June and Johnny do Nashville

As long as we were there, why not get some of the local flavor?

 

Our friends Doug and Gay Scholma have a daughter and son-in-law (and now a grandson) who live in Nashville.   We hadn’t been there since traveling the Natchez Trace many years ago and had never really gotten an opportunity to immerse ourselves into the local scene.   It’s not a bad drive from Holland MI to Nashville TN; a bit over 500 miles; almost all free-way and even closer to Ann Arbor.

UPDATE: Re-visit of Asheville and Nashville May 31, 2022

We had originally planned to go right back to Nashville and include Asheville on our way to Myrtle Beach back in spring of 2020 but COVID got in our way. So, it wasn’t until late May 2022 that we were able to reschedule some of the events we had planned on.

The first event was dinner at the Omni Grove Park Sunset Terrace in Asheville. This is quite an historic hotel although my sister and her architect colleagues say it is an ugly poorly designed monstrosity. Alice and I found it extraordinarily fascinating and imaginative. The Sunset Terrace is a large outdoor covered porch overlooking the meadows and hillocks of the Smokey Mountain foothills. In addition to a spectacular view, the food was quite good. The steaks, which they claim to be their specialty, were so grossly over priced that we did not see a single diner with a steak in front of them. Everything else on the menu was a bit pricey too but not absurdly expensive. Food, service and ambience all good so, in spite of the high price, I’d say it was a worthwhile stop. Really, why go to Asheville and not go to the most famous restaurant? While in Asheville, we also took a FOOD TOUR hosted by local food critic Stu Helm. Stu is a walking encyclopedia of Asheville lore, history and architecture. We thoroughly enjoyed the evening with him. The FOOD TOUR is just that. It is not a progressive dinner. We visited a handful of Stu’s favorite restaurants representing the essence of local flavor. On the plus side, all of the small plates were delicious, well prepared and appealing. However, most of the dishes were small entrees and mostly featured something smoked so after a few plates, we were pretty full and pretty much satiated with smoked meat. Even the mac ‘n cheese at the Storm Rhum Bar, was smoked! Our favorite was a little mom and pop storefront called the WHITE DUCK. We enjoyed a pork belly taco along side of a super flavorful frozen margarita that might have been the most delicious food we had during our entire vacation. Next up, we had a smoked assortment (pork, beef and lamb) on beautifully plated and garnished board paired with a red Rioja at the TWISTED LAUREL. A short walk later, we arrived at what can only be called a “hole in the wall” pizzeria. MANICOMIO (means insane asylum in Italian) is a later-in-life business run on love of food and GREAT NY style pizza. To get the essence of the sauce we each enjoyed just a single slice of the plain cheese pizza. It is right up there on our list with Fricano’s as the best of the best. Next, we strolled down to UKIAH JAPANESE SMOKEHOUSE. I didn’t know you could use “Japanese” and “smokehouse” in the same sentence, but, obviously, in the south this is a very compatible idea. We started with a salmon sashimi shooter (in sake) followed by a smoked and sauced pork rib and sake served ice cold in a small wine glass. Again, everything was tasty and nicely conceived. At the STORM RHUM BAR we enjoyed a uniquely NC version of a dark and stormy with locally made ingredients. The drink was dandy, but, by then we weren’t real hungry for smoked mac ‘n cheese. Had we not already stuffed ourselves to over-full, I’m sure it would have been delicious. We concluded our trip at SUNSHINE SAMMIES for a handmade ice cream sandwich with ice cream from a local creamery. When we got back to the hotel, Stu also gave us a couple of locally made chocolate covered Orio cookies for the road. I would whole heartedly recommend the experience. But, remember, it is a tour not a progressive dinner.

One other Asheville restaurant that I would recommend for lunch or just a bite to tie you over until dinner is the HARVEST PIZZERIA which is across the street from Buxton Hall BBQ. After 4:00 pm they offer Mediterranean small plates too but before 4:00 pm it is pizza and a very nice assortment of appetizers. They also feature a full bar and locally produced draft beer. It was exactly what we needed because we were going on the food tour only four hours later.

