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First Times: Center Point Pit Barbecue

March 28th, 2010

After wrapping up an afternoon of disc golf at Sanders Ferry Park in Hendersonville, TN (during which, we lost a few discs to water hazards: boo!) we started back to Nashville and decided to stop at Center Point Pit Barbecue on the way home for dinner.

As I’ve told you before, I revere the pig in just about all of its iterations and after 19 holes of disc golf and working up quite an appetite, we really thought that some pork would hit the spot.

Center Point Pit Barbecue has been around for quite a while (founded in the 1960’s) and the walls of the restaurant are lined with autographs from Nashville celebrities.  The dining room is about what you would expect from a pit barbecue place (four-top tables, chairs, paper towel rolls in lieu of napkins, the obligatory special sauces) and it’s clean and the servers are friendly and the smell from the roast pork in the kitchen is just awesome.

We ordered a bloomin’ onion, breaded with cornmeal instead of beer batter, accompanied by “Yum Yum” sauce (a cajun ranch dressing of some variety) and our pulled pork plates with sides.  The sauces were good, though in spite of the earnest assertions printed on the labels for the sauces (“We Honestly Believe We Have The Best Barbecue Sauce In The World!”) I would give the edge to a few other places I’ve been. The pulled pork had great texture, but the flavor was a little more subtle than other places we’ve tried, perhaps owing to a lighter tasting wood used for the smoking.

Center Point is definitely worth a detour, but perhaps not worth a trip…unless you’re checking off every Barbecue place in the South or something, in which case, why haven’t you been there yet?

Find Center Point Pit Barbecue on Google Maps

Local Faves: Shipley Do-Nuts

March 26th, 2010

I have a confession to make: I have never actually been into a Shipley’s Do-Nuts myself.  I am, however, lucky enough to work in a place where Fridays are Donut Fridays and everyone takes a turn bringing them in. When it’s my week, I go for easy (and on the way) and have to hit up a Dunkin’ Donuts (which is good, but it ain’t Shipley’s).

When it’s his Friday, Jeremy, my friend and king of Donut Fridays, always brings Shipley’s to the office. Today he brought in about two dozen delectable donuts, and for that, I thank him.

Today, my donut was cinnamon-sugar and it was perfect, cakey magnificence.

Shipley’s is indigenous to the South, I believe, so if there’s one in the area where you are, it might be worth a special trip if you’re in the mood.

http://www.shipleydonuts.ws

A Foodie’s Weekend in the Northeast

March 22nd, 2010

Evan and I just got back from our long-weekend vacation in New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. Primarily, we went up to witness magic in the making as Evan’s big brother, Andrew Zimmerman, an extremely talented chef in his own right and the executive chef at Sepia in Chicago, prepared dinner at The James Beard House in New York City.  Cooking a James Beard Foundation dinner is a supreme honor for a chef.  If you were a musician, it would be much akin to being invited to perform at Carnegie Hall.

In addition to that, we got to spend lots of time with friends and family, so I figure the best way to do this post is to give you all a rundown of the weekend, where we went and what we ate!  Enjoy.

Thursday: Red Bank, NJ & New York City, NY

After a very late flight, Evan and I slept in until very late in the morning. Combined with the time change (Central to Eastern) we didn’t surface until around 11 a.m. When we did finally stir, however, we were greeted by Annie, Evan’s mother’s delightfully cheerful Australian Shepherd. She is about a year old now, but still very much a pup and her enthusiasm (and the warm, wonderful weather) were infectious. So we grabbed the leash and our walking shoes and strolled into Red Bank, proper to get some lunch.

On Monmouth Street, we found Mister Pizza Slice, a tiny little pizzeria serving up the basics. Evan had two slices of cheese and I had one of pepperoni. The slices were thin, a little crispy, and the sauce and cheese were flavorful. These slices hit the spot, though Annie was a little peeved we didn’t share any with her.

