Monthly Archives: December, 2011
I Dream Of Weenie Reopening Soon In New Five Points Spot
In what is pretty much the only Weiner news we actually care about, I Dream Of Weenie is set to reopen in East Nashville’s Five Points soon (like, maybe-tomorrow-soon) (UPDATE: They’re open!). After a bit of a kerfuffle with the previous management, I Dream of Weenie was shuttered this winter and had remained a sad, empty sight until the past few weeks, when new owner Leslie Allen hauled it out and spiffed it up with a fresh coat of paint and new parking space. You can now find the weenerie proudly parked at 113 South 11th Street, right next to Bongo Java and across from Beyond the Edge and Pied Piper Creamery.
The new Weenie will keep the same beloved menu items, but the new ownership is looking forward to experimenting with the daily special. Think mac ‘n cheese weenie, Cuban black bean weenie, BLT weenie, and old favorite specials like the Greek weenie, muffalletta weenie, pesto weenie and pizza weenie. There will also be a whole wheat bun added to the menu.
Thanks to the new location with more foot traffic, I Dream of Weenie will now be able to stay open a little later on the weekends. They’ll be serving year round Tuesday – Thursday 10:30am-3:30pm and Friday – Saturday 10:30am-7:30pm. Special summer events with other local businesses are in the works, and they hope to stay open later on summer weeknights after they get settled in to the new routine.
I Dream of Weenie has been sorely missed by its East Nashville community (and those of us across the river who make the trek for it), and we’re pretty excited for its triumphant return.
In what is pretty much the only Weiner news we actually care about, I Dream Of Weenie is set to reopen in East Nashville’s Five Points soon (like, maybe-tomorrow-soon) (UPDATE: They’re open!). After a bit of a kerfuffle with the previous management, I Dream of Weenie was shuttered this winter and had remained a sad, [...]
Food Truck Bites: Happy Eating, Riff’s, Barbie Burgers, Bangin’ Tacos
We’re not sure how it happened, but we managed to eat from food trucks all weekend long. It probably had something to do with Food Network Canada’s Eat Street taping here in town, but even before that we spent our Friday night hopping from brewery to food truck to brewery to food truck. Here’s a few quick “bites” about some of Nashville’s newest food trucks.
Happy Eating
Happy Japan’s Happy Eating food truck opened less than two weeks ago, but it’s already making the rounds like a seasoned pro. You won’t be able to miss the eye-catching truck parked around town. On our first trip we tried just a few snacks – curry fries, gyoza and mochi. The curry fries had a great subtle curry flavor, if a bit overly-salty and a little lukewarm. The vegetable gyoza were average, and mochi… Well, mochi is mochi (a Japanese ice cream novelty). Did we mention that our first trip was on their first night in business? We’ll cut ‘em some slack!
Hence the second trip. The second time around we ordered full meals, which turned out to be exactly the right choice. Our Japanese rice burgers (slider-style hamburgers with sticky rice patties for buns) just might have been life changing, and they came with an ample amount of curry fries for $8. Our Japanese curry over rice was generously portioned for $6 and came topped with two cute little carrot flowers. The curry flavor was mild, but otherwise delicious. Happy Eating’s service is also lightning fast – we’d hardly signed our credit card receipt before the food was packed up and handed to us in convenient take out containers.
Yes, we said “credit card receipt.” The best thing about Happy Eating is that they’re currently the only food truck we know of that takes credit cards (UPDATE: We hear that Pizza Buds and The Latin Wagon also take cards). Seriously, Nashville’s food trucks need to get on the Square bandwagon pronto.
Find Happy Eating’s location on Twitter at @Happy_Eating.
Riff’s Fine Street Food
We had high expectations for the debut of Riff’s after chatting with owner BJ Lofback about a month ago. An ever-changing menu of “fine street food”? Count us in. Over three trips, we’ve sampled just about everything on the menu, and it all gets an A+ from us. Chef Carlos Davis hails from Barbados, and his authentic jerk seasoning on just about anything would make us happy. Riff’s signature jerk chicken dish comes wrapped in flatbread and topped with a bright fruit salsa, and is accompanied by red beans and coconut rice. The fish tacos are a twist on the usual fish taco, but still delicious – Heavily spiced shredded fish topped with a fresh slaw and accompanied, again, by those red beans and rice. All dishes are $6-10 (at the upper end, you get a combo of them all). Perhaps the best decision we made was topping off our meals with honey ginger tea and “conkies,” a dessert made of pumpkin, sweet potato, coconut and topped with caramel, wrapped up and ready to go in a banana leaf. Hungry yet?
