Win Free Tickets to the Guy Fieri Roadshow

UPDATE: We have a winner of the much-desired tickets to Guy Fieri's extravaganza at TPAC. Nicole Masullo triumphs for "This is what happens when you Kross Guy's Krew." Honorable mention g...

Miro District Nashville

My best friend in the whole wide world ran away to the mountains and eloped with the love of her life a few weeks ago! So naturally when she came back to town I took her out on a fancy date to celebrate!! We went to Miro District in hopes of having a nice quiet French [...]

Le Beaujolais Nouveau est arrive! Thursday that is!

At one past midnight on the third Thursday of each November, from little villages and towns like Romanèche-Thorins, over a million cases of Beaujolais Nouveau begin their journey through a sleeping France to Paris for immediate shipment to all parts of the world. Banners proclaim the good news: Le Beaujolais Nouveau est arrivé! “The New [...]

Friday Night Slice, Part 21

Caesar's Ristorante Italiano

Yes, technically it's an Italian restaurant and not a pizzeria, but they make one of the best pizzas on this side of town, and by far the best one that will deliver to my house.

Caesar's is located in the heart of Lion's Head on White Bridge Road. Those of us who've been around awhile will remember that the corner space that Caesar's occupies was once home to Q-Zar. Many birthday parties and Saturday afternoons of fun were had there. And not to brag, but I was pretty dominant in the Q-Zar arena. I had this strategy for scoring at the other team's base that was rock solid. By the way, apparently Q-Zar is still alive and well in other cities, and I have to admit that that makes me more than a little jealous. But I digress.

Behold the Caesar's story:

Born in Carini, Palermo, a small city in Sicily, Caesar Randazzo graduated as an engineer. Because of the work shortage, he came to America and worked as a dishwasher and pizza delivery boy for his uncle's pizzeria in Brooklyn, New York. There he worked his way up and learned much about the restaurant business. Caesar migrated to Chattanooga, Tennessee in 1976, and opened five Italian restaurants, only to sell them all seven years later and move back home to Sicily.

Caesar spent two years in Sicily before deciding that his future was in the U.S. He returned to Nashville, got lost, and ended up on White Bridge Road. Says Caesar, "I saw the parking lot at Lion's Head full of cars and people standing in a long line. I thought it was Times Square in New York." The people had come to the movie theater, and Caesar noticed that the restaurant space next to the theater was for rent. He contacted the landlord, and three months later opened his Ristorante Italiano.

Caesar's serves a full menu of Southern Italian and Sicilian favorites. You can order off of the menu, or they have a lunch buffet Monday through Friday. The place has a certain kitschy Italian charm, and the staff is very laid back and friendly, so it's a fun place to eat. The real appeal for me, however, is their delivery service. They deliver their full menu until...wait for it...4 AM! - seven days a week! That's right - if you have a craving for Veal Saltimbocca at 2:30 AM on a Tuesday, you can get it. Or you could get a pizza.



The pizza usually comes in one of those generic "PIZZA" boxes. This time it arrived in a plain white box.



They call it a Neopolitan-style pizza, but to me it seems like a New York style pie. It's got that thin, hand-tossed crust and it's very foldable. The crust is fantastic - crisp and chewy on the outside, and soft and warm on the inside. What really makes this pizza great, though, is the sauce. It's got vibrant tomato flavor, with lots of basil and oregano and some red pepper - it's definitely got some zip to it. The cheese is classic mozzarella, and there's plenty of it. Pull-away factor is high. Pepperoni is meaty and spicy.



Overall, a very good pizza, in my opinion. I don't think it's quite as good as the Manny's/Joey's gold standard, but I'd definitely put Caesar's among the best pizzas in town.

Thank you, MRS, for letting me guest host F.N.S. the last two weeks! It's been fun!

