Category: tennessee

Aretha Frankenstein’s, Chattanooga TN

Last month, I mentioned that a regular at the Roadfood message board had come through with a recommendation for lunch in the town of Carnesville. I once again visited that forum for help finding breakfast this past Saturday in Chattanooga. The same guy, who goes by the handle “Littleman,” again came through with a heads-up on a tiny little place called Aretha Frankenstein’s that just drips with kitschy character and charm. That fellow’s batting a thousand, and if I can’t help you with suggestions about where to eat in any given destination, you should probably track him down. Continue reading “Aretha Frankenstein’s, Chattanooga TN” →

The Greek Touch, Nashville TN

Normally, when I really like a restaurant, I try to make sure to remember how to get there, so that I can tell people, especially the ones who find Google Maps challenging. The Greek Touch is easy to find. What you do is park in downtown Nashville in the library deck, preferably on a Monday when the library is closed (budget cuts) and there’s an extra space or two. Then you walk to a coffee shop called Provence and wait for about twenty minutes for our friend Tory to get time off for lunch. She’ll come get you and take you through the lobby of the Fifth Third Bank building, out the loading dock, down past the dumpsters and you’ll take a left in some alley and wind up in a shopping arcade. You’ll take a right and it’s a little past the post office on your right. Continue reading “The Greek Touch, Nashville TN” →

Pancake Pantry, Nashville TN

Nashville has not made an appearance in this blog before now, despite it being one of my favorite cities and one which we try to visit at least twice a year. It’s absolutely packed with good restaurants, great people and some wonderful friends, and I wasn’t about to consider a trip to Memphis without swinging back through Nashville to shop, visit and eat. Continue reading “Pancake Pantry, Nashville TN” →

Coletta’s, Memphis TN

On the Sunday we were in Memphis, I chose to wear my Zeb Dean’s T-shirt. I packed it even before we established the bizarre truth that Marie had not selected a barbecue restaurant for us to try. It’s just that I’m going to carry my home town pride with me, and even though Danielsville’s not my home town, I wasn’t about to visit a barbecue-happy city like Memphis without wearing my local colors somehow, much in the same way that I want to pack my Bulldog shirt when I’m in somebody else’s football town. Continue reading “Coletta’s, Memphis TN” →

Interstate Bar-B-Q, Memphis TN

I’ll tell you the number one, guaranteed best way to start a good-natured argument: get into it with somebody local about where the best barbecue in Memphis might be found. Folk here take their pork seriously. The locals eat a whole mess of it, with a thick, sweet sauce and lots of slaw. The strangest thing about this trip, in retrospect, was that we were in a city world-renowned for its barbecue for a good twenty-four hours before we actually had any. Marie, who mostly arranged our meal itinerary this weekend, did this before, when we went to coastal Georgia and didn’t have any seafood. I love my wife, but sometimes she misses the forest for the trees. Continue reading “Interstate Bar-B-Q, Memphis TN” →

Penzeys Spices, Memphis TN

This is Marie, writing the entry about Penzeys because I am the cook in the family. Penzeys is the kind of place that could make any cook weak at the knees. Imagine a room filled with wooden racks and shelves, the air scented with the smell of blended spices, and on every shelf and rack stands a glass jar containing a sample, which can be opened and sniffed and shaken. If you’ve ever stood in a store with a bottle or jar of something tempting in your hand and put it back because you didn’t want to risk $4 or $6 or $10 on something untried, this is the answer. Continue reading “Penzeys Spices, Memphis TN” →