When Grant was planning the itinerary for an afternoon together, he included Gigi’s because of my taste for sweets and our daughter’s more specific adoration of cupcakes. Sadly, neither of us showed much enthusiasm. The girlchild was under the weather and wanted to sit out this food trek, asking only for a comfort snack of Krystal to be borne home to her after we were done. In my case the problem was the memory of another dedicated cupcake store in Nashville. When I reminded him of that visit, Grant diplomatically replied that he understood I had been “underwhelmed” by that place. So I figured I would hold my enthusiasm until we went to his selection. More on that later. Continue reading “Gigi’s Cupcakes”
Tag: tennessee
Taco Roc, Chattanooga TN
I’ve mentioned before that the main draw that persuades some of my local friends to visit Chattanooga with me is McKay, a frankly remarkable used bookstore that deals in the consumption of mass quantities of books, DVDs and CDs. There are three stores in Tennessee and the scale of this place is just eye-popping. It is always crowded and books are constantly moving. They made the decision years ago to treat the guests coming to sell or trade books as suppliers and not act like customers are bringing them a burden by asking them to look through a box. You know that heavy sigh you almost always get before the guy at the used record store tells you that they probably won’t be able to sell most of what you brought in, but they’ll take about a third of it for pennies in store credit? That doesn’t happen at McKay. McKay’s not doing you a favor by taking some of this off your hands; you are doing them a favor by selling them your books, and the staff acts like it. No, they don’t take everything, but they take a darn good chunk of it and give you a fair price. Cash, too. No wonder we keep seeing Cobb and Fulton license plates in their parking lot. McKay is undercutting the bejezus out of every similar store in Atlanta. Continue reading “Taco Roc, Chattanooga TN”
The Terminal Brewhouse, Chattanooga TN
As I took a nice sip of the root beer at Chattanooga’s Terminal Brewhouse, I kind of had that feeling that I sometimes get that Marie would be a little envious of me once she knew what I was drinking. The thought had occurred to me that I could very well have enjoyed six or seven more pints of their oatmeal stout – it had been a bad week, I was in a lousy mood, and the stout was very, very good – but I decided to be sensible and just follow up the beer with a house-brewed soda. It was magical. Continue reading “The Terminal Brewhouse, Chattanooga TN”
The Bar-B-Q Shop, Memphis TN
Here’s a restaurant that I genuinely waited a year to enjoy. When Marie and I went to Memphis to visit her younger sister in June of 2010 – “Never again visit Memphis in June,” I told myself, “because it’s too darn hot.” Shows how I listen. – Anne suggested that we eat at The Bar-B-Q Shop. She and her boyfriend and her housemates all agree that this is the best of Memphis’s many amazing barbecue restaurants. Unfortunately, we had Sunday free for eating out, and this is one of those aggravating places that closes on Sunday. We ended up at Jim Neely’s Interstate instead, and I had no complaints. Continue reading “The Bar-B-Q Shop, Memphis TN”
Good Dog, Chattanooga TN
In the previous chapter, I mentioned that David and the kids and I went up to Chattanooga to do a little book shopping. David was not really tempted by my suggestion of a visit to Zarzour’s Cafe, and so we went to Couch’s to try a new-to-us barbecue place. I did not want to go up there without also getting a snack from one of the city’s more popular restaurants, and so after we spent some time at McKay and at another wonderful store, The Book Company, where I found (I believe) all the remaining Harry Kemelman Rabbi novels that I have yet to read for about a buck and a quarter each, we drove downtown. Continue reading “Good Dog, Chattanooga TN”
Couch’s Barbecue, Ooltewah TN
So last week, I convinced David to leave the state. This has not happened in a while, as David doesn’t travel nearly as often as he should. It’s good for the soul, travel. My kids were on spring break and getting cabin fever and doing that really dumb thing that immature people do with money, which is to realize that they have some of it and must exchange it for something else immediately before they spontaneously combust. Continue reading “Couch’s Barbecue, Ooltewah TN”
Bradley’s BBQ, Sweetwater TN
When I learned that I’d be making a second out-of-state trip in two weeks, I was really pleased. I realized a little more than a year ago that my dream job would be driving around the country and eating. If I could get out of town with some family or friends three times a month, I’d do it. The problem – and I use that world loosely – is finding the new things that would make this adventure perpetually thrilling. Over the year or so that Marie and I have been doing this blog, we’ve been eating at known favorites less and less in favor of trying new places. There are one or two big favorites of ours in Atlanta that we haven’t revisited all year. Continue reading “Bradley’s BBQ, Sweetwater TN”
Marie, Let's Eat! 