We tend to return to the restaurants that have served up some of our best culinary experiences. Whether it’s a meal enjoyed on a special occasion or a meal so good it became a special occasion, our outings to area restaurants later can trigger some of our most powerful nostalgia trips. How sad then that some of our favorite places to dine exist only in our memories.
For instance, there are moments when I wish I could bite into the Lookout Mountain pizza from Piza Pizza. And my mouth can’t help but water when I remember the great burgers I once enjoyed at George’s downtown.
I remember dates I had in my teenage years at Bethea’s in Brainerd. The owners would set up charge accounts for McCallie boarding students, so one of my favorite boyfriends and I would eat there often. I loved the fried chicken. But all that came to an end when his parents called and told the Betheas to stop issuing their son any more credit. It was nice while it lasted, though.
Here are others that take me down memory lane and make me wish I could go back in time just once and eat my way across town.
Rumor had it that Jolly Ox was a pseudonym for owner Steak and Ale. At the time, I’ve been told, Chattanooga law prohibited any reference to alcohol in a restaurant’s name. But the real emphasis was on mouthwatering steaks. There was a very good salad bar too, as I recall. Back in