Find Riff’s Fine Street Food’s location on Twitter at @riffstruck.
Barbie Burgers
Nashville’s burger truck opened quietly without fanfare, but this weekend we found out that we’d waited far, far too long to try it out. As we wandered through the Eat St. taping on Sunday, we heard person after person raving about their burgers and shakes. The menu is surprisingly inventive – We tried the Hounddog, which was a bacon cheeseburger with peanut butter on it. Weird, but awesome. And the burgers are great, but the milkshakes could bring us to Barbie Burgers on their own. Whew.
Find Barbie Burgers’ location on Twitter at @BarbieBurgers.
Bangin’ Tacos
Okay, so maybe we went to Bangin’ Tacos with a chip on our shoulder about trendy taco trucks (nothing can be as good as Mas Tacos, right?). Maybe we gasped at the $4/taco price tag. And maybe we begged the food gods for forgiveness after we had our first Bangin’ Taco. Totally worth the $4, the Cajun spiced fish taco was a dinner-sized filet of tilapia that could barely be contained in the flour tortilla it was served in. The cajun seasoning was packing some serious heat, but the slaw and crumbles of queso fresco cooled it down perfectly. It took quite a while to receive our taco, but it was worth the wait.
Find Bangin’ Tacos’ location on Twitter at @BanginTacos.
Coming Soon…
We also tried a new food truck that’s coming soon called the Love Shack. The food was great, the bus is a must-see, and you can expect to hear more from us about the Love Shack soon.
We’re not sure how it happened, but we managed to eat from food trucks all weekend long. It probably had something to do with Food Network Canada’s Eat Street taping here in town, but even before that we spent our Friday night hopping from brewery to food truck to brewery to food truck. Here’s a [...]
Bright & Early: Bigfoot Edition
Good morning, Nashville. The Metro Council passed a bill last night allowing us to buy carbon offset credits in exchange for free parking downtown. Councilman Charlie Tygard thought the free-parking-for-hybrids law was a little too elitist, so he proposed this one to give the rest of us an option. Mid-sized sedan owners can expect to shell out anywhere from $40-72 per year, whereas someone who drives a 2002 Dodge F-150 might expect to pay $72. But considering how much it costs to park down there these days, it certainly seems like a viable option. The money will go into a fund that funds tree-planting, wetlands mitigation and other stuff that helps the environment here in Nashville. Calculate your estimated offset at Carbonfund.org.
- Just kidding! After inviting the whole internet to the unofficial Titans practice at Father Ryan High School, Cortland Finnegan had to take to Twitter again to take it back, as he didn’t get permission from the school. He apologized a lot and said he’d be doing a 10-hour autograph session after Jeff Fisher’s charity softball game later this month.
- So CMApocalypse kicks off today! There’s a parade downtown at 11, a block party at the riverfront at 1, and then the CMT Awards at 7:30 which sounds like it may feature some pretty entertaining celebrity appearances. As always, we’ve got you covered with a list of all the road closures for any of you who aren’t planning to stay holed up in your houses.
- Bits & pieces. Nashville Public Radio has purchased Vanderbilt’s struggling station WRVU … For a guy whose house just burned to the ground, Trace Adkins seems to be taking things in stride … The Murfreesboro mosque case continues … Things continue to go rapidly downhill for Davidson County Criminal Court Clerk David Torrence, who was busted by WSMV for never showing up to work.
Photo by Rick Harris.
Good morning, Nashville. The Metro Council passed a bill last night allowing us to buy carbon offset credits in exchange for free parking downtown. Councilman Charlie Tygard thought the free-parking-for-hybrids law was a little too elitist, so he proposed this one to give the rest of us an option. Mid-sized sedan owners can expect to shell out [...]