In Nashville, we had dinner at PASTERIA, The range of pasta and ingredients offers a wide variety of flavors. Everyone enjoyed it and to my knowledge, it is one of the only Italian restaurants in the US that actually cooks the pasta to order. In all my years of dining out, it is the first and only restaurant which was able to fulfil my request for a side of steaming pasta water (Luciano’s in Ludington also cooks the pasta to order but normally leaves the pasta wet enough that one doesn’t need extra pasta water to resuscitate it). I experienced nduja sausage. In our Italian family, we never had this before. Broadway is still a massive 24/7 party which doesn’t seem to have taken any kind downturn during COVID. We did not get to reschedule our cancelled Gatlin’ Brothers concert at the Ryman nor able to get tickets to see Bonnie Raitt again but we did enjoy another outdoor concert in Centennial Park complete with food trucks and beer, wine and cocktail vendors while serenaded by some of Nashville’s soon-to-be-famous up and coming acts..

We nearly alluded backed up traffic the entire trip until we stopped in Toledo for our Tony Packo’s fix. Fortunately, we were able to bail out and approach the restaurant from the surface road.

 Original Content from 10/1/2019

The first night we were there, we enjoyed a free concert in Centennial Park (home of the century old exact replica of the Greek Parthenon including the statue of Athena).   The Scholma’s son-in-law, Justin, is a promoter/organizer for the concerts in the park which take place all spring, summer and fall.   It was a great venue with broad concrete benches installed symmetrically around a mildly sloping amphitheater-like grassy hollow facing the stage.    Sound and sight couldn’t be better with lots of shade trees to keep it all comfortable.  The talent was noteworthy. These very entertaining bands were relatively unknown local bands trying to break into the very vibrant music scene in Nashville.   The food trucks, beer, wine and spirits vendors were easily accessible with all sorts of delicious products.   Remarkably, mosquitoes were not an issue.

 

The next day, we wanted to see a lot of things because there is a lot to see in Nashville.   Rather than driving all over the surrounding country side, we opted to hit a local winery with a tasting room in the farmer’s market and a local artisanal distillery a couple of blocks away.   We were told by Leah, the Scholma’s daughter, that most of the Tennessee wineries were bringing in grapes rather than growing their own.   Of course, as a vintner myself, this was quite disappointing.   At the farmer’s market, Natchez Hills offered a few locally grown wines as well as many from West Coast grapes.   The reason for not growing all of them according to our tasting room host was not that good grapes can’t be grown in Tennessee, but that the industry was just so new that there weren’t enough mature vineyards of fine wine grapes to fill the needs of a rapidly growing industry.   Natchez Hills makes a couple of fruit wines from locally grown blueberries and blackberries.   From Tennessee grapes, they make a Cabernet Sauvignon and a Merlot (not available for tasting due to very limited production).   Their plan is to eventually grow the majority of the grapes for all of their wines.  As a certified wine judge, it’s hard for me not to rate wines even if I’m just hanging out having fun, so please take my “ratings” with a little grain of salt.   Here is what we had:

 

2018 Sauvignon Blanc (California) $22   Fresh, lemony, slightly bitter with subtle herb-like nuances more typical of the New Zealand style than is typical of California though certainly not the in-your-face rosemary and cat piss one often encounters from NZ.   I liked the long balanced fruity finish.   If I were judging it, it would have received a SILVER MEDAL.

2018 Riesling (Washington) $22   Too delicate for my palate, the nose did offer faint mineral-like stony subtleties with hints of cardamom and nutmeg.   The palate and finish were quite soft and juicy though very light.   My score would be BRONZE MEDAL.

NV Sunset Blush (Cal/Wash) $19   Crisp and refreshingly off dry; a pleasant easy quaff.   I’m not sure if a simple wine like this even gets in the conversation of medals.

