Generous Helpings 2012 - Contest

Thank you everyone for participating in this contest!  The contest is now closed.  If you didn't win these 2 tix, that is ok, you still can attend by buying tickets now, and a portion of your ticket price is tax deductible.  You can also visit my friends Lesley Eats , or Amy The Fearless Homemaker because they too are offering 2 tix.  Hurry over to see them because you now have less than a day for their contests!

OK, now for the random number!

There were 45 eligible comments,

and the winner is Joyce Grizzle!

Congratulations Joyce Grizzle!  Joyce Grizzle email me at LannaeLong at yahoo dot com and give me your email address and guest name, so I can register you for the 2 free tix!




CONTEST:
I got 2 (two) tickets, valued at $100, to give away to a lucky winner and a guest for the May 17, 2012 5:30 - 8:30 pm Generous Helpings event to benefit the Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee.  All you have to do to enter this contest to do at least one of the following:


1. Sign up for the Second Harvest email list at http://secondharvestmidtn.org/
2. Like Second Harvest on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/2HarvestMidTN
3. Follow Second Harvest on Twitter http://twitter.com/#!/2HarvestMidTN


CONTEST RULES:
1. When you are done doing one of the above, leave a comment in the comment block of this blog post telling me your name, and which sign-up, like or follow you did.  To increase your chances to win , do more than one, and leave a new comment for each entry with your name.  If you do all three, sign-up, like and follow  then add three comments, you will have three changes to win. If prior to today, you have already signed-up, liked and/or followed Second Harvest Food Bank, leave a comment for each action you have already taken with your name.  If you have already done all three, leave me three different comments telling me your name and each one, and you get three chances to win.  Remember, leave separate comments for each, to increase your chances of winning.


2. Check back to this blog post on May 8, 2012 after 9:00 pm.  The contest on this blog will close on May 8, 2012 at 9:00 pm Central. At that time, I will use a random number generator to choose the comment number winner. I will update this blog post with who the winner is, and you have a day to email me with your name, your guest name and your email address to get you registered at Generous Helpings.  If  you don't get back to me within a day, I will move on to a 2nd name and so on until there is a winner.


GENEROUS HELPINGS 2012 INFO:
If you want tickets now, you don't have to enter this contest, you can go and buy tickets now, and a portion of your ticket price is tax deductible.


Come and taste appetizers, entrees and desserts from featured restaurants include 55 South, Amerigo, Chappy's, Fido, Fish & Co, F Scotts, Jeni's, Kickin' Coffee and Tea, Local Catering, Marche, Margot, McConnell House, Miel, NSCC, Noshville, Perl, Porta Via, Porter Road Butcher, Provence, Red Pony, Riff's, Second Harvest Food Bank Culinary Arts Center, Sloco, Sol, Solario, Sweet 16, Table 3, Tayst, The Bloomy Rind, Local Taco, Mad Platter, Turnip Truck Wild Hare, Watermark, and the list keeps growing.
Sponsors include Kroger of Middle TN, Lightning 100, Nashville Scene, Yelp and Fifth Third Bank.


GIVING:
You don't have to wait to give food, time or donations to Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee, you can give anytime at http://secondharvestmidtn.org/give/.

With all the stuff going in Nashville this spring, here is one more.  Iron Fork, the food competition that has become a legend in Nashville.  Will Laura Wilson defend her position as Iron Fork Champion, or  will one of the four worth chefs give her a run for the money and title of Iron Fork Champion?
Come and find out your self.  More information and tickets at eatdrinkdominate.com

Wednesday, April 25 - 6–10 pm – Marathon Music Works

Tickets $45 – Proceeds benefit Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee

Participating Chefs:

Laura Wilson – Nashville Farmer's Market and Grow Local Kitchen - Defending her 2011 title

Roderick Bailey – Silly Goose

Hernan Borda – Rumours East

Jason Brumm – Merchants

Vinny Tardo – Saffire

36 restaurants will be there sampling food.

