tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-64300804452202109252024-03-13T13:34:33.362-05:00The Great Nashville OdysseyMary Brace's hunt for the best burger in Nashville — and more.Mary Bracehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11425674186721051926noreply@blogger.comBlogger65125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6430080445220210925.post-56965390038771730102016-11-23T22:46:00.000-06:002016-12-10T13:51:56.613-06:00Burger Review: The Farm Burger
There are two — no, three — reasons why I really want to dislike Farm Burger, a Georgia-based chain, fast-casual that just moved into the new Hill Center Sylvan Heights development. One of them isn't even of their doing, so I'll cover that first: bad design.
How is it that H.G. Hill was able to mimic an urban environment in the Belle Meade and Green Hills Hill Centers, allowing for Mary Bracehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11425674186721051926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6430080445220210925.post-20454257544011164862015-08-15T20:43:00.000-05:002015-08-15T20:54:06.987-05:00Nashville Scene's Burger Week — Quick(ish) Notes 3: Jack Brown's Beer & Burger Joint
And finally, the last of my three participating visits from the Nashville Scene's Burger Week promotion. It turns out, Germantown's newest chain restaurant had what Scene readers voted the best burger - the Greg Brady.
The average-sized patty comes to the table smothered with a mac & cheese (really, cheese & mac) topping, and topped with Mary Bracehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11425674186721051926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6430080445220210925.post-32506489430149824282015-07-31T20:19:00.000-05:002015-07-31T20:23:56.385-05:00Nashville Scene's Burger Week — Quick(ish) Notes 2: Dino's
For my visit to a second of the participating Nashville Burger Week restaurants in the Nashville Scene's recent contest, I went to an old dive with new owners, one of whom was partly responsible for the place that set the bar for Nashville burgers in the 21st Century: Miranda Whitcomb Pontes of Burger Up. Pontes and partner Alex Wendkos took over the spot and opened it to the Mary Bracehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11425674186721051926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6430080445220210925.post-72915930235465956752015-07-26T15:31:00.002-05:002015-07-26T15:34:16.355-05:00Nashville Scene's Burger Week — Quick(ish) Notes 1: Park Cafe
Our local alt.weekly, the Nashville Scene, just ran a promotion for Nashville Burger Week.
Some 15-20 restaurants put up the goods and invited eaters to vote for
the champ, who will be selected to go on to represent Nashville at the
World Food Championships (who knew this was a thing?) in Miami.
No word yet on the vote.
I've already given the rundown on a Mary Bracehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11425674186721051926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6430080445220210925.post-34492957442654482542015-06-01T23:59:00.000-05:002015-06-07T17:44:13.696-05:00Silo: Southern Food or Die
'twas a rainy Wednesday night in Nashville, and because one of my dining companions was working until nine, our options were limited: this city closes early. Finding a restaurant kitchen that stays open past, say, 11 pm is a challenge to put it mildly. And so we would up at The Silo, in Germantown.
I was vaguely aware of Silo since its opening in 2012 by a pairMary Bracehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11425674186721051926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6430080445220210925.post-91895034537228512932015-05-31T14:18:00.001-05:002015-05-31T15:32:27.414-05:00Gringo Taco #3: Bakersfield - Tasty, In Spite of the Marketing Department
What started as a trickle in the neighborhoods, with The Local Taco, Mas Tacos, and Chagos, has lately stormed downtown Nashville with the opening of two or three such spots between Commerce and Korean Vets Blvd., 2nd and 5th.
