Countryside Cafe has your craving for home-cooked food covered

Banana pudding at Countryside Cafe. / Photo by Mark Gilliland

Countryside Cafe has been in business since 1990 with the same owners, same great food and even some of its original staff. With so many classic dishes, they make sure to keep the staples that locals have come to love.

"We have strawberries coming in from out-of-town now that are very tasty, but soon we will have local berries to make all our delicious desserts," says owner Marlene Geren, noting some of the Ooltewah restaurant's options include strawberry pie, strawberry cobbler and its famous strawberry shortcake.

"We also use fresh berries to make our strawberry spinach salad for those eating healthy," she adds.

Friends and families can come in and pick from a wide selection of entrees, vegetables and desserts and still enjoy a delicious meal with any diet restriction.

Fresh strawberries are used in strawberry shortcake, strawberry pies and cobbler at Countryside Cafe. / Photo by Mark Gilliland

"All of our vegetables are considered vegetarian because we do not use any meat products in our cooking process," Geren points out.

"Come get real Southern cooking that other places don't have, such as skillet-fried okra, real mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, cornbread salad, salmon patties, stuffed green peppers and homemade warm banana pudding."

And with spring just around the corner and gaining another hour of daylight starting Sunday, March 10, the restaurant recognizes that customers' schedules are busier than ever with the return of spring team sports.

"Why don't you meet at Countryside after a long day, or maybe pick up a fresh cooked meal at the window by calling ahead?" Geren suggests. "Enjoy spring days and let us do all your cooking for your events. We offer customized menus for weddings, office events, parties and more."

To help celebrate St. Patrick's Day, Countryside Cafe is offering a free "green" ice cream to guests on March 17.

"We have all your cravings covered," Geren said. "We're open seven days a week with daily specials that change twice a day at 10:30 a.m. and 4 p.m."