Nashville Food Bloggers Watermark Dinner

Watermark opened in Nashville 9 years ago, and yet I had never eaten there until last night. Throughout its tenure, I’d heard various criticisms, mainly that the quality of the food didn’t quite match up with its price. Now, the chef who created the initial concept for Watermark, Joe Shaw, is back at the helm. Chef Shaw worked under Frank Stitt in Birmingham and carries on that Southern-French inspiration into his own food.

I joined a group of other Nashville food bloggers for a five-course tasting dinner with wine pairings and was very pleased with the outcome.

We began with a couple of Gulf shrimp that had been cooked in butter over spoonbread and topped with an apricot persimmon butter. I didn’t taste too much of the apricot and persimmon, but the shrimp were the star. Watermark prides itself on fresh seafood, and these were not the mealy, gritty, chewy shrimp one sometimes gets in restaurants. Our server Cole explained the dish as a take on the traditional shrimp and grits, with the firmer, slightly sweeter spoonbread substituting for the grits. I really wanted some more of that delicious shrimp, and the acidity of the Austrian Gruner Veltliner cut through the buttery shrimp nicely.

For me, the next dish was the biggest miss of the night – a pan-roasted Apalachicola flounder with lump crab cake, red beet puree, and fingerling potato. Though the crab cake stood out, the potato, beet puree, and flounder didn’t taste like much at all. I did enjoy the light oak on the Thierry et Pascal Matrot Chardonnay that was served with this dish, and the flounder was obviously high quality. Everything just needed a little more seasoning.

The wood-fired quail over sweet potato with a Cumberland currant sauce seemed to be the crowd-favorite of the evening. This Thanksgiving-inspired dish was perfect for a fall evening. The acidity of the currant sauce went nicely with the richness of the quail and the creamy sweet potatoes. Our server encouraged us to use our fingers to get every bit of meat off of the bone. A California Pinot Noir accompanied this course.

The trajectory of the dinner, from lightest to heaviest, reached its apex with this venison dish. Though I can’t remember eating venison, it has a reputation for being gamey and overly chewy. Chef Shaw sources this venison from New Zealand, as it is a specially farmed venison known for its mild flavor and tender texture. Again, a twist on traditional meat-and-potatoes dishes, a potato-bacon cake topped with escarole was served alongside the venison. The South African Syrah that was poured to drink with this course was also part of the plate as the chef reduced it for part of the sauce. The bitterness and crunch of the greens off-set the richness of the potato-bacon cake nicely. This might have been my very narrow favorite of the evening.

After all of that food and wine, we finished our meal on a pleasantly light note – with Prosecco and a Bonnie Blue Farms goat cheesecake with plum and date puree. This might be the lightest, fluffiest cheesecake I’ve ever had, and the tangy goat cheese flavor turned a ho-hum dessert into something special.

Though the dinner was sponsored and at no cost to me, I will definitely be returning to Watermark as long as Chef Shaw is at the helm. All opinions are my own, and I received no monetary compensation for writing this post.

Upcoming Nashville Food & Wine Events

I rarely do these types of posts, instead leaving them to the experts like Beth and the Nashville Scene Bites blog, but a few e-mails hit my inbox recently with events that I wanted to share.

First up, the wine tastings at Amerigo, one of which is happening tonight, July 18th, from 6-8 pm at the West End location. Joe and I are regulars at these wine tastings, in part because we love trying new wines and in part because the bar at Amerigo is our version of Cheers. Like, the waiters and bartenders know us. Tonight they’ll be pouring some Pinot Noir from around the world, including Oregon, where Joe and I were in April. It’s a great opportunity to taste the same grape made in different styles and from different terroir. It’ll cost you $15 for four wines paired with appetizers, and you can stay for dinner and get 20% off your bill.

On August 11th, our favorite Tennessee winery, Arrington Vineyards, will be hosting a harvest party. As wine club members, Joe and I try to make it out to Arrington every couple of months. On August 11th, there will be hot air balloons, live music, wine tastings, food for purchase, and a performance by Kix Brooks, formerly of Brooks & Dunn and co-founder of Arrington Vineyards. It will likely be a busy day, so get there early to stake out your spot and bring a picnic blanket in case the tables are all claimed. For more details, including a schedule, click here.

