Two Happy Bellies

Shaffer Farm's Texas Bar-B-Q

Part two of our food adventure this past weekend involved lunch at Shaffer Farm's Texas Bar-B-Q. This place combines an actual butcher shop (and they know what tri-tip is!) with a restaurant serving true Texas style BBQ. With hilarious seating:

and fun tables (that spin . . .) we thoroughly enjoyed eating lunch here.

We were able to sample a few tastes before placing our order and everything was fabulous. We ended up with a Brisket plate (sides of white beans and ranch potatoes) and a Ribs and Wings plate (sides of baked beans and ranch potatoes). Both came with hot pickled peppers (yum!), pickles, onions, and corn pancakes. We also had fresh lemonade and a buttermilk pie. Leftovers did come home with us.

Next time we go back? We're taking the cooler so we can stock up on some perishables to go with the non-perishable items we bought: jalapeno beef jerky, spicy pickled hotdogs (?), and peach jalapeno jam.

Meridee's Breadbasket

This past weekend, Aaron surprised me with an adventure. The first stop on the food portion of the adventure was Meridee's Breadbasket, a local experience I had not yet had.

While I meant to order the egg and cheese on ham biscuit, I forgot to say ham so I ended up with egg and cheese on biscuit. The biscuit fell apart with every bite and was absolutely scrumptious. However, I do want to go back and order it on the ham biscuit next time. Apparently they add ham to the biscuit dough and it sounds delightful.

Aaron ordered a sausage biscuit and we both had sides of hash brown casserole.

We also picked up a few items on our way out: a raspberry scone, a cinnamon roll, and a Viking stick. Unfortunately we were coffee'd out by the time we got there so I did not get to taste their coffee. But we will go back!

Casa Fiesta

I have a fondness for Mexican food . . . and a bond with Casa Fiesta of Antioch, TN. When I first arrived in Nashville (for my job interview) back in January of 2002, I asked the hotel for a recommendation for a non-chain restaurant. They suggested Casa Fiesta so I went for dinner. The wait staff was accomodating, even to a single traveler, and the food was comforting. I judge every Mexican restaurant by their salsa, and the salsa here was just the way I like it: a touch of heat and lots of flavor. I've been eating there ever since (and yes, I know this is not "authentic" Mexican food from Mexico . . . it is very good Mexican food a la United States).

While I don't eat here as often as I used to, now that I've moved down to M'boro (for which my clothes are glad), we had occasion to eat there Thursday night prior to seeing a concert (Straight No Chaser) at the Ryman. Satisfied as always, I took pictures of the food so I could share with you ;-)

We started with chips and salsa (of which they promptly brought a second bowl upon request which was good as we finished the first two and made a dent in a third).

I ordered my regular which is the vegetarian 24A: bean burrito, chalupa, and quesadilla . . .

(they have got to grill it in melted butter, otherwise how could it taste so good?!?!?)

And Aaron had the "Hot and Spicy Burrito" stuffed with chicken.

A very satisfying meal to begin our "date night" . . .

Capitol Grille Nashville

Fall is here and it is time for Tracy and I to do our October tradition - we celebrate our 'dating anniversary'. We get a little quirky in the way in which we celebrate our dating anniversary and our wedding anniversary in that for our dating one we make it a night on the town and our wedding one we cook a fancy meal at home together. Given that the two are spaced out not quite six whole months apart enough time is between the two that they remain special. For the dating meal we have a few qualifications.

• One, the restaurant has to be a non-chain restaurant. That alone eliminates many of the restaurants around us. This allows us to enjoy the hard work of hopefully locally owned restaurants and local chefs putting their culinary skills on display.
• Two, we try to pick a restaurant that at least tries to have a changing menu. This qualification also hopefully means that the restaurant is taking advantage on locally grown ingredients, seasonal items and not using items trucked in from far away locations.
• Three, knowing that this will in all likelihood be an expensive meal we budget for it. That makes for equal parts frivolity and responsibility.  We are not about to have a fancy meal and spend the next three months paying off the credit card bill. 

