Between Cinco de Mayo, the Craft Beer Conference coming to town and Taylor Swift and her legion of fans preparing to descend on the city, it’s gonna be a busy couple of weeks in Nashville. So here are some ideas to help you plan your debauchery wisely.
When Carey Bringle opened his second concept with Bringle’s Smoking Oasis in the Nations, he did so very intentionally. The pitmaster always promised that there would never be a second Peg Leg Porker, his original flagship restaurant where he cooks up West Tennessee-style smoked meats, and he stayed true to his word. After deciding to dabble in Texas barbecue, Bringle chose to create a brand-new restaurant to keep his p’s and ’cue’s separate.
Texas barbecue definitely has roots in the Caribbean and Mexican tradition of barbacoa, so it’s logical (and awesome) that Bringle has invited vaquero cuisine master Adrian Davila to join him at the Oasis for a day of collaborative cooking on Friday, May 5, starting at 6 pm. Third-generation pitmaster Davila will be bringing his tender lamb barbacoa from his Seguin, Texas, restaurant Davila’s BBQ, and attendees can also expect dishes like brisket tacos, and Dr. Pepper pulled pork.
San Antonio beer salt brand Twang will bring the spice to the rims of some micheladas that are the ideal accompaniment to these Texas dishes. Admission is free, and food and drink will be available à la carte.
Back in February, I gave you the heads up that the huge Craft Brewers Conference would be returning to Nashville May 7-10, and although the majority of the CBC is restricted to industry conference registrants, I did promise that there would definitely be some benefits for those of us in the gen pop in the form of open events at breweries and venues around the city. Boy, was I right on that one!
There will be plenty of opportunities to try some amazing beers and ciders over the course of the event that will be open to the public, including a free concert downtown at Hall of Fame Park across from the Country Music Hall of Fame. Rhizome Productions is presenting a show headlined by outlaw country singer Paul Cauthen on Monday, May 8, with doors (well, since it’s outdoors there won’t actually be any doors) at 6 p.m.
The park will actually open at noon for lunch with food trucks and craft beer vendors offering their wares for sale if you want to liven up your Monday dining and limit your productivity at work during the afternoon. (An aside, Cauthen looks so much like Rhizome founder Matt Leff that I thought that was him on the poster, perhaps in a picture taken at one of those old-timey theme park photo studios.)
Tennessee Brew Works is releasing a fun collaboration beer in honor of CBC’s visit to Music City. The Pie Town brewery has partnered with Gibson and Country Malt Group to create a yeasty and malty Belgian-style dubbel red ale that they have named Dubbleneck, a sly nod to Gibson’s iconic EDS-1275 double-neck guitar, most famously wielded by Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page.
In the official announcement of the release, Tennessee Brew Works founder and CEO Christian Spears shares: "We're excited to partner with Gibson and Country Malt Group on this special beer. It is a privilege to work with such legendary partners. The Dubbelneck collaboration is a reflection of our shared passion for great beer and music."
The Dubbelneck will be available at Tennessee Brew Works, 809 Ewing Ave., as well as at select retailers in Tennessee starting Friday, May 5. It will also be revealed at the Craft Brewers Conference.
There will be a ton of other public events around town, and I’m going to admit that I don’t want this post to reach novel length. Fortunately, the Nashville Reddit group has been on top of gathering them all in one place, so let me point you there instead so you can peruse the list at your leisure. Shout out to local Redditor Bellevuetnm4f for staying on top of these events much better than I could!
Finally, with Cinco de Mayo coming up, I imagine that tequila and guacamole are going to be on a lot of peoples’ minds. While I generally don’t shill for celebrity spirit bands, this particular opportunity seems like a fairly benevolent no-strings-attached offer that Bites readers could take advantage of.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is part owner of Teremana Tequila, a well-reviewed product with millions of cases in annual sales. Rather than just sit on all that money, The Rock has pledged to help you enjoy some Cinco de Mayo frivolity for the third year in a row.
His “Guac on The Rock” promotion promises to reimburse up to $1 million worth of guacamole purchased from restaurants that sell Teremana beginning today, May 1 through Sunday, May 7. (His birthday is May 2, so buy a margarita and some guac and chips to toast him!)
All you have to do is purchase a Teremana cocktail with an order of guacamole and be reimbursed up to $10 — whether you dine in or take out. Consumers can upload their itemized receipt by heading directly to guacontherock.com. Once approved, funds will be transferred directly to the customers via Venmo. Who knows? Maybe once you’ve shared your Venmo with The Rock, you’ll be able to request a small monetary gift for your own birthday? He’s a busy guy, so how’s he gonna know who you are?
To find local restaurants where you can take advantage of The Rock’s tequila/guac largesse, search on the brand’s website.
