Diamond Billiard Club brings great food and classy entertainment together
What do you picture when you hear the words, “pool hall”? For many people, they evoke images of dense clouds of smoke, greasy bar food, warped cues and a parade of shady characters and hustlers looking to take a sucker’s money. Jason Peterson envisioned something much grander than that, and in four years he, along with a top notch, dedicated staff, has made Diamond Billiard Club the premier billiards club in the area.
Seven Diamond bar tables and two nine-foot Diamond tables are kept in peak condition with a robust schedule of maintenance and upgrades. A full-service pro shop offers custom work and the top names in pool cues and accessories and much effort is expended to ensure that players both casual and serious have the very best environment to ply their sport.
The club hosts pool leagues every Wednesday and Thursday and sponsors an open 9-ball tournament Saturdays at 5 p.m. The venue is also a big supporter of the Great Chattanooga Dart Association’s dart leagues as well an in-house league and a blind draw every Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Ten steel tip dart boards provide ample room to play and this Thanksgiving Diamond Billiard is hosting a “Turkey Shoot” dart tournament with $500 added to the pot courtesy of Fireball Whiskey.
Besides darts and pool, Diamond holds an NFL Sunday Ticket and fifteen large flat screen televisions assure a good view of the gridiron action from anywhere in the bar.
While Diamond Billiard goes to great lengths to ensure the best experience in amusements, it is the kitchen that is the heart and soul of the establishment. The overwhelming majority of offerings are made from scratch, in house, with very little of the frozen stuff so common elsewhere. Kitchen manager Julia Askew strives to keep the menu fresh, interesting and ever-changing (a new menu is due this January, as a matter of fact.)
The menu, itself a testament to the sense of humor Diamond Billiard thrives on, features a broad array of meticulously crafted recipes with fanciful names including the Rise and Swine, a burger with pulled pork, bacon and a fried egg, the Touchy Philly cheese steak made with think sliced sirloin, peppers and onions combined with a blend of secret seasonings, and the Mother Cluckin Wrap, a tomato basil wrap filled with grilled chicken and chipotle goodness.
While every bar from here to Timbuktu advertises their wings as “award winning,” Diamond Billiard’s wings have, in fact, won awards, most notably a People’s Choice Award and a Whiskey and Wings Award for their Blackberry Bourbon Sriracha sauce.
Diamond offers fourteen handmade sauces and four dry rubs, including popular favorites like Sirachi Garlic, Jalapeno Chedder, and the aptly-named Insane Sauce, as well as more exotic fare like the El Flamo Del Gato and the ever popular Cheech and Chong, a sauce/dry rub combo with a distinctive southwestern kick. Wednesdays are Wing Day with specials all day long.
The Diamond bar is no less exceptional with a selection of fine spirits that rival establishments twice as big and four times as costly. Thirteen taps (two nitro taps) dispense a rotating selection of old favorites and craft brews and the bar regularly holds Pint Nights featuring the best of local breweries. Bar manager and local favorite Heston Mercer knows his craft and offers a number of original cocktails that can’t be had anywhere else.
While Jessie maintains that, “If you love what you do, you never work a day in your life,” it is clear that a great deal of hard work, dedication and a genuine love for what they do has made Diamond Billiard Club the best at what they do.
Diamond Billiard Club
Open daily 11 a.m. to 3 a.m.
3600 Hixson Pike ∙ Chattanooga
(423) 877-5882
www.thediamondbilliardclub.com