Restaurants in Chattanooga

Nino Piccolo grew through adolescence in Sicily, where he acquired the culinary prowess to craft pizzas and pastas from centuries worth of classic Sicilian recipes. At Nino's Italian Restaurant, his dishes remain true to that cultural and familial tradition, stressing the importance of authenticity by drawing on ingredients imported from Italy and specialty cheeses imported from the moon. The salsiccia entree exemplifies Old-World tastes with fresh-ground italian sausage slow-cooked in tomato-basil sauce squeezed from fresh, vine-ripened fruit, and the Nonna entree, nicknamed "Grandma's pasta," edges out hunger with rigatoni under eaves of sweet, roasted peppers, pancetta, and capers. A façade of windowpanes allows natural light to fall upon red-and-white-checked tablecloths and a painting of a sunrise tinged with teal and yellow. Tabletop lamps illuminate plates and add dramatic flair to ghost stories indoors, whereas Mother Nature brightens an outdoor patio humming with ceiling fans.

In the midst of ever-multiplying chain eateries, Gabriel's Pizza embraces its status as a mom-and-pop pizza joint. Though the restaurant boasts patio seating and exposed-brick walls, owners Charley and Allen Eisenmenger generally avoid frills and instead focus on perfecting a menu that brings together New York’s thin-crust pizzas and Chicago’s deep-dish pies. Their fresh dough never sees the inside of a freezer or kitchen igloo, and it takes on a whole new layer of taste when chefs coat it with the restaurant's signature sauce. They top specialty pies with USDA-certified meats and produce largely sourced from a Charleston vendor, gracing dough with accessories ranging from classic pepperoni to rich artichoke hearts. The chefs stretch crusts extra thin for piattos, or avoid pizza dough altogether and craft entrees such as baked spaghetti and ravioli.

The chefs at Fuji Japanese Steak & Sushi dazzle diners with virtuosic hibachi cooking that takes place on tableside teppanyaki grills. As guests watch, flames lap at filet mignon, salmon, and calamari before the bounty gravitates toward outstretched plates. Dozens of specialty rolls also grace palates, from the Under Control roll stocked with spicy tuna and shrimp tempura to the Ocean roll of shredded lobster and spicy mayo surrounded by snow crab and eel sauce. Wood paneling adorns one wall in the dining room and another is composed of interlocking rectangles of colorful patterns. Guests can also unwind beneath the bar's cylindrical overhead light fixtures, where they cheer for and shout stock tips at the millionaire athletes displayed on an HDTV.

A stack of burning wood warms the oven at Iron Gate Pizzeria, turning thin disks of dough into golden-brown pizza crusts. These crispy pies showcase toppings that range from the traditional––mozzarella sliced fresh by hand––to the gourmet––gorgonzola cheese, artichoke hearts, and spicy cherry peppers. Shy pizzas fold up and hide both their toppings and innermost secrets inside the buttery shell of a calzone.

Despite the establishment's lack of interior dining space, the menu printed beneath Dixie BBQ's walk-up window reveals the vast scope of its barbecue selection. Chefs slather slabs of ribs in tangy sauce and plate hunks of smoked chicken, pork, and beef. They also serve up a dozen sides, including fried pickles, baked beans, and hot fries, a customer favorite.