Knowing the date of this meal was fast approaching I consulted several of my coworkers for suggestions.  This year is would be the 4th year of this tradition and we had done Margot Cafe, Rumours East and Tayst in years past so finding a new one while keeping to our qualifications was starting to get tricky.   One of my coworkers suggested Capitol Grille because it was their go-to anniversary dinner place and their fondness for certain menu items piqued my interest.  After looking at the Capitol Grille website and menu I knew I had found the place for this year.

About two weeks before the date we had picked out for our fancy night on the town I called Capitol Grille to make reservations. Yeah I know we are in a recession and people are supposedly eating out less but I would rather be safe than sorry if that night had already booked up. It is also respectful to the restaurant because they know that someone cares enough to ask and that they know someone is serious about getting a good meal/service.  The young sounding lady who answered the phone asked questions like 'Have you dined with us before? Is this a special occasion? Oh really, how many years is this? Congratulations. Dinner reservations for 2 at 7pm will not be a problem. We have you down and will see you soon.' The same girl called back the day of the reservation to confirm that we would still be dining that evening. So far, One Gold Star earned.

So the Capitol Grille is located in the Hermitage Hotel in downtown Nashville. We made it a point to arrive early so we could look around one of Nashville's oldest hotels and take in the history of it. One very intesting feature of the hotel is one of the Men's restrooms, specifically the color pattern and decorations.  The picture below does not capture the green color of the bathroom fixtures but 'WOW, this is a crazy color 1920's fashion green'.

We were promply seated just after 7pm to a table set for two with a line of rose petals.  They seated us side by side as opposed to across from each other and our table was on the outside wall so our view was the whole of the dining room. It kinda felt like we were on display but at the same time we were pretty cozy. As we looked around the room we saw other tabled set up in the same fashion.  Clearly we were not the only ones on 'date night'.

The first course was absolutely amazing!  Tracy ordered the Sweet Onion Bisque while I had the Hunter's Plate.  The bisque was bigger than a cup but not as big as a bowl portion that gave an experience of  'this is very good but I do not need any more than this'. The brie grilled cheese, bacon and chive ingredients were heavenly on the tongue. My Hunter's Plate was described as 'a collection of house curred, smoked and pickled foods' but in truth it was a display of the art of charcuterie. The paper thin slices of cured ham, the summer sausage and the smoked duck ham were phenomenal.  Also served was a pepper jelly, a stone ground mustard and a berry preserve and each one was excellent.

Capitol Grille just earned a Second Gold Star for what we ate on the first course.

Next up was the main course. Tracy ordered the Venison while I orderd the Gulf Snapper.  The Venison was described as 'Georgia collard greens, heirloom pumpkin, huckleberry shallot jus' but in taste that venison had no gaminess, peppered and grilled to perfection and covered in a wonderful berry sauce. The cubed pumpkin saute was a nice side item.  The collard greens may have been cooked with some of the same summer sausage that was on the Hunter's Plate and made them a bit too salty and smoky in taste. This alone was the only negative thing we could say about the meal.

I had the Gulf Snapper which was described as 'brussel sprouts, celery root puree, crab beurre monte'. I think the snapper had been poached to cook it and rested upon a bed of brussel sprouts, the celery root concotion and I could swear I tasted some fennel bulb too. I am not sure what beurre monte is but I need to look it up.
 Again both dishes were wonderfully prepared and very enjoyable. Third Gold Star earned.

My coworker who suggested we try Capitol Grille said that one of her favorite dishes was their Truffle Mac and Cheese.  I had also heard from other reviews on Capitol Grille that the Truffle Mac and Cheese was something they were particularly known for.  I have neglected to mention that much of the food at Capitol Grille is grown at the Farm at Glen Leven.  This evening one of the side dishes was wax beans from the farm.  Neither Tracy nor I could recall ever having wax beans so we ordered those too.  The Truffle Mac and Cheese had a wonderful flavor going on that must have been the truffles or garlic, I could not tell.  Not having had wax beans beans before I had nothing to compare them to but they were very tasty.

