A Taste of Nashville - Margot

1. Neighborhood: East Nashville at Five Points

2. History: 

Margot Cafe & Bar opened in June of 2001 by Chef Margot McCormack. It offers rustic French and Italian cuisine with an emphasis on the regions of Provence and Tuscany.

"Margot's philosophy on food and cooking is rooted in the cultures of southern France and Italy. It is based on seasonality and the very best ingredients. Margot is not looking to reinvent food but to reintroduce it in a personal and uncomplicated way" 

-Voted Best New Restaurant 2001 by Nashville Scene

-Voted Best Restaurant, Best Chef and Best Brunch by Best of Nashville 2005-2009

(information from website: www.margotcafe.com) 

3. Hours: 

Tuesday - Saturday: 6:00 - 10:00 pm (bar opens at 5pm)

Sunday Brunch: 11am - 2pm

Monday: Closed

4. Price:  

-dish to share: $3-12 (cheese plate, bread, chips, etc.) 

-first course: $6-12

-second course: $16-26

5. Parking: Parking was ok. They do have a TINY lot in front of the restaurant and free street parking on Woodland and Clearview. But if you are going on a weekend you may have to pay $3 for parking in a lot. 

6. Atmosphere: Atmosphere is perfect for a neighborhood gem. It is upscale but eclectic with individual vintage bread plates and everything. There were multiple dining areas. Including a small room upstairs. 

Source: Margotcafe.com

Source: Margotcafe.com

7. Service: The service was fine. You could tell they were well trained. But nothing really noteworthy.

8. Menu: The food was really well prepared. Chef is classically trained, updating her menu daily according to in-season, local ingredients. The food was the best part of the restaurant experience.

Sorry, the lighting was almost impossible for picture taking. Especially with my phone. 

Housemade Potato Chips with Aioli 

Fish Chowder with Bacon and Croutons 

Sopressata with Olive Relish, Arugula and Parmesan

We also tried:

-Pan Roasted Skate - potato cakes, spinach and caper brown butter

-Grilled Hanger Steak - Roasted Cauliflower and potatoes with Gorgonzola

-Bread crumb gnocchi with mushrooms walnuts and cream

All delicious!

*Well best part was our dinner guests :) Two of our team members from our Christmas Africa trip treated us to this amazing meal!

9. Ranking: 8 - We loved the food, loved our company and the atmosphere was great for a nice date night. It is not somewhere that I would go eat at often but it was worth our visit!

Thank you Gail and Randy for a wonderful meal and for helping us cross another restaurant off our list. 

We love you guys!

And we topped the night off at Jeni's Ice Cream....mmm

A Taste of Nashville - Etch

#2 Etch

1. Neighborhood: Downtown - Demonbreun and 3rd

(Ground floor of the Encore Building)

2. History: Another recently opened restaurant, Etch is run by Chef Deb Paquette. They offer bar seating, dining room and an open kitchen with bar seating as well. 

(information from website: www.etchrestaurant.com)

The Encore tower is right across the street from the Pinnacle building.

3. Hours: 

Monday - Friday : Lunch 11 - 2, Dinner 5 - 10 (bar opens at 4)

*Happy hour is 4 - 6:30

Saturday - just dinner

Sunday - closed, brunch coming soon!

4. Price:  $$$ = $15 - $35

5. Parking: Parking is a pain downtown. We ended up paying $5 at a lot and walked a block.

6. Atmosphere: Because Etch is located in the business district, the customers were professional and older. Pretty modern but not hip like most trendy Nashville restaurants. 

Photo credit: nashvilleguru.com

Bar at Etch
Photo credit: thedailymeal.net

7. Service: This one is hard to review because we stayed in the bar area, we were at a small table near the bar. We did not have traditional servers. But I felt like the bartender was not very professional. She always came to our table at weird times and carried herself pompously like we were bothering her.

8. Menu:

Another tricky category to give an honest answer. Michael and I just wanted appetizers and a drink so we did not dine at Etch. Their dinner menu looks tasty, including: 

However, we found the Happy Hour menu to be really delicious. Here is what we enjoyed:

Pork Belly - We really liked the combination of cilantro, raisins and nuts but didn't care for the tofu.

Duck Confit - Delicious with the candied orange peel and orange bread. I loved the balsamic blackberries.

Butter Tasting - So good. This is on the dinner menu and it was the first thing Michael saw when we were browsing restaurants in Nashville. We had to keep ordering bread to finish it because we didn't want it to go to waste. It is like getting a cheese plate for dessert. Goat butter, truffle butter, smoked plugra butter, duck butter...mmmm.

10. Ranking: Based solely on atmosphere and our Happy Hour experience, we would give it a 6.5 .

The food was good, but we weren't blown away and the service was mediocre. We feel like we need to have a true dining experience to really say whether or not we would go back. 

Sandwiches.

I love sandwiches. I love hamburgers. I love that you can taste so many flavors in a single bite. And the options are limitless...