More information and tickets at eatdrinkdominate.com

Table 3

Table 3

Mall at Green Hills

By the movie theater

615-739-6900

scallops

Will Uhlhorn, is Co-Owner and Executive Chef at Table 3. I have been a fan of Will Uhlhorn for years when he was executive chef at F Scotts. As a matter of fact, when the Nashville Scene asked me what my favorite meal in a restaurant in the whole world and time on this earth was, without thinking, I blurted out the lobster ravioli at F Scotts created by Will Uhlhorn. I can vision it. My mouth waters when I think of the flavor, aroma and texture. It was a house made ravioli dish with big chunks of lobster in each ravioli, appropriately covered with a saffron cream sauce, and an added big pile of lobster meat, carefully removed from the shell, in the center of the white square plate. It has been years since F Scotts has made this dish because they usually don't repeat. I still think about this dish and would love to have it again. Hint Hint Will, Lobster Ravioli! I also love that Will Uhlhorn taught me how to make butter from farm fresh cream. So, after Table 3 reopened after the fire, it was high on my list to eat food created by one of my favorite chefs, Will Uhlhorn.

salad

The gig at Table 3 is to use many local and local organic ingredients and cook in a French country tradition. The food preparation seems like it was inspired by Burgundy farmland and European cooking. There are cheese plates, charcuterie, frisee, lardon, and stews that are very much of a French farm tradition. The plates are not quite like those we had in Burgundy and Champagne, rather there is some adaptation for the USA and TN expectation of dinner.

A staple on the charcuterie menu is pate de campagne, country pate. One lunch time I was there, I had the charcuterie plate for lunch. the country pate was made from local free ranged lamb. I have never had lamb pate before, and it was just so rich and flavorful, that I hope to have it again. All the charcuterie when I was there is made in house. There is no bad food distributor sausage here!

meat stew

One of my favorite meals that I had in Lemont France was a simple salad made with smoked gizzards, baby lettuce greens and farm egg. I have never had a salad come close to the Lemont salad, but Table 3 does a really good facsimile to the Lemont Salad. This frisee salad with Benton's bacon and farm egg is good. I love the poached egg with oozy yolk adding to a richness to the salad greens. Since my egg skills are lacking, I am unable to make a salad like this at home. Eh, why should I make it at home when I can get a really nice salad at Table 3. I got the daily special Scallops. The preparation was nicely seared scallops on top of sweet squash risotto with a nice lemon oil sauce. The lemon oil sauce has a really awesome quick of bright acid and truly added to the enjoyment of the scallops. As they always say on Top Chef, the seafood dish would have been better with some acid. Well, Will Uhlhorn obviously knows that, and I just loved the acid with the scallop.

OK, so yeah, Table 3 is in a tough location at the mall. There are a lot of people like me who dislike the mall traffic, and actively avoid mall traffic. Table 3 is good enough for me to fight those Green Hills SUVs in the mall parking lot driveway while driving my 12 year old dented little 4-cylinder car.

R U Gonna Eat Your Tots?

Merchants

Bistro Bar

401 Broadway

Nashville, TN

615-254-3012

duck fat tator tots

After watching Napoleon Dynamite, I renewed my interest in tator tots. The seen is that Napoleon asks Pedro if he is gonna eat his tots, and then Napoleon puts the tots in his cargo pants pocket for later. Then, in class, Napoleon pulls out a tot to snack on. Time after time watching Napoleon Dynamite, I want tots.

Luckily, there is the most uber rendition of tots available in Nashville, and that is at Merchants Bistro Bar at 4th and Broadway. These tots are deep fried in duck fat and served with a spicy mayo, a bearnaise and ketchup. These tots are available 7 days per week in the bistro. The perfect sauce for these tots are to mix a little spicy mayo with a little ketchup. Each order is a big heaping mound of these things, and is probably enough for 4 - 6 people. There are a lot of tots.

This is our pal Chris' suggestion for Merchants: get tickets for the Nashville Symphony. Get complimentary valet parking at Merchants. Go to Merchants for rocking drinks, share and order of tator tots, and everyone gets an entree. Finish dinner and go enjoy the Symphony. Come back to Merchants, and have another round of tots and a night cap before retrieving the car from the valet.

Now that is a good night.

Silo, what's to come

Silo

1121 5th Ave N

Nashville, TN

opening this spring 2012

country pate

USN, a private school in Nashville, fund raises for scholarships for underserved students, and the fund raising is so awesome! USN provides adult learning classes of all sorts from arts to zumba classes, and all the profits go to scholarships. I love the cooking and dinner classes. I took sushi, Thai, and Chinese tea to name a few, and this year I took a dinner class to introduce Nashville to Silo, a restaurant due to open in Germantown in late spring 2012.

