T-Bone's Sports Café, Chattanooga

Though T-Bone’s cooks can appreciate simple mainstays, such as chilidogs and fried bologna sandwiches, some of their pub-style meals require more painstaking preparation. In an onsite hickory pit, boston butt smokes for 12 hours before chefs pile it onto the hand-pulled pork platter, and beef brisket slow cooks until it’s tender enough to recite sonnets without using a goofy voice. As diners decimate their entrees in T-Bone’s smoke-friendly restaurant and bar, they can pass the time watching SEC football on 1 of 20 TVs (including three big screens) or listening to the live musicians who play a few nights a week.