2017 Cabernet Sauvignon, Tennessee $25  Being the only Tennessee grown wine we tasted, it would be premature to make any assessment about the potential for fine wine grown here, but, this is a very well made, correctly varietal Cab.  It starts with a warm meaty savory stew-like nuance with red currant and blueberry-like hints in the quite aromatic nose.   I was told that they age it in French barrels.  This surprises me considering the wealth of cooperage expertise in their own backyard.   Michigan winemakers can only dream of the day our local oak forests can be harvested for wine barrels.   Presently, to make a barrel in Michigan, we need to harvest the wood, ship it to TN, KY or MO; have it cut, shipped back to Michigan to age, shipped back south for assembly and toasting and finally shipped back to Michigan.  Crazy!   Whatever the cooperage, I liked the balance of oak tannin, grape tannin and fruity finesse not unlike a Loire Valley Cab Franc in weight.   I liked the fact that the tannin was much more apparent than most Michigan Cabs.   I would have to give this wine at least a SILVER maybe GOLD MEDAL.   Nicely done!

2015 Alicante Bouchet (California) $25   Though we were told that this wine is completely unoaked, it still possessed some of the meaty nuance found in the Cab.   I have no idea how that is possible, unless they are blending a bit of the Cab into it or have some other commonality such as the micro fauna and flora that inhabit the winery doing some work here.   To me, in spite of the full flavor and rich persimmon/blood orange fruit and appealing berry-like finish, it seemed clumsy and not seamlessly balanced.   I probably wouldn’t rate this wine above a BRONZE MEDAL.

UPDATE: 5/27/2022

2020 Chambourcin, Tennessee $20 When I saw the lineup and tasted this wine I had a feeling that this was not the same winery. Unfortunately, I didn’t ask too many questions. The wine lineup was completely different (mostly sweet fruit wines) and only one Tennessee dry red, the Chambourcin. It was a pleasant wine but surprisingly light both in color, bouquet, flavor and finish (rather grassy / weedy) for a wine made from these literally black grapes. My experience with Chambourcin is mainly Michigan and Missouri where it makes hugely aromatic, bursting with fruit black as ink wines. Chambourcin is one of the few hybrids that normally does not have that strong essence of grassy greeny earthy flavor. So, I emailed the winery and the owner/winemaker gave me a call. He must have thought that I write a blog with thousands of subscribers. Anyway, he was very candid and explained that, as I had already surmised, most of the wines I had tasted a couple of years ago were from purchased California fruit. Today, he makes most of his wine from estate grown or local fruit. He has gotten to the point since COVID that he is selling a lot of wine at the winery and has learned that soft fruity “easy to drink” semi sweet or sweet wines sell best at the Nashville Farmers Market. He invited me to the winery and I plan to visit. When I do, I’ll refresh this column and put it at the top again as an update.ABC

 

For lunch, Hattie B’s Tennessee Hot Chicken is a must.  The chicken skin is less bready and tighter to the flesh than Kentucky Fried Chicken and the birds were quite a bit larger than one normally gets in a fried chicken joint.   The level of spice can be ordered to taste.   I would guess most people order Medium or Hot, though you can get a Hotter ‘n Hell version too.  The spice is delicious and the chicken cooked perfectly.  The southern sides are not to be missed.  We had collards and pimento mac ‘n cheese, both really good.   They offer a good selection of local beers on tap and by the can.

