After working for more than 10 years in the restaurant business, Adrianna Sanchez and her family thought it was time to break out on their own.
So they found the perfect spot and opened El Molcajete, a Mexican-American restaurant, in the East Hamilton area last month. Located in the Pin Strikes center off Lee Highway, the restaurant is geared toward the locals who live in the area, Sanchez said.
“We can call it Tex-Mex, but we focus on a lot on dishes that you can’t find anywhere else in Chattanooga,” she said. “There’s a lot of different items, so we have a good variety.”
What exactly is a molcajete?
“It’s like a mortar and pestle, but it’s also one of our dishes [at the restaurant] that no one else in the area has,” she said. “So it’s what we thought we’d want to be known as.”
The Molcajete platter is a dish of meats and Mexican cactus char-grilled in a ranchero sauce. It’s served with guacamole, pico de gallo, cheese and tortillas. It’s almost like a fajita, but served in a traditional style molcajete brought to your table.
“We do our best to use the freshest ingredients for people,” Sanchez said. “People really like this location and we’re happy to be here.”
The restaurant is located at 6231 Perimeter Drive, Suite 127.