Hungry Times Two

In a land where Kroger is King, it's nice to know that there's always Publix just beyond the self-imposed drive time limit we've established for grocery shopping. So what if it's an extra four miles past the nearest Kroger - Publix has waaaaay better organic selections, the environs are gleamingly pristine, and the employees must have kick-ass benefits or something because they are always exceedingly helpful and kind. I hate to think we'll see less of Publix once the Trader Joe's opens in Green Hills. Now, I know that driving to Green Hills will surely cause our drive time limit to implode and forever be damned. But it's the almighty TJ's ! We just can't help ourselves. Anyone know when they're opening? Last I heard, they predicted a Thanksgiving date. But back to Publix . They recently added a Rachel's line of natural yogurt to their dairy section and may I just say to all the yogurt fans out there, get yo self to Publix and gitchu so...

I have seemingly less and less time now to blog lately. Especially since we added a furry friend to the mix, my almost 14yr old black lab Frasier. He's very demanding, this canine. Food and attention at 5:30 in the morning, walks in the mornings and evenings. Baths when his funky self is just a little too odorriffic for words. It's a rough life, but it's good that he's now a Nashville doggie . North Carolina will miss him! This weekend I worked the Southern Festival of Books, hosting a booth for my workplace. I managed to catch a few festival sessions - my fave being Sherman Alexie , a Spokane Indian author - and also walked in on the tail-end of a NC BBQ session. Who knew the best of southern BBQ could best be laid out with a map detailing the "Balkans of BBQ" with variations of red sauce covering the better portions of NC and then a streak of yellow indicating the lesser-than regions of South Carolina that just doesn't know any better and uses the taint...

Hey Nashville people....please run out and find a copy of Local Table's Autumn 2008 issue - and flip to page 6 for my article on the Natchez Trace Wine Trail. It's a very cool concept - how can you beat great wines from your own backyard? It was a great story to write - and the research wasn't bad either. If you haven't been to Arrington Vineyards yet, pack a picnic and go! This season's Local Table has some excellent info - a story on holiday gift suggestions for the foodie on your list, an article on Glendale Elementary and its efforts to encourage healthy food for students and their families, and much more. So check it out!

So you heard from my better-traveled half about our England and Scotland adventure, but he left a few bits and pieces out, so here you go. When in Great Britain, be on the lookout for: 1) Boost candy bar. "Charged with Glucose" the shiny blue and red wrapper proclaims. No kidding - the wafer cookie with a soft, pliable caramel center, covered in chocolate, is so major , as Victoria Beckham would say, that is if she ever ate food. It's like a caramel stuffed Kit-Kat. Who can pass that up? I managed to scrounge up 60 pence from our remnants of currency to feed an Edinburgh Airport vending machine for a Boost bar. It wasn't easy and for a minute there I thought I might have to go begging for 20 pence, but it worked out. Thanks to A.E. for her suggestion to seek out the Boost. 2) The Bacon and Cheese Bubble Bap in Borough Market. Don't know what a Bubble Bap is? I ventured into a food stall and a sign for the food item caught my eye. It just sounded...fun! Well, if y...

My sweet husband, per my request, made reservations at a Nashville Originals restaurant for my birthday last Friday. I “put in an order” for either Mambu (love the art, the house environs and the diverse menu), Rumba (caparhinas and tapas = good times) or Tayst (hadn’t eaten there yet, but its Green-certification and the rumored Krispy Kreme bread pudding lured me). Scott initially wanted to blindfold me on our car ride to the restaurant, but my fear of disorientation plus the jitters of running on fumes to get there (Hello, Nashville Gas Crisis Freak Out of 2008!Happy Damn Birthday!) put that idea to rest. Imagine my delight when we turned onto 21st Ave/Hillsboro Pike and pulled into Tayst’s parking lot. After perusing the blackboard at the hostess station that tells where the produce comes from, we nestled into our little two-top table in a corner and let the server (also named Scott – the one with glasses, if you want to request his services, b/c apparently Tayst employs two Scotts...

Scottish food is great, so here's some highlights. Haggis. Yes, it's sheep lungs, etc. but damn is it tasty, especially if you've been walking around in cold, windy weather on top of Edinburgh Castle. I had some and really good local beer at a cafe there. Erin enjoyed a hot pot of Earl Grey tea to warm her up. If you go to Isle of Arran, check out the brewery, distillery and cheese, mmm. And pick it all up in an eco-friendly wee green poke. If you're Edinburgh or Glasgow, check out The Mussell Inn and get King Scallops, from the west coast of Scotland near Oban. And there's always this fun bakery on Sauchiehall Street in Glasgow, wee pigs and bathtubs, whatever you fancy.

I had the chance to visit England with Erin and Margaret (my mother-in-law) the first week of September, and one of the first places we went in London was food related. The Borough Market is part farmer's market, part food hall, part pub and all GOOD. I can't remember its fillings, but Pieminister had only local ingredients, including tender beef. I also stopped by a cider place and had lukewarm, "medium" cider, not quite dry (re: bitter), but not sweet either. We also stopped in Neal's Yard Diary, where it's a cheese blitz of heaven. Oh, and speaking of heaven, a traditional English breakfast will set you right for a day of exploring (or after a night of heavy drinking). Here I am at our hotel near King's Cross, where things were served up fresh every morning. Baked beans and tomatoes with eggs and fatty English bacon (more like country ham to a Southern palette) are just wonderful. The night before we flew up to Edinburgh, we made our way to Sheba...