That evening, we took the train into New York City to attend dinner at the James Beard House. We got in a little early, so we made a stop off at Gusto, an Italian restaurant and bar, for a drink.  We were ecstatic to find that Kumamoto oysters were in season and available. So we ordered a few of those and some glasses of wine.  Kumamotos are a rare pleasure and only available for a few weeks each spring. If you find yourself in a restaurant in mid to late March and they’re on the menu (and of course, if you like oysters) order some. You will find them firmly textured, not too goopy, and sweet: totally my favorite oyster.

Finally, it was time to make our way to the James Beard Foundation (situated in the four-story brownstone once owned by James Beard himself) for dinner. We were shown through the basement (which is almost completely kitchen) to the back garden for cocktails and hors d’oeuvres.

Andrew’s menu did not disappoint at all.  We were started off with foie gras croquettas (fried spheres of batter that contained a burst of foie gras); house-cured sardines with avocado, lemon and scallions (a delicious bite of spring); coppa di testa – head cheese with fava beans, pickles and mint (rolled together maki-style and skewered); shrimp and grits (served in one bite in a spoon with just enough grits, gravy and a single shrimp).

In addition to these yummies, cocktails were served: lovely bottles of Champagne Jean Vesselle Oeil de Perdrix Brut Rosé NV and a surprising, delicious drink: a rye posset (a mix of rye, date molasses, milk and spices, served with an old fashioned pearl, set with gelatin) concocted by bartender Joshua Pearson. After an hour and a half in the garden enjoying ourselves, everyone was shown to their tables and the meal began. Courses were as follows (and delicious):

1. English pea soup with ricotta, pea shoots and nasturtiums
   Wine: Movia Quattro Mani {toh-kai} Exto Gredic Vineyard, Goriska Brda 2008
2. Seared scallop with black pudding, celery and almond
   Wine: Condrieu, Saint Cosme 2008
3. Slow-cooked arctic char with rye gnocci, sauerkraut, mustard and apple
   Wine: Pinot Gris Clos St. Landelin, Rene Mure 2003
4. Rabbit in the style of porchetta, morels, asparagus and rabbit jus
   Wine: Anaba Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast 2007
5. Lamb loin with artichokes, white bean puree, and salsa verde
   Wine: Emilio Bulfon Piculit Neri delle Venezia Riserva 2007*
   (*Evan says: “Artichokes are impossibly difficult to pair with wine. This was an inspired pairing by wine director Scott Tyree.”)

My favorite of the evening was probably the rabbit, followed closely by the scallop with black pudding. The wine pairings formed an excellent harmony to the food. Dessert (by Pastry Chef, Cindy Schuman) was a light, sweet confection: lemon ricotta cream on a thyme biscuit with almond granola, served with Albino Rocca, Moscato d’Asti 2009 (a lovely dessert wine that complimented the sprightly lemon flavor perfectly).

After Q&A with Andrew and the staff, we were completely aglow with pride in his accomplishment. I know we will see big things from Andrew in the future and it will all be delicious!  We stumbled from the restaurant in a happy daze, full of food and wine, hailed a cab and headed back to Penn Station to catch our train back to Red Bank. It was a full and wonderful day.

Friday: Red Bank, NJ & New York City, NY

Evan and I got up a little earlier on Friday, played with Annie a bit in the yard, then headed to the train station to make our way back into the City with the intention of heading for the MoMA. We stopped at Juanito’s in Red Bank near the train station for a pastry and some coffee.  Juanito’s is a Mexican restaurant and bakery and they serve amazing pastries. Evan and I both had mini apple pies. Delicious!

In the city we started walking in the direction of the MoMA (Museum of Modern Art) from Penn Station. It was almost 30 city blocks! All that hoofing it worked up an appetite and we stopped at NY Thai Grill and Sushi Bar (directly behind the MoMA) for some Thai food. Evan’s Panang curry was pretty good, but my Pad Thai left something to be desired (See previous post about Pad Thai perfection). We also had some coconut bubble tea. I can admit that I don’t really know what those little balls in the tea really are (something like tapioca and carrageenan?) but it was pretty tasty; I preferred it to my Pad Thai, to be honest: I think it had too much sriracha sauce, I think: the whole thing was an odd PINK color.

