Nashville was a short trip and I only had a limited amount of "fun" time which means this will mostly be about food! We did have time for a quick visit to the Antique Archaeology shop in Nashville. Honestly, I was a bit disappointed. It was neat to see some of the things that Mike and Frank had picked and remember the episodes when they found it but the store was pretty small and really didn't contain much picked merchandise. Several of the coolest items were being used as displays and "NSF" or "Very NSF". Their advertising merchandise (t-shirts, key chains, stickers, etc) comprised the better part of their inventory. The building where they lease space is really beautiful and I would like to return with my DSLR and spend some time just photographing the building! I'd say if you have some extra time and are a Pickers fan then stop by, but don't make a special trip.
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| A quick pic on my phone of the building where Mike and Frank have their shop. Yes, the building is HUGE but they only lease a small portion of it. |
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| Turkey Apple Brie at Mitchell Deli |
Nashville's Eastland Ave is home to a cluster of delicious restaurants that a friend of mine discovered while doing a bit of pre-trip research. On our first visit to Eastland Ave, we ate at a vegetarian restaurant (my first trip to a vegetarian restaurant) called The Wild Cow. Now, I was quite entertained by the name and wondered why exactly the cow is wild. Is she wild with joy because she's not being eaten? Is she roaming wild because she's not being farmed for slaughter? Or is it a play on "mad cow" thus reminding people of a good reason to be leery of meat? Whatever the reason for the name, the food was delicious! The staff seemed to be quite passionate about their vegetarianism and it showed through their food. I enjoyed a bowl of quinoa with veggies, while my dining companions had buffalo tofu and a french dip. All were delicious but I tried a bite of the buffalo tofu and it was my favorite. The menu listing was for Buffalo Tempeh but they were out of tempeh that night and offered to prepare it with tofu. The key to good tofu (as with any food) is proper preparation. Believe me, this tofu was prepared perfectly!
Our second trip to the Eastland Ave area, we enjoyed a quartet of appetizers at Rosepepper Cantina. We chose Rosepepper primarily because they served avocado fries...that's right, tempura battered slices of avocado. Who could resist? The "fries" were so crisp and creamy and served with an avocado puree to add to your avocado enjoyment! We also decided to try the buffalo white cheese dip, guacamole, and rosepepper rings. The cheese dip was said to be "topped with chorizo". Technically, it was, but it was such a small dash of chorizo I wouldn't have listed it as an ingredient. Even lacking in the chorizo department, the cheese dip had a very creamy texture and was quite good.
Next up was the Silly Goose! I instantly knew I would enjoy this place just because they had a long list of cheeses on their menu board. Any restaurant that appreciates cheese is a great restaurant! I choose the "bird" - grilled chicken breast, sun-dried tomato, avocado, bacon, peppered goat cheese on wholegrain bread. Many places that offer such deliciousness as sun-dried tomato, avocado and peppered goat cheese put just enough to be able to say it was on the sandwich. Not so at the Silly Goose! I had chunks (that's right people, chunks!) of sun-dried tomatoes (plural!) on my sandwich as well as slices of avocado and a creamy layer of peppered goat cheese. They understand that to make a good sandwich you need to experience each of the ingredients in every bite. Delicious! You have your choice of herbed couscous or salad greens for a side - I opted for the couscous which was very light with a hint of citrus.
I have saved the best for last - Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream! Splendid, indeed!! I am not ashamed to tell you that after each Eastland Ave meal listed above, I paid a visit to Jeni's...actually, I would be ashamed only if I hadn't visited Jeni's each time! Remember that all of this deliciousness are neighbors on Eastland Ave and we had to walk past Jeni's to get to our car...why wouldn't we stop in? They have a varied list of wonderful flavors to try and they are quite happy to have you try them all! Flavors include mango lassi, black currant, Bangkok peanut, brown butter almond brittle, whiskey & pecan, Riesling poached pear sorbet, queen city cayenne, pistachio & honey, just to name a few! Don't you hate when you see a flavor you like, order it and then are barely able to discern the flavor? You won't have that problem here. If it says black currant, guess what? It tastes like black currant! None of that "hold it on your tongue and stand there trying to appreciate a 'delicate', barely noticeable, flavor"! I sampled many of the flavors but my favorite was the brown butter almond brittle. Any ice cream with chunks of brittle is a winner in my book! If you can't make it to Nashville to try Jeni's flavors, they offer shipping with a minimum purchase of 4 pints.
I may have gained 10 pounds last week but I enjoyed every bite!
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