Caesar's Ristorante Italiano

72 White Bridge Road (Lion's Head Village), Nashville, TN 37205
615-352-3661
dine-in, delivery, carry out

* * * * *

Cold Pizza:
Friday Night Slice, Part 1: MAFIAoZA's and Joey's House of Pizza
Friday Night Slice, Part 2: Pizza Perfect and Pizza Perfect Kebobs
Friday Night Slice, Part 3: Rudino's Pizza and Grinders
Friday Night Slice, Part 4: Chicago Style Italian Beef
Friday Night Slice, Part 5: Pie In The Sky
Friday Night Slice, Part 6: Castrillo's Pizza
Friday Night Slice, Part 7: California Pizza Kitchen
Friday Night Slice, Part 8: Ahart's Pizza Garden (Murfreesboro)
Friday Night Slice, Part 9: New York Pizza Depot (Clarksville)
Friday Night Slice, Part 10: Matteo's Pizzeria
Friday Night Slice, Part 11: Angelo's Picnic Pizza (Antioch)
Friday Night Slice, Part 12: Manny's House of Pizza
Friday Night Slice, Part 13: Nashville Pizza Co.
Friday Night Slice, Part 14: Brick's Cafe
Friday Night Slice, Part 15: Sal's Pizza (Hermitage)
Friday Night Slice, Part 16: Painturo's (Mt. Juliet)
Friday Night Slice, Part 17: Brothers' Pizza (Franklin)
Friday Night Slice, Part 18: Snappy Tomato, Roma Pizza and Jet's Pizza
Friday Night Slice, Part 19: Geadello's Pizza
Friday Night Slice, Part 20: Michaelangelo's's Pizza

The Traveling Vegetarian – Vlog 24

Eggos 'n' Mayo's, 'n' Django, oh, my!

As broad as my palate is, I've never, ever (no shit) had an Eggo waffle in my life. Thus, the following news rolls off me like water off of a, well, like water off o' something ...

The Eggo Company has announced a nationwide shortage of Eggo Waffles.

The shortage is connected to problems in two frozen waffle producing plants.A plant in Atlanta closed after unprecedented rainfall hit the area in Sept., but has since reopened. Another plant in Tennessee has closed due to malfunctioning production lines and it is unknown when it will reopen .

Eggo states that the shortage will last at least until summer, 2010. Eggo representatives have stated that they are working round the clock to restore production to normal levels.

I guess the world’s stoners and children will have to resort to Pop Tarts until this crisis is rectified.

Forget Eggo waffles. Here's all you need to know 'bout how to have a proper AMGE breakfast:

The only - and I mean only - time I ever regularly ate breakfast was when I stayed with my grandparents in the country. My grandmother would get up at the crack of dawn to make sausage, gravy, grits, and biscuits for my grandfather, who needed a hearty breakfast before starting a long day of farming or carpentering. The smell of all that cooking would sometimes literally jerk me awake.

Read the rest here.

Cravings

Two months later and I still haven't posted about my trip to NYC. I've even been again (just last week). In my defense, there's a lot to write. Some other time.

In the meantime, here's my little project from last week. It was based on this amazing post from Love & Olive Oil, but I lazed out and used box mix (Orange Supreme) and canned frosting (not a good idea at all). Oh, if only.... Though in a couple of years, I can blame my decorating failures on the kid. I've been warned that doesn't last long, though; once they get about four or so, they can rat you out.
***
I'm now 26 weeks pregnant and have an obvious orb in my torso. I've gone from just looking fat to looking obviously pregnant. So I get a lot of questions from people who know I'm vegetarian. The most common? "Have you craved meat?" The answer? No.

My husband was really hoping I'd crave meat. I told him that even if I did, I wouldn't eat it. Some people do and that's fine for them, but not me. I am disappointed that I've had to take a prenatal vitamin that's in a gelatin capsule. But the vegan alternatives for vitamins and DHA in particular were making me sick. It really only takes one time of having DHA come up through your nose to turn you off it completely. I find it interesting that I can get algae-based DHA in a gelatin capsule. I suppose it's for people who may have fish allergies. Anyhoo.

So what have I craved?

During the first trimester, I had the very common craving for lemons. I've read that it may be due to an increased need for vitamin C and also because it helps with nausea. However, past week 11 or so, I could take or leave anything lemon flavored. And I have quite a stash now. Lemon-lime soda, frozen lemonade, lemon candy, lemon cookies...

