Tasty Takeaways from Music City Food +Wine
The fifth annual Music City Food +Wine festival was held this past weekend at Bicentennial Park and it did not disappoint. In an effort to keep up with the ever-evolving culinary scene in the Music City, festival programming was expanded to include a Friday Night Grand Taste highlighting more of our local chefs and restaurateurs. One noticeable change this year was the ratio of booze to food.
Brunch So Hard: Public House Bar and Kitchen
While working my way through the various brunches in Nashville (is that list ever long), I stumbled upon Public House Bar and Kitchen. This was not my first time at the Urban Cowboy outpost. I have spent many a night sipping bourbon cocktails at their bar or curled up by their fire pit, but it was my first food encounter.
Pursuit of the Perfect Pizza: Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder
When you hear Chicago what comes to mind? Da Bears? The Bean in Millennium Park? The terribly long line that forms at Garrett's Popcorn? Maybe it's the World Series Champions, the Chicago Cubbies.
Cocktailing In East Nashville
Weekends. Do you exist anymore? I am beginning to wonder. If I remember correctly, a weekend was defined by the time I closed out of PowerPoint and shut my computer down on Friday afternoon until it was booted back up on Monday morning. This time was typically used for leisurely activities: checking out movies, shopping, and cocktailing with my friends.
Le Bernardin: Where Seafood is the Star
Le Bernardin is one of the premier gourmand destinations for seafood lovers. Opened by Gilbert Le Coze and his sister Maguy Le Coze as Les Moines de St. Bernardin in 1972, the brother/sister team decided to transport this culinary excellence to New York City and reopened as Le Bernardin in 1986.
NYC Nosh: Modern Mexican @Cosme
Wandering around New York City will certainly work up an appetite. For someone who relishes Mexican cuisine as much as I do, I would have been remiss not to visit Cosme. Located in the Flatiron district, Cosme is the brainchild of world renown chef Enrique Olvera who is also the creative mastermind behind Pujol, located in Mexico, and Atla, located in New York City.
San Francisco: Home Cafe
Visiting San Francisco meant one thing, checking out Home Cafe. Haven't heard it of? Well, stay tuned my friends. I am about to give you run down.
Why I paid $900 to dine at Saison
Acquiring Michelin stars has been a hobby of mine for quite some time, albeit a costly one for both my wallet and my waistline. In the midst of planning my annual trip to San Francisco, I decided it was a great time to add a few Michelin stars to my list seeing as the Bay Area now has as many three star restaurants as New York City.
D.C. Dining: Lupo Verde Brunch
Brunch. It's a social institution and there's arguably no better way to start your weekend. What do you look for when making your brunch selection? Champagne and Caviar service? Amazing eggs benny? What about that extra crispy Benton's bacon?
D.C. Dining: Rose's Luxury
Lately, it seems as if I am developing a habit of standing in lengthy lines for dinner. First Street XO and now Rose's Luxury. The question that is always asked: "was it worth it?" You'll have to read and find out!
D.C. Dining: Fiola
My girlfriend knows me all too well. Before I could even finish my text about reservations and restaurants, she had already texted with a full blown itinerary. And by now, you know I am SUCH A FAN of an itinerary. I was thrilled to see that she scheduled Fiola for lunch. I just love it when a plan falls into place!
D.C. Dining: minibar by José Andrés
I just returned from a weekend of wandering around Washington D.C. and I can't wait to share my dining adventures! Washington D.C. is not necessarily a place that is on my radar but one of my dearest girlfriends moved there for graduate school so of course, I had to visit! There's nothing better than enjoying sensational food with your best friends.
Madrid Musings: Mercado de San Miguel
One of my favorite "foodie" experiences during my trip to Madrid was visiting the Mercado de San Miguel. In fact, I enjoyed it so much, I went each day while I was there. The market reminded me of the West Side Market in Cleveland, but with serious Spanish flair. There are a variety of vendors (over 30, I believe) serving different tapas dishes, meats, sherry, and seafood. I didn't even know where to begin, so I just started wandering.
Madrid Musings: Bites & Sights Part 1
When I was planning my trip to Madrid, I was a little overwhelmed. There was SO much to see and not enough time. That seems to be the case with all of my travel, but I digress. Below are a few of my favorite places that I visited. If you have any questions at all about any of this, feel free to comment below or shoot me an email! I am happy to assist in any way.
Madrid Musings: El Club Allard
Everyone has a story but I find the story of a chef to be particularly interesting. After reading several articles on El Club Allard, I knew I had to meet Chef Maria Marte. Her display of tenacity and perseverance is one for all to admire.
Madrid Musings: Street XO
As you all know by now, I am notorious for planning all of my vacations around food. Before I even made flight or hotel reservations for Madrid, I checked to see what Michelin star restaurants were in the area. Imagine my excitement when I discovered that there were 14 different restaurants with Michelin star rankings, and that doesn't even include the World's 50 Best list! Seeing how Diver XO and Alinea recently collaborated, it was one of the first places to research.
Keeping It In The Family: Rhine Hall Distillery
Rhine Hall. It's a new name in the Nashville market but one that Chicagoans know very well. Nestled in the heart of West Fulton Market, Charlie and Jenny Solberg are keeping their family tradition alive producing some of the best eau de vie around. You might be scratching your head about now or pulling up a tab to google "eau de vie." Don't worry, I had to do the same thing.
Next Restaurant takes us back to Ancient Rome
Every year around November/December, I anxiously anticipate Next Restaurant's menus for the upcoming year. Chef Grant Achatz and Chef Jenner Tomaska are both imaginative and calculated with their menu iterations.
Save The Date: Music City Food and Wine Festival September 15-17, 2017
Calling all food connoisseurs, music lovers and imbibing enthusiasts! The fifth annual Music City Food and Wine Festival returns to Nashville on September 15-17. In an effort to keep up with the ever evolving culinary scene in the Music City, the festival producers have decided to spice things up a bit.
Windy City Bites: Entente
While I was in the midst of my foodie reconnaissance for an upcoming trip to Chicago, I stumbled across a restaurant new to the Chicago dining scene, Entente. As I began to read through several articles, I became very excited and knew this was a must during my visit. At the helm of this new venture is Chef Brian Fisher, formerly of Michael Carlson's Schwa and Chef Mari Katsumura, formerly of Curtis Duffy's Grace. With that combination of culinary prowess, I knew I would be in for a treat.
Anchoring itself in the historic May Hosiery Mills building, Pastis Nashville didn’t just open; it arrived in Nashville with a wink and a chilled martini.