The MoMA was a bust (a combination of the Tim Burton Exhibit and a Free Friday promotion by Target had the place packed to the ceiling) and it was impossible to enjoy any of the galleries. Everywhere we went, people were talking loudly about anything BUT ART. We decided to chalk up the money we’d paid (we missed the “free” part by about 45 minutes) and push on to other points of interest, specifically Tiffany & Co. and the wine store, Sherry-Lehmann Wines & Spirits.

After another few hours kicking around the city (and walking tons more blocks) we figured dinner was in order: the traffic was way too terrible to even entertain the idea of trying to find a cab back to Penn Station, so we figured we’d have dinner in the City and make our way to Les Halles, one of our favorites. We always try to make a pilgrimage to this popular French brasserie for their delicious American steaks cooked in the French style (read: the French know what they’re doing, but American beef is better than French beef).

We started with the Les Rillettes du Boucher (housemade shredded pork confit served with mustard and cornichons) and Frisée aux Lardons with a poached egg (a salad of frisée, tossed in a vinagrette along with roquefort cheese and big, succulent pieces of bacon). For mains, I had Onglet à l’Échalote (hanger steak with shallot sauce) and frites (literally, french fries) and Evan ordered Paleron, Sauce au Poive Vert (flat iron steak with green peppercorn sauce).  With dinner we had a bottle of Bandol (and I forget the year) but it was excellent.  After dinner, we stumbled back to Penn Station, happy to have earned our steak dinner after a walk of 80+ blocks during the day.

Saturday: Philadelphia, PA

We rolled out of bed at an even more decent hour Saturday morning, not wanting to miss any time with Evan’s mum (who was so graciously putting us up at her home in Red Bank). For breakfast, she made us bacon, egg and cheese sandwiches, along with Dunkin Donuts coffee.  Can’t go wrong!  We played in the yard for a bit with Annie (again: you gotta love dogs) and then headed to Philly.

Evan is a photographer and has two clients in Philly he owed a session, so we made our way to meet up with them.  We arrived around lunchtime, parked the car and got out to explore the Rittenhouse Square area. We were having dinner Saturday night with a family friend, Marc, and so we wanted to drop off the wine we’d purchased the night before with the restaurant (a BYOB establishment) in the same area. We couldn’t get anyone on the phone at the restaurant, so we took the wine and made our way through the neighborhood where we settled on lunch at Marathon on the Square nearby. The drive in had completely fried my nerves, so I had a Bloody Mary (not too spicy, heavy on the horseradish) and the shrimp and grits, Evan had a chicken sandwich and fries.

As a good Southern girl, I found much to be desired in what this restaurant called “grits:” the grits I know and love are smooth and creamy and seasoned by someone tasting them, not just calculating; grits can be finicky and need to be tasted and tested for texture!  These “grits” were grainy and not well-seasoned; I don’t think they had cooked them long enough, or maybe they hadn’t thought to use good quality grits. But I will say that I enjoyed the shrimp, which were very flavorful.  Evan’s sandwich disappeared quickly, so I’m guessing it was good.  From there, we headed to drop off the wine at the restaurant (we finally got ahold of the chef) and then to meet the clients.

After a full day of running around the city taking pictures, we headed back to the Rittenhouse Square neighborhood and had a drink at Snack Bar (where they make “Slammin’ Mojitos,” by the way) and then on to Caffe Casta Diva, an Italian place where we were meeting Evan’s godfather, Marc. Marc is always fun to hang out with and the food was a nice compliment to the company.  Caffe Casta Diva is intimate and comfortable and the menu seems seasonally inspired.  Bringing your own wine is encouraged and they do not charge a corking fee.  They also don’t take credit or debit cards, so make sure you head to the bank first.

We ordered lots of dishes to share: a few salads, some perfectly prepared, sauteed calamari with tomatoes and green peas, wild boar with pappardelle, scallops with saffron cream and spaghettini, Niman Ranch pork chop on the bone with nectarines and golden rasins.  All were good choices, with my favorite being the pork chop which was so flavorful.  The pastas are also all handmade and have a chewier, more pleasant texture than you get from a dried, box pasta. Awesome.  Dessert was a cannoli and cappuccino: a sweet ending to the First Day of Spring.

Sunday: Seabright, NJ & Red Bank, NJ

On our last day, Sunday morning, we headed to The Riverfront Cafe in Seabright, NJ with Evan’s mum. I was craving bagels and lox for some reason and while I’m not sure that was all this place specializes in, they certainly had it on the menu.  My smoked salmon was fine, though the lettuce, tomato and onion that accompanied it was warm and unappetizing.  I didn’t touch it and stuck to the bagel, cream cheese (which was on a fine temperature) and the salmon. Evan ordered potato pancakes with apple sauce, Evan’s mum had some poached eggs on toast.

After breakfast Evan’s mother and I whiled away many hours shopping around for makeup and clothes (Evan was in tow but not impressed) and got packed and ready to leave for the airport. Before we left, we had an early dinner at a local Five Guys in Red Bank, quite possibly the best hamburger in the nation.  But that’s a subject for another blog post altogether.

Local Faves: Thai Taste

March 6th, 2010

Okay: when I’m craving Pad Thai, I mean really craving it, I need to know that what I get will satisfy the craving. There are lots of places in town that make a Pad Thai of some description but most seem to fall short.  The concoctions I’ve found around town are often too sweet or too fishy, and sometimes, not spicy enough!

Thai Taste makes a Pad Thai that is right close to perfection for me. Just enough garlic and spiciness, a spot-on noodle-to-peanuts ratio, and plenty of sprouts and green onions.  I also like mine HOT. Not “Native Thai,” burn your face off hot, but close to it.

Thai Taste has recently come under new management, so the menu has changed a bit, but their Pad Thai is the business. It’s the kind of dish that tastes so good you have to remind yourself that there are at LEAST three servings in the styrofoam container and you really shouldn’t eat the whole thing stop eating it and put the rest in the fridge just put it in the fridge!

Tonight, I ate my Pad Thai accompanied by a Blue Moon Seasonal beer, “Rising Moon,” a delectable mix of Blue Moon flavor plus kaffir lime leaves and lime peel. It was an insanely perfect compliment to the Thai food.

Overall, a lovely dinner.  And I’m glad to be blogging about food again.

Find Thai Taste on Google Maps

Local Faves: Tandoor

February 15th, 2010

So I’ve told you all about our dear friend Nasir up in Clarksville.  On Valentine’s Day, Evan and I were planning on laying low, sharing a bottle of wine, maybe throwing a steak under the broiler. However, mid-afternoon, we got a call from Nasir, inviting us up for dinner. He’d changed his menu a bit, he said, and wanted us to have at it. We were only too eager to make the drive up.

There’s no good way to really describe everything, except for the fact that the food quality is amazing.  Roast meats, decadent sauces, fresh baked bread…all of it was excellent.  My favorite? Roast goat shanks, complete with plenty of marrow: yum yum yum!

The meal was phenomenal. Pictures are worth more than words.

Find Tandoor Indian Bistro on Google Maps
www.tandoorclarksville.com

Local Faves: Samurai Sushi

November 24th, 2009

It doesn’t look like much from the outside: just a hole-in-the-wall sushi place. A big sign declares OPEN (or not) and there’s a line out the door (or not), but the quality and taste can’t be beat: it’s some of the best sushi I’ve had anywhere, even counting our trip out to San Francisco where we ate at Sebo (that was freakin’ amazing but it’s hard to get things like fluke and butterfish in a landlocked state).

Since we are in a landlocked state, our sushi options are few and far between. Well, perhaps that isn’t accurate: there are sushi options but you just don’t know if you can trust them. Sad-looking “California Rolls” found on Chinese buffets, quite frankly, scare me a bit. Wait: so does being at a Chinese buffet.

Moving on.

A good friend of mine from work (thanks, Julie Z.) took me to Samurai for the first time and in my mind, there is no other sushi place in Nashville.  Yan Choo and his team of sushi chefs make amazing rolls and nigiri, as well as serving up some very tasty miso soup and salads. The rice here is always consistent and delicious (a problem I’ve seen at some would-be “good” sushi places: crunchy rice-middles) and the cuts of fish are generous and skillful, the textures excellent.

My favorites are the spicy scallop (a mix of chopped scallop, chilis, salmon roe and green onion) or the hamachi (yellowtail), and The Playboy Roll, shrimp tempura with avocado, spicy tuna, spicy mayo and crunchies on top.  Husband always goes for the unagi (freshwater eel) and tamago (egg omelette). Purists who don’t go for saucy fusion rolls will be happy with the sashimi or nigiri: and there are more traditional rolls here, too: Rainbow Rolls and simple California Rolls are consistently delicious.

Not to be missed.

Find Samurai Sushi on Google Maps

Don’t You Eat No Wimpy Sub

November 20th, 2009

I am a sub snob. I hate a wimpy sandwich: fresh bread, meats sliced while I watch, and don’t try to skimp on the veggies. So I think sure, if I had to eat a Subway sandwich everyday for like, two years, I would lose weight just like Jared: I would dread mealtimes and therefore eat less.

So no, you can’t eat an Italian sub on wheat with all the trimmings every day of the week, but if I had to pick a sub to eat (and could deal with the 200+ pounds I would gain from this practice), it would be a Lenny’s sub. They make their Italian subs with provolone cheese, ham, prosciutto, capicola, and Genoa salami. And oh man: there may not be bacon on this thing but there’s plenty of pork.

The toppings are tasty and fresh and the crew at the Lenny’s near me knows that it’s either an Italian day or a Turkey Club day for me.  Lettuce, tomatoes, sometimes onions (depends on my mood), then oil and vinegar, salt and pepper, oregano and mayo.

Sorry, I just started drooling a little bit.

Find a Lenny’s Subs near you: www.lennys.com

Local Faves: Joey’s House of Pizza

November 17th, 2009

My husband Evan grew up in New Jersey and as a Jersey boy, he never knew “bad pizza.” Pizza Hut and Dominos were necessary evils spawned of the nation’s desire for carb delivery on demand, but the places that really cleaned up and lasted in his hometown of Red Bank, NJ were “good pizza places.” Quite simply, “bad pizza places” couldn’t survive in a community comprised of pizza connoisseurs.

That sentence would have been better if I was talking about calzones (”community comprised of calzone connoisseurs”) but alas, we’re talkin’ about pizza.

Anyway: I was born and raised in the South, never lived above the Mason-Dixon, and grew up eating all manner of different kinds of pizza (none of it, according to Husband was “good”).  Pizza Hut, Pizza Inn, Domino’s, Little Caesar’s, and the dreaded Cici’s pizza buffet were all on the roster.  And oh, woe unto ye if you mention Cici’s with a tone of anything but disdain in our household: Husband will let you have it.

So as long as we’ve been together (almost 6.5 years), we have lived in the South, a place with a nearly palpable deficit of “good pizza” anywhere to be found.  We’ve tried the odd place here in Nashville only to find establishments putting up a valiant effort but not quite hitting the mark.

Enter Joey’s House of Pizza in Brentwood.

It was as if the stars and gods and what have you all teamed up to bring “good pizza” to the Nashville area, and by proxy my dear husband.  The Macca family (lead by The Joey) bustle behind the counter and huge wall of ovens, taking orders, tossing dough, laughing and shouting around mealtimes.  The pizza slices are mammoth, with cheese and all the toppings you can dream up available on demand by the slice.  You can also get Italian dishes like chicken parmesan or lasagne, as well as salad and (mmmm) tiramisu.

Joey’s enjoys huge crowds at lunch (it’s situated in a strip mall near to a few dozen office buildings in Brentwood), and from the moment they open at 11 to around 2pm they are slammed.  But don’t think you can go late to miss the crowds: you might miss out on your favorite pizza roll!  Dinner time is considerably lighter, but don’t wait too late: they’re only open until 6:30 Monday through Wednesday.  Thursday and Friday, they stay open a little later (until 8:30pm) but no dice on the weekends: they’re closed.