During my second trimester, it was french fries. See the previous post on Red Robin and their bottomless fries. A co-worker fed my addiction with more servings of Arby's curly fries than I care to admit as well. My theory on this craving is my body's need to bulk up. I gained just six pounds in the first four months, but gained another six pounds in the fifth month. The fry craving was supplemented with mashed potatoes during my bout with the flu. Both helped me pack on the weight. Which I really didn't want. For a brief time in there (about a week), I wanted my fries dipped in pickle juice, too. But hey, I love those dill flavored chips anyway, so it's not like that's some odd stretch.

Now that I'm entering my third trimester, all I crave is Xanax. No, really. Of course, I won't take any (don't even have any), but I just want to relax. I've had an eye twitch for weeks that's likely a result of fatigue and stress. Just one good night's sleep.... I also had a craving for a cigarette recently. This is even more odd than any food craving since I've never been a smoker and I actually hate cigarettes and their taste and smell. I was that kid who bowed to peer pressure and tried one and then immediately exclaimed, "that tastes like crap!" My tastebuds were always more important to me than looking cool (as evidenced by my chubby phase in late elementary/junior high school).

But as far as food goes, I don't have an interest in much. Nor do I have the energy to cook much. So we've been using the excuse of the pending baby to go out to eat a lot.
***
While at a party this weekend, I talked to Chef Andy Hunter of The Acorn. He's working on his fall/winter menu and I'm eager to see what he does with some of the winter squashes. I love them, but rarely cook them because they can be kind of a pain in the ass. I love having chopped acorn squash in a dish, but I'm not a huge fan of skinning and chopping it myself. Andy also showed us some of the pumpkins he carved for Halloween. Holy cow. He said it takes him about an hour to do most (everything from celebrity faces to Muppets of all sorts), but it took him about three hours to carve The Brady Bunch. The detail...wow.

At the same party, I introduced myself to John Cochran, who's opening The Wild Cow soon. There's been a lot of buzz about this place among local vegetarians and we're really hoping it takes off. He said they've had to delay opening, not least because of all the paperwork required to get a restaurant open, but are aiming for December 1 with a grand opening that will benefit a local animal charity. I can't remember which one right now, but I'm going to keep my eye on these guys. We chatted a little about food and he said they're still trying to decide on the purchase of a deep fryer. I hope they make that plunge because "chicken-fried" tofu nuggets would convert a lot of otherwise tofu-averse people over to the soy side. I think their location is good, too; they're at 1896 Eastland, right across from a popular restaurant, Rosepepper, which is often very crowded. It's in a part of East Nashville that's a tad bit more residential and less restaurant-y than parts west of there. I bet they could do a heckuva a takeaway business. I'm hoping that not being quite so far into the neighborhood (as The Veggie Cafe was) will help it, too.

Thanksgiving Suggestion and Farm Fun

It's Hot Hot Hot!

Seriously, there is no trickery or added red color to the photo above of my hot chicken. All I did was shrink the photo, add my blog address and post the photo on this blog. 400 Degrees hot chicken is red red red red read hot. I really like chicken wings, and I really like 400 Degrees 200 Degrees chicken wings. How it works at this hot chicken joint is that you can get 4 types of spicy hot chicken. You can get 0, 100, 200 or 400 degrees. I am not a fire eater, so 400 is out. I tried a lick of the 400 once, and it burned like a SOB, and I just could not drink enough milk and water to make it go away. Then, there was the action of touching my tearing up eyes with the fingers I touched the 400 degree chicken with... and my eyes started to water and burn for many many minutes. No need for me to experience pepper spray to the eyes, I have tried 400 Degrees hot chicken. 200 is as hot as I can go, and the photo shows what 200 degrees looks like. There is an underlying spice flavor to the hot chicken, not just spicy hot. I like the light crunchy fried chicken batter 400 Degrees uses. The hot chicken is not at all like saucy Buffalo wings, it is completely different with the spice and chili pepper flavors permeating through the chicken. Hot chicken is its own thing. I really like the flavor, color, texture and burn I can get at 400 Degrees.

Here is the deal about this place, it is small with a couple tables and a counter with a couple chairs, so one is best to order over the phone and take out. Don't worry, the chicken will travel well to where you need to go. If you don't like spicy hot food, there are plenty of sides without spicy hotness, and hamburgers. I have never gotten a burger, I don't know how they are, but 400 Degrees was smart enough to put non-hot burgers on the the menu for the friends and family who just cannot take the heat. There is 0 degree chicken, which I have not tried either, but I am guessing it is just plain fried chicken.