sweet potato biscuits

Chris and Caroline Farren donated their kitchen and dining room to a bunch of us diners to have the 1st taste of what Silo is going to offer. Business and chef partners Clay and Paul are merging their expertise to bring an upscale but humble Southern food experience to Nashville. There is going to be artisan bakery goods from Paul, who comes from the traditions of his Normandy Farms Bakery in Charleston, SC where Southern Slow Food has been embraced and perfected. Clay, originally came to Nashville seeking country music fame, but luckily quickly understood food and the restaurant business is where he could be appreciated most. Their gig is going to Southern food made in a European old world tradition, served with appropriately humble beverages from lemonade to bourbon.

parsnip soup

The plan is to source some of the ingredients locally, including ground beef, eggs, and veggies. At this dinner, the kale and beets salad was sourced incredibly locally, right from Clay's own garden. I was thrilled for beets because I just did not get enough beets this year from my CSA. I love beets. I hope Silo has this on their menu because it will be a staple for me for years to come.

pork belly

I sat with some friends, and I discovered we all have a love of pork belly. Silo's dish had sliced pork belly served with cornbread croutons and black eye peas, a very nice Southern inspired dish. We enjoyed the fresh pork belly entry from Silo on this evening. We also talked about one of Silo's restaurant neighbors, City House and the belly ham pizza that is made there. It is so good!

kale and beets

I did notice Paul's contribution to the Charleston, SC fresh, seasonal and local cooking ideal. The parsnip soup and the brussels sprouts are seasonally fresh right now. With the mild winter we are having in Nashville, my brussels sprout plant is thriving, as well as my root veggies. I have a bunch of parsnips in my fridge, and I am so inspired by the parsnip soup, that I may try making my own parsnip soup too.

brussels sprouts

When we were in Pommard Burgundy France, we had the best pate de compange , country pate. It is a rustic farm dish that does not seem to be in vogue in the USA, but I think it should be. Silo will be making a country pate similar to the one we had in Pommard. I hope Silo has a nice red wine to go along with the country pate. Clay said they are not really focusing on wine at Silo, but I think they should grow the wine list as Silo grows. It seems as though the food preparation at Silo will be of a similar tradition as Burgundy farm food, and in Burgundy, it is all about the local wine to have with every meal.

dessert balls

As we finished our meal, we tasted some bourbons that Silo will have for sipping on the bar patio. What fun. I have never done a bourbon tasting, so it was actually a good learning experience for me. Not all bourbons taste alike!

It's Barbie!

It is BARBIE BURGERS! There is there is a pink Barbie Mobile food truck with a bunch of Barbies riding on top, traveling on the road near you. The Barbie Mobile is ready to sell you a Barbie Burger, fries and milk shake. Get on the Barbie Burger Tweet, and find out where you can get a BARBIE BURGER!

Barbie bacon cheese burger

When I first caught a sight of the bubble gum pink Barbie Burger mobile pulling up to a parking area at 5 Points in East Nashville, I started jumping up and down while saying, "I want a Barbie Burger!" I had to get a Barbie Burger! When I was a kid, Barbie was Queen! I really wanted the food of the Barbie Queen!

the Barbie Burger sign on the side of the RV

IYou can't miss miss the pink RV, I mean it is PINK with a bunch of Barbies on top of it. The only way you might miss seeing this pink RV is if you have red/pink color blindness, but you cannot miss all the Barbies attached to to roof of the Pink Barbie Mobile.

the real life Barbie serving up Barbie Burgers!

There is a real life Barbie serving up food too! Look at real life Barbie and the Barbie doll on the bottom right of the photo. Huh, what do you think? Right! Real Life Barbie!

Barbies on top of the Barbie Burger Mobile

So last week, it was the inaugural Nashville Fashion Week, and Christian Siriano of Project Runway fame was in town showing a collection in a venue a block away from 5 Points in East Nashville. I was at 5 Points for the Barbie Burger! but many others were there for Christian's fashion show. As I was mulling around the Pink Barbie Mobile, a chic young woman coming from the direction of the fashion show looked at me and asked with a smile, "What's going on! What is this?" I said, "It is Barbie Burger! There is a real life Barbie serving up burgers from the Pink Barbie Mobile!" Well, this fashionable young woman was smiling with joy and she chimed in joy, "I want a Barbie Burger! I want a Barbie Burger!" If nothing else, this pink RV mobile and the words Barbie Burger will bring a smile to your face.

It's a Flint Thing

Jim's Coney Island
4663 Trousdale Dr
Nashville, TN
615-4445-3006

UPDATE: Sadly, this little delicious Flint Style Coney Dog place has closed.

