Actually the title of this entry doesn't even begin to describe the amount of miles I put up in the air and at hotels in the past 12-14 days (I lost count and don't care to go back and see how many days I've been gone... it depresses me). I already posted about my trip to Naples and, as I stated before, while Chicago has thousands of great restaurants and things to discuss from a food/drink standpoint, I literally didn't leave the O'Hare Airport for my dining so I won't write about that. No, this entry will be about 2 of my favorite cities in America and the delightful meals that I had while traveling there this week.
First, let's start with Nashville, TN. I love the atmosphere in Nashville; especially downtown. To walk down Broadway is like walking down the Las Vegas Strip of Nashville. If you like Country music, this is obviously a good place for you. Lots of great bands play at "honkeytonks" like Tootsies (seriously check this place out for an awesome time) and the restaurants don't disappoint. Well... a lot of them don't. I say that because the first restaurant I ate at was one of my favorite specialty chains: Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville. I had the Mahi Mahi with pineapple chutney and steamed veggies. It was NOT GOOD AT ALL. That's what I get for trying to keep to a diet. My colleague and I did split an appetizer of Brisket Quesadillas which were quite good and of course the maragaritas were decent. Overall, this particular location of Mr. James Buffet gets a 5 out of 10 for me.
The next day after work, we found a great place that was visited by a favorite TV show of mine. Drinking Made Easy. We went to Whiskey Kitchen in the artsy part of Nashville. This is far and wide the best restaurant I've been to in Nashville. The name of the restaurant says everything. They use A LOT of Whiskey in their cooking and have a TREMENDOUS list of Whiskeys that they carry for imbibing. Which I did. I had 2 of them that evening. The first was the William Larue Weller 18 Year and it was phenominal. If you wish to read full tasting notes on this Whiskey, click here. The second was not very good in my opinion. It was the Old Potrero from San Fransisco (click here for tasting notes). It was a recommendation from a family member who I consider an expert on Whiskeys and I could see where some would enjoy it, but it just wasn't my cup of tea. Now, to the food... Our dining experience was a shared one between me and my coworker (who may be in the future blogging on this site as well). We started with the BEST Sweet Potato French Fries that I have ever had. My coworker (Ashley) agreed. It was served with sea salt and brown sugar on top and a side of house made jalapeno ketchup. The ketchup is really what made the appetizer. We moved on to our main course (again shared) of sliders and Makers Mark BBQ Chicken Pizza. The pizza would have been outstanding if we had ordered it on it's own but unfortunately for the pizza, it was ordered with the sliders that were LIFE CHANGING. First, these sliders are served on buttermilk biscuits. Let me say that again, THESE SLIDERS ARE SERVED ON BUTTERMILK BISCUITS. In addition to that revelation, there were no hamburgers served on these sliders. There were 4 slider on the plate and they were: southern fried chicken breast, fried green tomato, marinated hanger steak and country ham. They were served with three different sauces to dip/spread: maple syrup, remoulade and strawberry balsamic jelly. I cannot describe to you how awesome this dish was. It was fun, tasty and just fantastic all at the same time. Ashley agreed that this is one of the best things she's ever eaten. My mouth is watering right now just thinking of it. The sliders alone are a reason to go back to Nashville.
After returning home for 1 whole day, I was off to The Queen City of Charlotte. My company is based out of Charlotte so I do go there a few times during the year and consequently have a few usual watering holes that I frequent due in large part to the proximity to the office and my hotel. One of these places is Eez. Eez is an asian fusion joint located in Berkdale Village in the suburb of Huntersville. I've typically only eaten sushi at Eez but when I went there for lunch yesterday, I decided that one of my favorite Thai dishes sounded better to me. I ordered the shrimp pad thai thanks in large part to my head cold and the spiciness of this dish and the hopes that I could kill 2 birds with 1 stone in satisfying my hunger and my need to breathe through my nose. I'll say this: while it wasn't the best pad thai I've ever had (click here to see my favorite) it was definitely the freshest tasting pad thai I've had. And the spiciness did not disappoint. I actually had to stop about halfway through my plate because I was done with the heat (which I usually can take). All and all, it was 6 or 7 out of ten. But if you get a chance to go to Eeze, I highly recommend the sushi. It is out of this world!
That's all for now! Cheers!
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