Nashville Foodies

Tayst

2009-11-05T12:00:00.001-06:00

We were lucky enough to snag a Nashville Originals gift certificate to Tayst during the last sale. Tayst is the first and only (so far - we hope there will be more!) green-certified restaurant in Nashville and we happily used our gift certificate for an evening meal. And what a treat it was.

We made a reservation for two and were warmly greeted upon arrival. I was very impressed with the seating layout of the restaurant. There was ample seating and while we were seated in a fairly busy area, the positioning of the table made it so we still felt placed away from everyone else and could have a quiet conversation to ourselves.

After we were seated, staff began swooping in to help us place our orders. First, we were offered a wine menu. Frequent readers of our blog may notice a lack of mention of wine on my posts. To be honest, Josh is allergic to most alcoholic drinks and I don't have much stomach for them myself. Sometimes when we visit a restaurant and turn down the wine menu we feel that that choice sets a negative tone and service can be lacking. However, I really appreciated the way that it was handled by the Tayst staff. The menu was offered to us in the form of a question: "would you like to see our wine menu?" And our turning down of the offer didn't seem to bother them at all. However, if you do like to imbibe you will find the wine list at Tayst to be very, very extensive and each menu item is accompanied by a carefully chosen wine. I thought it was nice that you can order wine in increments of 2 oz (about one-fourth of a glass, I believe), 4 oz, 6 oz, and 8 oz, which means that if you want to try just a bit (or want to conserve some money) you can enjoy the great care the chefs have made to choose the accompanying wines.

The menu is set up in sections of "first tayst" (appetizers), "second tayst" (salads), and "main tayst" (entrees). The evening we dined the menu also had an insert of the chef's playful "Value Menu", two prix fixe combinations and a tasting menu. We decided to focus on ordering two entrees and two desserts.

We'll describe our entrees here, but don't expect to ask for the same menu items if you visit Tayst yourself. The menu changes constantly, based upon what local food items the chefs can acquire at that time. Josh ordered the evening's trout dish ($23), which came with a tiny grilled cheese, a baked apple, and salted caramel sauce. It was a very interesting combination, in a good way. I had the evening's pork dish, which was made up of a pork chop ($21), dark wild rice, and cranberry coulis. The pork chop was cooked perfectly, still very juicy, and I loved the rice. My only complaint with the dish was that I could not detect the cranberry flavor of the coulis, but this could have been because other flavors were crowding it out.

For dessert, Josh had a slice of chocolate terrine with crème anglaise ($7). Wow! It was fantastic. I tried it as well and we agreed that it had the truest chocolate flavor we'd ever tasted in a dessert. I chose the pumpkin ricotta doughnuts ($7) and they were fantastic as well. They came piping hot, dusted in cinnamon sugar, and were accompanied by a dollop of thick chocolate mousse, the texture of which was divine.

The service at Tayst was excellent. Our waitress gave helpful suggestions on what to order and kept us apprised on the progress of our meals when there was a slight delay in them coming out from the kitchen.

Overall, we very much enjoyed our meal at Tayst. It's clear that an astounding amount of work goes into the restaurant's operation, from the sourcing of the ingredients to the restaurant and menu design to the helpfulness of the staff. We should note that it's not a place to go if you're looking for large quantities of food (or dining with people not open to new food experiences). Tayst is a place you should go to learn about new flavor combinations, taste your food carefully and slowly, and appreciate the great craftsmanship that goes into your meal.

Tayst
2100 21st Ave S Nashville, TN 37212-4318
(615) 383-1953
Open Tue-Thu 5pm-10pm; Fri-Sat 5pm-11pm

Nana Rosa

2009-11-03T19:35:00.003-06:00

We went to Hendersonville for the first time ever (seriously) a few weeks back solely to go to Nana Rosa. It's a small Italian restaurant and we were eager to try out a more homey restaurant when Josh's mother, who adores Italian food, visited town.

My overall impression is that Nana Rosa has bit of an identity crisis which could keep someone from trying them out for a meal. If you go to the website, it's not clear that the business actually includes a restaurant. The home page has listings for biscotti, and yet there is a large photo of cannoli. There is no clear mention of a restaurant. This led to a bit of confusion on our part as we were preparing for our visit. However, the menu can be found here after a bit of search on the home page.

The location itself was difficult for us to find in the dark. Rest assured it truly is at the southeast corner of W Main and Walton Ferry Road, next to a knitting shop in a strip mall. I wish I'd known that as we were trying to find the restaurant. We're probably the last people in the US to not have a GPS system.

The inside of the restaurant is homey and pleasant, and we were greeted by a kind waitress. We were given sliced Italian bread with olive oil for dipping, but when I asked about where the bread was made, things began to get dicey. My inquiry was met with, "oh, it's great, isn't it!" which really felt like an attempt to avoid the question. Nevertheless, we placed our entree orders. All of our entrees came with a salad which was not too special, just chopped romaine with a few scattered tomatoes and olives. Josh got a special entree of the evening, garlic-sauteed shrimp on pasta, I got the veal and sage ravioli with half marinara and half alfredo sauce, and Josh's mother got the mascarpone cheese ravioli. And I have to say that everything was just okay, not really interesting. The mascarpone cheese ravioli was made with a purple-tinted pasta dough. I asked the waitress what might be in the pasta to make it that color and she said she had no idea. The bread and the pasta color descriptions (or lack thereof) make me suspect that a lot of the food is coming from frozen sources and is not made fresh on site.

And that's the main issue for me. When I'm choosing where to dine, I like to know where the food on my plate is coming from. It's nice to support local businesses, but to me, if the food that is served comes from food service companies, it's not that much different than eating at a chain restaurant. But maybe I just went on an off night and asked too many questions. And despite our opinion of the food, we really appreciate the excellent service we received at Nana Rosa. And like Nashville Restaurants reported, it appears to be a good place to take kids. We just can't heartily recommend Nana Rosa when you're looking for good-quality, authentic Italian dining. The reviews on places like Urbanspoon are enthusiastic, but when the commenters are raving about the "red gravy," you have to question what they were looking for in the first place.

Nana Rosa
109 Walton Ferry Rd
Hendersonville, TN 37075
M-F 11am-9pm
Sat 8am-9pm

Miel Restaurant

2009-10-29T12:01:00.001-05:00

If you're a true Nashville foodie and you haven't tried Miel, stop reading this and call this number: 298-3363. Tell Paul when he answers that you need a table at their earliest convenience...then sit back and enjoy. Reply to this post when you want to say thanks.

Emily and I finally got around to experiencing Miel, and we will be back soon. It was all-around one of the most enjoyable experiences we've had for dinner. As much as I love what East Nashville has to offer, West Nashville has a true contender that foodies should flip over.

So where is this place? Miel Restaurant hides itself behind the immensely popular Bobby's Dairy Dip off Charlotte Ave. One can get a glimpse of the tasteful logo by looking just beyond the neon power of Miel's older neighbor while driving down Charlotte. Miel regularly sends a team to the local Sylvan Park farmer's market, where they offer free samples of some double-chocolate desserts. Needless to say, they drew our attention and we had been hoping to try this place for some time. The City Paper and the Scene gave them strong reviews during their opening months, so we made an effort to drop by for a special occasion.

That special occasion was Emily's birthday. Lest that image stir up memories you've repressed with professional help (anyone thinking O' Garden birthday moments, or intrusive Mexican hats and trumpets?), I usually aim on the side of caution and do not inform the restaurant that we are there for a birthday celebration. There are some things that just aren't worth the worry of how the restaurant will respond, and a romantic dinner for two is one of them.

When I called to make reservations, my amateur self was blown away by the treatment my call received. My call was answered by Paul, who is a manager, and he made several inquiries that had me raising my eyebrows. First, Paul inquired about whether my party had any food allergies that the staff should be aware of. Nice touch. Indeed we do, and I explained them, (sulfites in wine sometimes give Emily a headache). Then Paul asked if we were there to celebrate a special occasion. Great touch. Why yes, its a birthday celebration. Would it be ok, Paul asked, if we placed a candle in her dessert? That would be just fine. So now I'm really looking forward to what they have to offer, knowing that there will be an extra touch on the evening - without the churning confusion of what they will do to us knowing its birthday related. RIP nightmarish interruptions at the O' Garden and random Mexican place!

