Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Tayst Chef Barlow and Catering Veteran Woodard Merge Ventures
Posted by Dana Kopp Franklin on Wed, Mar 23, 2011 at 5:27 AM
Now he and another prominent caterer, Erika Woodard of Cater to You, have decided to combine their businesses, operating out of Tayst and under the Local Kitchen Catering name. Woodard will be the catering manager.
Check out the announcement after the jump.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Restaurants Back to Back to Cuba for the Sides
Posted by Nicki Wood on Tue, Mar 22, 2011 at 10:35 AM
I ate my way through the menu several times, and on a good day, it's seriously good. Last week, BtC was running on all cylinders. The employees were raving about the chicken fricassee (except that I wish they'd used hen rather than pullet for a stronger, richer flavor). Lechon was right on the money, but it was the side dishes that were utterly captivating.
The sticky rice cooked in chicken broth was good enough to eat on its own. Black beans were richly seasoned and cooked tender but not mushy. Add the chewy fried plantains and the tender stewed yuca with browned onions on top, and honestly, a vegetable plate would have been just as satisfying and maybe more inventive.
Next trip to Back to Cuba, I plan on an all-side-dish meal.
Back to Cuba, 4683 Trousdale Drive, 837-6711
Coffee Filter Learn Coffee Expertise at Crema/Beve Brewing Class
Posted by Chris Chamberlain on Tue, Mar 22, 2011 at 5:32 AM
Next up is the Aeropress brewing process, which they recommend for making the perfect cuppa at home. This little plunger-operated coffeemaker may look like a glorified turkey injector, but the science behind it comes from the same people who invented the Aerobie, the flying disc that holds the Guinness World Record for "longest throw of an object without any velocity-aiding feature." If they can invent something that a human can fling a quarter mile, then mixing water and beans shouldn't be rocket science.
The class is 2-4 p.m. Sunday, March 27. From the official class syllabus:
The CREMA \\ Beve Brew Methods classes are an ongoing series of classes designed to help you achieve great coffee at home. We’ll cut through the confusion and provide you with the tools and the know-how to replicate what we’re doing in the shop. You’ll be surprised at how easy it is! View class schedule here and register today.Classes are $25 and include a bag of coffee. Gear for the featured method will also be available for purchase. Class sizes are limited so register today!
Just don't try to see how far you can chuck your favorite coffee mug.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Restaurant openings First Bite: Chago's Cantina on Belmont Boulevard
Posted by Chris Chamberlain on Mon, Mar 21, 2011 at 10:58 AM
First, the interior makeover is striking. The walls are painted in bright colors with a few kitschy accents like lamps made from acoustic guitars and some beer signs. Not over-the-top like Chuy's, but still interesting to the eye. With a covered patio, open garage-door walls and a couple of tables right on the sidewalk of Belmont Boulevard, Chago's should prove to be an excellent spot for people-watching.
The menu extends beyond the usual offerings of meat, chicken, rice and beans combined in 50 variations in a flour or corn tortilla. Owner Chad Head has run the Corky's BBQ in Brentwood for a few years but has always had this restaurant concept in the back of his mind. On his travels through Central and South America he discovered some menu items that make their appearance as Especialidades de la Casa.
We didn't get a chance to try the mofongo, a spicy Puerto Rican dish of plantains and creole shrimp, but our server said it's quite popular. Even more exotic was my plate of pupusas con curtido, an El Salvadoran dish served with a tangy cabbage slaw. The rest of the menu is filled with more traditional standards, but special attention is paid to vegetarian and vegan options, though vegans are limited mainly to side dishes.
Everything is made from scratch in house with local ingredients sourced whenever possible, and we particularly enjoyed the smoky salsa, creamy guacamole and salsa verde that we sampled with tortilla chips. The verde isn't normally part of their dip sampler, but they had run out of hummus. I'm not sure why you'd serve hummus in a cantina anyway, so we were happy to enjoy the substitution.
Events As If You Needed Another Reason to Attend Sunday Supper at City House: Guest Chef Ashley Christensen
Posted by Chris Chamberlain on Mon, Mar 21, 2011 at 8:59 AM
The special guest chef will be James Beard Award nominee Ashley Christensen of Poole's Downtown Diner in Raleigh, N.C. Chef Christensen took an old 1940s-era diner and refurbed it as a retro-chic dining establishment with a menu of upscale Southern classics that critics and diners alike have raved about since she opened the restaurant in 2007.
Travel Advisory Whatever Happened to Whataburger?
Posted by Nicki Wood on Mon, Mar 21, 2011 at 5:36 AM
It was a budget trip, so we stayed in a cheap hotel in Clanton, Ala., where we could get two rooms for what a single hotel room costs in Nashville. It was a Scottish Inn, across from Peach Park and a Whataburger. It was as if our trip had been back to the '70s, instead of just south through Alabama.