The best part of this harvest party to me is that, while the party is completely free, any proceeds from the fundraiser will benefit the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, which just happens to be where I’ve served as a chaplain resident for almost the past year. It’s a great hospital that wouldn’t be nearly as wonderful without all of the support that we get from the community at events like this.

So come on out and drink some wine!

I Love This Bar

Guess who’s home from Kenya!

That’s actually from when he was leaving, so he’s a lot more tan, and his luggage isn’t as heavy now. Joe got home Sunday evening, had Monday off, and was back to work at the hospital on Tuesday. Usually, we don’t do too much for Valentine’s Day, but it is nice to do something fun. While he was gone, I tried to get him a card, but they were all awful. I also had my CPE unit 2 evaluations all day Tuesday, which I knew would leave me completely emotionally and physically exhausted, so we kind of scrapped the romantic, gushy expressions of Valentine’s Day for this year. And I am so glad we did because Valentine’s Day 2012 will forever be known as The Day We Found Our Bar.

(How I Met Your Mother-style) You see kids, once upon a time, when we lived in Houston, we were surrounded by great bars – not just places to get a drink, but places that feel like home. There was Blanco’s with its live country music, shuffleboard tables, and buckets of longnecks. There was Kay’s with George Strait on the jukebox, a giant table shaped like Texas, foosball tables, and the Dolly Parton-wannabe bartenders. There was Hans’ Bier Haus with its bocce ball courts, picnic tables, and great craft beer selection. They were places where you could go to relax, kick back, and be yourself. Usually there are a crew of crusty, Wrangler-wearing regulars, but they don’t mind the newcomers as long as they’re respectful.

Ever since we moved to Nashville, we’ve been looking for our bar. Sure, there are good places to get a drink, but we always left feeling like Goldilocks. Too loud, too hip, too smoky, too fratty, too “biker bar”, etc. On a whim, we walked in to Twin Kegs and found ourselves looking at this beauty:

Shuffleboard. The bar kind, not the cruise ship kind. We took a seat and looked around. One of the regulars at the bar hollered, “He’s in the back cooking, but he’ll be right with you.” There was Yuengling and Sam Adams on draft, along with the standard domestic, light, and cold lagers. When the bartender came to take our order, Joe asked him how the shuffleboard worked. He looked at us with a little confusion and said, “You just get up and play,” and proceeded to tell us how long it had been in that building and who takes care of it. “We just ask that you respect the table.” Oh, we will.

While Miranda Lambert and the Eagles played on the jukebox, Joe respected that I owned him at the shuffleboard table. Unfortunately, it was getting late, and we had school work the next day so we had to call it a night. Even though our Valentine’s Day wasn’t romantic, I got to spend the evening doing things I love with my favorite person in a place where I could kick back and relax. Sounds pretty good to me.

Strawberries Romanoff (and a Bake Sale!)

In Courtney's post about this dessert, she mentioned La Madeleine, and from that moment, I knew I would be making this. Throw in my quart of delicious local strawberries from our CSA and the fact that I already had all of the ingredients on hand, and I knew this would make a special treat for a weeknight.

The first time I had strawberries Romanoff was at La Madeleine, and it was a bite of someone else's order. The cream was much thicker and more tangy than I anticipated. It's not too sweet but is the perfect accompaniment for those glorious strawberries. I even whipped up the sauce in the morning and stored it until later, making it a great make-ahead dessert for a party.

Strawberries Romanoff
source: Cook Like a Champion
Serves 2

Ingredients
1/4 cup sour cream
1 1/2 teaspoons brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons brandy or vanilla
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 cups fresh strawberries, sliced if large
freshly grated nutmeg

Directions

Mix the sour cream, brown sugar and brandy together in a small bowl.
In another bowl, whisk the heavy cream until it thickens slightly, then add sugar. Continue whisking until cream is fluffy.
Gently fold whipped cream into sour cream mixture.
Place strawberries in serving dish of your choice, top with sauce and freshly grated nutmeg.

