight.com.› Hours: 10 a.m.-midnight seven days a week.› Price range: $4-$18 (tapas only).› Alcohol: Full bar.
Matilda Midnight’s spinach and goat cheese cigars.
Matilda Midnight’s pork cheek nachos.
The Matilda is Matilda Midnight’s namesake cocktail.While I try to keep an open mind and pride myself on being a fly-by-the-seat-of-her-pants type girl, I have sadly come to realize that I am not big on change. So when I heard earlier this year that the historic Stone Fort Inn was transitioning to a hip “Mad Men”-esque establishment, I lamented the loss. The turn-of-the-century furnishings had a nostalgic appeal and charm that, while abundant in Chattanooga, is seemingly on the decline in this age of modern rustic.
Little did I know that what would replace those vestiges from the time of America’s rise to international dominance would herald another golden era.
THE SPACE
Located on the ground floor of the now-renamed Dwell Hotel, Terra Mae, which opened in the Stone Fort Inn in 2012, got an update as well. Overall, the space has gone from one of rustic elegance to one of contemporary class.