How to find this place, it is a little tough because it may be hard to see the sign from the road and the slightly confusing intersection. This is how I would go from West End Ave.:
Take 18th Ave North, it turns into D.B. Todd Blvd
When you are about to take fork onto Clarksville Pike which is a slight left,
there is a small brick building in front of you,
and there it is on the left hand side of the building,
and there is a tiny sign above the door.
I drove back and forth on Clarksville Pike for mile or 2 back and forth, back and forth until I realized 400 Degrees is in that little brick building off on its own

If you want 400 Degrees hot chicken, you gotta get there early, they are only open until 7 pm Tuesday through Saturday. You are SOL Sunday and Monday.

Sophia! Foodies Interview on Chocolate Tastings

Let’s clear up what some of you may be thinking – this is no wax-infused chocolate fountain event where you’re getting bottom of the barrel quality and all-you-can-consume gorging. This is the real deal, where you’re satiated not by the volume but by the discovery of the complexity in each unique offering. This is a revival of the slow food movement, where people take their time to prepare and enjoy food, as they concentrate and savor each flavor. Chocolate has hints, notes, and tones provided by the various ingredients that supplement the cacao. Much like a supplemented wine tasting, Sophia produces the matching ingredients (vanilla, coffee, etc) for your taste buds to recognize as you encounter each piece, bringing out the subtleties so even the weakest palate can identify the constituent catalysts.

Like any good conductor, Sophia knows how to orchestrate the entire experience. She begins by taking you through a brief history of chocolate, where it came from, how it was

discovered and its stages of evolution. Then you begin your trek through the different sweetness levels: milk, white, semisweet, dark, and bittersweet. Appropriate dessert wines accompany these stops, with the most interesting being the Russian-inspired vodka splash to mix with the strongest bittersweet morsel – producing a counter-intuitive mix of extremes of bittersweet and sweet to mesh and settle your experience in the center of the spectrum.

Sophia ensures that the participant receives tastes of the most elusive, hard to find, and exotic chocolate which is simply inaccessible to those without the knowledge. These are items you can’t get anywhere else, and Sophia often recruits friends who are traveling as her primary couriers. (I learned that Italian chocolate became her most recent acquisition after traveling friends found the hidden location she directed them to.) For those who want to flex their investigative muscle, Sophia will also provide samples of chocolates which are difficult to find for the average consumer, but not impossible if you make the right effort. These chocolates will usually be collector’s pieces available through small internet gateways that can be delivered to the Nashville area. Not forgetting the local talent, Sophia also promises that the best local chocolates are included, ensuring that Nashvillians can find their way to the right local artisan after they’ve been dazzled by Sophia’s tasting.

This is one event we have fiendishly dared to dream about. It is the kind of slow-food experience which will help you remember that it really is the holidays and you can sit back, relax, and indulge yourself without regret. It doesn't hurt to be guided through this journey by an escort whose blood courses with culinary tradition.

Now, it took begging and pleading to convince Sophia to consent to this post. She is a talented, extroverted hostess with a carbonated personality sure to make everyone comfortable, but she does like to fly beneath the advertising radar. Don't believe me? Just try finding her info somewhere else. After several months, and all I could muster about the benefits of blogdom, we have done it. For us, she has permitted this exception to her rule, and she is willing to bring her talents to our Nashville foodies. (Yes!)

As you can imagine, acquiring the chocolate is an extensive process, so make sure to plan your event as early as you can. Parties from 6-12 are best, but 20 is the max. She brings her wares to the venue of your choice, including homes. Cost will vary depending on the number in the party, the chocolates themselves, and the guests' choice of wine pairing (biggest variable), and Sophia provides estimates upon request. Paired teas may be substituted for dessert wines for those who prefer a non-alcoholic experience.

Yes, you have found the golden ticket, Charlie, and it's right here in Nashville. Claim your prize by calling this number: 615-496-1513 or inquiring at sbcontreras@comcast.net.

the blt – a culinary ode to ruhlman (circa 9/09)

i realize that this is old news. i mean, any tomato such as the one i used in september is sadly unattainable until three more seasons are behind us. but with all the summer clamor to make the ultimate blt from total scratch – all the while knowing that i was not in the mood [...]