 

Later on that same day, we visited Nelson’s Green Brier Distillery in Marathon Village not far from the market.   Jack Daniels also has a tasting room in this building.   The Nelson’s have an interesting history going back before Prohibition and only recently revived the distillery and the Belle Meade Bourbon brand.   We tasted a few bourbons ranging from an unaged white “lightning” style to a Madiera cask reserve.  They also served a cordial flavored with pecans, coffee and vanilla.   Alice loved it.  I liked the standard Belle Mead Sour Mash Straight Bourbon Whiskey which is a very small batch product with a high (30%) rye content aged six to eight years in barrel.   This is a highly decorated, highly scored bourbon receiving GOLD, DOUBLE GOLD, 93 points etc. from various competitions and magazines.   I really liked the fact that it has loads of sweet maple-like notes in the nose and a toasted caramel/vanilla-like flavor that stays throughout the finish; very rich yet refreshingly light on the palate.  To quote my brother-in-law, George Lilly, “Tried the Bourbon tonight and it was great! I drank it almost like Drambuie. It is so strong with the maple and other sugars that I just put some on my tongue and inhaled it!” And, yes, I’d give it a GOLD MEDAL too!

 

We had dinner at Rolf and Daughters restaurant, a small innovative place, again, a few blocks from the market.   We had a fine meal with a very interesting array of small and large plates prepared in unexpected ways.   Though I liked everything, my only criticism is that the chef maybe over thinks what he’s doing.   Sometimes less is more.   While there, we had a few “natural” wines.   This seems to be a very real trend locally.  One of the local wine shops (Woodland Wine and Spirits) devotes nearly half the store to natural wines.  With dinner, we had an Austrian Zweigelt that to me seemed a bit burdened with extraneous smells and flavors of unwanted microbiological life and a Minervois that seemed correct and clean, but, a bit subdued.   After dinner we went back to Justin and Leah’s house to have a couple more natural wines that they are particularly fond of.  The first wine we tasted was a thoroughly remarkable Alsace “orange wine” (white wine with skin contact) that looked in the glass like weiss bier!   Indeed, it was cloudy even a tad frothy, yet, possessed the most wonderfully floral ripe fruit aroma I’ve encountered among wines from Alsace.   The flavor was lively, fresh, clean as polished stainless steel yet full of nuance and complexity.   If this is what natural wine can be, I’m on board.   However, the next wine was much like the wines we had had at the restaurant.   I’m starting to get the opinion that because natural wines have a very low sulfite level* (often none added by the winemaker) film yeasts and lots of other microbiological entities easily invade these wines.   Our hosts clearly feel that element adds complexity and depth to the wines and seem very willing to enjoy that as well as willing to pay a premium for it.   To me, all of the red wines tasted flawed.  As a winemaker born and bred on the necessity of sulfites, I’m not likely to change my idea of fine wine at my advanced age.   The younger generation seems to be much more open-minded about this.   I’m not sold and I ain’t buying it! UPDATE: Alice purchased a bottle of natural Pinot Noir while we were in Nashville to enter into the American Wine Society Pinot Party wine judging held in late October. It came in dead last with 63 points (the next lowest score was 80). I mention this not because the wine was bad, it just isn’t what people (mostly senior citizens) expect and appreciating the “complexity” truly requires some experience with natural wines to acquire a taste for these unusual flavors..

 

Enjoy in Good Health!

A Brian Cain, the Michigan Vintner

 

 * Regarding natural wine, one has to look at it like one would compare a glass of fresh cold pasteurized milk to yogurt or a cucumber vs. a pickle or cabbage compared to sour kraut etc. The fact that the Egyptians discovered sulfite around 5000 BC and winemakers have whole-heartedly adopted its use ever since, I think jades anyone like me who has been drinking sulfited wine for over 50 years. I do see that if you don’t have that prejudice, all the factors I would consider spoilage could translate into complexity. I’m afraid that I’m just too damn old to go there.

PS A great choice for breakfast or lunch among the thriving Nashville restaurant scene is Marche Artisan Foods in East Nashville next to Woodland Wine and Spirits.   The food is fresh, flavorful and prepared just the way you like it.   Even something as simple as grits, has a savory sumptuousness. 

Another attraction, of course, is the Grand Ole Opry.   If you don’t get the opportunity to see a live concert there, go on the backstage tour.   The history and love with which our tour guide conveyed it just plain felt good.   One leaves the tour with a sense of awe and appreciation to all the hard work and affectionate pride that all involved in it radiate.  ABC