A few days in Nashville

A business trip brought me northwest to Nashville for a few days. The drive was pretty at this time of the year, just long enough to make me really tired, but short enough before I started to get bored. The XM radio in the car probably helped.

I arrived Sunday night. I had a few recommendations from friends, but most of my searches taught me only that most restaurants in Nashville are closed on Sundays.

Finally, a recommended list from the hotel resulted in my finding McNamara's, an Irish pub not far from my hotel. I set out on unfamiliar roads, armed with my trusty nav system.

(McNamara's looked charming, and when I arrived, it seemed pretty full, though according to the hostess, it was "really dead". They had live music which was entertaining, and though she offered me a seat in the room with the music, I feared it would be too loud. So I took a seat at the bar on the empty side. Normally I feel like I can make friends with the bartender, but not here. It made me feel a little lonely.

I started off with a house salad with blue cheese dressing and a guinness. It was the first time I felt uncomfortable taking a picture of my food under the gaze of my server. It was a normal salad, but under my starved circumstances, it was delicious.

The guinness filled me up way more than I remember it doing. And when my food finally arrived, I didn't feel very hungry. I got this fish and chips, which was pretty good. The coleslaw was a little different but still good. I ate only two of the fish pieces and most of my fries.

Since I'll be in Nashville again, I wouldn't mind heading over to McNamara's once more.

My second night brought me to Bound'ry, which G had recommended to me. I arrived very early, around 5.30, and they were completely quiet. I chose a seat at the bar instead of eating in the formal dining room.

I started off with this Cristina's Manhattan made of Wild Turkey American Honey, bitters, sweet vermouth, lemon, and a twist. It was the sweetest manhattan I had ever had... and no cherry! I'm not sure I would call it a success.

I started off with a half dozen oysters on the half shell: Chesapeake blue points with passion fruit mignonette, fresh tuna tartare, and white truffle oil. I really don't know why someone would do this to a delicious oyster. I added lemon juice which seemed to balance the crazy amount of sweet. Then the finish of truffle oil shone through. I assume these oysters are intended for people who don't really like oysters.

For my entree, I chose the cedar plank Tennessee trout with cajun spice, parmesan, potato crust with roasted corn pudding and tomato rockefeller. The trout was well-prepared in addition to being huge! I struggled to finish it.

The roasted corn pudding tasted of poblanos and overall was tasty. I have to admit my favorite thing on the plate for flavor was the tomato rockefeller which was goat cheese and spinach on top of a tomato. It was creamy and good.

I asked the bartender for a drink to go with my trout. He made me this bluegrass revival>: Bulleit bourbon, Amaro averna, apricot brandy, and lemon zest. And two cherries to cover the last one. It was pretty good. Certainly lighter than my super sweet manhattan.

After my taste of oysters at Bound'ry, I looked around for a place to get oysters. I found The Southern which had just opened in April, but had already been stated as the best place to get oysters. Now that I have been there, I agree.

But it is not the place to get cocktails. This is a new fashioned. I can't remember much about it except that it had apples and a "fall syrup" with maker's mark. It was incredibly strong and unbalanced. As it turns out, it hardly seemed mixed since I hit all the sweet at the bottom of the drink. When I told my bartender, she laughed. Clearly, this is not a place that prides itself on its cocktails.

Being in a place with kumamotos, shigokus, blue points, wellfleets, and appalachacolas, it was hard to decide which to get. I finally decided on a dozen shigokus since they are so hard to get in Atlanta. They were delicious.

Then I moved onto a dozen Chesapeake blue points which were also delicious. I was ecstatic.

Then, mindful of not much food and my expense report, I ordered this old south cheeseburger. It looks decent in this photo, but it was one of the saddest burgers I have ever seen. But it was filling and cheap. It was well cooked and the fries were pretty tasty. Also mindful of the cocktail experience, I ordered a yuengling.

Overall, I really enjoyed my oysters, but I would be careful to keep my next visit focused on oysters only.