Detroit/Flint Style Coney Dogs made
the traditional way

The proper way to make a Detroit/Flint Style Coney Dog is to use Koegel's hot dogs made with a natural casing that gives cracking snap when you bite into it, Michigan style Coney Sauce (loose meat chili) from Michigan, on a steamed hot dog bun topped with yellow mustard and chopped onions only. There is no cheese, kraut, ketchup, chilis, pickles, relish, etc. The chili is a a loose meat chili with no onion, no beans, no peppers, just loose meat in a brownish gray gravy. The Michigan Style Coney Dog is a thing of beauty. My buddy who grew up around the Motor City and Flint, MI discovered Jim's Coney Island and went into a happy kid dance after taking one bite of the hot dog that was exactly how he remembered them as a kid. I believe my buddy is so dang happy every single time he gets a chance to visit Jim's Coney Island and get at least one of the perfect Flint Style Coney Dog.

fresh cooked fries with seasoning salt

Not only are there the perfect Flint Style Coney Dogs, there is also Vernors Ginger Ale and Faygo sodas served along side the hot dogs. Vernors Ginger Ale was formulated by Mr Vernor, a Detroit Pharmacist back in the 1800s when soda was consider medicinal, created this drink. The perfect pairing to take you to Detroits finest hot dog dining is a Vernors Ginger Ale and Flint Style Coney Dog. If you don't want a Vernors, there is also Faygo brand soda, another Detroit soda maker, and maker of the Red Pop soda.

If you go and dine with friends who don't want a hot dog, there are wings, burgers, fries, and onion rings. I am not sure about the burgers because I am not going to a hot dog joint for a burger. Anyway who goes to Jim's and gets a burger needs to let me know how the burgers are.

red hot wings

All of the components of Jim's Coney Island (Real Detroit Coney Island Hot Dogs) are the real deal, and the sodas available to wash down the hot dogs are also Detroits finest and the real deal as well. I love that Nashville has this little gem of a place that brings a little Detroit to a funky little hot dog store off of Harding Place near the I65 interchange. Don't expect red chili, beans, cheese, kraut etc, this not the gig for this place. This place is about the Detroit/Flint Style Hot Dog.

How to find this place, it isn't necessarily a place you would drive by normally. It is on Trousdale Drive just north of Harding Place near the intersection of I65 and Harding Place. From Harding, turn north onto Trousdale. Pull into the Marathon Gasoline Station. Jim's Coney Island is in the little retail space of the Marathon Gasoline Station. By the way, this Marathon Gas Station is one of the only places in town that sells real gas, not that ethanol gas.

No Balking at the Balkans

Euro Grill
1233 Antioch Pike
Nashville, TN
615- 331-7009

Burek

If you want to taste some Balkan region inspired food, this is the place for you. If you are at all like me, I have not visited the Balkan region, the Balkan Mountains, Pindus Mountains, the Adriatic nor Aegean Seas areas, so I am not at all familiar with Balkan food. It was a quick learn for me, as I sat down in this stark restaurant converted from a house.

I am guessing this is a family owned business, and there appeared to be only one woman working on the day we tried Euro Grill. There also seemed to be some of the woman's family there as well, as they has a familial way about them. There was also a couple work men with a circular saw outside with an extension cord running to the inside of the restaurant, thus causing the door to be open a jar. In this weather, it was quite cold in the restaurant. There was another couple dining, and they looked a bit confused, and seemingly having to wait a long time for their check. It was a seeming disorganized scene on the day we went, but all doubt was alleviated when the one woman, and only person seemingly working in the restaurant, finally came to our table and recommended a couple dishes for us. When the food came out, I was very pleased.

We started our lunch with a burek, which is a bread roll stuffed with spiced meat, and then baked in the oven. The meat was ground meat that was mixed with spices, just enough to be tasty, but not enough to be overwhelming. The bread roll on the outside was rolled very thin, so it was almost like won ton wrapper, rather than a bread roll. This was yummy, and we will be getting this again.

Pljeskavica

We also got a pljekavica which is a beef and lamb patty that is mixed with spices and served in a homemade bun that was half way between a chibatta and a pita, then topped with lettuce, tomato, onion, feta and some white sauce like a mayonnaise. All of the bread are homemade. You cannot find these in the grocery store, and the bread of each dish are central to the deliciousness of each dish. The other major contributing factor to each dish is the spices in the meat, and the texture and flavor of the meat. The pljekavica patty was tender and flavorful. The flavor was not familiar, but familiar. It is like a giant hamburger, but with flavor like gyro meat. This little restaurant makes their own bread and has extra bread for sale, so we bought 2 to take home to make our own creations. I tried to make something similar to the pljekavica at home using her bread, and I did not quite get this outcome. I must head here again to try and understand how they make pljekavica.