Some of our favorite restaurants in Nashville include Silly Goose and Burger Up because they use delicious, interesting ingredients in their food.

But here is the deal, sandwiches require close to no cooking and are quite simple if you know what ingredients to buy. This is one easy way to make a yummy meal. Click on this link and look at the Silly Goose menu. Delicious, right? Now go to the store and buy those ingredients and enjoy your favorite sandwich multiple times at a fraction of the price. (But still go to these restaurants every once in a while to support local business ;)

We decided to create some of our own gourmet sandwiches.

Sandwich #1: Fennel and Salami

What we used: 

1. Grilled slices of fennel (from the bulb)

2. Alfalfa sprouts

3. Salami

4. A goat cheese and chopped olive spread (we added some pureed garlic, fennel tops, salt and pepper, apple cider vinegar, a little mustard, capers and a splash of milk) 

5. Tuscan bread from Provence 

 Sandwich #2: Our own take on a BLT

What we used: 

1. Spinach

2. Bacon

3. Gruyere

4. Some more yummy bread

5. Herb Aioli - Whisk an egg yolk while you slowly add olive oil. Add a tablespoon of vinegar. Mix in herbs (here we used basil, garlic powder, oregano and marjoram) 

6. Fried tomatoes (not fried in this picture...) 

 Sandwich #3: Turkey, brie and raspberry

What we used: 

1. Sliced Turkey

2. Brie

3. Dijon Mustard

4. Yummy bread, once again

5. Fruit compote: diced apples, raspberries, plum, cranberry juice, and a touch of horseradish and balsamic vinegar. Mix it together and put over low heat. We used the emulsion blender to help mix up the fruit.

So yummy and now I get to eat these tasty sandwiches all week long :)

How does your garden grow, Pt 1

So Michael and I decided to plant a vegetable garden...
Over the next few weeks and months you will get to witness what a beginner trying to garden looks like.
I had no clue so much was involved in this process. I looked at soil type, USDA hardiness zone, I had to consider rain run off in the yard, amount of sunlight, what plants need what amount room, which plants grow well together, which ones need rows and which ones need something to grow on, which ones to plant from seeds and which ones would be better to plant from an existing plant, when to transplant the seedlings, etc. So much to consider...My goal is to plant: Rosemary, basil, mint, cilantro, dill, sweet potatoes, squash and zucchini, corn, a blackberry bush, tomatoes, strawberries, red peppers, string beans, lettuce, sunflowers, marigolds, and lavender.
 Any tips you have will be much appreciated!! 

 I spent a few hours outside mapping out what I wanted it to look like. With the help of some scrap wood, sticks and yarn, I could "walk through" my future garden plot. I am visual person and I had to see what 20 feet by 12 feet looked like.

I spent hours planning and reading and researching and googling and blog reading...

 And I drew a nifty diagram with all veggies and fruit I want.

 I learned something about myself today. I don't know how to use a shovel. I was completely useless. I guess I don't have the weight to really make a difference. I broke a few blades of grass and suffered a minor injury. Oh well. So Michael dug up 10 pound clumps and I hauled them out of the garden. 6 hours of digging and lifting wore me out!! Muscles I didn't even know I had were hurting so bad!

Thankfully, Michael's parents came over and brought a second wave of energy and we managed to clear the plot before dark.

 We placed pavers and boards where they will tentatively go.

We ended the night with Lauren and Evan over for sweet potato fries and black bean quinoa burgers (like the ones at Burger Up). Delicious.
And I went to bed at 8pm. I was exhausted.

I will start my plants from seeds next week and start planting in the soil mid April. By the beginning of May I will have all the plants in the garden. Until then I will learn all I can about composting so I can have nice, rich soil by May! 

Taste and see

"Taste and see that the Lord is good!"
So maybe the Psalmist did not intend for this verse to be about delicious cooking concoctions, but
I love food and I really love good food and I think God loves that I love food!
I believe He cares about our senses and seeing us so excited about the things we experience. 
We were given the ability to feel so many textures. And there's the smell of garlic and bacon cooking or Anthropologie candles! And some people cry over a pretty harmony in a song or a beautiful sunset

(I could not take my eyes off this sunset, pretty amazing!) 
But for me, I cry over good food. Yes, I am having a little Pocahontas "Colors of the Wind" moment,

 But I think life is so much sweeter when we enjoy our senses.
I think that is why I enjoy traveling so much, because everything looks different, the language sounds different, there are definitely unique smells, and of course some interesting flavors. I am so aware of my senses which seems to makes life fuller and more beautiful.
So when flavors go so well together and there is the perfect blend of yummyness and texture, I have been known to shed a few tears. I am very happy that God decided to make cabbage, kale, basil, vanilla beans, tomatoes, and strawberries (to name a few).
He is the most creative Creator.
And thanks to Him, here are some creations Michael and I made over the last month:
Now go and enjoy whatever makes you happy cry! :)