Talk-A-Vino

I love visiting new places.

Never been to Nashville before, so I was happy that the work event offered an opportunity to visit.

I had no idea what I will find – I only knew that Nashville was typically used as a synonym for American music, but this was more or less the extent of my knowledge. That and the fact that Tennessee (the state where Nashville is located) is often a synonym for American whiskey. Ahh, and of course, the famous Nashville Hot Chicken…

Okay, so where do we start? As I was visiting Nashville for the work event, with a limited time to explore anything, my observations and notes are strictly based on the little free time I had to explore around the convention hall, the Music City Center. Here is the summary of my basic observation:

• Nashville is a party city (Pedal Tavern, anyone?)
• 90% of the women wear boots (never mind 105F outside)
• Food is very expensive (possibly more expensive than in New York City) – at least where the tourists are
• Nashville Hot Chicken and waffles is delicious
• The number of bars with live music exceeds anything I ever seen in my life
• Surprise: Moonshine can be tasty

Here are a few pictures to share:

As a foodie, I have to talk about Nashville Hot Chicken first. Nashville Hot is a specific type of preparation of spicy chicken which was originated in Nashville in the 1930s, and attained popularity way outside of Nashville, Tennessee – you can read about the origins of the dish in this Wikipedia article. Tasting Nashville Hot Chicken was one of my top priorities for the trip 🙂 – and the mission was successfully accomplished. First, I stopped for lunch at the place called The Diner. Hot Chicken was on the menu in the chicken and waffle form. There were hot and mild options for the dish, so I had to ask for an explanation of how spicy the “hot” is. I was told that it should be 7 out of 10, which seemed palatable. The result was delicious, and I thoroughly enjoyed hot chicken served on top of the Belgium waffle with a side of maple syrup, washing it down with a local beer.

I also had Nashville Hot Chicken on another occasion – this time at a place called Hattie B’s Hot Chicken, famous for its – you guessed it – Hot Chicken. I’m assuming this was the location where Hattie B’s Hot Chicken journey started (they now operate multiple locations in the South) and it was worth enduring the 40-minute wait even in the 95+ weather. The chicken was tasty – keep in mind though that their “small” chicken portion is actually small, and if you are hungry, definitely go for the large size. My chicken had a spiciness level of “Hot!” and it was hot enough for me. My colleague went for the top “Shut The Cluck Up!!!” and interestingly enough he was not impressed.

I had one more highlight to my dining experience – a Mexican place close to the hotel called Calacas, and it was an excellent case of the “elevated Mexican” cuisine. I had ceviche which was delicious, and also a very unusual version of taco – crispy cauliflower tacos. I ordered it based on the waiter’s recommendation, and it was absolutely delicious, crispy, crunchy, and perfectly seasoned dish.

My next unexpected experience highlight was a visit to Ole Smokey Distillery. I was looking for a place for an early dinner, and this place had good ratings on Yelp. The place is large and consists of a distillery and a food court. In order to eat there you had to order at the counter, find a place to sit and so on – both the concept and the menu didn’t look too attractive, so I decided just to go do the tasting on the distillery side, especially after admiring the shelves.

For $10, you get an opportunity to taste 7 moonshine and whiskeys and a beer of your choice (you also get a credit of $10 for whatever you decide to buy at the store). I have to honestly say that moonshines fared much better than I expected (really tasty fruit), and grilled pineapple whiskey was just a riot – close your eyes, take a sip, and imagine yourself on a tropical island – yep, it was that good. After being really impressed with the tasting, I left the store with Mango Habanero whiskey (the bottle was very much appreciated back at home – the combination of sweet mango with a powerful kick from Habanero was very well received).

And now last but not least – Tennessee wine.

If you have followed this blog for a while, you know how much I love collecting experiences. One such experience is tasting wines made in different states in the US. Every time I visit a new state I’m looking for an opportunity to taste the local wine and ideally, visit the winery.

This was my first time visiting Tennessee, and of course, finding the local wine was high on my agenda. I tried a few of the wine stores, but being in the tourist area didn’t help much. At one of the wine stores I was told that they don’t have any wines from Tennessee, but I continued looking and I found this wine – Amber Falls Winery Madame Muscadine Tennessee (12.5% ABV).

This wine is made from the grape called Carlos Muscadine, which is one of the most standard cultivars of the Muscadine grape. It appears that Muscadine was one of the first native grapes discovered by colonists in America, and it is a popular grape in the Southeast of the USA. Muscadine grape belongs to the Vitis Rotundifolia family – something new for me, as I am primarily familiar with Vitis Vinifera (all major winemaking grapes) and Vitis Labrusca (grapes from this family are native to the Eastern US). Well, live and learn, right?

To be honest, this wine was a waste of $22 – if you ever had Concord or Isabella wines (both are Vitis Labrusca grapes), this wine had a similar profile, but the lack of acidity was making this wine not enjoyable. But – it let me accomplish the mission of adding one more state to the collection. I will also give myself a break and will consider visiting the distillery the same as visiting the winery – so two checkmarks for the table.

Here you are, my friends – a quick report on a few days in Nashville. Cheers!