Aretha Frankensteins — Restaurant in Chattanooga

This is an experience like no other here in the Scenic City. In the neighborhood of North Chattanooga, you'll find people walking dogs, folks in their yards, sporadic little businesses and a feeling that's quite homey. Different than downtown for sure. Imagine a quaint little house up on a hill, brick walkway and a few tables scattered around. You step up on the porch and open the door and it's like taking you to another place in time. The memorabilia is astounding. From the wall faces to the dozens of cereal box covers from when we were kids on the ceiling, and pictures of everything, you could spend a couple of hours in this small four table dining room just "looking". We have found that every time we go somebody at the table says "look at that!" or "did you see that?" Then you get the menu, yum! Everything on it is great, but you HAVE to try the pancakes! A short stack of two stands proudly about 3 in tall at least! And the texture is like no other pancake you've ever had. It's cakey and smooth and delicious. I can't even eat one pancake when I go, (although I never can resist ordering something else as well). It's just too tempting! But I'm a fan of the take-home and eat it tomorrow box so that's no problem for me. The wait staff is such a joy. They're very attentive and knowledgeable and just fun to be around. The only thing that you should know ahead of time is there is absolutely no parking lot. You can find some street parking but you may have to walk a block or two. That's just the way the neighborhood is. And, this is a big one, because there's only four tables inside the wait time can be quite lengthy. Don't pick busy times to go. Oh, but now that spring is upon us you can sit outside at one of the outdoor tables or pull up to the front porch eating bar all the way around the railing. If you've never been before, choose to wait, because you really need to experience the inside! But whether you have to wait or not, North Chattanooga's little hidden gem of a breakfast and lunch restaurant is definitely...

Food

I was first order of the day. My pancakes were ICE cold and wouldn't melt whipped butter. Told the server, and she asked for another short stack and asked them to make sure they were warm. This interaction and since I was first thru the door and to order could only mean that they are reheating pancakes to serve. The 2nd time, the pancakes came out it was a touch warm and took longer than it should for whipped butter to melt. I also ordered an egg and cheese biscuit. The biscuit was cold as well and dry. The egg and cheese part was warm and tasted good. The biscuit was dry as a cracker.

Service

Well, the waittess is the waitress and host was the host. The waitress was handling everyone. She did a nice job of getting a remake out for me. The host was a lump. He put me at the counter, and then he was just done. He sat the others, and he was done with them as soon as them too. They were out of a bunch of items. The host was more interested in the person that bought his coffee and sat looking lovesick outside on the porch.

Atmosphere

Well, PARKING IS AWFUL. Dont come here if you are disabled. You wont find any handicapped parking. It is on a STEEP grade to get to. The place isn't set up for a disable person to move around. The decor is electric and fun. I took photos of several items on the wall and ceiling.

This place is fun to look at but...

A few months ago our local Grocery store in Florida stopped carrying their pancake mix. We were all very disappointed because they had some of the best mix you could get. I later discover that you could purchase boxes directly from them. So for Christmas I got 3 for my wife. My daughter was super excited about the surprise. Unfortunately I wasn’t home when it arrived. But was questioned why our driveway looked like a Rick James party. Oddly enough the actual boxes were fine but 2/3 bags inside had fairly large cuts in them causing the powder to pour out. Lucky one arrived safely. However, for $35 for 3 boxes I figured I’d reach out to them. Sent 3 emails to the address they had listed with no response. Called and was given the owners name Cory and his address. No response. Called and left 2 more messages for Cory and no response. So decided I’d message them on Facebook. No response. Final attempt was to post on their page, politely commending them on their product but asking for them to reach me to discuss the issue. Rather than any acknowledgment, they simply removed my post. I was really looking forward to one day going there in person. But after this experience and now seeing their other reviews, no chance. Their pancakes may be awesome but their customer...