After several years of serving good food out of the back of a truck, Nathan Flynt is finally ready to put down some roots.
With the opening of 2 Sons Kitchen and Market, Flynt's fine-dining spin on sandwiches and casual fare has a permanent home in the up-and-coming M.L. King district.
Flynt operated Famous Nater's World Famous Food Truck to help establish Chattanooga's food truck scene. His truck and food were a common sight throughout the area for many years. He used his fine-dining training at the Public House in Warehouse Row to give even the simplest sandwich a touch of flair at Famous Nater's, and that same strategy is what drives the concept of 2 Sons. He opened 2 Sons Kitchen and Market for breakfast and lunch a few weeks ago and expanded to dinner hours on May 11.
THE SPACE
Located at 422 E. M.L. King Blvd., 2 Sons occupies a spacious building that was renovated for the business.
If you go
› Where: 2 Sons Kitchen and Market› Address: 422 E. M.L. King Blvd.› Hours: 7 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday-Saturday, breakfast and lunch; 5-10 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays, dinner› Price range: $2.50 for a plain bagel to $9.50 for entrees. Some specials may be more expensive.› Alcohol: Yes› Phone: 423-661-8709› Website: www.2sons kitchen.com
Customers place orders at the small bar area downstairs, but food is delivered to your table by staff.
Upstairs is a spacious dining area with windows looking over M.L. King Boulevard and a large mural along the back wall featuring iconic images of Chattanooga. High ceilings and natural light make the area feel open and inviting, and there is plenty of seating for a large crowd of hungry customers.
More seating is available outside on a patio, which is dog-friendly for customers wanting to bring their four-legged friends to lunch.
THE MENU
Breakfast at 2 Sons features pastries and biscuits made in-house. Pancakes - in sweet and savory formats - are also available in the morning. Biscuits can be ordered with chicken, sausage, bacon or plain. There also is a selection of breakfast wraps on the menu.
The lunch menu is dominated by sandwiches made famous on the streets at Famous Nater's World Famous Food Truck. The Turkey Katherine, Junior League and Cuban are customer favorites.
The board at the bar usually has two to three specials listed each day depending on what Flynt and his staff want to try.
In addition to tea and other soft drinks, a small selection of beer is available, including two taps from fellow M.L. King District newcomer Oddstory Brewing Co. just down the street.
For now, the dinner menu - served Thursday through Saturday evenings - consists of lunch menu and specials, but more entrees could be added to the menu as dinner service becomes more established.
THE FOOD
As for the food, they don't call Flynt "Famous" for nothing. His training in fine dining comes through by making a simple sandwich feel fancy.
On one of their first evenings of dinner service, I randomly chose the Buffalo Chicken Sandwich from the specials for the evening, and boy was it special. The server's reaction after taking my order indicated that I had chosen well. Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good.
The sandwich consisted of a fried chicken breast drizzled with house-made buffalo sauce, celery salad all topped with a whipped buttermilk dressing that looked like a hearty dose of whipped cream sitting atop my sandwich on a freshly baked roll. It was an amazing concoction and about as decadent as a chicken sandwich can get.
THE SERVICE
The 2 Sons website promises "Great food served by smiling faces that you'll know like family " and the dinner service on a Thursday evening certainly delivered on that promise. The staff were friendly and helpful, offering suggestions and advice while making sure drinks were refilled and empty plates were cleared away promptly.
And for those who still have a healthy hankering for Flynt's excellent food from a food truck, never fear. The 2 Sons food truck is available for special events and could make an appearance at outdoor events this summer. The restaurant offers catering service for business events and other occasions.
THE VERDICT
Nathan Flynt - aka Famous Nate - knows his way around a kitchen and how to make a simple sandwich come out fancy. He's proven that over the years in the food truck scene, and 2 Sons Kitchen and Market allows him to continue that tradition while establishing some roots near downtown and the UTC campus.
With good food and a faithful following from the Famous Nater's days, 2 Sons could become an anchor to a newly hip part of the Scenic City.
Contact Jim Tanner at JFTanner@gmail.com.