I've driven past Bakersfield at least twice a week since December and it's draw on my curiosity has been pretty relentless, so I answered the Mary Bracehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11425674186721051926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6430080445220210925.post-74471385951034403462015-02-04T21:44:00.003-06:002015-02-04T21:47:39.161-06:00Quick Burger Tally: Top 5People are constantly asking me to rank Nashville's burgers. Why not, I've eaten enough of them, and set up this blog to detail as many as possible. But still, it can be hard — a little — because sometimes, the best burger isn't the perfect burger to have, in a given situation. For example: I'm not going to walk into Flip Burger after a day of kayaking 12 miles on the Harpeth River. I'm not goingMary Bracehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11425674186721051926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6430080445220210925.post-31932056414457002192015-02-04T20:25:00.000-06:002015-02-06T20:19:07.983-06:00Post-Burger Odyssey: Flip Burger
Celebrity Chef Richard Blais' Flip Burger has only been open for a couple of weeks, and honestly, the vibe defies easy categorization; the menu looks like stereotypical modern-gourmand gastro-pub fare, but the rest of it's nothing like any burger joint — high end or low — Nashville's ever seen. Partly a modern take on an '80s model of a '50s diner, partly Southern fusion, it's going to Mary Bracehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11425674186721051926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6430080445220210925.post-35787180193216670632015-01-15T18:40:00.001-06:002015-01-16T00:04:05.842-06:00When Giants Stumble
All photos © 2015 Mary Brace
One of Nashville's pre-"It City" culinary landmarks announced they're closing their doors recently, via an article in the Tennessean. Initially I felt the move reflected the restaurant's inability to remain competitive in the city's ever-changing landscape, but on further reflection, perhaps the choice to give our local daily the news scoop, rather Mary Bracehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11425674186721051926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6430080445220210925.post-31949545296762833902014-11-01T15:57:00.001-05:002014-11-08T19:19:08.781-06:00Sliding into The Slider House
It never hurts to walk into an eating establishment with low expectations, and mine certainly were on my first visit to Midtown's The Slider House. It rests on the ground floor of the building that houses the much larger Soulshine Pizza Factory, and shares an owner. I might not have made it in, at all, but my friend Rose Laycox, of What the Pho? had a MySceneDeal coupon so I was happy to be Mary Bracehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11425674186721051926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6430080445220210925.post-23694200640832272632014-07-22T20:34:00.000-05:002014-07-22T20:34:28.392-05:00Burger Republic: Resistance is Futile
All photos © 2014 Mary Brace all rights reserved.
When I moved to Nashville no one would have conceived of Nolensville as any kind of foodie test market. It was completely rural: housing was sparse and you could drive from a strip mall just below Old Hickory Boulevard, on the city's south side, and not see a red anything until you got to the stop sign at Highway 96, 14 miles later.
Twenty Mary Bracehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11425674186721051926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6430080445220210925.post-22880294378888307572014-07-15T21:28:00.000-05:002014-07-15T21:28:53.174-05:00The Treehouse: Late Night Playspace
All photos ©2014 Mary Brace all rights reserved
At first, it's difficult what to make of Nashville restaurant The Treehouse: the building has a decades-long history with a well-known musical family in Nashville. When the house was undergoing the transformation from fiddle wizard Buddy Spicher's living quarters to nephew Matt's late-night fine fare, there was a lot of excitement generated for Mary Bracehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11425674186721051926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6430080445220210925.post-76952280259870577242014-07-08T10:11:00.001-05:002014-07-19T14:40:38.425-05:00Gringo Taco #2 - Chago's Cantina
All photos ©2014 Mary Brace all rights reserved
UPDATE: Nashville Scene is currently running a "MyScene Deal" with 50% off certificates. Click here to buy.
Chago's Cantina has to be one of the more quietly intriguing of the Gringo Taco series restaurants. First, its location alongside the heart of the Belmont College campus is enough to keep many Nashvillians away. On top of that it's a Mary Bracehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11425674186721051926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6430080445220210925.post-83944659674638204842014-06-19T17:50:00.001-05:002014-06-20T18:40:54.343-05:00Etch: ADD for Your Tastebuds
All photos © 2014 Mary Brace all rights reserved.
Confession: I never made it into Zola. That restaurant, long loved by many Nashville Scenesters,
offered something so hard to find among this town's more high-priced
real estate — genuinely good, no-slouching, well-prepared, fresh food —
that I failed to believe it truly existed. Likewise, when Etch first
opened at the base of the Mary Bracehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11425674186721051926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6430080445220210925.post-8707880419115211442014-06-14T11:21:00.002-05:002014-06-17T08:18:53.200-05:00Gringo Taco #1: The Local Taco
All photos ©2014 Mary Brace all rights reserved.
(In case you're wondering, the four month blackout is because my new day job — driving sedans for Metro Livery and doing Uber runs — comes with insane hours and there hasn't been proper time to sit down at the computer and bang stuff out. But I have been out on new dining adventures and keeping the blog in mind; here's my first attempt atMary Bracehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11425674186721051926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6430080445220210925.post-4267251221555623532014-02-27T00:33:00.001-06:002014-02-27T01:08:08.020-06:00Burger Coda 7: Table 3 "You Can See Me On a Wednesday"
all photos ©2014 Mary Brace all rights reserved
At one time, not even that long ago, when we didn't yet hate suburbs with a passion, Green Hills was an acceptable destination for Nashville restaurant dining. People seemed happy with Shalimar, Indian food right on the Pike; Chinatown in one of the little side plazas; F. Scotts towered over it all as the grand dame and foundation of much goodMary Bracehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11425674186721051926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6430080445220210925.post-37123886943819045522014-02-23T19:56:00.001-06:002014-02-23T19:58:21.919-06:00Monell's: It's About the Vibe, Stupid
All photos © 2014 Mary Brace all rights reserved
There is a handfull of Nashville restaurants that baffle fine diners, who can't understand how an eatery with so-so food ever wound up on the must-eat-there lists of anyone. Today I decided to give my take on my favorite of those, Monell's.