I really suggest making reservations. On the Saturday we chose to visit all the regular times were taken by 2:00 pm. We were hoping for a later evening anyway, so we got in around 8:15.

The parking lot is literally just behind the local Krystal's. As we walked in towards the restaurant, we could see the drive-thru (no, not through, thru...come on now) ordering placard and tried to forget that the dime liquor store was across the street. I reflected on the current fate of my friends who used to swear by Krystal's. I'm sure they've moved beyond most of their diagnosable delusions.

The hostess greeted us at the front door, and I was surprised to see the kitchen clearly visible from the entrance. If you haven't been there, think of the space normally reserved for a bar and it's about the same set up. There is a high black counter top where the kitchen crew places their finished works of art. More on that later.

Our small table was well-spaced away from our neighbors, and a dark wood pew from a historic courthouse served as the back-rest for our table and the adjacent one. Wine glasses were not already placed on the table, unlike several other French style restaurants. If you don't get wine there, you feel like you're being robbed of an experience while the waiter whisks your empty glasses away. Not here. No pepper was present, but sea salt was available. Encouraging.

Our blue dress shirt clad waiter said hello and asked us if we had any allergies that they should be aware of. Oh shit. Did they get the message about the birthday? I tried to drop a heavy hint. "When I made the reservation this afternoon, I mentioned a few things..." Poor guy didn't hear me. Just go with it. To save you from the suspense, no, the message had not been conveyed, but I did get the chance to let them know later on, and they came thru. A small serving of homemade coffee ice cream with a candle in it. Beautiful.

Our waiter checked in with us about how to handle our allergies we mentioned and brought out some free starters for us. They have their own farm down the road, called Miel Farm, where they get a good share of their ingredients. Our starters were bread and butter pickles fresh from the farm. Bread and butter usually aren't my favorite, but for a starter it worked great. (Theme alert: things that aren't favorites turn out great here). Fresh baked rolls arrived soon afterward and were too hot to handle immediately. Homemade butter came along with them. Now, if there is someone out there who does not like homemade, sesame-topped rolls fresh out of the oven with authentic butter who is reading this - - why are you reading this?

The menu is small and very French. You will find your eyes lingering on the appetizer selections of frogs legs/escargot, or foie gras wondering if those or the cheese plate should be your chosen starter. I'm not expansionist by nature; I'm a southern boy at heart. Emily took some liberties with her birthday evening, however, and ordered the frogs legs/escargot for us both. Miel's menu says "No splitting, no autographs." Our helpful, courteous and fun waiter explained that splitting plates causes the artistry of the dish to be lost, but sharing is no problem. The menu also states that the wait staff can help with detailed explanations of wine pairings with your meal. Indeed they could, as our waiter spun us around with logic we could not follow, but for wine connoisseurs I'm sure this would be no problem. One criticism - I did feel like the wine had been pushed a bit. Keep your head about you on that score. Wines won't break your budget, as they range from $7 to $15 by glass and $30ish by bottle, but still, heads up.

Hesitations cast aside, our sense of adventure was rewarded. Frog legs are a lot like a chicken wing, and came fried. Two legs were delicately placed over six escargot. I thought the legs were nicely and lightly breaded, but could have used a sauce to add some flavor. The escargot were not fried, but lightly simmering in what appeared to be a garlic-butter base as they arrived. We were already enjoying ourselves immensely and we had just hit our appetizer. Appetizers range from $7 to $15.

We took forever to order our meals because we just couldn't decide. Be sure to ask if you need direction. Vegetarians have a few options, but you're really going to enjoy what you order if you step outside the box a bit. Grouper, veal, venison, steak, and bouillabaisse are all options that looked worth entire evenings themselves. I chose the venison at $34. Most meals were in the $20 range.

As I had noticed the kitchen on the way in, and emboldened by the successes of cracking the frog-leg space/time continuum, I wondered if it would be appropriate to watch the meals as they were made in progress. I asked the server who was filling our water glass if it would be an imposition to watch. She was entirely encouraging. "That's why they're there, feel free to go up at anytime. Bring your wine. It's a tranquil Saturday so they should be able to talk." So Emily and I gathered our wine glasses and went up front. We had a blast watching the dishes come to fruition in front of our eyes. Our water-filler turned out to be the better half of the ownership team of the restaurant. She is, in a word, charming. This was hosting in the sense that foodies will hope for: just an owner talking to an interested couple. We watched, drank, and talked as we enjoyed this spontaneous intermission to the meal. Our waiter had refolded our napkins and had them ready for us upon our return. We successfully coordinated our return to the table with the arrival of our entrees because our waiter warned us a few minutes beforehand that our meals were coming. I felt totally comfortable.

It's in the details of the venison that Miel really begins to shine. The venison apparently comes from a large reserve in Texas where the deer are totally free range. They are actually hunted with bow and arrow, and come incredibly fresh. They didn't bother to ask me how I wanted it cooked, which I took as a very positive sign. Personally, I love medium-rare in my steaks, and that's the way it came. Onion slivers came artfully placed above the thyme-seasoned venison, which curled itself into separate concentric circles, requiring only a few strokes of the knife to reach bite-size pieces. The tender, light meat creates an instant impression, followed by the hit of the onion and seasoning.

While the venison was the focus of the meal, it was by no means the focus of the plate. The rectangular plate had four separate divisions of offerings: the venison on the right, venison sausage on the bottom, purple pureed cauliflower underneath fingerletts of a German dough on the left, and brussel sprouts and chestnuts on top. An apple spread meant for use with the sausage appeared in a streak on the lower left. It created the type of impression that you just wanted to look and not disturb the thing. Miel's website boasts attention to artistry as important to their pursuits, and those efforts were not lost on a casual observer. Each offering was just as impressive to the palate as the visage it generated. The soft bounciness of the German dough contrasted with the smooth cauliflower puree, as did the surprising brussel sprouts and chestnut combination. Each had something different to offer, and choosing where to place the fork next became a matter that took a bit of brainpower.

Helping us loose a bit of brainpower were the well-matched wines. Emily had a white to go with her cream sauce gnocchi dish. (Emily found the gnocchi dish "light and fluffy and very tasty"). I had a red to go with my venison. Both had a depth to them that spoke of quality. We spent so much time trading forks that we had hardly dented our meal by the time our waiter rotated around to check on our progress. Seeing that I had yet to dent some parts of my vast entree, he redirected himself and chose to check on us a bit later. A nice aspect of the service is that there aren't enough tables to make the wait staff flustered and paced, so they can be present for each table they serve.

Dessert was on its way and we headed back to observe. Our hostess spent more time with us, as we discovered their plans to support the local community through a youth cooking program. The kids grow everything themselves and learn about great nutrition. Apparently they invest themselves so thoroughly that they get excited about their beet harvest. Adult volunteers are welcome. Emily also noted that the kitchen spends a little extra to avoid aluminum pans - which is one more chemically-conscious element to the Miel experience.

As we enjoyed our conversation, we examined our developing dessert selection. The creme brulee is inverted - it seemed like some sort of engineering degree is required to make it. I smiled as the chef really took the time to make it a work of art. When she was finished, we gave a small victory hurrah which was seconded by the artist's own hurrah and smile. A curved berry spread compliments a semi-hard caramel streak which run underneath the base of the brule. The caramelized sugar forms the casing for the creme, and it is one of the best I've ever had. Additionally, they brought out the candle and ice cream, (which was homemade coffee), as well as two chocolate truffles encased in a small box with white string for Em's birthday, for us to enjoy later.

As if that wasn't enough, every meal at Miel ends with a spoonful of honey. Miel is French for honey, is pronounced Mee-elle, and a little honeycomb resides in the center of the small dab of honey. It is a great way to finish the experience.

This evening is one Emily and I won't forget. It's difficult to find a place like this anywhere, let alone in Nashville. Foodies, be proud of our friends at Miel. Come and enjoy what they offer.