Well, when in Clanton, eat Clantonesque. Considering the reasonably not-inadequate experience we had at Dairy Queen last month, we decided to take a flyer on the Whataburger, because, who knows? My motto is that I'll try anything once. (Within reason. Results may vary. See rules for details. Subject to change.)
It was terrible. The meat left absolutely no impression except that it was protein, with a touch of gristle, the bun was sweet, like Hawaiian bread, and there were raw chopped onions and a schmear of mustard twice too big.
A food adventurer always, but I'm checking that little curiosity off the list.
Friday, March 18, 2011
News The Pie Wagon Gets New Owner, Bringing Back Breakfast
Posted by Dana Kopp Franklin on Fri, Mar 18, 2011 at 4:43 PM
Carol Babb, who's owned the cafe for 20 years, is retiring and has sold the business to veteran restaurateur David Biggs. He plans to make only a few changes, including adding breakfast service.
Biggs is probably best-known as one of the owners of Mac's, a longtime lunch spot that used to be on Broadway near Vanderbilt, where Ken's Sushi is today. Later he owned Diamond in the Rough, a restaurant and music venue on Lower Broadway.
(In the interim he co-owned a fabric company in Georgia that makes country-chic Western shirts for retailers and country-defending body armor for the Army and Marines. Now he plans to run The Pie Wagon full time.)
Today was the last day for the longtime owners Babb and her son Jason. Lunch included lots of shared memories and hugs. Biggs, meanwhile, is closing the restaurant for a few days to spruce it up. He plans to reopen on Monday, March 28.
Open Thread Open Thread is Thinking Big Picture
Posted by Nicki Wood on Fri, Mar 18, 2011 at 9:11 AM
Now Carrington reports on hordes of happy eaters enjoying Puckett's downtown, and I can only sense a confluence. After all the old talk about downtown's inability to draw residents without amenities, it's a coffeehouse and an eatery that make the difference and turn downtown into a destination? That seems odd, but apparently it's the odd that's successful.
How will new downtown residents feel about Dick's Last Resort? And other such establishments? And will tourists ever find Puckett's and Dunn Bros?
In the 'burbs, we're watching 12South's various restaurants, and new places on all sides, especially the ones with patios. In The Golden Triangle™ (as I call it) I offered some restaurant consulting between the lines earlier this week — you're welcome.
In my kitchen, gear is conspiring against me — another device has stopped doing its job. The pepper grinder has coaxed its last sneeze, a victim of a snapped blade.
In your quadrant, 'burb and kitchen, what's the news?
Wine Wandering Wino: Spring Break Edition
Posted by Chris Chamberlain on Fri, Mar 18, 2011 at 8:36 AM
If you want to try out some other inventive cocktails, then you should definitely mark Friday, March 25, on your calendar for the big Mixology party. The event is subtitled "Mixing Music, Art, Fashion, Cocktails and Cuisine" and will be held 6 to 10 p.m. at the Country Music Hall of Fame.
Food will be provided by some of Nashville's best restaurants including: Boscos, Cabana, Commerce Street Grille, Hard Rock Cafe, Mafiaoza's, Royal Icing Custom Cakes, Rumba, Two Twenty Two Grill, Wild Ginger and Wildhorse Saloon. In an interesting twist, a portion of each $45 ticket price will be donated to the charity you choose from this list of worthy recipients. For tickets and more information, visit www.mixologynashville.com.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Events Celebrate St. Patty's With a Wee Dram and Good Eats
Posted by Chris Chamberlain on Thu, Mar 17, 2011 at 9:21 AM
Jimmy Kelly's Steakhouse invites you to their 77th (!) annual St. Patty's party, where they proudly proclaim "any time three or four Irishmen get together, there's bound to be a fifth." They'll be serving corned beef and cabbage along with their regular menu from 5:00 until the last revelers get chased out the door like snakes before the Saint.
At Randy O'Rayburn's family of restaurants, if you wear anything green on St. Patrick's Day, there will be a free dessert at the end of the rainbow for you. Just order an regular entrée or special at Sunset Grill, Midtown Cafe or Cabana and show them an article of clothing in the PMS 360 range and you'll receive your free treat. Click on the restaurant names in the last sentence for a peek at their special St. Patrick's menus.
Farther north up in Goodlettsville, Chef Kathy Doak at Chef's Market has put together a special menu for the holiday, which will be available from Thursday, March 17, through the weekend. They will be featuring many wonderful Irish favorites including Corned Beef and Cabbage and Fish and Chips. Chef Doak was even kind enough to share her recipe for CB&C incase you can't make it up I-65 this weekend and want to stink up, err, introduce new aromatics to your home kitchen:
