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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

Tags: first times, pork
Category: Reviews |

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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

Tags: dives, first times, lunch
Category: Reviews |

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First Times: Swanky’s Taco Shop

November 4th, 2009

Not sure what’s up with all the Mexican food this week. Perhaps it’s the phase of the moon. And there’s nothin’ wrong with that, right?

Tonight was a meet-up for a handful of photographers we know in the Nashville area and we got invited out to…what is it? Shanky’s? Spanky’s? No no no…Swanky’s Taco Shop. Sorry, I heard it over the phone and couldn’t remember what it was called. Good to know that Google knows what I mean when I search for “Shanky’s Tacos.”

Anyway, we go in, the decor is modern, music’s up, seems like a fun place. Big screen TVs around with the World Series on (GO PHILLIES!). We find our crew and have a seat.

Because there’s a giant TEQUILA BAR sign hanging on the wall, we take a hint and order a Shanky’s Margarita. Very respectable, good mix, just enough salt and rocks.

Since El Tapatio is such a tough act to follow, I decided to handicap my Swanky’s experience a bit and not order a taco, burrito, or anything else like that. Swanky’s definitely has some fusion influences to it, so why not try some of their other options? I ordered the Tortilla soup with chicken and an order of the latin wontons. To keep us honest, Husband ordered the chicken chimichanga.

That’s really fun to say. ”Chicken chimichanga.” Try it a few times, it’s fun.

Anyway: food came out quickly, service overall was good. My soup was a mite salty but the flavor was good: gobs of roasted chicken in an oniony broth with corn nibs and tortilla strips. The Latin Wontons were fun, like tiny nuggets of happy dressed with a garlic sauce. Husband’s chicken chimichanga musta been good; it didn’t last long.

Swanky’s is pretty good. If you’re down in the Cool Springs area, try it out.

Find Swanky’s Taco Shop on Google Maps
www.swankystacoshop.com

Tags: first times, franklin tn, mexican
Category: Reviews |

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First Times: El Tapatio

November 3rd, 2009

El Tapatio is a taco cart set up in South Nashville right on the corner of Nolensville Road and Northcrest, near Haywood Lane. It’s right near our house and if the hill wasn’t so steep to get down to it, we might ride our bikes. Walking is certainly a possibility, too. All good things.

Husband has been going to El Tapatio in Nashville for about a week and is totally addicted; he’s been about three times in seven days. It’s not just the price that sways him (about $1/taco), it’s the amazing flavors and “authentic-ness.”

We have long been tired of the Americanized Mexican food available in this neck of the woods (not that margaritas and baskets upon baskets of chips and salsa are a bad thing all the time) but it’s nice to know that we can get something this good this close to us.

We rolled up to the place around 6:00 p.m., only a few guys milling around in the parking lot. One of the waitresses met us in the parking lot and gave us a menu. We ordered three tacos apiece: Pork al pastor, Carne Asada (seasoned chopped steak), and Lengua (you guessed it, tongue). All of these meats are roasted on-site in large roasting barrels positioned near the road.

You can have a seat in the annexed dining room at El Tapatio (seems the taco cart business went so well that they bought out a tire store they were sitting in front of so patrons would have a place to sit) but we took the tacos home and chowed down.

The tacos were simple: corn tortilla, warmed on a griddle, meat dressed with chopped onions and cilantro. They gave us a side of something green and something red (both with plenty of punch to ‘em).

I started with the carne asada taco: I’m a pork-lovin’ girl so I knew I’d love the al pastor and wanted to save it for last. The steak was tender and delicious: a little dry but a little of the hot sauces made it damn near perfect. Next was la lengua, a meat that, if you didn’t know what it was, wouldn’t look much different from any other beef. The texture was chewy, the flavor more complex than beef: I liked it. And finally, the favorite, pork al pastor: tender, juicy, amazing. I could eat five of those things and probably would have gone back for another one or two if we hadn’t done the takeout thing.

In short: try El Tapatio. Hell, try any taco cart you see in your area. I bet it’s tasty. And don’t be afraid to try something you can’t pronounce: a smile and an open mind goes a long way.

Find El Tapatio on Google Maps