Miel Restaurant

343 53rd Avenue North

Nashville, TN 37209

615-298-3363

www.mielrestaurant.com

The Artist Corner: Crossville, TN

2009-10-22T08:33:00.009-05:00

A few weekends ago we spent some time in Crossville, TN. It is a nice weekend trip because it is only about 2 hours outside of Nashville. A brief description of Crossville is in order so our readers can fully appreciate our finding of this little cafe.

Crossville is a small size town, based around golf courses and mostly known for the numbers of people who decide to retire there in order to settle down in the mountains and experience 4 seasons. There are few restaurants in the town, chain or otherwise, so finding a good cup of joe was quite the adventure.

By sheer luck, we stumbled upon this tiny gem of a place in the middle of the historic downtown area. We were looking for a place to warm up in between jaunts to local antique shops, as it had been raining all day. I believe we came around 2:30 on a Saturday, so we were in fear that they might be closing and not serve us, however we were warmly welcomed. The first sight we saw upon entering the cafe was a couple engaged in a game of chess. They seemed completely relaxed and 'settled in' as their activity had been chosen for waiting out the rainy weather.

We found that The Artist Corner offered a full "Barista Menu," with lattes, espresso, chai, various teas, smoothies, and even beer! Among the group, we sampled the homemade ginger tea, a macchiato, and the dragon well tea. We were overall very happy with our choices, and I was particularly impressed that the tea was not bagged or even in a tea ball, but brewed before being served to me!

The homemade ginger tea proved to be too overpowering for our tastebuds, but I have a feeling that tea made with fresh ginger is still maybe just something that American palates must acquire a taste for.

The next (and to me the most exciting thing) that we discovered is that this cafe is owned by an artist who has not only decorated the walls of the restaurant with his works, but he has painted the concrete floors of each room with his interpretation of a famous work of art! Strangely, we walked through the 3 rooms saying things like, "look at this part" and "this piece was done in 2004," all while admiring the floor!

The kitchen was unfortunately no longer serving food at the time we visited, so we plan to return on another trip to sample the cuisine. The Artist Corner serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner and the whole menu is available on their website, which is a must visit for art lovers. It has various links to artist's works and features some of the work of the owner, Eric Buechel. The Artist Corner is owned by an artist, and therefore this cafe also functions as a location to buy art supplies, as well as an art school and gallery.

The food menu includes these tempting offerings: Eggs Hassarde (Canadian Bacon, Poached Eggs, Tomatoes, Sliced &Kept Warm English Muffins, Split & Toasted, with Hollandaise Sauce, Marchand de Vin Sauce and Cayenne Pepper), International Burgers (Swiss, French, Spanish, and Arabic) and Duck a l'Orange.

If you're in the middle of enduring the long drive down I-40 across Tennessee, The Artist Corner is a nice break to take in the journey, even if you only want a nice cup of coffee-- you'll experience visual delights.

The Artist Corner

52 N. Main St.

Crossville, TN 38555

(931) 456-3636

Closed Sundays and Mondays

Tues and Weds 8am-5pm

Thurs and Fri 8am-8pm

Sat 8 am-3pm

www.theartistcorneronline.com

Multiple ways to follow Nashville Foodies

2009-10-16T08:00:00.001-05:00

We know many of you follow us through RSS feeders, but we want to alert you of a couple of other options:
1. Follow us on Twitter. You can see our tweets to the right of our blog page, or you can add us to your Twitter feed. We have an RSS feed of our posts going to Twitter so you can get your Nashville Foodies updates there too.
2. Follow us on Facebook. Check out the widget to the lower right of our blog page and you can add us from there. Our posts are also pulled into Facebook via RSS.

Greek Festival!

2009-10-15T12:01:00.001-05:00

When I last went to the Greek festival, I was about ten years old. It was high time to return this year, as we went with some friends who boast Greek roots. The other half of the intrepid foodies team was down for the count dealing with some flu issues - which all foodies should know, the best cure for the flu in town is Noshville's matzo ball soup. Its curative powers are equivalent to penicillin.

The three day Greek festival is an annual activity hosted by the Greek Orthodox Church on Franklin Road in mid-September. It borders Franklin Road and Tyne Boulevard, and is easily reached from the Harding Road exit off of I-65, just five minutes south of downtown. Helpful parking volunteers guide you to an appropriate parking spot on the hillside lawn, and you walk up to the festival goodness on the top of the small hill. Did I mention admission is free? If you want a great date without spending a dime, plan on hitting the Greek festival next year.

There's something magical about a festival like this. We arrived on a Saturday night to the band playing a number that had the dancers shouting Opah! as average Nashvillians gave up their inhibitions and joined the ever-growing circle of dancing. The great thing about dancing here is that everyone just holds hands and gives it a go, whether they know what they are doing or not. Kids are usually just jumping up and down in the center as the adults swirl around them. Movement seemed to be generally counterclockwise, with a few spurts of inward steps and backward steps. Two men who really knew what they were doing were the leaders on the outermost circle, but it was so unpretentious that one of them didn't bother to remove his cooking apron. People who wanted to join in just wandered into the circle and had at it, which is just what you're looking for at a festival.

Tables encircle the dance floor and had people eating the homemade meals which were purchased at the side vending locations. We looked around for the best option, and encountered an oddity: Greek salad sold at the Greek festival with - gasp - lettuce! What!? We were so shocked we didn't know what to say. They made it right there in front of you, and we felt a little awkward in deferring to another vendor. How do you get out of that gracefully? I didn't pull it off, but I tried.

We saw options for grilled chicken, gyros, souvlaki, and roast lamb for a full dinner, and we went with the roast lamb, thinking of our time in Greece (where we literally knawed at the remaining fat left on the bone. We were embarrassed. Go to Agios Konstantinos one day, and get the roast leg of lamb from around the church square, and THEN judge us.) Sides were pre-selected, divided plate size helpings of whole red potatoes and green beans. Both came full of flavor if you could pull your eyes away from the dance floor long enough to concentrate on the meal. The roast lamb tasted a lot like roast beef, and was easy enough to divide with the plasticware. Extra kudos for the mini-cup of Greek salad, which, blessedly, did not include lettuce. And it was a pleasure to be served our meal by a young man that looked to be about seven years old. While I wondered if my cafeteria tray would reach me unscathed, it was so much fun for both him and me that I wouldn't have skipped it for the world.

We watched the dancing as we ate our meal, and tried hard not to think about inhaling the local homemade pastries we had picked up. While most meal vendors are outside, the inside holds the crown jewels of the festival: the pastries. You will likely have to wait in line for about ten minutes before you pass by the first pastry section. Welcome distractions while you wait include eyeing the craftsmanship of the jewlery and reading the covers of some religious books. Once you get far enough along, the prices and options are visible...and then you loose your composure. We first hit a refrigerated aisle of mouse-looking whipped dessert (Kok) that was attended to by one of many kind Greek grandmothers, the kind of person who would make you cry if they offered to teach you everything they knew about cooking.

After winning the internal battle to keep looking, we then passed the homemade sweet bread loafs and garlic loafs, which (thankfully) you can sample on your way. The bread was light and flaky, and slightly honeyed in the sample I had, if slightly dry. That's probably due to being cut and left out for sampling.

Next came the army of pastry offerings: Baklava, an almond cookie called "Amglydota", a rolled filo dough creation that's dipped in honey and walnuts called "Diples", and Baklava drizzled with chocolate called "Flogeries". We chose baklava and flogeries, which were the best I've ever had. Even in Greece, I wasn't a big fan of baklava, but they made me a fan here. Flogeries were my favorite because of the chocolate addition. Each of these delectable items were coming out of the back fresh from the ovens as we stood there. I lost all sense of sanity when I saw a raspberry filled sugar cookie tray come right out, hot, at my exact spot in line... and immediately purchased two. I considered it divine intervention. Thank God I have the metabolism of a cheetah.

All this won't break your budget either. Dinners range from $6 to $10 for the roast lamb, and the pastries range from $1.50 to $3.00. Baklava is $1.50, as are the Flogeries. Good luck controlling yourself, foodies, this is a place for real fun, great eats, and a safe escape.