The 2 dishes we tried while there are definitely Balkan style food. There are many other menu items including other Balkan style dishes and then there are the hamburgers, fries, pizza, salads and quesadillas for those who want American fare. There is something there for everyone.

Cheesy Comfort Food

The Grilled Cheeserie

Mobile Truck
all around Nashville

the grilled cheese sandwich

The deal is Chrystal uses Tennessee made ingredients in her grilled cheese sandwiches including Silke's bread, Benton's bacon, and Sweetwater cheese. There is a soy based cheese Chrystal offers for the vegans, but in my opinion, what is the point of a a grilled "cheese" when you don't want the cheese. The concept is simple, get on the tweet or facebook listing for the Grilled Cheeserie, find out where they are going to be, and go order a grilled cheese. You can choose the type of bread, type of cheese, and any other type of filling on the daily changing menu that you may want. Chrystal cooks it up, and voila! A perfect grilled cheese sandwich. Chrystal offers soups such as the classic tomato soup on the side as well, and that is usually only an additional $1. Talk about the ultimate comfort food.

the truck

If you see the truck, stop in for a snack or meal. My observation is that this food truck was started in the cold winter months. It is a bit questionable to start this biz in cold weather which people don't like to be outside. I wonder how business is. I wonder if business will pick up for this delightful truck when spring hits. I wonder what the strategy was to open this mobile food truck during the coldest time of year.

Traditional NYE

City House
1222 4th Ave North
Nashville, TN
615-736-5838

For 3 years in a row, we have decided to take our New Year's Eve meal at City House, followed up by a little Yee-Hawing sounds from Old Crow Medicine Show. Great meal, happy crowd, good music made for a really nice evening to greet the New Year. May we have a happy, healthy and prosperous new year.

the open kitchen

antipasti
cotechino over lentils
collard green rolls with rocotta and tomato sauce

antipasti
clabber cream with fennel, radish and cauliflower
egg salad, smoked trout on toast

primi
gnocchi over broccoli rabe

primi
mushroom lasagna

secondi
beef ragu over grits

secondi
seafood crepe

dolce

choco upside down cake

Mad Donnas

Mad Donnas
1313 Woodland Ave
Nashville, TN
615-226-1617

brunch - southwestern omelet, avocado bacon Swiss burger

Sorry the photos are so bad and grainy, they are from a camera phone. My trusty Canon Elph has finally started to fail. My flash smokes. Has this happened to anyone? Can I fix it? What does that mean? The camera can still take photos just fine without a flash, but the flash smokes every time. Any suggestions about a new camera that can take an SD Card? I just bought another SD card, so I want to get another camera with SD card technology.

A few weeks ago, I just got back into town after an exhausting few days of eating some really bad banquet food that I normally don’t eat. There was a lot of rubber chicken served at this event, and not many veggies were available. I tried to step out of the conference center to see what there could be for restaurants or coffee, or anything that was not banquet food, there was nothing. The conference center was an island in a deserted city, and the only game in town was the conference center restaurants, bar, gift shop. Friday and Saturday night there was nowhere else to go besides the giant hotel. I felt like I was being held captive in a manufactured environment that I could not escape. It was like a Twilight Zone, no matter where I tried to go, I ended up at the same hotel restaurant or hotel bar. Everyone I asked, staff, other guests, people on the street, they all pointed me back to the doors of the hotel and conference center. I was defeated in trying to find locally grown or made food while I was in the Twilight Zone.

hot sauce bar for Bloody Mary's

When I got back, it was time for Sunday Brunch and I was too tired to cook. I wanted to go to eat somewhere that was completely opposite of giant hotel highly processed generic banquet food. The options that come into mind are always sushi, vegetarian and local. This time, I decided I wanted to go to Mad Donna, a locally owned restaurant. Mad Donna has recently revamped the menu to be more accessible to those who want a neighborhoody type feel, comfort food, bar food and fun food. The menu remains friendly to the vegetarians and vegans. Also, as usual, special orders to make a dish into vegetarian or vegan is no problem, as for no cheese, no eggs, no meat, and Billy the chef will make your meal exactly as you want. If you have an allergy to some ingredient, let them know, and Billy will not put it into your dish. It is just really easy to eat at Mad Donna’s with the widest variety of picky eaters because Mad Donna’s will adjust to what customers want and need.