Nashville Yeti On Unicorns, Ke$ha, Cicadas, Food Trucks And Beer [Interviews]
Today on Nashvillest, we interview our new friend Nashville Yeti. We wanted to clear up some common misconceptions that people have about Yetis, and really, we just thought that interviewing a Yeti would be fun (it was). Have any more questions for Nashville Yeti? Maybe he’ll answer them on Facebook or Twitter.
Nashvillest: How did you come to be in Nashville, TN and how did you learn to speak and write English?
Yeti: Came to Nashville from the Himalayas for the March snowstorm (snowed 17 inches!) of 1892. Liked it here too much to leave! Mayor George Guild worked with me on my English before I enventually wrote the victory speech for Mayor William McCarthey in 1895.
Nashvillest: Who taught you to use Facebook and Twitter?
Yeti: I use the computers at the Nashville Public Library- the people there love to help the Yeti navigate the interwebs!
Nashvillest: What are some common misconceptions that the local and national media have about you?
Yeti: It’s not all December through February with me! Take me to a Sounds game, let me ride the jet ski with you, come on it’s summer baby! Also, I am not related to Bigfoot, we just have some of the same interests.
Nashvillest: How do you feel about other mythical creatures, like unicorns and Ke$ha? Are you more like peaceful mythical brethren, or is your existence competitive?
Yeti: I love unicorns, centaurs, and a handful of other zoology superstars. I was prematurely woken-up from hibernation during a Ke$ha sound-check, so I’m not too fond of it (it being Ke$ha.) Besides, recently she has turned a lot of people against fellow Nash-local Patrick Carney because of some jibber jabber he said about Lady Gaga. The thing is, he was not even serious; from what I understand the Black Keys drummer really only cares about 2 things: 1) Jamming out with his bro-man Danny and 2) endless shrimp at red lobster.
Nashvillest: What is the most hurtful thing someone has ever said to or about you?
Yeti: One time, I was called a gorilla. Oh, and some guy is always picking on me on twitter saying that the “Antioch Sasquatch” is cooler than me. I’m like, “Dude, there is no such thing!” [Editor's note: There may not be an Antioch Sasquatch, but maybe that guy is thinking about the Antioch Protest Chicken.]
Nashvillest: What is your favorite Nashville food truck?
Yeti: Call me old fashioned but I love a good ice cream truck.
Nashvillest: What are your thoughts about the local cicada invasion? Do you eat cicadas and if so, do you have a favorite recipe?
Yeti: The sweet sounds of singing cicadas serenades me to sleep (say that 5 times fast). Oh heavens no, I would never eat one! Unless of course it was chocolate covered and then they’re really quite delicious.
Nashvillest: What is your favorite beer?
Yeti: You want me to say Yeti Imperial Stout out of Colorado, but that’s just too obvious. I love a Yazoo on tap, preferably that “two dogs” one.
Nashvillest: From your Facebook pictures it looks like you are quite popular with the ladies. What are your strategies for attracting women?
Yeti: Kind smile, hairy palms, and a bombarding body odor…
Nashvillest: Is there anything else you would like the readers of Nashvillest to know about you?
Yeti: I AM the Nashvillest.
Thank you, Nashville Yeti, for taking the time to answer our questions. We’ll see you around!
Today on Nashvillest, we interview our new friend Nashville Yeti. We wanted to clear up some common misconceptions that people have about Yetis, and really, we just thought that interviewing a Yeti would be fun (it was). Have any more questions for Nashville Yeti? Maybe he’ll answer them on Facebook or Twitter. Nashvillest: How did you [...]
Bright & Early: Open The Gates And Seize The Day Edition
Good morning, Nashville. Bonnaroo officials are hoping to alleviate at least some of the traffic woes that have kept some festival attendees from waiting 11 or so hours to get through the gates and backing things up on I-24. Gates will open a little earlier than usual–7pm on Wednesday–to get attendees into the campgrounds faster. Additionally, the Tennessee Highway Patrol (and their helicopters), TDOT, the Manchester Sheriff’s Department and the Coffee County Sheriff’s department will be working together to make sure things don’t get too crazy on the interstate. Even so, it may be a good idea to find an alternate route if you’re planning to pass through that part of the state.