On the word "foodie"

2009-10-12T18:32:00.003-05:00

Last Sunday's Tennessean included an article on the front page of the Life section entitled, "Foodie: Does the label still fit?" We'd like to take a moment to weigh in on why we've chosen the term as a part of our food blog name.

We call ourselves "Nashville Foodies" for three simple reasons: we love Nashville, we love food, and we're most of all passionate about food in Nashville and want to share what we learn with everyone. Few things excite me more than when friends or acquaintances try out a recommendation I've given them; just this past weekend some friends drove up from Chattanooga simply to try out two of Nashville's finest coffee shops (Crema and Ugly Mugs, although there are many other good choices out there!)

Maybe we're giving away our age here, but the word "foodie" has for us none of the negative connotations mentioned by the article, and it doesn't seem to for our peers. To us, it's indicative of our desire to eat well, whether it be cooking at home with local ingredients or outside of the home in restaurants. Personally, our feelings about the word are summed up by Kate Bellos, manager of the East Nashville Farmers Market, who is quoted at the end of the article: "I'm a foodie because I like to eat." Well said.

Suzy Wong's House of Yum

2009-10-12T08:00:00.000-05:00

Suzy Wong's House of Yum is a new restaurant from Arnold Myint, who also owns PM and ChaChah. We recently visited the place on a weeknight.

When we walked in, I was immediately impressed with the design of the restaurant. The seating is varied, with sections of regular tables and chairs, tables with booth backs and short chairs, a cozy circular pod, window seating, and a bar area, but everything is purposeful and works together. There is a stretched fabric instillation on the ceiling reminiscent of a paper fan. The lighting is low but supplemented by table votives. At each table there are plates waiting for your group to share food with them. A nice punch is the pop-art style "YUM" on the top plate at each table.

Suzy Wong's focuses on Asian-inspired tapas-like items. Our server, who was extremely helpful, suggested that we order a few items at a time to keep from getting too full too fast. Everything is prepared quickly, so you can order like this and not worry about there being a lot of time before food is brought to your table. We started out with the vegetable gyoza pot stickers ($6), sesame steak yakitori skewers ($7), and steamed barbecue pork bao bun ($3). Everything was delicious. The pot stickers were satisfying without having to resort to meat, and the steak was very tender. The pork but was a little mushy on the inside, perhaps needing to be steamed a bit longer, but overall was very tasty. I added a small side of picked cucumbers ($2) and it was just right for cleansing the palate between items, which were all full of strong flavors.

We progressed on to the "Yum Bowls", which are meant to be served family-style. We first tried the garlic and holy basil egg noodle "lo mein" ($9), which if I remember correctly is indeed in quotation marks on the menu. And for good reason, because this is not your MSG-laden lo mein found in Chinese restaurant buffets. The noodles are coated with a thick sauce, and the entire dish is permeated with lots and lots of garlic, albeit roasted so as to not be quite so pungent. We decided we had a bit more room so we finished our meal with the pineapple red curry shrimp ($9). It was delicious; the pineapple was very, very sweet and a perfect contrast to the red curry, which was full of spicy warmth. We added white rice ($2) in order to sop up as much of the tasty sauce as possible.

Our server was extremely helpful as we built our meal, making good suggestions as we discussed with her what our likes and interests were in food. We also would like to point out the helpful notes on the menu: many items at Suzy Wong's are vegetarian or vegan, gluten-free, or have a soy-alternative available. Those with these dietary concerns or preferences will feel welcome at Suzy Wong's.

I think what impressed me most about Suzy Wong's is the attention to detail. It's evident everywhere. The restaurant is thoughtfully laid out, the food items are interesting and varied, and even the containers for table water have purpose: they're empty wine bottles instead of restaurant-supply plastic carafes (as a side note, I appreciated having lukewarm water instead of ice water. A small detail, but it mattered to me.) It's a nice place to visit if you're wanting some small food dishes, a full meal with lots of variety, late night dining, or a new food experience with helpful servers to make suggestions. We recommend that everyone try Suzy Wong's!

Suzy Wong's House of Yum
1515 Church Street
Nashville, TN
Mon-Tues 5pm - 11pm | Wed-Sun 5pm - 4am
615.329.2913

Zumi Sushi

2009-10-01T08:00:00.001-05:00

If you've been wandering around Hillsboro Village recently you may have crossed the path of newcomer Zumi Sushi on Belcourt Ave. It's brightly-colored umbrellas attract your eye as you walk by the elevated, outdoor porch located in between McDougals Chicken and The Dog of Nashville.

First up is, of course, parking. You get lucky in the area if you find a spot during lunch that's not a couple blocks away. Belcourt Ave is notoriously parked up, as is most of the Village. One day - yes, one day - they will make the Village a walk and bike area only! It would be nice to brick up those skimpy lanes that always back up with SUVs. But I digress.

The first thing I noticed as I walked up to the front porch is now nice the outdoor location seemed. It's vibrant orange umbrellas make a perfect accompaniment to the wood and light metal decor, and we all know how little outdoor seating there is in Nashville. I also found the directions posted for first-timers helpful. The interior is spacious, with a light wood and black molding ambiance that produces a clean lined, oriental-simplicity feel. The tables are well spaced inside, and there are two circular half-bench, half chair tables that would be perfect for a party of five or six that are set apart from other tables.

Clientele could be an issue if too much Vandy Candy arrive and take over. At lunch, I was luckily spared from a full dose of the typical upscale sunglass-clad shocker. Most people were work types out for a business lunch, but not in suits. The menu included thoughtful sushi offerings, only one of which I recognized as standard fare (crunchy shrimp). Prices ranged from $5 to $10 for sushi, and each item's description had been tailored which spoke well of its creative effort. Besides sushi, the menu features a helpful kid's menu, and almost all entrees are under $10. The most intriguing item is the Basil Mango Curry. Other offerings include nigiri and sashimi.

I planned a trip because I had heard through the grapevine that they had organic sake. What's organic about sake, you ask? The way the rice is produced. Saki is also known as rice wine...and is made from the fermentation of the rice starch. Not being a sake drinker normally, I can't say I have the palate to critique it, but for those foodies interested in organic sake, they do have it. A large bottle that is approximately the size of a glass bottle of beer runs a hefty $12. They have them sitting in ice right in front of the Satco-reminiscent ordering location.
Because I worry whether a sushi roll will fill me up, I went for a more substantial offering: the Veggie Noodle Bowl. When I asked if it was worth ordering, I got a total blank from the cashier who appeared to be thrown by my question. I'm always one to try and connect with someone, but I'd label this exchange uncomfortable. As a newcomer, I had to ask how things worked, and got a mildly derisive feel as the response. This got even better when that annoying credit card trick came into play. You know those places that train their staff not to give the card back until you sign? Just give me my card back, you're not the federal reserve, I'm not going to run out of your restaurant without signing. I imagine this must be a problem in the Village.

I chose to eat outside and took my number to plug into the wire stand at my table. Zumi offers partial service so they will bring your meal to you and bus the table when you're done. You need to get your own drinks, silverware, etc. from inside. My meal arrived in about five minutes and I was pleasantly surprised. My noodle bowl was liquidless, and had beautifully grilled tofu and long, bright slices of red pepper over a bed of wheat-colored noodles. The tofu was perfectly grilled and soft, and flavored with flakes of red pepper. The entire dish had a mild/medium spicy kick to it which I found appetizing, and probably arose from the thin slices of jalepeno and pepper flakes. The snow peas also added to the freshness. The overall dish was a success; the flavors combined together well, and I left full but without that heavy draining feeling. For vegetarians not interested in spicy flavoring, however, I would look for other options.

During lunch a few of the tables around me ordered sushi, and I thanked myself for my earlier hesitation. The sushi appeared the size of most ordinary rolls, and had a creative presentation from what I could tell. The large sushi rolls and artistry of Sushiyobi were not present on this occasion, but there really did seem to be effort and heart in the design. If you're looking for a light lunch, this would appear to be a great option. One salad looked entirely skippable from a nearby table, so I would suggest aiming for a sushi platter and see what you think.