We got a breakfast and a lunch item, or we both got brunch items. The southwestern omelet and the avocado bacon Swiss burger were exactly what we wanted. For Sunday Brunch, the mac and cheeses are not on the menu because there are so many other brunch items that are, and the kitchen isn’t big enough to include the mac and cheese on Sunday. I suggest the mac and cheeses, the perfect comfort food with a twist, for lunch or dinner during the rest of the week. On Sunday, they have other fun brunch foods like Cap’n Crunch French toast and build your own Bloody Mary bar. Mad Donna’s Sunday Bloody Mary bar has all sorts of goodies. There is horseradish, lemons, hot pickles, olives, peppers, and dozens hot sauces. It was really fun looking over the hot sauces and peppers to see what was on the Bloody Mary bar, and the pickles and hot sauces are sure to help cure anyone’s hangover.

I should mention, Rachel who is the managing owner of Mad Donna's, has a concept for her dinner menu that should appeal to budget minded. There are options for dinner and daily specials that can be paired with a drink special, and you can walk out of Mad Donna's with a meal, a beer or mixed drink for less than $10. There is Tuesday taco day when you can get tacos and a Dos Perros for less than $10, or Wednesday wing day when you can get some really hot Hades chicken wings, and a cooling drink for less than $10. There are also plenty of soups, salads, burgers, sandwiches and wraps that are also under $10.

more Bloody Mary toppings

Mad Donna's is located in the old Radio Cafe location. There is a thing amongst Nashvillians in which the old-timers always give directions by the old business that has closed. Old-timers are defined as people who remember at least 1 former business in a location. This is what I mean. Today, I was giving directions to Mad Donna's by saying it is the old Radio Cafe Location at 14th and Woodland. I did not just say it is on 14th and Woodland, I had to say the old business which was the Radio Cafe. It has been many years since the Radio Cafe closed for good, and Mad Donna's started renovating and creating this restaurant and bar. Other examples are the Stoney River used to be the old Rio Bravo, or the new Pink Berry is in the old Blockbuster movie rental, next to the old Tower Records. Whatever business is in the old Tower Records is where Tower Records used to be. If people want directions in the area of where the old Tower Records used to be, I usually say it is near the old Tower Records, which closed years ago. I gave directions the other day referring to the Melrose Bowling Lanes location, which is now a big hole in the ground because of a failed and bankrupt developer. I used to get irritated by the old timers doing that to me when I first moved here, when I asked for directions, and when they would refer to the "old this place" or the "former that place". I am not sure when I became an old timer, but I am one now. I have become one of the old timers referring to the "old this place" to give directions.

Anyway, I guess I should mention the elephant in the room about Mad Donna's filing for Chapter 11 financial re-organization. I can tell you that Mad Donna's is business as usual, and you will enjoy a meal of comfort food at reasonable prices no matter what is going.

"THE" Rooster's

Roosters Texas BBQ and Steak
123 12th Ave North
Nashville, TN
615-770-2880

smoked tomato salsa and chips

I want to say this, Rooster (that is his name) really smokes all the meat he serves. The rig he uses is all wood smoke, and there is no propane or natural gas "help-me" addition. Some lesser BBQ joints have a propane fire feed to rigs to keep a constant temp without constant attention from the pit master. Nope, Rooster and employees make smoked BBQ the real way with real hickory wood. Also, I have confirmed that many of the sides served are truly housemade! There is no skimpy, there are no bad food distributor products. The food is truly Rooster made food. For example, there is kitchen staff whose job it is to thinly slice the onions, dredge them in flour and fry them to make a pile of onion straws as a side. There are also other kitchen staff whose job it is to handcut potatoes to make the French fries as a side. The green beans are also cooked with one of Rooster's recipes and added smoked brisket for flavor. This is a real deal BBQ joint.

brisket plate

The 1st I heard of Rooster's was back in height of summer from Rooster's ex-bro-in-law. Yup the ex-bil's sister used to be married to Rooster, but no longer. No hard feeling, the ex-bil still is friends with Rooster, still respects Rooster's honest BBQ, and has been telling me that I needed try the Rooster's BBQ because Rooster's is true 100% wood smoked BBQ in town. My buddy the ex-bil I do trust to tell me where there is good food in and around Nashville and TN, he has not steered me wrong, and again, he is correct, I do like Rooster's.

