Oh, the places you’ll go, the places you’ll see, the places you’ll eat ….put Nashville on your bucket list of cities to visit! To add to my previous visit to Nashville!
SOME MIGHTY FINE BRISKET AT MARTINS in 12 South
Yes, Dorothy, there is ramen in Nashville. Otaku in The Gulch, close to Biscuit Love, another favorite!
Another view from the bridge.
I can’t wait to go back…
Our trip to Vanderbilt for Family Weekend 2016 was more about hanging out with the kid and his classmates. We made it to campus only once (family weekend is really for the freshman parents, lol) and that was for Vanderbilt’s program Strong Inside: Storytelling, Music and Performance. Last year we did not attend the student show which included the Meladores (Vandy’s acapella group). So this year we assumed they would be performing at the show..wrong. I need to read the fine print more carefully next time. This year’s show featured Vandy alum and author Andrew Maraniss and his book, Strong Inside . The story of Perry Wallace, the first African American basketball player in the SEC and Vanderbilt student. His courage, resiliency and character are tested as he faced racism both individual and institutional. Like Jackie Robinson, Perry was a reluctant pioneer of the civil rights movement. Far too often non-fiction books turn into a boring litany of facts and dates, Maraniss’s writing style and Wallace’s life story runs counter to this notion. Strong Inside is a very compelling read. (Addendum: Coming Fall 2017 Documentary on Perry Wallace)
Though the Meladores did not perform, I really enjoyed the show. Student performances of dance, poetry were bookended by Mr. Maraniss reading an excerpt from Strong Inside and Vandy alum country rocker, Marshall Chapman. Ms. Chapman read from her book, Goodbye, Little Rock and Roller and sang. I am a convert to her soulful music and her life story. Growing up in the South, she tells of the first time she saw Elvis. Seven years old and sitting in the town theatre smitten by the King. Touring with icons such as Jimmy Buffet, playing in honkey tonks, Marshall’s story is brought to life in her music and words. A wonderful storyteller and an amazing musician.
Being a Californian, I never thought my kids would end up in the South for school but life is full of surprises and it has given them and me the opportunity to experience a part of America that I would never have dreamed of.
Blaze of Glory Marshall Chapman
After returning from Houston we were home just long enough to reassure Sammy we hadn’t abandoned him, water the plants, do some laundry, repack our suitcase and head out to Nashville to see Jordan. Family Weekend has become an excuse to spend time with Jordan’s classmates’ families. Jordan has made some great friends at school and it’s always a good time when we get together. We all roll into town and follow Henry, dad to Jordan’s classmate and bestie, Danielle. He is our guide to Nashville’s food and fun scene. This trip found us trying some of the stalwarts in Nashville including Arnold’s Country Kitchen, the Pancake Pantry and Prince’s Hot Chicken.
I have a couple of quirks I should tell you about, well I call them quirks..you be the judge. During crunch time games, like yesterday’s Giants versus the Mets wild card game, you will not find me comfortably planted on my couch with the TV on (that’s Wes). You will not find me at a sports bar or at an “I just jumped on the bandwagon” viewing party, sipping wine, and eating finger food. Nope. I will be sitting in my car, possibly parked on the side of the road or more than likely in my driveway, listening to the radio broadcast of the game. I will be nervously hanging on every pitch or play called by Flem, Miller, Krup, and Kuipe. Too nervous to watch, too interested to not know what is happening, that is my compromise. Back in the day, I pulled over to listen to Dave Dravecky’s comeback game. I ran out and sat in my car in the driveway to listen to Will the Thrill lead the Giants over the Cubbies in the NLCS. Yep just me and the radio, that’s all I need.
I also have a routine for flying, especially long flights. Travel mug for coffee, yes the blue one only. For regattas, my pink water bottle (it’s so beat up it doesn’t even stand anymore) is always in my suitcase. A downloaded audiobook on my phone and a magazine to look at because I can’t possibly do NOTHING for the 2 minutes we can’t use electronics on board.
So there you have it. On our flight to Nashville, my magazine of choice was Sift, and as luck would have it, it featured an article on bakeries in Nashville. Hum-baby!
First stop when we arrived:
Just a few minutes from Vanderbilt in an industrial-looking area…we stopped for coffee, scrumptious cookies, a yummy blueberry muffin, chocolate croissants and a Kouign Amann (meh, I think I come from the mecca for great Kouign Amann at Manresa Bakery or B. Patisserie in SF). Dozen Bakery is definitely worth the stop when in Nashville. Next time I’m trying their breads and sandwiches!
The next morning, with my partner in food crime, Debbie (Jordan’s roommate’s mom) we headed to the iconic Pancake Pantry in Hillsborough Village near campus. Would love to have been there before the lines but a nearly impossible task with college kids that start their morning at about 11 AM. So we stood in line and waited for the best damn sweet potato pancakes I have had.
Now don’t get me wrong if you are looking for cutting-edge, hipster trendy food that will make your tastebuds stand up and do the hula…this ain’t it. This is just down home solid simple cooking that’s been around for decades, nothing wrong with that. Plus, part of the fun is being there.
