Albert T.
Yelp
We decided to stop at Main Street Meats for lunch after being promised the best burgers in all of Chattanooga. As we walked in, the place was absolutely packed and we were lucky enough to get the very last open table. We looked around and basically everyone had a burger in front of them, so there was no way it wouldn't be good, right?
House Made Fries ($6.50) - These are approximately 1/8 inch rounds cut width-wise across the potatoes - more akin to thick chips rather than fries. My best guess is that these are precut and portioned out, then fried to order. They are only fried once, so the exterior could use some work; even though the color is a pleasing brown, there wasn't any of the corresponding crisp to match. The interior is very fluffy, moist, and appropriately cooked. Many of the fries are stuck together, resulting in pieces that are never in direct contact with the oil. Honestly the crunchiest part of these fries are the maldon salt pyramids sprinkled on the top...
Local Beef Burger ($16) - I could tell the beef was high quality through the fresh beefy smell and taste coming from the burger. The patty was quite thick, probably on the order of 3/4 inch. It was ordered medium doneness, as recommended by the waiter, which meant that there was a decent amount of pink in the center. The problem was the burger as a whole was extremely dry and the large thickness accentuated this feeling. The bun didn't help very much - the wheat bun, which added to the thickness of the entire burger, was on the dense side. It was toasted on the grill, but kind of dried out. Really the only thing adding moistness was a thin smear of mayo and mustard - not nearly enough to counteract the beef and bun. The other toppings were good - a thick cut bacon slice, some pickles, cheese, and some nicely sweet caramelized onions. I also tasted some horseradish for some reason, but the menu didn't say this had horseradish in it. I'm not sure what happened here. The cook on the patty was correct, so I don't know why it wasn't juicy. Maybe they used leaner cuts of beef for this particularly burger?
Smoked Ribeye ($16) - A high quality, thinly sliced ribeye. Most parts were still quite pink, but the meat was tender and didn't have any chewy bits. The giardiniera, composed of peppers, cauliflower, and carrots in this case, added a nice vinegary acidity that complemented the meat. There was a bit of melted gruyere and baby spinach to round things out. This was all on buttered and griddled sourdough that added a nice crisp texture. I found this sandwich to be superior to the burger. This sandwich was listed as having horseradish mousse, but I couldn't really detect that flavor note.
We noticed that a lot of patrons were ordering a single burger or sandwich to split between two, along with multiple sides to shore up the meal. This is a great strategy since many items on their menu sound delicious.
Main Street Meats also has a nice meat counter with a variety of different meats for sale, a fridge with drinks and some prepared foods, and a couple of shelves of interesting jarred and bottled items.
Overall, I could tell that the ingredients Main Street Meats uses for their food is high quality, which is well appreciated. I just thought the execution was a bit off for the food that we received. I think this restaurant is still worth a visit.