Riverboat Barge & Grill is by Coolidge Park. Click to enlarge all our photos.
photo by Janet Wilson
The Riverboat Barge & Grill is located at 100 River Street at Coolidge Park between the Market Street and Walnut Street bridges.
Our most recent visit happened to be the first night of Riverbend – and luckily we had a reservation because every table was full.
As with every time we have eaten there - the food is very good - as is the service. Being such a small restaurant, it allows for the servers to give special attention to each of their customers.
The menu has so many wonderful items it just makes too tough a decision. For his appetizer, Wayne ordered the Tuna Tortilla ($8) and said it had a wonderful taste and was something definitely out of the ordinary. It was Grilled Tuna with lettuce and salsa wrapped in a soft tortilla. It was served with jalapeno cheese sauce and finished with cilantro sour cream and he said he would definitely order it again.
I was leaning toward the Mushroom Napoleon ($7, sautéed exotic mushrooms in a puff pastry with a chardonnay cream sauce and roasted red pepper couli). It was soooo difficult – but I finally ordered the Lobster Bisque ($4.50). Having sampled it previously, I knew what to expect - delicious and tart. Maybe next time I will have the Napoleon.
For our second course, we enjoyed a tasty Roasted Pear Salad ($6), consisting of roasted caramelized pears served on field greens with fresh crumbled bleu cheese, walnuts, red onion slivers, and blackberry vinaigrette. I had originally decided to order the Goat Cheese Salad ($9), which is a roasted round of herbed goat cheese served on field greens with balsamic vinaigrette, kalamata olives, roasted red peppers, and herbed crostinis. That sounded so inviting – but our server, Jennifer, informed me that it was an entrée salad and would more than I would want with my meal and she said they didn’t serve half-salads.
For Wayne's entree he selected the Chicken Gorgonzola ($18). This is a pan-seared oven roasted Breast of Free Range Chicken, with bleu cheese, country ham and spinach cream sauce, served with garlic mashed potatoes. He said the chicken was delicious and cooked just enough to keep the juices locked inside.
I ordered the Rainbow Trout ($16). This was pan-seared Trout with roasted garlic aioli, served with corn cakes and the fresh vegetable of the day (a mixture of squashes). I decided to skip the vegetable of the day and opted for Mashed Sweet Potatoes, which was also on the menu. These were delicious. The Trout was moist and flaky and I enjoyed it very much.
The Riverboat Barge & Grill has a varied menu which, on this night, included Braised Lamb ($20), Fried Shrimp ($16), Crab Cakes ($17), Roasted Duck ($16), Crawfish Etouffee ($14) {which I have eaten at the Riverboat in the past and can highly recommend it), Beef Tenderloin ($24), Shrimp Carbonara ($18), Pork Tenderloin ($17 and Salmon ($15). Something for everyone!
Hours for the Riverboat Barge & Grill are Tuesday through Sunday - 11:00 AM - 3:00 PM for lunch; 5:00 PM - 9:00 PM for dinner and Friday and Saturday until 10:00 PM for dinner. Brunch on Sunday 11:00 AM - 3:00 PM. Closed on Monday.
And remember – if you know anyone who eats out a lot we have the perfect gift for them or even for yourself. We have the Adventures coupon books with even more coupons – 86 in all. These are perfect gifts for weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, and many other occasions. By using our Adventures book during 2001, Wayne and I saved over $436 that would have been spent out of our own pockets – and we didn’t even use all the coupons. To make shopping easier for you, we now have credit card capability on the Chattanooga Dine Out site. We ship the same day you order (unless it’s Sunday) so your books should be received within approximately three days.
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