Rooster's used to be in Franklin, and Rooster closed the Franklin location a good while back, and had been looking for an appropriate place to open again. It took a while, but finally Rooster settled on 123 12th Ave N. I was a little nervous for the location of this restaurant at the former Jody Faison's Cafe 123 at 123 12th Ave N. When Judge Beane (Rooster's brother) opened Judge Bean's here years ago, I did not like the Judge because the energy in the room was still a little too much like Cafe 123, and not enough BBQ joint, so I did not go there much. I really liked Jody Faison's concepts from 12th and Porter to the Pub of Love to Jody's Boxcar and Faison's. I credit Jody Faison for demanding more from Nashville restaurants and also delivering more. Jody was the King of the "new restaurant scene" dining in Nashville. Thanks Jody for paving the way for the current Nashville food scene. So, years ago, when the Judge moved into one of Jody's former pretty and urban space at 123 12th Ave N, I was not ready to give up Jody's urban dining concept and accept the down and dirty Judge Bean BBQ concept. So, I only went twice to the eat at Judge Beans because the energy of the space was still Jody Faison, I wasn't ready for BBQ. Now, many years later, Rooster's moved in and had not done much to the space, but it feels right now because I am ready to move on from the old Faison days, and accept the BBQ joint now. Actually, I really like Rooster's and the space has become completely his, and it is a great energy of BBQ now.

I guess I should mention this, Rooster's Texas BBQ on 12th Ave N has nothing to do with Red Rooster's up the street on Demonbraun (which is a food and nightclub joint), nor Rooster's on 8th Ave south (which seems to be a dance club with meat and 3 food, and used to be a strip club, and had a shooting there last year). Be clear, Rooster's Texas BBQ is north of Broadway on 12th Ave, and Rooster's Texas BBQ serves true housemade food. The others, not so much.

the room and entertainment

How I see this place, there is a flat screen TV, so I can see it will be a place I would feel comfortable to grab a beer (from budlight to Yazoo), a plate of chips with smoky tomato salsa, a side of onion straws, a side of fries, maybe a brisket sandwich, and watch a football game. Rooster also has some sort of battle of the bands and singers contest going, but I am not sure what that was about. The 1st evening I was there, it was like a cruise ship karaoke with a live band. There were a few women who cycled up on stage and started singing some old country western songs, and I think that was part of the singing contest. I am not sure because I was just there for the brisket, onion straws and salsa.

the 1st guy to try the 72 oz steak challenge
at this location

We went to Rooster's soon after it opened in 12th Ave N. location, and was able to witness a 1st. Yup, a family walked in to take on the food challenge, and this guy pictured above is the 1st one to take on the challenge in this new location. The challenge is to eat a $70 meal in completion, and get the meal for free and a claim to fame at Roosters. The meal is a grilled 72 oz steak, a giant iceberg lettuce salad, a giant potato with a giant glob of butter, and buttered Texas Toast. Eat it all and you win the meal for free! If you don't you gotta pay $70. The fellow above walked in with his family, who did not tell him what he was doing there. The family only told him he was going to eat a special meal. So hush went the crowd, and the man was in the dark until the plates started coming. This 1st contestant, well the outcome was he actually did eat all 72 oz of beef, but he could not swing the sides. No room for the salad, potato or toast. So, he did not win the challenge.

Who is next for the 72 oz beef challenge? Who will it be? Will it be you? Or will you be like me with some snacks and a beverage watching the sport of it all.

That's my Manna!

Manna
1104 Charlotte Pike
Nashville, TN
615-251-4715

kalbi with kim chi sides

Manna has been around for a long time. Manna Korean restaurant and Manna grocery store are on the corner of Charlotte and Industrial Way (11th Ave). The Greyhound Bus Station is now across the street from Manna, and the Greyhound Station used to be Hansen Chyrsler Plymouth Jeep Dealer located downtown. It is a strange location amongst an industrial area. The Manna grocery store is a bit " Down home Asian-esque" in that it is tight, cramped, a little messy, and not picturesque. It is Asian utilitarian. Don't be scared because there are some decent Asian products focused on Korean products at the grocery side. On the restaurant side, it seems a little worn, utilitarian, but clean enough. The chairs are old style convention center chairs, not the most comfortable, but they do their job. Neither side, grocery nor restaurant, is going to win for style or fashion. These places are purely about Korean food.