Next stop…..lunch (happy dance although the bounce in my dance step was a little less springy after a plate of pancakes)
Yep, time for a Meat and three. Arnold’s Country Kitchen, cafeteria style, stand in line, order your meat (fried catfish or roast beef was the special of the day), and three sides. I went healthy for the sides, macaroni and cheese, collard greens and fried green tomatoes, lol. Had to save room for banana pudding for dessert of course.
…and for the trifecta of iconic places to eat in Nashville we went to Prince’s for Hot Chicken.
Fried Chicken, super crispy and crunchy, moist and doused in their secret sauce to the hotness of your desire (I am a wimp as evident by the lack of red on my chicken, I opted for mild). Drop the mic, done. Whoops, don’t leave without getting their banana pudding, the bomb.
Yep, all in a day’s work.
Hello! This is Jamie! I know I know, it’s been a while, blame the Rice bioengineering department. Don’t worry, I’ve missed you guys, too. I’m currently sitting in the car typing this; it is the first hour of a 12 hour drive back to Houston from Nashville.
Okay, I lied. I’m going to be honest, I fell asleep in the car right after writing that^. Currently sitting in Starbucks across from the Texas Medical Center writing this. It is 9:50 a.m. on Sunday, and I feel like I’m about to fall over from lack of sleep. Before you roll your eyes at me and grumble something about crazy college kids sleeping in til forever o clock after a long night of partying, hear me out. I got back last night at about 3:30 am, and now I am here at Starbucks waiting to go to lab. Not that I’m complaining, I actually really like lab and Nashville was super fun. My school, Rice, is super weird, we have breaks called “midterm recess” where we get a Thursday and Friday off once a semester. They are supposed to happen after midterms are over so we can all catch up on sleep, but honestly I’d rather get a full week off for Thanksgiving instead. Sam and I usually use midterm breaks as an excuse to go travel somewhere outside of Houston. We went to Austin last year and bummed around UT and had a blast. This year, I was a little hesitant to go anywhere because I was so tired from a long semester of awful classes. Our ideal vacations are not very relaxing—we both love exploring places. But, of course, Sam being Sam, and me being me, I found myself sitting in a car on Wednesday night ready to brave the long drive to Nashville. Our excuse for going was to visit Jordan and Sam’s best friend, Tate, from high school. Jordan goes to Vanderbilt and Tate goes to Belmont, which are basically right next to each other. We spent Thursday, Friday, and most of Saturday in Nashville, and we had an awesome time. Jordan’s friends were great and so was Tate. (check out my awesome rhyming ability).
But I am my mother’s daughter, and naturally, this post is going to be about food. I don’t think Sam and I had really bad food during our trip. Except for Pluckett’s. Don’t go to Pluckett’s. Well, in their defense, we went after driving from 7 pm to 830 am in the morning, so we weren’t really thinking about food. Nashville, like Houston, has a fantastic food scene. All of the restaurants are very into the rustic vibe, which I am a major fan of. The food highlight of the trip was Barista Parlor, a small coffee shop with possibly the best breakfast food I’ve had in a while. (Sorry Houston). 
I had this really yummy biscuit (of course) with sausage, an egg, and jam. I’ve never been the biggest fan of biscuits, but I figured I was in Nashville, so I had to try one. It sounds weird, but the combination of sweet jam and the salty sausage was actually pretty awesome. Sam had your classic eggs, bacon, and potatoes breakfast, and he said the bacon was possibly the best he’s had. As a side note, we did try to go to Biscuit Love, but the line looked like the line in front of the Apple Store whenever a new iPhone comes out, and we were not about to wait in it. Unlike my mother, I am relatively sane when it comes to biscuits. Sam does not have my Dad’s patience when it comes to dealing with Leong women and our obsession with food. But he did have to listen to me belting out four hours of Taylor Swift on the drive up to Nashville and every single high school musical song ever made on the drive back. Can we say Trooper with a capital T?
Another highlight of the trip was the coffee. I had so. Much. Coffee. It was glorious, but probably not the best thing for my stomach. To be honest, I needed that much coffee, I was pretty sleep deprived. It tasted so good, too. I’m pretty sure I had three to four cups each day, some just straight coffee and some fancy ones like this.
All in all, it was a great trip. I’ll admit it, I definitely missed my brother, and I loved spending time with him, even when he forced us to go to Chuy’s (a Houston original) for dinner and when we spent a solid 3+ hours trying to find a brunch spot because the wait for a table was way too long everywhere we went. (We finally settled on the 45 minute wait at the Flipside, and yes, it was def worth the wait). Alright, I have procrastinated enough on my school work. I’ll write again soon!
