Think back to when you were a young professional, eager to change the world. School was over and you’d landed your first job, but you lacked experience – and that was okay. No one had told you what you couldn’t do, so you ran on instinct and thrived on creativity.
Now apply the optimism, bold daring, and innate skills you had at that point in your career to fine dining. Imagine a restaurant staffed by experienced professionals who provide training and real world experience to culinary students and graduates who haven’t run a kitchen, but instead are at the point in their career when they’re running on instinct and thriving on creativity.
You can experience a terrific meal at such an environment at Kitchen at Union Square (KUS), a new teaching establishment operated by Culinard, the culinary institute of Virginia College of Business and Health in Chattanooga. Located in the basement of the Tallan Building at 2 Union Square, or 200 West Martin Luther King Boulevard, the restaurant opened for dining November 4. On November 5, I was seated at a table for lunch, going, “Wow, that’s good!”
Items on the menu at KUS have a distinctly American flavor: From the Roasted Butternut Squash soup, to the Chicken Caesar salad, to the Tuna Tataki appetizer, to the Confit of Chicken sandwiches, to the Sustainable Fish of the Moment (love the name), the lion’s share of the selections strike an appetizing balance between high brow cuisine and simple comfort food.
Whenever possible, food at KUS is prepared using locally sourced ingredients. Take, for example, the Salmon and Brie salad, which comes with field greens, dried cranberries, roasted bell peppers, vanilla poached pears, candied nuts, and house-made lavender vinaigrette. My lunch companion one day ordered it as the chef recommended, and did not stop raving about how fresh and delicious it was.
The source of my, “Wow, that’s good,” was the Fish and Chips with apple slaw and creole mayo. The fish was perfect; the crispy fried exterior had a nice texture, but the flavor of the oil used didn’t overwhelm the fresh fish it contained. Eaten unsalted, but with dollops of the mayo, it was far better than Fish and Chips needs to be. My heart sank as I crunched into the last bite.
I tried one of the appetizers as well, which KUS called “shares.” That’s a presumptuous term, given that I didn’t want to “share” the Parmesan Truffle Fries I ordered. Everything on the fries is in the name: delicately fried potato strips topped with piles of grated Parmesan cheese dusted with ground truffle, and seasoned with assorted spices. They were, hands down, the best fries I’ve eaten. They didn’t even need salt from the shaker.
Today, I returned to KUS (which you might find yourself doing after your first visit) to order the Braised Short Ribs, which come on a blini (a thin pancake) and smothered with Coke bouillon and pot roasted vegetables. Frankly, it was comfort food at its finest. The meat was chewy and marbled with tasty fat, and the gravy was mouthwatering. I really, really hated getting down to the last bite.
Kitchen at Union Square is open Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Friday and Saturday until 10 p.m. The bar closes one hour later each night, and an extensive selection of wines and cocktails is offered. Just as important, the servers and chefs are quick and eager to please.
After my dining experiences at KUS, I can only believe the young men and women there have bright careers ahead of them. I certainly hope some of them stay in Chattanooga and open their own establishments. Above all, I pray they never figure out what they can’t do.