The recently opened Screen Door Cafe in Soddy-Daisy is a gem in the rough. If you’re not familiar with the community, getting there could be an adventure (though the navigation app on my phone made the less-than-30-minute drive from downtown Chattanooga easy enough).
The incredible restaurant is located off the beaten path but worth every effort it takes to get there. The food is that good.
It’s fine dining at its best, though it’s not housed in a lavish building in an upscale urban setting. Instead, Screen Door Cafe is located in a rather small old house in a rural and beautiful neighborhood.
Ordered from the Snacks menu (appetizers) are fried green tomatoes topped with freshly made pimento cheese and herb aioli. The owners’ version of an egg roll is a mouthwatering soul roll, a crisp egg roll stuffed with barbecue, collard greens, beans and rice, and served with a barbecue duck sauce dip.If you go
› Where: Screen Door Cafe, 1106 Lee Pike, Soddy-Daisy› Phone: 423-777-4868› Website: screendoorcafe.com› Hours: 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday› Alcohol: No, but brown-bagging is allowed› Price range: $3 for a cup of soup to $7 for a ham and cheese sandwich and $12 for shrimp and grits
THE MENU
The menu is the same for lunch or dinner, so all items are available no matter what time you arrive.
Appetizers – called “Snacks” – are priced from $3 to $5. They include fried green tomatoes, pimento cheese and grilled toast, and Soul Rolls, the owners’ take on egg rolls with barbecue and collard greens in the mix.
Soups and salads range from a soup of the day ($3 cup, $5 bowl) to a small house salad ($2.50), apple chicken salad ($8) and steak salad ($10).
The entrees include house-made grilled smoked sausage, barbecue and fried catfish. Prices range from $5 for the Veggie Pasta (also available with chicken or shrimp for a small upcharge) to $11 for the grilled sirloin.
Sides include pinto beans, mac and cheese, collard greens, steamed veggies, slaw, potato salad and pasta salad.
Sandwiches, served with one side, include bologna and cheese, a fried green tomato BLT, Reuben and Po Boy. Prices range from $5 to $9.
Burgers start at $7 for the classic. You can add toppings such as pimento cheese or mushroom and Gruyere (raising the price to $8) or go for the Screen Door burger, which tops the house-ground beef with barbecue, pimento cheese and fried onions ($10).
A kids menu features grilled cheese, chicken fingers, burger, grilled chicken and a ham-and-cheese sandwich ($3-$4).
THE FOOD
My mouth watered just looking at the menu because some of my favorite dishes are included. Making a decision of what to order was challenging.
Buttermilk fried chicken livers? Can’t get this at just any restaurant.
Shrimp and grits? The stone-ground Adluh grits are prepared in cakes instead of runny – just my style.
A pimento cheese burger? The pimento cheese is made in-house.
Eventually, I chose the shrimp and grits ($12). The grit cake was particularly appealing to me, and, turns out, it was incredibly delicious. Served with a generous portion of sauteed shrimp and covered in andouille and mushroom pan gravy, each savory bit melted in my mouth.
Because I was doing a restaurant review, I also ordered an appetizer of fried green tomatoes ($5) as well as a small house salad ($2.50).
I am a devoted fan of salads, so fresh ingredients is of the utmost important. If the lettuce is wilted, don’t even bring it to my table. I’m happy to say the salad was perfect.
The fried green tomatoes, served with that house-made pimento cheese and covered with herb aioli, was the best fried green tomato dish I’ve ever had – and I’ve tried plenty.
I don’t always revisit a restaurant I’ve reviewed, but Screen Door Cafe is one that I will. Next time I’ll go for the chicken livers ($7). They’re served with two sides, and choices include mac and cheese, beans and rice, mashed potatoes, collard greens, steamed vegetables, pinto beans, french fries, potato salad and slaw.
It’s very important for diners to know that each recipe is prepared fresh every single day the restaurant is open.
The owners, Gabriel and Eva Camp, bring years of restaurant experience, including Eva’s culinary degree, to the table. Their passion for food is evident in every dish they serve.
THE SERVICE
We were served within 10 minutes of ordering. The waitress was at our table immediately after we were seated and brought our drinks out promptly. She refilled our glasses often and made sure we had just what we needed.
You order your food and pay for it at your table.
THE SPACE
The restaurant seats about 30 people, so if you plan to go on a Friday or Saturday night, you may want to head out early. They do not take reservations.
The dining area is one big room with a large freezer occupying a wall in the rear. It’s not the typical scene you’d see in a nice restaurant, but it was comforting to know the ingredients were stored properly and refreshing to see Gabriel Camp making trips back and forth carrying ingredients to be cooked.
THE VERDICT
Screen Door Cafe gets an A+. I will go back, and I’ll do it soon. It’s not convenient to where I live (Signal Mountain), but it’s definitely a destination when my husband and I plan a night out. If Screen Door Cafe were located in my neighborhood, I’d be a regular customer. They’d know me and every member of my family by name.
Contact Karen Nazor Hill at khill@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6396.