- CMApocalypse provides economic boost. As much as we chuckle about CMApocalypse around these parts (have you picked up your Bingo board yet?), we’re always thankful for the tens of millions of dollars that it’s expected to pump into the downtown economy. Though last year’s flood relief tie-in brought a lot of folks in the gates, city officials are hoping for an even bigger boom this year.
- Hopefully this is not the only way to watch the Titans this year. The Titans are still holding their unofficial off-season practices at Father Ryan High School due to that pesky lockout situation, but Cortland Finnegan informed the internet that tomorrow morning’s practice is open to the public. Should be a good time!
- Bits & pieces. We’ll finally get to see those adorable (and rare) clouded leopard cubs at the Nashville Zoo this weekend! … MTA wants your input about the West End light rail idea this week, twice … The urban chicken debate is making its way back onto the radar with the help of the Urban Chicken Advocates of Nashville … An effort to create special historical protections for the Arcade failed, for now … THP will be targeting commercial vehicles for all sorts of violations through Thursday evening … Hooray, we’re getting another $22 million for flood relief … And sweet goodness, it’s still really hot outside.
Photo by Rick Harris.
Good morning, Nashville. Bonnaroo officials are hoping to alleviate at least some of the traffic woes that have kept some festival attendees from waiting 11 or so hours to get through the gates and backing things up on I-24. Gates will open a little earlier than usual–7pm on Wednesday–to get attendees into the campgrounds faster. [...]
The Po Po Shut Us Down [Road Closures] [CMApocalypse '11]
We’ve got good news and bad news. You were probably expecting the bad news – Starting tomorrow, Metro will slowly start shutting down streets downtown for the next week to make way for the influx of CMApocalypse foot traffic.
The good news is this: If you take your bingo board out for a spin and you end up downtown, you can consume the appropriate amount of alcohol required for survival and catch a free ride home, which means you won’t have to worry about the road closures. Crown Royal will be doling out $10 Music City Taxi ride vouchers at the corner of 5th & Broadway on Tuesday night from 7-10:30pm, and the vouchers can be used anytime from Tuesday ’till Sunday.
Here are the road closures, so you can start planning your commutes around them. All closures unless otherwise noted below will reopen in the wee hours of the morning on Tuesday, June 14.
Closures beginning Tuesday, June 7:
- 9am: Broadway from First to Second Avenues
- 9am: First Avenue from Demonbreun to Church Streets
Closures beginning Wednesday, June 8:
- 12pm: Broadway from Second to Fourth Avenues (cross streets, Second and Third Avenues, will remain open)
- 9am-2pm, Wednesday only: Tenth Avenue North from Broadway to Lifeway Plaza
- 9am-2pm, Wednesday only: Commerce Street from Ninth to Tenth Avenues
- 10:30am-1:30pm, Wednesday only: Broadway from First to Twelfth Avenues
Closures beginning Thursday, June 9:
- 12pm: Fifth Avenue from Demonbreun to Broadway
Photo by Mr. T in DC.
We’ve got good news and bad news. You were probably expecting the bad news – Starting tomorrow, Metro will slowly start shutting down streets downtown for the next week to make way for the influx of CMApocalypse foot traffic. The good news is this: If you take your bingo board out for a spin and [...]
Let The Games Begin: CMApocalypse Bingo 2011
Happy Monday, and welcome to CMApocalypse 2011, folks! It’s time to get ready to welcome a few hundred thousand extra people into our fair city. To keep a smile on our faces as we sit in traffic and wait in extra long lines this week, CMApocalypse Bingo is back for year four. Print ‘er out and keep ‘er handy, because you never know what you’ll encounter this week. The possibilities are endless.
UPDATE: We can’t believe we didn’t put Justin Bieber on the bingo board. What were we thinking? To make up for it, you can substitute any square for a Justin Bieber in the wild sighting (CMT Awards don’t count)!
Special thanks to Lyssa and Beth for their help with a few of this year’s bingo squares. Thanks a bunch, ladies!