How could the night get an better?  Dessert!!! and it was simple divine. Tracy and I ordered a Peach and Ginger Sorbet but look what we got.

Another Gold Star earned!

So there we were at the end of the meal and Capitol Grille had earned Four Gold Stars in our book. Time to call the valet to bring the car around and get on home.  Thank you Capitol Grille for a very good anniversary dinner and evening!!! 

 

 

 
 

 

Walden Farm

I think a pumpkin patch should be more than just a place to pick out a pumpking and Walden Farm satisfies me on several levels. Not only are there great pumpkins, there are also animals to feed . . . rides and events for children . . . crafts to purchase (I finally bought a barn star!) . . . and food, oh the food. I won't tell you everything we had to eat. I am going to share photos of two: we had Walking Tacos for lunch (although I would have called them Frito Pies)

and we had these fried potato slices covered in cheese sauce and pico de gallo

They may not look all that interesting however I only wish we got pictures of how they were made. Fascinating!

Instead of a hand-crank potato slicer they used a cordless Ryobi drill to spin the potoato across the blade which made perfect ribbon slices cascade into a bowl. After that, they fried up the slices on the spot and covered ours with the cheese and salsa. They could also do plain salt and pepper, or a sweet potato with cinnamon and sugar. Our only complaint was that the slices should have stayed in the oil longer.  Fried a little longer and they would have had a nice potato chiplike crunch.  Gotta love the fair food.

Corbin, KY and The Colonel's Fried Chicken

Two Happy Bellies were road tripping recently and ended up in Corbin, KY for a night.  Corbin is a pretty small town in rural south east Kentucky but it is the home of Harland Sanders Cafe and Museum.  This is where what became known as Kentucky Fried Chicken first stated.

I have very mixed feelings about this piece of American fast food history.  In terms of history, the cafe and museum are really cool.  Colonel Sanders business plan of a good fried chicken meal and how he viewed running a motel were just awesome in that day.  Inside the cafe and museum are many signs and plaques telling the story of Colonel Sanders and several displays dedicated to the history of KFC and memorabilia.  This place is worth checking out just for the history.

The downside of it is that attached to the Harland Sanders Cafe and Museum is a regular ol' KFC.  To me, KFC is just a greasy mess.  Do not get me wrong because good ol' KFC has a time and place - 10:30pm munchies, hot mashed potatoes and gravy on a cold winters day, or wedge cut potato fries after a night of drinking beer with the boys are all fine times to have a little KFC but after taking the tour of the museum regular ol' KFC is a letdown.  There needs to be a sit down style restaurant with red and white gingham tablecloths not a stand in line and get an order to-go restaurant.  There needs to be waitresses with white shirts with thin black ties looking like the Colonel instead of the surly teenage with a lip ring and colorful tattoos.  There needs to be fried chicken cooked to order with pleasant looking fresh cooked side dishes instead of the 10 piece paper bucket and styrofoam containers of side dishes.  I just came away with a bit of sadness from seeing how cool something once was to seeing what a mess it now is.

We have generation of people who do not know that KFC stands for Kentucky Fried Chicken but I really think that there can be a better way to enjoy the Chicken from Kentucky that is Fried.   Thank you Colonel Sanders for showing us a way to do it right.  We highly recommend stopping at this piece of American history but there might be a better meal down the road.

Uncle Dude's BBQ and More

For the past few months NPR has ran a segments called Honey, Stop the Car: Monuments That Move You for all those people venturing out into America on summer road trips. After hearing stories of local legends and curious roadside oddities I was struck with one such moment where I had to stop and check a place out.  Just the name Uncle Dude's BBQ and More made me realize that on that sunshiny day I did not need to be in a hurry to get wherever I needed to go.

