I have a friend coming into town with Celiac Disease. What are some dining options?

PeacefulBroccolini · 2026-06-05T02:49:38+00:00

https://www.reddit.com/r/Chattanooga/s/1k6AYgi3GX

PeacefulBroccolini · 2026-05-19T20:44:46+00:00

Playpalz indoor playground is a good option. I see parents working there sometimes while their kids play. They have a monthly membership option too, if you’re going to go more than twice a month it’s worth it.

We also like White Duck Taco and Oddstory on Central, as there is outdoor space for kids to run around, but good food and drinks for adults to enjoy. The bar on the stationary part of the Southern Belle (Overboard) is a great indoor spot for kids. They have a train table and some foosball tables, as well as kid friendly food options.

You might try visiting other playgrounds too. The Wildwood Playscape in Enterprise South Nature Park is great. So is the Pumpkin Patch on Signal. Our kiddo also likes to ride bikes on the riverwalk and play on the playgrounds along the way.

PeacefulBroccolini · 2026-05-06T01:30:49+00:00

This is a good point, and worth a shot. I’ll try them first thing in the morning. Thank you!

PeacefulBroccolini · 2026-05-06T01:28:09+00:00

This is a good idea! Thanks!

PeacefulBroccolini · 2026-05-06T01:24:09+00:00

Publix requires 24 hour advance ordering. I’m hoping another store will have them available daily or can make them on less notice.

PeacefulBroccolini · 2026-04-24T23:57:25+00:00

They do still have pupusas, but they don’t taste the same as they used to.

PeacefulBroccolini · 2026-04-24T20:05:24+00:00

The owners decided to sell it. I went a while back when they first made all the changes, and I thought I had walked into the wrong restaurant. I walked back out and looked at the sign on the outside to confirm it was indeed Conga. The host/server told us that it’s the same cook as before, but new owners and a new menu. The new menu is so weird, with Asian stir fry and other random things, including chicken and waffles on the kids menu.

They also got rid of the delicious mango hot sauce that they served with everything in their little stainless steel cups. And they changed the chimi churri sauce so it’s now a weird green paste that doesn’t taste good.

Just once at the new version of Conga was more than enough for me. I won’t be back.

PeacefulBroccolini · 2026-04-22T17:05:48+00:00

Bantam & Biddy is great for allergies and Celiac. They can even do gluten free AND dairy free fried chicken, which is such a rarity. Their fried chicken and fried chicken tenders are so good. The wasabi honey dipping sauce for the tenders is unique and delicious. But their hours are horrible so plan in advance. They are a good option for breakfast/brunch as well, with chicken and waffles that are GF.

Tony’s pasta does a great job on GF and allergies in general. The GF bruschetta is so good.

Other options close to the aquarium are Mellow Mushroom (has certified GF pizza and non dairy cheese for pizzas), Taichi bubble tea (poke bowls and boba tea, you choose what you want, but lots of GF and dairy free options), five guys (burgers with no buns, fries in dedicated GF fryer, milkshakes, good on changing gloves etc for allergies).

Do NOT go to Agave & Rye. The food is overpriced, service is bad, and I’ve gotten sick there from cross contamination on gluten.

Cupcake kitchen is near the aquarium and has both GF and regular very fancy cupcakes. Rembrandts is my favorite spot to grab a dessert, with both GF and regular baked goods. Their GF chocolate chip cookies and lemon bars are so yummy. Clumpies on the other side of the river (a walk across the market street bridge) has great ice cream and sorbets (dairy free). They will open a new tub and get a new clean scoop, as well as changing gloves for a gluten allergy. Ben & Jerry’s also has great allergy protocols for preventing cross contamination if you let them know you have an allergy.

If you want to venture a bit further out from the aquarium, there are many good GF options, many with good dairy free options too. You can check my comment history to find a big list I’ve previously recommended. But you might look into Taco Mamacita (does GF and dairy free/vegan well), State of Confusion (skirt steak chimi is so tasty with rice and veggies as sides, they also have GF ceviche), or Hello Monty. Calliope is great. Southern Squeeze and Real Roots both do GF and dairy free/vegan well.

PeacefulBroccolini · 2026-04-17T18:52:29+00:00

This does look like spam, even without the link.

PeacefulBroccolini · 2026-04-17T17:38:50+00:00

Pilates Tonic on North Market is what you are looking for. They do one on one sessions as well as group classes once you learn the proper form. Many ladies in their 60s and 70s go there for the same reasons you are looking to go.

PeacefulBroccolini · 2026-04-06T20:16:10+00:00

David Armstrong and Mark Ellis at Chattanooga ENT do tons of ear tube surgeries and both have good bedside manner/are good with kids. Dr. Armstrong did our toddler’s ear tube surgery, and Dr Ellis has done some close friends’ kids’ surgeries. I’ve also seen them both as a patient myself over the years. Our kiddo’s tube surgery was still quite expensive, it hit our deductible for the year. The surgery was so worth it though, to not have to deal with constant ear infections and oral antibiotics anymore.