This is a great location and concept. The Village needed an addition like this, and this will be a place I look forward to dropping by again when we're around the Village scene.

Zumi Sushi
2119 Belcourt Ave
Nashville, TN 37212

Canning

2009-09-28T14:49:00.007-05:00

We started Nashville Foodies with an emphasis on dining out locally, but as we've learned and grown over the three years we've developed an appreciation for all things local food in Nashville, and that includes purchasing foodstuffs locally and cooking at home.

I grew up watching my mother and paternal grandmother can food items, or "putting up" as Mamaw would call it. Unfortunately, it's not a skill I picked up, because I would always be shooed away from the kitchen because of safety reasons when Mamaw would can (mostly low-acid vegetables, which require pressure canning). And my mother thought that if I ever made it in this world I'd not have to spend time canning and housecleaning.

And yet, now that I guess I've "made it" (whatever that means) I find myself wanting to spend time in the kitchen, creating foodstuffs with my hands to nourish myself and my husband and our friends, and to preserve the summer's bounty for the cooler winter times. For the past few years I've frozen a lot, but this year I wanted to try canning and the entire Nashville Foodies group got together to do so a few weeks ago.

We purchased tomatoes at the Nashville Farmer's market, a bushel of canning tomatoes ($12/half bushel) and a half bushel of romas (not sure of the price). We spent about eight hours on a Sunday canning and came up with jars of whole romas, salsa, and tomato sauce. We even pulled together a batch of zucchini relish and froze some bags of roasted tomato soup.
It was quite an endeavor and pushed the limits of my small kitchen, but we were successful! And it was especially a great time to be together with friends and focus on a project involving food.

A week later I was given a half peck of apples from Carthage and turned them into apple butter on a weekday evening. I've also made raspberry jam with good results.

I'm glad to have picked up the skill of canning. My grandmother passed away earlier this year and I have a treasured jar of half-runner green beans which she canned and gave to us the year my husband and I got married. I know it will eventually go bad but just seeing the jar in my pantry, with her handwriting on the lid identifying its contents, is comforting to me and I feel like I'm continuing on a tradition. I encourage you to try canning yourself! Once you are informed about safety measures and buy a few key items, you'll be well on your way to preserving Nashville's bounty and enjoying it all year round.

Resources
I've found a few resources that have been very helpful to me in learning about the process of canning. Doing it correctly is of utmost importance because terrible things can happen (i.e., botulism), if you do things incorrectly. To get started, you'll want to get a waterbath and a starter kit which will include funnel and magnetic stick. I canned my first batch of pint-sized raspberry jam in a large stock pot with jar rings used to keep the jars off the bottom of the pot, which will do in a pinch, but you'll need the waterbath if you want to can in bigger vessels.

Be sure to read up carefully on safety, and make sure your info is up-to-date. Apparently there's a lot of scientific research that goes into safe practices and methods are updated often. You can usually get a brochure from your county extension office. In general, low-acid foods should be canned in a pressure canner, and high-acid ones can go in a water bath.

The Complete Book of Small-Batch Preserving: Over 300 Recipes to Use Year-Round This book has fantastic recipes and instructions for canning and preserving small batches of food - perfect for picking up some items on a Saturday morning at the farmer's market and having it preserved by mid-afternoon. We made our zucchini relish, tomato sauce, and salsa from this book, and I made apple butter a week later. I find it to be a great resource when I want to preserve items we get from our CSA.

Food in Jars A canning blog by Marisa McClellan, a former editor at Slashfood. Beautiful photos of canning processes and helpful ideas.

Williamson County Extension Office I went to a class here earlier in the summer and it was pivotal in helping me get started, learning the lingo of canning as well as safety concerns.

Thai Kitchen

2009-09-21T12:01:00.002-05:00

Having seen the great reviews on other websites, I wanted to check this place out. I went in with high expectations, but I left in disappointment. My experience was just poor all around.

Thai Kitchen has been around Nashville for a long time, as evidenced by the signed photographs that line the back wall of the ordering area. I was a bit surprised to see the pictures of meals above the ordering location like a typical take-out Chinese place. The proprietor told me that they have been here for about sixteen years, so I was looking for an authentic dish and experience. When I ordered, I noticed that the woman was more interested in the television over my head than looking at me, so it took me a moment to realize she had actually asked me if I wanted something. I asked if the peanut sauce was spicy, and she said a little, but not very much. This was exactly what I was hoping for.

As a comparison, the peanut sauce with fried tofu at Jasmine's in Cool Springs is excellent and worthy of the trip. It is thick but not gloppy, and I hoped to get something like that here. I ordered the vegetables with peanut sauce and white rice and looked forward to seeing what they could put together.

At 5:30 on a weekday evening there were a few other people in the restaurant. I was on my way to an appointment, so I needed it to be fast. This meal arrived within five minutes, just like I was told it would, and they passed with flying colors on two measures: speed and price. Most of their comprehensive menu was under $5.00, even for dinner, which means this place is a great choice for the budget minded foodie. There is ample space for seating as they have approximately fifteen tables available for dine-in. A goldfish tank is placed along the wall next to the table I selected.

When my meal arrived, I noticed a problem. It was chicken. If I had been a vegetarian, that would not have been welcome. Luckily, I am not vegetarian, but was disappointed in other respects. The peanut sauce was very liquidy, almost runny. It did not have much noticeable seasoning in the peanut sauce. I know when I attempt this dish at home, this liquidy state can result from adding too much coconut milk too late in the process and not giving the peanut butter time to meld with the spices. The chicken slices did not impress me one way or the other. With my scoop of rice had come block lettuce in large chunks and carrot slices that looked like they had come straight from the Sisco truck and fridge. That was the entirety of my vegetables - with the caveat that they probably thought I ordered chicken with peanut sauce. I have no guesses as to what caused that confusion. Given the lack of attention I received while ordering, however, confusion was not surprising. Overall, I had received a bland meal.

There were a couple of small things worth mentioning: the TV was tuned to some sort of animal-attacks-prey program which did not make for an appetizing experience. On the positive side, I noticed the person behind me ordered in some other Asian language, meaning that service is provided bilingually. On my way out, I noticed that person had some excellent-looking fried appetizer plate - which I could not identify but was intrigued by.

Alas, I cannot add my name to the list of satisfied customers that seem to color the experience of other reviewers.

Thai Kitchen
(615) 385-9854
738 Thompson Ln
Nashville, TN 37204

Saying Hello

2009-09-18T10:32:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone! Thanks for the warm welcome, Heather. Emily and I are excited about adding our voices to the mix. I can't say enough about how important food has become to our lives. As with most things that excite the soul, I can't wait to see what's next for our culinary landscape.

Like Heather, we are delighted to see the culinary variety that Nashville has come to offer. We hope to see independent restaurants grow and prosper in this area, and we want to be involved in the effort and help where we can. So, hope you'll join us for the journey. Happy hunting!

Welcome to our new contributors!

2009-09-17T12:53:00.001-05:00

With our third anniversary comes the addition of two new Nashville Foodies, Adam and Emily! We're so very excited to have their contributions to our blog. We think you'll find them to be great people, passionate about eating locally in Nashville and excited to share with you what they find and learn.

Happy Anniversary to us!

2009-09-15T07:00:00.003-05:00

Three years ago, on September 15, 2006, we started this little blog. I had planned out in my mind a big long post for our third anniversary about why I blog about food in Nashville. And unfortunately life happens and things get busy, so this post is spontaneous and short but I hope not any less heartfelt.

Nashville, you've been so good to me. I visited you a lot when I was younger; Opryland was the perfect vacation in my parents' minds so we visited about every other year. We didn't venture past Briley Parkway, though (and it still took my dad awhile to not ask if everywhere I went after I moved here used Briley as a route). And now I wonder what we were missing out on when we ate out.

