I and 2800 others recently went to Nashville for Blacks in Government. I ate my way through that town. There were so many finds, and all the meals were good. I should admit to two things: I wasn't by myself, and we did some reconnaissance before we arrived. We also had a rental car at our disposal, the better to taste Nashville's far-flung delights.
Loveless Cafe on Highway 100 is a country girl's hog heaven. Literally, as their Ham's 'n' Jams store revealed. We were just two, and hongry as I don't know what. So naturally, we wanted the all-you-can-eat family-style dinner, with two meats and three sides for under $14 apiece. Trouble is, you need four people to be a "family." Guess you don't have to know each other. 'Cause when the hostess wouldn't seat just the two of us for the family-style meal, we plucked Erin and Willie from the waiting area to share our table. I said all that to say the food is so good, absolute strangers will break bread with you if it means they can stuff their faces with some good country cooking.
Although we'd never met the other half, the four of us reached quick consensus on fried chicken-thin coated and fried in peanut oil; the best pulled pork (and hoe cakes) I've ever tasted; creamy macaroni & cheese; fried okra; and hash brown casserole, by far one of the best sides offered at a restaurant. Ever.
The biscuits were hot and tasty, accompanied with all the strawberry, blackberry and coveted peach preserves you can eat. If that alone didn't make us swoon, they had drinks included. Not just any old drinks, mind you. We're talking Dr. Pepper, sweet tea, and lemonade. We switched our drink orders so much, the waitress double-checked that she wasn't losing her mind on the refills. It was all just so good. Soooo goood.
So, we came back three days later with more friends--friends we knew beforehand, that is. We ordered pork chops with candied sweet potatoes and more mac 'n' cheese; smoked turkeytopped with cranberry bbq sauce sided with amazing creamed corn; and eggs, country ham and pancakes-Yep, breakfast and dinner all day long, folks. Such sweet memories had to be preserved. What better souvenir than peach preserves and biscuits? For all the low country gourmands out there, try your darndest to make it to Loveless Cafe next time you're in Nashville.
We also had a pretty good experience, albeit more highbrow, at Sunset Grill. The highlight, for me, anyway, of Sunset Grill was the desserts. Challah french toast (holla!), carrot cake with cream cheese frosting ice cream--you read it right the first time--, and an amazing bread pudding with habanero pepper, caramel sauce and strawberries closed out our delicious meal. A note about that bread pudding: it was sweet, rich and hot, as in pepper-hot. It was brilliant, since you just tasted the heat of the pepper, but not the earthy pepper flavor. I would love to see the recipe for that one.
We also stopped by Caney Fork's Fish House. I wasn't crazy about their food, but their corn fritters were like a corn bread and funnel cake love child, dusted with powdered sugar. The bomb! Plus, they came to the table in a replenished bread basket. I practically jettisoned my hush puppies off the table, so as not to crowd out these precious fritters. I can imagine them with cream-and-sugared coffee for breakfast. Dang. It's not breakfast.
What else? Oh, I tried fried pickles for the first time. They were so boldly wrong on so many levels that I quite respected them. We ate these at BB King's bar, along with some great cocktails. I recommend the Lucille.
I won't even get into Gaylord Opryland's myriad restaurants and foodways. Suffice it to say that the long, long walks to my hotel rooms mitigated my gelato, burger, and panini splurges.
Past Perfect off Third St. had great bison burgers, part of its eclectic, healthful and tasty menu. Plus, the Sunday Karaoke was so much fun. It was American Idol up in there. Gotta love $2.50 Blue Moon draft.
Pictures coming soon...There are some glorious food porn pictures, mostly of our meals at Loveless Cafe.
Some Loveless Cafe recipes:
Hash Brown Casserole
- 4 pounds shredded hash brown potatoes
- 8 ounces diced onion
- 8 ounces shredded cheddar cheese
- 8 ounces shredded American cheese
- 1 20-ounce can Campbell’s Cream of Chicken soup
- 16 ounces sour cream
- Salt and pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and stir together well. Spoon into a greased 9-by-13-inch baking dish and spread evenly. Bake for 40 minutes or until top is golden brown and bubbly. Serves 8 to 10.
Southern Pecan Pie
- 3 eggs
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup corn syrup
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 and 1/4 cups pecans
- 1 10-inch unbaked pie crust
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat eggs slightly to combine yolks and whites. Add corn syrup and sugars. Melt butter and add to the egg and sugar mixture. Stir in vanilla and pecans until well blended. Carefully pour into pie crust, being careful not to overfill. Bake for 50 minutes or until set. If the edges of the crust begin to brown too early, cover the edges with aluminum foil. Cool before serving.
