Eating and Drinking My Way Through Nashville!

Oh Nashville! You were so ungodly hot and humid. Except for the occasional breeze, I'm pretty sure that is what hell feels like.

But Nashville! You were so much fun! So full of music and culture and people who were gracious enough to point us in the right direction when we looked like stranded tourists. And the food and drinks! Dear Lord, the food and drinks we had there! I tried my darnedest, but could not find a piece of bacon that I didn't fully enjoy!

So, since we don't see enough of each other in the average 10 hours a day that we work together, the Quantity Control Expert and I went on vacation together to fabulous Nashville, Tennessee for the CMA Music Festival! A week of country music and more country artists than I could count!

When we weren't listening to country music, the QCE and I were eating. And then eating some more. Followed by dessert.

Here are a few highlights of what we ate!

As soon as we were checked into the hotel, it was time for dinner. Our first meal in Nashville definitely set a high bar for the rest of our meals, but we were not disappointed. At Bricktops, we started the meal with tasty watermelon margaritas, deviled eggs, and carpaccio. But when I say deviled eggs, I don't just mean a regular old deviled egg. I mean a deviled egg with, are you ready for this?, sugared bacon! A thick cut of savory bacon, baked with brown sugar so it's sweet and carmely. All on top of a deviled egg. Oh Nashville, you rock.

And here's the margherita flatbread we had for dinner. A thin, crispy flatbread crust with incredibly fresh tomatoes and basil. Tasty!!

The following night, we found ourselfs across the street from Bricktops at a tapas places called Rumba. I absolutely love eating at tapas restaraunts for the experience that goes with it. It's not like a regular restaraunt where you order your food and then eat it. It's about the socializing with your party and trying smaller portions of many more foods and then, of course, ordering more food!

Rumba introduced me to sweet-tea vodka, which I'd never heard of before but have since heard about everywhere. I would highly recommend the Sweet Tea Caipiroska, but be warned that these potent little drinks go down rather quickly!

This place is known for their satay, which we couldn't pass up. But we also tried spring rolled quesadillas, which combined Mexican with Asian flavors and techniques. Amazing!

But the part of this trip that I will never forget, the part where I announced that I could officially die a happy person, were the Chivitos. These burger sliders which were in fact the moistest and most flavorful burgers I have ever eaten. Hands down. I have no idea what they do, and probably don't want to know, but my mouth starts watering every time I think of those sliders.

Another hit with us was the BCBG Flatbread. Blue cheese, bacon, grapes, and honey on a flatbread. If you're a fan of sweet and savory together, this was great. The sweetness from the grapes and honey offset the "funk" of the blue cheese, as our waitress called it.

I have to confess that we went all the way to Nashville and ate gyros twice. From a dinky little place near the river front with questionable health ratings. But these were so good!

Still noshing on my gyros!

I learned that no trip to the South is complete without stopping at a Pancake Pantry. From our hotel, we were told that the Pancake Pantry was around the corner, walking distance away. So, troopers that we are, we started the death march of heat and humidity to the Pancake Pantry. Thirty minutes later, we arrived. To find the 45 minute wait.

The death march and wait were well worth it though! I do applogize for showing you my half-eaten stack of pancakes, but I past the point of rational thought by the time we were actually served that I forget until about here that I should take a picture.

But these pancakes, the apricot-lemon delight, were heavenly. The tartness of the lemons and the sweetness of the apricots, all on top of fluffy pancakes! This renewed my faith in Nashville after the death march!

I fully intend to return to Nashville at some point. You'll find me bouncing between Rumba and Pancake Pantry, probably about six sizes bigger than I am now! But next time I might try to hit up Nashville when it's not 90 degrees and 110% humidity!