Nashville, I moved here for graduate school in 2003. And school was tough. I spent most of my time slaving away on homework sets and running Big Important Expensive lab equipment. Returning to my apartment and cooking dinner became an escape - a time to use a little bit less of my brain and a bit more of my hands as I spent time cutting, chopping, rolling, kneading. And using more of my senses in general, as I learned to really taste and smell food in its whole form - unprocessed and pure, in basic, simple preparations. It was during this time that I also began to venture out into coffee shops and other little eateries. Fido, you became one of my first trusted escapes. I knew I could bring a couple of tough homework problems and settle in with a latte and while I might not figure them out in that couple of hours, the noise and the bustle and the caffeine would help me get my head on straight enough to keep going. And in general I began venturing out to Nashville's excellent independent food scene and learning a lot, slowly but surely.

Nashville, I had to move to Knoxville for a year during graduate school, and how I missed you! I never did find quite the same level of food choices in my temporary home. Every time I drove back to you for experiments and meetings I welcomed the chance to stop for coffee or a meal at one of my growing list of favorite places. I missed not only the food in Nashville, but the community. The best thing about Knoxville was in my mind that we inexplicably got free cable so I gobbled up episodes of Barefoot Contessa.

Nashville, when I moved back in 2006 after that year in the chain restaurant wasteland that is Knoxville (sorry, Knoxville) I was so excited to be back in the land of good local food options that I started this blog to share what I learn and find with others who are interested. Others who may be wanting to branch out from the old safeties of chains and into the vibrant local food scene. Others who want to eat well at good prices. Others who want to invest in the people who make eating and drinking in Nashville such a pleasure.

So now I'm (finally) out of grad school (having celebrated my dissertation defense with a meal at Fido, appropriately) and have a Real Job and eating well is still just as important to me. I'm still learning new things all the time and am the better for it. I'm lucky to have a husband who's turned into a foodie as well (and can now make incredible desserts himself) and friends who love food too and joined us on this blog (take a bow, Megan and Wes!)

And on our third blog anniversary, I want to say thank you to all who have prepared or served me a meal or drink. And thank you to Nashville for awakening my senses and inspiring my love of all things epicurean.

On the Road (and Guest Post): Las Vegas, Part 6

2009-09-13T15:32:00.009-05:00

Heather's note: As summer comes to a close, Sarah and Cary offer their final installment of their food adventures in Las Vegas. You can start with the beginning of the series here.

Our final stop during our tour of Vegas was none other than the Vegas location of Chef Thomas Keller’s Bouchon. Bouchon is a typical French Bistro offering delicious takes on simple country food, presented splendidly. We found out Chef Keller had restaurant in Vegas simply with the realization that the French Laundry wasn’t too far away, and that it was conceivable that a Chef of his stature might have opened a restaurant in Vegas during the building boom of the past few years. Luckily, a quick check of his website proved us right, and this meal turned out to be a pleasure.

The meal started simply, with fresh pistachios and fresh baked bread. Tasty, and a good start, plus the butter wasn’t your typical store bought butter, but a creamy, tangy, European butter that rarely shows itself on US tables.

Being that we knew we were going to indulge ourselves later on, we chose a sampling of 3 cheeses, which I think included a goats milk cheese, a cow’s milk (tangy and pungent with a little hint of cheddar), and something similar to parmesan, but much more intense.

We also thought we’d try the French onion soup, which proved to be a bit of an adventure, as neither of us are huge fans of onions, but we thought, if we ever try it, this is the place. Nevertheless, while the aroma and the crusty gruyere cheese on top were delicious, the bread mixed in the broth and the overwhelming power of the onions were a little too much for both of us. Either way, we’re both glad we can say we gave it a try.

After that, it was on to the main courses. My dish consisted of the cap end of a rib eye, seasoned very simply, and then cooked in Sous-Vide method, which yielded an immensely concentrated and pure beef flavor, along with a tenderness you can almost cut with your fork. The steak was placed on a concoction of rice and red beans that had been cooked to an almost risotto-like consistency, with a smattering of morel mushrooms and baby corn for texture. In all, this dish was phenomenal and not something you’d find at most fine dining restaurants, with the seamless melding of taste, texture, and presentation, it was a treat.

Sarah’s dish was equally delicious, with what, if I remember correctly, was roast lamb and various veggies, which were extremely tender and flavorful. I guess I don’t remember so much of hers since I was obviously concentrating on my own dish.

We were finally ready for dessert and had lots of choices. Sarah ended up choosing a take on bananas foster, shown below, while I got 3 mini molten chocolate cakes topped with homemade ice cream.

Once again, I was mostly focused on mine, so I can’t say much for Sarah’s except that it was good. My dish on the other hand, featured a scoop of homemade vanilla, peanut butter, and mint ice cream on top of mini brownies, each of which contained a little dollop of still molten chocolate. Not overly sweet, but each part of the dessert featured its main ingredient subtly and simply, with no one flavor ever overwhelming the rest.

In all, treating ourselves to a meal like this isn’t something that happens very often, but when you do, you want to do your homework. By doing a little searching online, and following a few celebrity chefs, blogs, and reading from a newspaper outside of your hometown, you’ll find some amazing places to eat. Whether they’re fine dining places like Bouchon, or burger joints like In-N-Out, anywhere you go you can turn a great sight-seeing adventure into an adventure for your other senses. Hopefully you’ve gotten a little bit out of our adventures, and maybe, down the road, we’ll get to tell you about some other places we try.

On the Road: Seattle

2009-09-10T08:00:00.002-05:00

A few weeks ago, we posted on Twitter and here that we'd be heading to Seattle and asked for your recommendations. Now that trip is over and we'd like to update you on where we ate, but most of all, say a big thanks for your recommendations!

Twitterer @RyMB tipped us off to Serious Pie and Vivace Coffee. Wow, are we glad we tried those out! My mouth still waters when I think of the pizza my friend and I shared at Serious Pie. It was a simple pizza margerita, but what blew me away was the attention to detail and the intensity of flavors, even down to the underside of the crust, which was seasoned just as well as the upper side. I think about that pizza often. And the dessert of blueberry-buttermilk gelato was just as good.

Seeking out Vivace led me to the new-to-me area of Capitol Hill, where we found the coffee shop along with another gem, Poppy. The coffee and atmosphere at Vivace were just what we needed for getting a little work done while on our trip. Poppy serves thali meals; each option gives you a pickled item, a salad, a main dish, a soup, etc. but the variations are amazing.

What I liked best about Poppy was the interesting combos of flavors. My thali meal, seen above, had combos like a cantaloupe salad and cool green gazpacho with cucumber and mint. And we especially appreciate our kind server's clear and helpful descriptions of everything.

Commenter Delaney Mae suggested we try out Black Bottle, which turned out to be another great restaurant. We inadvertently went pretty olive-heavy on our choices. The menu descriptions leave a lot out; our $9 "grilled lamb and sumac hummus" turned out to be a full plate full of hummus, lamb kabobs, slices of cucumber - really enough for a full meal on its own. We also got the brie leek french-country pesto flatbread (which came with more olives!), Spanish fried olives, and caprese skewers. With all that, we were stuffed but everything was really delicious.
A repeat for me (but new to my friend) was Macrina Bakery, where we had lovely lattes and delicious baked goods. I had pine nut tart, similar in form to a chess pie, while my friend had a bran muffin with "exploding" raspberry filling.

With a little pre-planning, my friend suggested that we eat at Salish Lodge and Spa, and we had very good brunch there. The lodge is a very doable short drive east of Seattle, and you can hike around the Snoqualmie Falls area to work off a bit of your food. Here, my friend Shea is very excited about our brunch of croque madame and huevos rancheros.
A serendipitous find was La Creperie Voila, which we found as we were getting ready to go into the nearby movie theater (we snuck in Nutella with chocolate and sweet chestnut spread with crème fraîche crepes to the movie we saw. It would have been perfect if that movie had been Julie and Julia, but weirdly, it wasn't playing!). And of course we stopped at the Pike Place Market and loaded up on cherries and other lovely fruits.
All in all, it was a lovely trip: time with my good friend, great weather, and fantastic food. The restaurants were busy but not overly crowded. Every time I go to Seattle I'm always impressed with how friendly and helpful the people in the food industry are. They seem eager to answer any questions you may have and take pleasure in your interest in their work.
Thank you again for your fantastic recommendations, and we hope everyone is able to try out dining in Seattle sometime!