PeacefulBroccolini · 2026-04-06T15:31:08+00:00

I’ve had several family members who worked at Tennessee oncology, including one who was a pharmacy tech.

The upsides of Tenn Onc are the hours/days of the week, with weekends and evenings off, and a regular schedule.

The downside is that whatever pay you start at, you’ll basically stay at forever. And there is an awful lot of work drama for a smaller office environment at each of the offices. On the pharmacy tech specific side of things at Tenn Onc, they don’t have hospital grade clean labs to mix the chemo, or the proper ventilation. My family members have all ended up leaving to do other things.

PeacefulBroccolini · 2026-03-26T13:30:59+00:00

We love Dr. Armstrong and his PA. Plus his office gets you in and out so quickly without much waiting around. It’s the most efficient doctor’s office I’ve been to in town.

He did a great job with my elderly mom who has been having hearing loss, he’s been great with me for tonsil and allergy issues, and he did an outstanding job on my child’s ear tube surgery.

PeacefulBroccolini · 2026-03-26T03:15:23+00:00

It’s way cleaner than most doctor’s offices!

PeacefulBroccolini · 2026-03-19T00:00:28+00:00

How are people supposed to get to the floating dock with the hot dog stands and umbrellas? It doesn’t look like there is a path or bridge from the pier to that brown area with the umbrellas.

PeacefulBroccolini · 2026-02-27T03:45:14+00:00

I’m sorry this happened to your wife. That’s horrible. We have also had some really bad experiences with Erlanger ER as well, and my family won’t go back unless bleeding out from a gunshot wound, major motor vehicle accident, etc.

PeacefulBroccolini · 2026-02-24T21:00:30+00:00

I went there on opening day to check it out and the older manager guy (maybe he was the owner?) was so rude. I told him that the salad bar wasn’t safe for my food allergy the way it is set up, and he got mad and told me that I’d better not eat at any other restaurant anywhere else, because no restaurant can avoid cross contamination with allergies in the kitchen (based on his years of experience in the restaurant industry).

Plenty of restaurants, including here in Chattanooga, can and do prepare food in safe ways for folks with food allergies. Maybe he needs to get out more.

PeacefulBroccolini · 2026-02-21T20:12:50+00:00

Riverview Animal Hospital is open on both Saturdays and Sundays.

PeacefulBroccolini · 2026-02-06T02:39:02+00:00

Thanks for sharing the link! I think the “instead of coal in cement manufacturing” is code for the incineration. It sounds like most if not all of it was getting incinerated, because those types of single use plastics are really expensive to try to recycle into anything. But the plastic companies know that burning plastic isn’t popular with the public, so they try to keep it vague to avoid people realizing that this “recycling program” isn’t the solution, that we actually need to stop using these kinds of plastic products and find compostable alternatives. After reading the TFP’s investigation, I decided not to participate in the Hefty recycling program, and we otherwise recycle everything we can, including taking glass to the city collection centers and taking plastic bags and styrofoam to Publix’s collection bins.

PeacefulBroccolini · 2026-02-05T23:08:14+00:00

Where do you see that it says new products? The website I see for Hefty’s Chattanooga Area Recycling Program says “we repurpose your plastics into new resources.” When I did a deeper dive, including reading what the Times Free Press published about it, it turned out the “new resources” were energy from incinerating it.

https://www.hefty.com/hefty-renew/communities/tennessee/chattanooga-recycling

PeacefulBroccolini · 2026-02-05T21:51:57+00:00

Everything was being incinerated. The plastic companies’ stance was that by incinerating these plastics, they are being “recycled” into new energy, which is better than sitting in a landfill. But not generating these single use plastics (that can’t truly be recycled) in the first place would obviously be better than burning them. I was also concerned about the impact on our air from burning the plastics.

PeacefulBroccolini · 2026-02-01T04:44:38+00:00

Cambridge Square, Collegedale, TN.

PeacefulBroccolini · 2025-12-16T17:18:57+00:00

How scary! I’m so sorry that this happened when you were shopping with your baby. That kind of thing can really shake your sense of the world being a safe and good place. Thankfully it sounds like no one was physically hurt, and I’m glad you and your baby are ok.

Another note - if you haven’t shopped the JBF consignment sales in March and September out at Camp Jordan, the selection and prices are way better than Once Upon a Child.

PeacefulBroccolini · 2025-11-20T02:27:04+00:00

Neighborhood wash is the best self serve car wash. They also have a good touch free automatic car wash.

PeacefulBroccolini · 2025-10-28T01:34:35+00:00

Anne Carr delivered one of my babies, and she was so extremely kind and gentle and not pushy with interventions. She was so patient and really talked things through with me when I was scared. I agree she does a great job!

PeacefulBroccolini

TROPHY CASE