What me and my friends agree on is that Manna has the best and most generous portion of kalbi (also written in English as galbi). Kalbi is a thinly sliced marinated grilled short rib steak. I find this one to be my favorite flavor of kalbi in all of Nashville. Me and my friends agree that we like the side dishes very well here. Fire eater friend likes the variety of kim chi here, and my friend of Korean origin likes the value, kalbi and kim chi sides. I personally like the kalbi for its flavor as well as portion vs cost ratio. I also like the sides because they seem to have had small Korean style dried anchovies for a side dish every time I have gone to dine. It is hard to find these mini-anchovies at any other Korean restaurant in this town because the others don't normally have them in stock. I think other Korean restaurants in town have a more diverse client base which frowns upon eating dried mini-anchovies, and there must have been a lot of waste of this relatively expensive side dish. So, the other Korean restaurant owners are smart enough to know that throwing away dollars of fish every night is not a good policy for making money, so they just don't serve the stuff anymore. I love that Manna has the little fishies for me to eat with my rice.

The last few times I have been in Manna's, we were the only ones dining, or there were only one or 2 more tables being served. But, overhearing other tables, it is usually someone who has dined at Manna's multiple times and introducing friends to the place. That is how I feel, I want to bring no people to try this place because most people would just pass by this joint because it looks a little funky from the outside, and it is in a funky location. It looks like h*ll on the outside, and so plain on the inside, that it could be off-putting to some. But, enduring what it looks like, you may be pleasantly surprised with your meal.

Luckily

Lucky Bamboo
5855 Charlotte Pike
Nashville, TN
615-457-3133
(up the hill near USA Storage)

shrimp and chive dumpling

It had been a rocky start for lucky bamboo, the first few months were tough because the food was not up to par for months, but I believe things have made a turn for the better for the dim sum. Dim sum is served on Saturday and Sunday only, and the Lucky Bamboo folks have some carts, tray and you can special order as well. I am guessing that Dim Sum is only a morning and brunch thing on Saturday and Sunday, and dim sum is usually not served during the dinner hours in most anywhere.

The last time couple of times we were there for dim sum, we got chive and shrimp dumplings, chestnut and sweet potato dumplings, red roasted duck, green beans in fermented black bean and chili sauce, lo bak go taro cakes, har gau shrimp dumplings, soup dumplings, char siu bao red pork buns, and winter melon with shrimp and scallop to name a few, and I am missing a few. The owner claimed that all the dim sum besides the char siu bao red pork buns were made in house. It is unlikely they are making the duck, rather I am guessing they are importing from somewhere else, and they have figured out how to re-heat the duck to serve it. The last time we were there, everything tasted good, except for the industrial made frozen char siu bao red pork buns. Don't get those red pork buns at Lucky Bamboo because the frozen ones they are buying are not good. You and I could get better frozen pork buns from Wang's Market on 3rd Ave N in Germantown, and steam them myself..

Chinese winter squash topped with shrimp ball and scallop

I was told that the husband and wife owners are Asian, but neither of them are from the Hong Kong or South China which is the origin of dim sum. He is from Shanghai and she is from Korea. Shanghainese and Korean food are completely different than Hong Kong dim sum. It is akin to me trying to make Mexican food. Mexico and the USA are neighbors, and both are a part of the Americas, so I must know how to make Mexican food... NOT. It is like saying Korea and China are neighbors and on the same land mass, so Koreans should know how to make Chinese food or Chinese should know how to make Korean food... NOT. It was apparent that the dim sum they originally offered a month after they opened were all frozen pre-made food that they microwaved to heat up (not good at all) because they had no idea how to prepare and serve dim sum. Now, I believe they have gotten some help by someone in the know about Hong Kong dim sum, they have some form of steamers now. The roasted duck now is nice and roasty red with crispy skin and a nice glistening fat layer on top of smooth duck meat. Most of the dumplings are made with rice flour noodle covering which I like because of the sticky and stretchy dough quality. There are dishes that are not traditional dim sum dishes, but are house made and are delicious. The winter melon with shrimp and scallop was served on a small plate, tapas or dim sum quantity, and was tasty. I love the savory winter melon which melts away in my mouth. The shrimp meatball is always good, and the slice of sea scallop is a treat.

For the only dim sum place in Nashville, Lucky Bamboo has come a long way in a short amount of time. I appreciate that Lucky Bamboo is trying hard to keep improving the dim sum. I believe they have hit a stride that is appropriate for Nashville, and accessible to most.