I was out on a work related errand when I came across this place in what I thought was the middle of nowhere but it is truly just a mile or two from interstate Exit 108 on I-24.  The address is 7641 Hwy 76 E, White House, TN 37188 and just across the street from another interesting locale Crossroad Market so it is not hard to miss.

I just wanted a little snack to get the basics of Uncle Dude's BBQ so I ordered just a regular pulled pork sandwich with his recipe for hot bbq sauce on the side.  The pork was pretty moist and tender with a good hickory smoke flavor.  Not bad at all.  His recipe for hot bbq sauce had a good zing of hot peppers and a nice brown sugar sweetness.  I really liked that sauce.

 I spoke with Uncle Dude while I waited on my order.  He seemed like enjoyed what he was doing and the product he put out there.  I just hope that the locals up there keep him in business for a long while.  This was a little gem of an roadside treat for some tasty bbq.  And then I had to get back to work.

Pal's in Gate City, VA - What is this place?

 
    Tracy and I hit the road this past weekend for a little camping, hiking and geocaching adventuring.  In the days to follow we will tell of our tales but I want to start off by telling about an interesting restaurant we came across in Virginia.  We had seen a few billboards advertising this place called Pal's but since we were new to the area and did not know where the closest one was we just dismissed it.  Then we crested a hill and saw one in the distance.  It was close to lunch time and we thought "Hey, let's check this place out".  It looked like it had burger, fries, hot dogs, soda and such.  What's not to like about all that?  As we got closer we could see that there was a line of vehicles on both sides of the road wanting to turn into the parking lot.  Being that it was close to lunch time, the long line of vehicles and we were in need of a rest room break as well we thought that Pal's would not be the best place to investigate.  Judging by the lay out of the building and that it was drive-thru only gave us the impression that they may not have a public restroom.  We opted for the Hardee's that was right next door to serve our needs instead.  All total for the amount of time we were inside of Hardee's could have been no more than 20 minutes tops!  When we came back outside to our vehicle to leave the line of vehicles wanting Pal's were all gone except for the two just pulling in.

    Well whatever Pal's is and how good the food is we do not know but we could certainly see that it is a popular place and has quick service.  Next time we head to east Tennessee on a road trip we will have to hunt another one of these down, try it and give a full report.

 

Greek Festival Nashville 2011

With some beautiful weather after we finally had some rain come through (and boy is the garden happy about that!), we headed off to the 24th annual Nashville Greek Festival Friday night to meet some friends. It ended up being six adults and one child who fell in love with the music and dancing - which is not too surprising considering her parents met at the local swing dances. Once again we enjoyed a variety of foods and shopped the booths, then waited in the long but oh so worth it bakery line. My one complaint is they didn't have any Melomakarona cookies this year. I'm really going to have to learn to make my own.

Despite the lack of melomakarona we did bring home an assortment of other desserts and pastries.  Aaron picked out a spanikopita and an black olive tsoureki loaf of bread while I grabbed some amglydota (almond cresent cookies) and koulorakia (butter cookies).  We also picked up a boureki (baked custard with fillo) but have not tried it yet.  We are saving that for dessert tomorrow night.

We love that Nashville has this Greek Festival however it is good that it only comes once a year or we would spend too much on the good cookies.    

Destination - Hannibal, Missouri

Part two of our Saturday involved geocaching our way over to Hannibal, MO. We got there as the rain turned into snow so luckily we found a nice warm lunch in Hannibal at Lulabelle’s. A brothel turned bed and breakfast, the decor definitely tries to call to mind the days of old. We did not get to see any of the rooms, however enjoyed our lunch before going out to explore the town. For some reason we did not snap any photos, however Tracy had a lovely fettucine alfredo with spring peas, while Richard, Ryan, and Aaron all enjoyed sandwiches of some variety. We wouldn't visit the town just to eat there, but did enjoy ourselves since we were visiting.

Other than that, we drove around to several historical sites and tried to stay warm while looking for a few caches. After that, Aaron drove us back to Springfield while everyone ended up napping out on him. The joys of traveling in the RV.