Martin's Bar-B-Que Joint

2009-09-07T09:56:00.004-05:00

They're not even open today, but for some reason it feels right to blog about Martin's BBQ on a holiday. We tried out the place a few weeks ago and are happy to share our good experience here.

We ate at Martin's on a Friday night. I was expecting it to be packed, but business was comfortably buzzing along. As with many small food spots, it's helpful to know ahead of time how to maneuver through getting a table and ordering your food. I recommend checking out the menu before you go, but if you're not able there are paper versions you can read through once you get there. When you arrive, have one member of your party grab a couple of menus while the rest of your group gets a table. Then, together as a group, make a list of what you are ordering. My family and I were dining together the night we went and we got different variations of the barbecue sandwiches, which come with one side and your choice of sauce, all around $6-7. Write down your options in terms of meat-sauce-side. We ordered pulled pork and beef brisket sandwiches with Sweet Dixie Mild and rib sauces and slaw and baked beans. Write down everyone's drink orders too. Then send one person up to read out the order to the guy behind the counter, and he'll give you a number. Get that one person to get the fountain drinks and sit back and wait for your number to be called. Help cut down on traffic by sending one person to get the food.

We really liked our food. The sandwiches were generously stuffed with meat, and the sauces were tangy and sweet at the same time. I felt the portions to be just right for the price, and the sweet tea was moderately sweet - which can be difficult to find in barbecue joints.

My parents always compare barbecue to Ridgewood's, which is hard to not do when you live where they do. So my mother specifically asked me to relate to our Nashville Foodies readers that "the baked beans are not as good as Ridgewood's, and there should be more sauce on the sandwiches," but overall she liked it very much.

Martin’s Bar-B-Que Joint
7215 Nolensville Road
Nashville, TN 37135
615.776.1856
Hours: Tuesday - Friday: 11 AM-8 PM
Saturday: 11 AM -till the music stops
Sunday: Closed for Church and Titans
Monday: Closed

Taste of Russia

2009-08-31T08:00:00.000-05:00

Taste of Russia stands on its own in Cool Springs. It's technically in Franklin but in a standoff-ish location on the opposite side of I-65 from the bustle of the Galleria area. The heavily tinted windows also lend an air of anti-socialness to the restaurant, but we stepped inside on a Saturday for lunch to see what they had to offer.

The menu offers a wide variety of Russian dishes, from pierogi to blintzes to borscht. As the Nashville Scene suggests, it's probably best to treat your dining there as a tapas experience, ordering a lot of little things that add up to the chance to try a lot of different dishes.

During my visit I was the only diner in the restaurant, and the waitress gave me her full attention, helping me look through the menu and decide what I wanted. I chose a potato piroshky and little beef dumplings, along with Turkish coffee. The piroshky was a downer, warm on the outside but still cold on the inside. But I loved the dumplings and would have been full after eating just them. They came with a tasty accompaniment of sour cream and fresh chopped dill.
The Turkish coffee was very thick and rich and went well with the cheese blintzes I ordered for dessert, which came with a topping of sour cherries.

Overall, I really enjoyed my meal at Taste of Russia, and it was nice to get away from the hullabaloo of the businesses on the west side of I-65. Be sure to check them out!

Taste of Russia
101 Shingle Way
Franklin, TN 37067-1727
(615) 472-1432

Open Mon-Sat 10am-10pm; Sun 11am-9pm

Monell's - The Sunday Meal

2009-08-27T08:00:00.002-05:00

If you're looking for a home cookin' eat-until-it-hurts restaurant, Monell's is the way to go. We visited Monell's on a Sunday afternoon to partake in the SUNDAY MEAL. The restaurant is located in Germantown, in a historic brick victorian-style home. The outside is beautifully landscaped with numerous flowers, a goldfish pond, and comfortable seating, since you run the risk of a long wait. But good things indeed come to those to wait in this case. As a point of reference, we arrived at the restaurant around 12:30, and had to wait about 30 minutes to be seated.

We came to eat with a group of 8 people, which is actually perfect for Monell's, because they seat everyone at long tables of 12. If you're an extrovert, you could arrive with only a party of 2, however I think to get the fullest experience, you should bring a group of friends. There is no menu, as the family style menu is set by the day,The long tables are pre-set with plates, flatware, dessert, and water. The middle of the table is equipped with a large lazy susan, which allows the entire table to share the endless pitchers of fruit tea and unsweet tea. I was famished by the time we were seated, and so quickly filled my plate with broccoli salad and went to work on the fruit tea. When the main entrees were delivered, I realized that I had made a huge mistake. So my advice--pace yourself!

The Sunday dinner on our visit consisted of the following:

2 Salads: broccoli and pea, and coleslaw
Bread: biscuits and cornbread
Stewed fruit compote
Breakfast hash (eggs, sausage, and cheese)
Mashed potatoes
Macaroni n'cheese
Green Beans
Roast Beef with vegetables
Barbequed Pork (with vinegar based sauce)
Fried Chicken
Dessert: Pecan Pie

This list may vary according to season and popularity of side dishes, because we noticed that as they were setting the next table for diners to begin, the salads were changed to a cucumber & onion and a pea salad. The southern smorgasboard proved to be overwhelming, even to a group of 12. My favorite element was the pork barbeque with what I can best classify as a western North Carolina-style vinegar based sauce. I could have eaten one plate of the pork combined with the thick-as-butter mac n' cheese and been a perfectly happy camper. There was really no dish that was less than great but the pecan pie seemed a bit out of season for a mid-summer's meal.

Monell's is defintely a difficult place to accomadate vegetarian diets, mostly because the southern style cooking featured at a restaurant like this usually seasons all the vegetable sides with meat. Therefore, Megan had some difficulties finding a full meal, however she loved the green beans, as she claimed, "they taste just like my grandmother's." Strict vegetarians should probably look elsewhere, unfortunately, because it is likely that everything from Monell's kitchen has been touched with a meat or dairy product. The price per person was around $18 with tax.

1235 6th Ave N

Nashville, TN 37208

Lunch: Mon-Fri 10:30-2:00

Dinner: Tues-Sat 5:00-8:30

Country Breakfast: Sat 8:30-1:00 and Sun 8:30-11:00

Sunday Meal: 11:00-4:00

http://monellsdining.ypguides.net/

Jerusalem Restaurant

2009-08-23T15:00:00.004-05:00

Jerusalem Restaurant is a Middle Eastern restaurant in the heavily food trafficked area between Vanderbilt and Baptist Hospital. We stopped there on a weekday to try out their lunch offerings.

We had the buffet, which included abundant tubs of hummus and various dishes such as rice, lamb meatballs, and stuffed grape leaves. Overall, we were very much underwhelmed and a little sensitive to the flavors the food presented. The lamb especially tasted a little old and the falafel was very dry.

Overall, Jerusalem Restaurant is somewhere we just can't heartily recommend.

Jerusalem Restaurant
1805 Church St
Nashville, TN 37203

On the Road (and Guest Post): Las Vegas, Part 6

2009-08-10T12:36:00.003-05:00

Heather's note: Sarah and Cary continue their guest series on eating in Las Vegas. You can catch the beginning of the series here.

After our trip over the hill and through the casinos the night before, we knew we needed to take things easy for our last full day in Vegas. We had big plans both for lunch and dinner, as well as some other things we hoped to do, so believe it or not, we stopped at the Monte Carlo’s buffet for breakfast. Now don’t worry, this isn’t what this review is about another buffet, but simply to say that sometimes you don’t always need to go to most interesting, world-renowned, or most expensive restaurant to get your fill, sometimes the one you have a 2-for-1 coupon to is just as good. It just depends on what you need. Since we knew our lunch and dinner would be special, we opted for the simple and surprisingly tasty offerings at the buffet. Sometime you don’t need to be fancy to get what you need, you just have to stay aware of things like that when you’re traveling.

