This week our search for the best tacos in Chatt Town brought us to Wood Oven Kitchen in East Ridge, tucked into a small strip mall and has indoor and outdoor dining areas.
And when I think of a wood oven my brain immediately goes to pizza.
Guess what?
It is a pizza joint that also offers appetizers, chicken wings, and Mexican food like tortas, tacos, burritos, fajitas, quesadillas and other Latin entrees.
This place is a foodie’s dream. Imagine being able to get Mexican Street tacos, a meat lover’s pizza and Buffalo wings all under the same roof. Better yet, you can get a birria pizza to go with your pepperoni pizza.
It’s a mid-sized restaurant with plenty of big screen TVs on the wall and tons of tables for guests. They offer a variety of pizza options, but I came for tacos. Your protein choices are chicken, steak, Al Pastor pork, Mexican sausage, grilled shrimp, tripe, fish and shredded beef, (cooked with birria marinade but not served with consommé) as well as vegetarian options.
I ordered the house guacamole, a shrimp taco and their birria taco. The guacamole was well seasoned. There was no denying it had lime in it, but it wasn’t overpowering. The tacos are topped with cilantro and onions, but grilled onions are also served on the side. The tacos are also served with salsa verde and a lime wedge.
The cool thing about this place is that a lot of the food is cooked in the wood oven. My birria shredded beef was likely cooked slowly in a pot for hours, but my shrimp was quickly grilled in the wood oven. There were plenty of shrimp and with a pinch of lime and a splash of salsa verde it was a delightful taco.
I scooped up some grilled onions, which were caramelized to perfection, and added those to my birria taco along with some salsa verde. The meat was so tender it just pulled apart. The best bite was when I also added a forkful of guacamole.
My lunch hour flew by. I was watching a National Women’s Soccer League game between the Washington Spirit against Bay FC. Washington Spirit has one of my favorite soccer players on their roster, Trinity Rodman, and they won 2-0.
I could easily find myself coming back for a chimichanga and then bringing home a large supreme pizza to share with mom for dinner.
They are closed on Tuesdays and open from 11 a.m. until 9 p.m. the rest of the days of the week. They accept cash and credit cards.
Wood Oven Kitchen
- 5716 Ringgold Road, East Ridge, TN
- (423) 654-7050
- $$ - $$$
- Website: www.orderwoodovenkitchen.com
What’s your favorite taco place and why? Send me an email at Pattyl@brewermediagroup.com