Giant sized CMApocalypse Bingo 2011 board
Pocket sized CMApocalypse Bingo 2011 board
Mobile CMApocalypse Bingo 2011 interactive board (Thanks, Thomas!)
Happy Monday, and welcome to CMApocalypse 2011, folks! It’s time to get ready to welcome a few hundred thousand extra people into our fair city. To keep a smile on our faces as we sit in traffic and wait in extra long lines this week, CMApocalypse Bingo is back for year four. Print ‘er out [...]
Bright & Early: Out Of Line Edition
Good morning, Nashville. We can’t believe we’ve just been sitting and suffering through the deafening drone of the cicadas for the past few weeks when we could have been phoning in a noise complaint, which is exactly what one Cookeville man did last week. He thought the noise was coming from loud machinery, and sheriff’s deputies had to break the news that the noise won’t stop for another week or so. Unfortunately, WKRN reports that “no cicadas were arrested on the noise complaint.”
- Down in flames. Trace Adkins’ Brentwood house burned to the ground on Saturday as he was on a flight en route to Alaska. Thankfully, his wife and three daughters made it out of the house safely, but the family lost most of their belongings and several vehicles.
- Buy me some peanuts and crackerjacks. Vanderbilt’s baseball team is advancing to the NCAA Super Regionals, which they’ll be hosting for the first time, after taking down Belmont 6-1 last night. Belmont put up a good fight in their first NCAA Tournament ever, winning against Oklahoma State and Troy before falling to the ‘Dores.
- Bits & pieces. We’re super bummed that Adele had to cancel the rest of her North American tour due to illness, including the Ryman stop … Here’s your monthly reminder that the no-texting-while-driving law is pretty hard to enforce … Noted: Never cut in line at a tattoo parlor … A local man with Tourette’s Syndrome is documenting his experience with a new treatment on his blog … Bellevue is finally getting not one, not two, but three liquor stores … Students at Nashville Christian School and Columbia Academy will be the first in Middle TN to have an iPad for every kid in the classroom this coming school year … We won’t have any relief from 90-100 degree temps this week, which should make for a pleasant CMApocalypse and Bonnaroo … Cuts in state funding and mandated teacher salary increases may have students at MTSU paying more in tuition next year, though they hope to keep costs the same through other budget cuts.
Photo by x30mileswest.
Good morning, Nashville. We can’t believe we’ve just been sitting and suffering through the deafening drone of the cicadas for the past few weeks when we could have been phoning in a noise complaint, which is exactly what one Cookeville man did last week. He thought the noise was coming from loud machinery, and sheriff’s [...]
The Weekendist: Cicada Be Gone Edition
TGIF, Nashville. The cicadas are starting to wind down, and we’re officially pronouncing it safe to go outside again – wait, did someone say it’s going to be 95 degrees all weekend? Sigh. Despite the heat and a stray divebombing bug or two, this weekend’s best activities are outside and we think they’re worth it. Here are our top picks for the weekend:
Bank of America Museums On Us at the Frist Center and Country Music Hall of Fame. Friday & Saturday, June 3-4, free. If you’re a Bank of America cardholder, it’s your lucky weekend! The first weekend of every month is Museums On Us for BOA cardholders, and in Nashville that means you get in free to the Frist Center and the Country Music Hall of Fame on Friday and Saturday. The program is nationwide, so even if you’re not in Nashville, look up a participating museum near you and give it a whirl!
Taste of Music City. Friday, June 3 from 5-8pm; Saturday, June 4 from 11am-10pm. Friday is 21+, $25 in Public Square Park. Saturday is all ages, free, in Public Square Park and down Deaderick Street. Line the streets with food and move over! Taste of Music City is Saturday, but they’re kicking things off with a Friday preview evening that features tastings from many local breweries and distilleries for $25. Come back Saturday for the main event, an all-day street festival with free admission (just pay for food and drink tickets as you go). More than 45 local eateries will be represented, so there’s sure to be something for everyone.