It’s well worth braving the crowd at lunch if you’re close, or if you have time in the evening to call in a pizza order and pick it up.

I highly recommend The White Pizza or a Chicken Parm Roll (strips of chicken parmesan wrapped in pizza dough and baked), and their cheese slices can’t be beat.

Find Joey’s House of Pizza on Google Maps
www.joeyshouseofpizza.com

A Rare Treat: Homemade Indian

November 16th, 2009

We’ve been friends with Nasir Hakeem (owner of Tandoor in Clarksville, TN) for several years now.  When we lived in Clarksville a few years ago, eating at his restaurant was a bright spot in our week almost every week.  It was a great place to take friends and a great place to wind down. We’ve eaten at lots of Indian places in our lives (from London, England to Portland, Oregon and lots of places in between) and his food is some of the highest quality and most flavorful stuff I’ve ever had.

Nasir and his wife are always so warm and friendly that we love just hanging out at the restaurant with them but it was a unexpected and awesome when they invited us over for a home-cooked meal. In his home, Nasir is totally in his element, throwing ingredients into pots, cooking and laughing with us and his beautiful children and wife while we sat facing the stovetop of the long kitchen bar.

Our menu was to die. Prawn Vindaloo to start (and which was so delicious I forgot to even take a picture): spicy and herby with potatoes and perfectly cooked prawns.  Followed by Chicken Pasanda, Evan’s absolute favorite, a rich saucy curry with nuts and yogurt.  Then Chicken Malai, my personal favorite, chicken in coconut milk with spices, cooked in an oven and topped with pistachios, almonds and raisins.

Lastly, Nasir served us something that we’d never had at the restaurant. He said it was his mother’s recipe and the name of it translated to Chicken “with Standing Spices,” meaning that the spices were not ground but were rather added whole into the pot.  So there were whole cloves, whole cardamom pods, whole fenugreek leaves…it was hot and a little sour and wonderfully flavorful.  The chicken in this dish was also cooked with the bones left in and was very tender.

In truth, the food quality that Nasir serves in his own home to guests is totally comparable to what you get at his restaurant: identifiable cuts of meat and freshly prepared spice mixes and sauces and the cornerstones of what he does. He shuns microwaves and pre-cooking anything.  Throughout the meal we talked about how awesome it would be if he could expand and open a place in Nashville with him responding with something along the lines of “…but think how fat you would be!”

We felt completely spoiled: everything was wonderful.  Before we left we took a ride on the couch swing in his living room.  I have to get me one of those things.

You can visit Nasir at his restaurant in Clarkville, TN.  If you’re lucky, maybe one day he’ll invite you over for dinner, too!

Find Tandoor Indian Bistro on Google Maps
www.tandoorclarksville.com

First Times: Paradise Park Trailer Resort

November 11th, 2009

No foolin’, that’s the name of the place.  A few friends from work had Groupons to go to Paradise Park so they decided to go for lunch. There may be no such thing as a free lunch, but a discount lunch? Yessiree.

The restaurant/bar is a combo deal in terms of the location, however, during the day, the bar side of things is a little dark and sad: loud country music blares through speakers and would be cowboys sit sipping warm pitchers of beer in the smoking section.

The restaurant side, and the open kitchen, are buzzing with activity and the house is packed for lunch.  The menus are perky and glossy and printed in a circa-1950 teal, and the fare is greasy-spoon-style burgers, dogs, sandwiches and salads.  A huge sign hanging in the dining area proclaims “TATER TOTS.”

Upon entering the restaurant, I could smell the chili and so I had to order a chili dog and tots.  While we waited, I caught sight of strips of thick-cut bacon going directly into the fryer in preparation for their new role in a BLT.

The chili dog was no slouch, but it wasn’t the kind of thing you could eat with your hands. I had to opt for a knife and fork lest I find chili in my hair later on. It was a satisfying amount of food but I didn’t feel like it was too much. Paired with the tots and sweet tea, it was an awesome lunch.

I did find myself very glad that I had to walk up a big hill to get back to our car, however, as I’m sure I burned off three or four tots in doing so.

www.paradiseparkonline.com

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