What this review is about is our stop for lunch at Hubert Keller's Burger Bar, a restaurant where a classically trained French Chef put his spin on the humble American staple, the burger. The result that Chef Keller and his partner came up with is truly wonderful and unlike any other burger either Sarah or I had had before. The restaurant is half sports bar (the front part) and half French bistro (the back-kitchen), and the results are pretty easy on the eyes, pocketbook, and definitely pleasant to the palate. In fact, we even went so far as to buy the "Burger Bar Cookbook" , which made us even bigger fans of Chef Keller with his belief that the home chef doesn’t have to do anything other than experiment and create tasty food.

We of course both opted for burgers of the beef kind, with Sarah choosing the Kobe Beef burger with only cheddar, and my choice being the Black Angus burger with Swiss and bacon. Sarah’s was extremely tender and very juicy, while the Black Angus had a meatier taste than I think I had ever had with a burger - something akin to sirloin steak on a bun.

While the focus of the restaurant is squarely on the burger, the toppings were fresh and bread ample enough to support everything on it. The sweet potato fries were tasty as well, almost like candy, but excellently crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. Still, Burger Bar is a perfect example of why quality makes a huge difference and simplicity has its place when dining out, as sometimes the best finds just focus on a few things, and do those things well.

Sarah and I had never heard of Chef Keller before coming to Vegas, and possibly never would have had we not decided to make the trip, but we’re certainly glad we did. In fact, anyone can find world-renowned chefs by following certain cuisines or food fads. Burgers are the popular thing right now (surely you’ve seen Bobby Flay on FoodTV talking about them by now), so a search of best burger in Vegas might bring up a gem. Next might be fish tacos, or even Cajun/Creole (and everyone knows that Emeril isn’t the only chef in New Orleans), so do some research on where you’re going and what food fads are going on now (as always, the NY Times is a great place to start), and you’ll end up with a gem.

Next time we’ll regale you with tales of a (possibly, but hopefully not) once in a lifetime experience, and how, if you do your research (and save a little) ahead of time, a world-class restaurant can be within reach during your travels.

Foodies on the Road: Duke's BBQ (Walterboro, SC)

2009-08-05T22:22:00.009-05:00

My travels to Edisto Island, SC luckily took me through Walterboro, SC where I stopped for dinner at Duke's BBQ. The format is an all-you-can-eat buffet that is exactly $9 with tax. It's completely no frills. Walk up and pay, grab some disposable plates and forks, and serve yourself (including drinks). There is no bread on the actual buffet, but once you pull your salivating face away from the buffet, you find loaves of white bread scattered around the tables. What this place lacks in style in presentation, it more than makes up with the quality in every dish.

The two main events on the buffet are the pulled pork with mustard barbeque sauce and fried chicken. There were several variations on the sauce, most prominently a spicy version, but I stuck with the original. Even though this is a BBQ joint, the fried chicken was still excellent and juicy down to the bone. Somewhat of a specialty (and still mysterious to me) was the BBQ hash, slow cooked pork chunks in a sweet sauce intended to be eaten over white rice. There are lots of vegetables, but few truly vegan items since this place is quintessentially Southern in style. The green beans and stewed tomatoes were my top picks on this trip. On the first pass through the buffet, I dismissed the amorphous fried items I first thought were popcorn shrimp (and a complete throwaway compared to all the other masterpieces on the buffet). But instead they were awesome corn fritters. There were at 2 large trays of desserts at the end of the line but I only saved room for the banana pudding which rivaled some of the best grandma made recipes I've had. There were no vanilla wafers or artificial banana flavorings. This stuff was definitely from scratch and worth saving some room.

I was fascinated with the drive thru at this place. I didn't get a good look at the menu, but I believe you could drive by and order items a la carte from the buffet. The hours posted were weekend only so you may want to call ahead to make sure they are open. This location is an easy stop off of I-95 and I very highly recommend it.

Duke's BBQ
949 Robertson Blvd
Walterboro, SC 29488
(843) 549-1446

Noodle House Thai Restaurant

2009-08-03T09:56:00.008-05:00

A reader's comment suggested we try out Noodle House Thai Restaurant in Lavergne, and we are so glad we did!

We visited the restaurant on a hot Saturday evening. The AC was out in the restaurant, but our hostess warmly greeted us and made sure we were comfortable. While "Thai" is in the name, this restaurant seems to focus on general noodle offerings than just Thai ones. We tried two of our favorite meals, chicken lo mein and beef pho, as a way of getting to know Noodle House Thai Restaurant and comparing how they do up against our other Nashville favorite noodle spots.

Josh ordered the chicken lo mein ($8.25) and was very happy with it. It had good flavor and appeared to made to order. I had beef pho ($7.95) which had great depth of flavor. I was especially pleased by the generous amount of herbs that came with the dish. At most Nashville places you just get some sprigs of basil, but my pho came with a generous sprinkling of cilantro on the dish and the garnish plate had handfuls of basil and mint. I've never seen mint included before in Nashville restaurants for dishes like this and it was nice to have the trio of herbs in my already delicious pho.

Noodle House seems to have a large number of lunch specials which would be great for those working in the Lavergne area. They also offer two-for-one specials for $14.99 for dinner from a select number of entrees on the menu.

We appreciated our good meal and the friendly service at Noodle House Thai Restaurant, and hope to return soon.

Noodle House Thai Restaurant
5270 Murfreesboro Rd # B
La Vergne, TN 37086
(615) 793-4848

Open Mon-Wed,Sun 11am-9pm;
Thu-Sat 11am-9:30pm

Sweet CeCe's

2009-07-30T08:00:00.005-05:00

If you have even stopped in Knoxville in the commercial wonderland of Turkey Creek, you might have grabbed yogurt from a small chain called Menchie's. Certainly Sweet Cece's gained inspiration from this brightly colored self-serve format.

Seeing how crowded this place can get later in the night, I got there about 6:30 to find I was the only person in line. Soon after, the crowd started rolling in. Two outgoing, but not ditzy, young girls were very helpful and seemed to know quite a bit about their products when I hit them with several questions. They gladly provided cups for as many samples as I wanted, but I imagine this arrangement could be inefficient if there are busy times.

There are 8 flavors available, including one non-dairy option (mango sorbet), and one tart option. In a confusing twist, all samples are nonfat unless marked "low-fat."The pricing is by weight as you would find at Yogurt Oasis, but the quality of the yogurt seems much better. The amount of toppings including candies, cereals, and fruit to calorically enchance yogurt cup is staggering at first. You may even want to browse their website to get an idea of what you want. I had a huge cup of delicious Snickerdoodle (probably a transient flavor - I hear butter pecan is also good but wasn't there on this trip), a bit of chocolate yogurt, cookie dough, and raspberries.

According to their website, strawberry, raspberry, and pecan praline are coming within a week. And I think a raspberry-pecan-butterfinger-banana cup is in my future.

4322 Harding Pike, Suite 103 (beside Belle Meade Publix)
Nashville, TN 37205
Monday -Thursday: 11:00 am - 10:00 pm
Friday & Saturday: 11:00 am - 11:00 pm
Sunday: 12:00 - 9:00 pm

Mona's

2009-07-27T07:21:00.005-05:00

I stopped at Mona's one day, hoping it would fit into that illustrious category of great food finds off the beaten path. A surprise comment on our blog this weekend from the former owner of Mill Creek Foods reminded us of just how much a joy it can be to find a new place that offers good food and careful service away from the bustle of Nashville's busier areas.

But alas, it was not to be for Mona's. While the interior was pleasant, with lots of sunshine from the big front windows, the menu was full of items that were pulled straight from food service stock. I did get a little excited when I saw an espresso machine (maybe there's a local place for coffee in Smyrna again!), but knew I was about to be disappointed when the cashier seemed thoroughly confused that I didn't want any flavorings in my latte.

The "latte" came back nothing like a latte. It was just awful - no foam at all, with a burnt taste. My fried chicken salad looked like it came straight from a bag, and the honey mustard sauce had the viscosity of mayonnaise.

I had such high hopes for this place, but unfortunately was deeply disappointed.

Mona's
3714 W Jefferson Pike
Murfreesboro, TN
(615) 217-0337