Franklin Theatre Grand Reopening and 1937 Street Party. Main Street in Downtown Franklin, Friday, June 3, 6pm, free. After several years sitting empty, the Franklin Theatre is ready to throw open its doors once again. At this evening’s 1930′s-themed street party, catch a free outdoor screening of The Wizard of Oz, King Kong or Swing Time, or bring your dancing shoes to join in with the free live music and swing dancing. Stores will be open late for you to browse while you wait for the 9:30pm screening of Gone With The Wind (but only if you have a ticket, it’s sold out!). Welcome back, Franklin Theatre!
Food Network Canada’s Eat Street Taping. Saturday, Sunday and Monday, June 4-6 from 12-2pm each day, various locations. We wrote about Eat St. coming to town to tape a Nashville episode earlier today, so head over here for all the details. Eat St. will be filming at three local food trucks in different locations around Nashville over lunch this weekend (and Monday), and they need hungry Nashvillians to show up and get their grub on during the taping. Support your favorite truck or try a new one, and you might get to be on the show!
First Saturday Art Crawl. The Arcade/5th Ave between Church & Union, Saturday, June 4 from 6-9pm, free. If you’ve been getting tired of the same old same old at the art crawls, it’s time for you to give it another shot. Several new galleries join the lineup this month – Picture This in the Arcade, The Bank on 3rd Ave and Tennessee State Museum on Deaderick – and the old favorites have some excellent exhibits lined up.
Big Band Dance featuring The Moonlighters. Centennial Park Bandshell, Saturday, June 4 from 7-10pm, free. It’s time for Big Band Dances again! The first of this year’s series features The Moonlighters, and as always free dance lessons from 7-7:30 and 8:30-8:50, with music, open dancing and fun for everyone in between.
Photo by Tom C. Frundle.
TGIF, Nashville. The cicadas are starting to wind down, and we’re officially pronouncing it safe to go outside again – wait, did someone say it’s going to be 95 degrees all weekend? Sigh. Despite the heat and a stray divebombing bug or two, this weekend’s best activities are outside and we think they’re worth it. [...]
Nashville Eats On The TeeVee: Eat Street Taping This Weekend, Man Vs Food Airs Next Week
Nashville is the hot spot to be, at least if you’re filming a food show. This weekend, Food Network / Cooking Channel show Eat Street is coming to town to film a few of Nashville’s finest food trucks – Riff’s Fine Street Food (hey, remember when we wrote about them?) Barbie Burgers and The Grilled Cheeserie. Your Nashvillest editors will be on hand to chat with Eat St. about how much we love Riff’s and Barbie’s (we love the Cheeserie too, but there’s only two of us), so make your lunch plans for the next few days and come say hello!
Saturday, June 4 from 12-2pm: Riff’s Fine Street Food taping in front of Yazoo, 910 Division Street
Sunday, June 5 from 12-2pm: Barbie Burgers taping in Five Points at 11th and Woodland
Monday, June 6 from 12-2pm: The Grilled Cheeserie taping on Music Row at 1516 16 Ave South
We also got all tweety and maybe just a little stalky when Man Vs. Food host Adam Richman spent a few days in town this March hitting up Rooster’s, Pancake Pantry and Prince’s Hot Chicken Shack. We were bummed to hear that Sir Richman no longer tackles food challenges himself, but he did coach The LoCash Cowboys through their 72-ounce steaks, baked potatoes, salads and some Texas toast with a 60-minute time limit. Did they conquer? We can’t tell you, but you can tune in to watch the Nashville episode of Man Vs. Food next week to find out. It airs June 8 at 8PM CST on the Travel Channel, and if you dare to venture anywhere near downtown during the CMT Awards, Rooster’s is hosting a viewing party with The LoCash Cowboys.
UPDATE: Corner Pub in Midtown is also hosting a Man Vs. Food watch party on Wednesday in conjunction with Yazoo and the Hot Chicken Festival (coming up July 4). Bolton’s will be parked out front selling their signature hot chicken, and the event is free and open to anyone. Drop in anytime after 7!
Photo by Wonderdawg777.
Nashville is the hot spot to be, at least if you’re filming a food show. This weekend, Food Network / Cooking Channel show Eat Street is coming to town to film a few of Nashville’s finest food trucks – Riff’s Fine Street Food (hey, remember when we wrote about them?) Barbie Burgers and The Grilled [...]
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