Monell's seems like the quintessential "old Nashville" restaurant but it opened in 1995, a year after I Mary Bracehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11425674186721051926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6430080445220210925.post-28868245947679083462014-02-12T23:57:00.000-06:002014-02-13T00:01:37.482-06:00Epice: Quietly Epic
Although the subtitle of this blog has to do with cheap eats, and Epice, the new Nashville restaurant from Kalamatas' co-owner Maher Fawaz, isn't, that's not going to stop me from sharing my first experience at the 12 South eatery.
Recently I joined a few friends for a meal to scope out the place and we all came away happy. I had a feeling it was going Mary Bracehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11425674186721051926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6430080445220210925.post-71206090399346152832014-01-25T22:23:00.000-06:002014-02-27T01:04:00.668-06:00Another Burger Coda + Sushi Starter: PM Restaurant
A few months ago, I came very close to starting a post titled, "How I Found Sushi — Or It Found Me," to join my quest for the best burgers in Nashville but scratched it, because I'm still such a sushi neophyte that I felt it would look beyond pompous to try to review Nashville's offerings. Especially when there are so many decades-long addicted adherents. But ... Mary Bracehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11425674186721051926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6430080445220210925.post-36903676800628848412014-01-25T00:00:00.000-06:002014-01-25T20:25:53.224-06:00Lonely on the Northwest Front, Chelsea Bistro Brings Cheer to the Neighborhood
All photos © 214 Mary Brace
Early summer 2013, there was much head-scratching as word started getting around that someone in Nashville was doing the unheard of: opening a traditional French Bistro out in the hinterlands of Whites Creek. That someone turned out to be Basha Satin and her son Josh Rew, along with chef Garrett Pittler, who they lured to the obscure side of town.Mary Bracehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11425674186721051926noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6430080445220210925.post-48045593821619296352014-01-11T22:32:00.001-06:002014-01-11T22:32:54.597-06:00Update on the Nashville Hot Chicken Odyssey
© 2014 Mary Brace all rights reserved.
Since I started on my Nashville Hot Chicken quest in July, I've hit almost all of the major places at least once. Pepperfire, twice. Tenn 16 twice. But I keep returning to Hattie B's Hot Chicken. And returning. To the point where, if I can go more than two weeks without a fix, either there's a ton of stuff going on, or I'm flat broke.
Mary Bracehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11425674186721051926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6430080445220210925.post-52374176734357224372014-01-11T22:07:00.000-06:002014-01-11T22:07:07.183-06:00Do at Home: Sautéed Japaños
There's a Mexican restaurant with Mt. Juliet and Smyrna (or is it LaVergne? I'm always forgetting) locations, called Margarita House. They've got a nifty little side I haven't seen anywhere else in the Nashville area: jalapeños, sautéed with lime. What I really like about them is the tart lime initial taste, and the heat that comes after.
When I decided to Mary Bracehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11425674186721051926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6430080445220210925.post-36563722599993445522013-12-26T23:20:00.001-06:002013-12-27T00:14:18.495-06:00Lucky Bamboo: Good Chinese and Nashville Food, Together At Last?
Nashville restaurant goers pretty much gave up on having anything like a Holy Grail for Chinese food in the area, long ago. There have been any number of kitchens in every area — Nolensville Road, Green Hills, Midtown, North, Downtown — over the years that serve passably okay meals. Buffets, more. What's typical is a restaurant will have one thing on their menu they doMary Bracehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11425674186721051926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6430080445220210925.post-87412593978700734702013-12-21T14:30:00.000-06:002013-12-22T09:11:37.029-06:00Taj: Nashville Gets a Second Indian Restaurant Worth Returning To (especially for meat eaters)
It's long been a gripe of mine and a number of others' that what was said to be the best Indian cuisine in town was at Woodlands, a vegetarian restaurant located inside a tower near I440. For my vegan friends, I'm happy for them that they got to have something to themselves, for a little while.
The rest of us, our problem? The typical Nashville Mary Bracehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11425674186721051926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6430080445220210925.post-88158504002833926202013-12-01T19:57:00.001-06:002014-01-11T22:17:11.034-06:00Nashville Hot Chicken Day 6: Hot Stuff
All photos ©Mary Brace 2013. All rights reserved
Here's another of the relative newcomers to Nashville Hot Chicken: Hot Stuff, in Antioch, has been with us since some time in 2010. Located in a fancy shmancy Bell Road strip mall just across Blue Hole Road from the Family Fun Center (ie, mini-golf), it's one of the lesser-known joints as that's not exactly a fashionable or touristy area. If theMary Bracehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11425674186721051926noreply@blogger.com0