Hi Claire
I might have mentioned my obsessive tendencies when it comes to food. For the most part I can control it but there are certain dishes that stay on the brain and whenever the opportunity arises, i.e. a restaurant that features it or I find a new recipe…I AM COMPELLED TO TRY IT. This is true for cookies like shortbread and lemon bars but it is especially true for biscuits. Having kids in the South has added fuel to the fire. As soon as I know I am going to the South, I scour the internet looking for the best biscuits. My current favorite in Nashville is Biscuit Love, (their Bonuts, fusion of biscuits and donuts served with fresh fruit and lemon curd, kill me now good). A trip to North Carolina began and ended with biscuits. No sooner had we arrived at the Raleigh-Durham Airport we made a beeline for Sunrise Biscuit Kitchen in Chapel Hill, a drive-thru that closes at 2 pm. We made it just in the nick of time for their fried chicken biscuit sandwiches, freakin delicious. Heading to the airport to fly home we took the circuitous route so we could stop at Rise Biscuits & Donuts in Durham for our last biscuit fix…delicious ending! I have found yummy biscuits in Portland, Oregon at The Tin Shed and Pine State Biscuits and right here in California at The Nickel Diner in LA and Brenda’s French Soul Food in SF. I love biscuits, it’s my crack.
In my mind, there are 2 kinds of biscuits, soft tender almost cake-like biscuits, and buttery FLAKY biscuits. My current quest is for the latter, biscuits so flaky you can peel & eat them in layers. I came across a recipe from Dishes and Dust Bunnies that I wanted to have a go at. My first batch accompanied me to Mom’s Monday morning coffee where they were gobbled up. Flaky, buttery, slightly salty, tender, I inch ever closer to the perfect biscuit.
I made a few changes to the recipe….somewhere along the way I learned the addition of baking soda to biscuits made with buttermilk reduces the tangy flavor. Despite being a native San Franciscan I am not fond of sour flavored food. Sourdough bread, I’ll take a pass (blasphemous I know). I used unsalted butter and reduced the salt to 1 teaspoon. Remember the golden rules for making biscuits, keep the ingredients cold, and don’t over mix. After chilling the dough, I rolled the dough into a 1/2 inch rectangle and folded the dough like an envelope (thirds) rolled again into a 1/2 inch thick rectangle. Repeat twice. For taller biscuits roll dough to 1 inch thick on the final time. Expect biscuits to about double in height when baked.
Blog vacation is over…the vacation wasn’t intentional, it just kind of happened. That’s life for you. We just got back from Nashville where our kid Jordan goes to school. We walked the campus, met his roommates’ families, went to the football game (they won!), attended a couple of lectures, and spent time with Wes’s classmate from medical school. After residency, Russ was smitten by a Southerner, Julia (the bomb), and moved to Charlotte, North Carolina. It has been years since we have seen each other. As fate would have it, his son is now a freshman at Vanderbilt. It was great catching up!
We also found time to take in the sites, if you like country music and southern food, you should definitely visit Nashville. Like any good southern town, there’s a lot of down-home comfort food, hot fried chicken, great biscuits, pulled pork, barbecued pork ribs, yum.
When we got back from Nashville I had pork on the brain. I didn’t find a recipe with Southern roots but I did find one for Chinese Roast Pork also known as Siu Yuk. The pork is roasted to perfection, the meat is juicy, slightly salty, and succulent. The skin is the showstopper. Roasting turns the skin into a golden brown crispy crust. Not southern but delish! I have always purchased roast pork from my favorite Chinese deli never giving a thought to making it at home. As I read through the recipe I thought, okay, not quite as daunting as I imagined. Unlike a Chinese deli, I didn’t have to start with an entire pig, just a nice slab of pork belly. It didn’t require a whole lot of prep or exotic ingredients and your oven does most of the work.
The first part of the recipe calls for seasoning the pork and letting it air dry to ensure a crispy skin. After drying, the skin is poked to help release the fat while it is roasting. The pork is wrapped in foil and covered with salt. I used coarse kosher salt. I was surprised at how simple it was to make.
Maybe its because I have two kids in college in the south, or maybe its just because who in their right mind doesn’t like biscuits, it is my current obsession. When I was a kid, scratch biscuits came out of a can with a chubby dough boy on the outside, pop the can open, ta-da, biscuits in 15 minutes!
In searching for a biscuit recipe, I learned southern families make their biscuits in a wooden bowl. These bowls are handed down from grandmother to mother to daughter. That struck a cord with me and I have been searching for a biscuit bowl of my own. A tall order here in California. I thought about having one made but I would have to make a gazillion biscuits to justify the cost. Then, I came across a Peruvian wooden bowl at NapaStyle…shallow and wide, it fit the bill. Not an actual biscuit bowl but close enough! When I visit my kid in Nashville I may continue the search for a true dough bowl but for now this is it so its time to make some biscuits!
This first recipe comes from State Magazine in Tennessee. From Tupelo Honey Cafe, not their signature AmAzing biscuit which I have had, but a nice tangy tender biscuit. A key ingredient is White Lily Self Rising Flour, available in the South, it is a softer winter wheat flour, lower protein content (King Arthur Flour has a version), perfect for biscuits.
Make sure your ingredients are cold! Mix in the butter with a pastry blender, until the butter particles are pea size. Use a light touch, don’t overmix.
I like this biscuit, but I wish the biscuit was taller, the search continues.