Coming up this Saturday, Lindsay from Love and Olive Oil wrangled a bunch of Nashville-area food bloggers together to do a flood benefit bake sale. All proceeds will benefit Second Harvest Food Bank. The Green Wagon in East Nashville (1100 Forrest Ave) has been kind enough to take us on, so we will be there from 1:30-4 pm with our delicious treats. I'll be making these delicious peanut butter cookies. All treats will go for $2. So if you're in the area, come on by and spend some money!

Eat Out for Nashville - Monday, May 17th

I'll admit, one of the things I complain about the most with regards to Nashville is the food. The vast expanse of restaurants in Houston completely spoiled me, and I definitely have my Tex-Mex cravings. However, the somewhat smaller food scene that comes with a smaller city also means that I have had the opportunity to be a part of it from attending the Iron Fork competition to regularly commenting on the Nashville Scene Bites blog to getting to know other Nashville food bloggers and writers. That kind of thing didn't happen in Houston. As a part of that, the restaurant scene has come together to help support flood victims and rebuild our city with Eat Out for Nashville this coming Monday.



When you eat out at any of the participating restaurants this coming Monday, they will donate 50% of their proceeds to the Tennessee Emergency Response Fund of the Community Fund of Middle Tennessee. This is a great way to help that only requires that we do what we all have to do anyway - eat. You can help our great city without even tearing up floorboards or ripping up carpet. Doug Hogrefe of Amerigo, who is so community-minded and generous, helped get this off of the ground, but many other restaurants have signed on. For more information, follow @EatOutforNash on Twitter or go to http://eatoutfornashville.org. Check there often as more restaurants are being added every day!



So who is with me in eating out for Nashville this Monday?



Here is a list of currently participating restaurants:

Amerigo-West End

1922 West End Avenue

Nashville, Tennessee 37203

(615) 321-6024

Amerigo-Cool Springs

1656 Westgate Circle

Brentwood, Tennessee 37027

(615) 377-7070

Baja Burrito

722 Thompson Lane

Nashville, TN 37204

(615) 383-2252

Burger Up

2901 12th Avenue South

Nashville, TN 37204-2509

(615) 279-3767

The Garden Brunch Café (breakfast and lunch only)

924 Jefferson Street

Nashville, TN 37208

(615) 891-1217

Holland House Bar and Refuge

935 W. Eastland Ave.

Nashville, TN 37206

(615) 262-4190

Lazzaroli’s Pasta

1314 5th Avenue North

Nashville, TN 37208-1600

(615) 291-9922

The Melting Pot

166 Second Avenue N.

Nashville, TN 37201

(615) 742-4970

Menchie’s Frozen Yogurt

6900 Lenox Village Dr. Suite 6

Nashville, TN 37211

(615) 730-7855

Nuvo Burrito

1000 Main Street

Nashville, TN 37206

(615) 866-9713

O'Charley's

923 Bell Road, Antioch

100 E. Park Drive, Brentwood

2792 Wilma Rudolph Boulevard, Clarksville

202 North James Campbell Boulevard, Columbia

1401 Interstate Drive, Cookeville

2409 Highway 46 South, Dickson

1202 Murfreesboro Road, Franklin

1009 Village Green Crossing, Gallatin

912 Rivergate Parkway, Goodlettsville

212 Indian Lake Boulevard, Hendersonville

5500 Old Hickory Boulevard, Hermitage

4223 Ft. Campbell Boulevard, Hopkinsville

902 Murfreesboro Road, Lebanon

2367 Hillsboro Boulevard, Manchester

401 S. Mt. Juliet Road, Ste 125, Mt. Juliet

1006 Memorial Boulevard, Murfreesboro

2450 Old Fort Parkway, Murfreesboro

1108 Murfreesboro Road, Nashville

17 White Bridge Road, Nashville

110 Coley Davis Court (Bellevue), Nashville

820 Expo Drive, Smyrna

2000 Crossing Circle, Spring Hill

3535 Tom Austin Highway, Springfield

Paradise Park Trailer Resort

411 Broadway

Nashville, TN 37203

(615) 251-1515

The Patterson House

1711 Division Street

Nashville, TN 37203

(615) 244-7989

The Perch

117a Franklin Road

Brentwood, TN 37027

(615) 661-9008

Stoney River Legendary Steaks

1726 Galleria Boulevard, Cool Springs

3015 West End Avenue, Nashville

We Are Nashville

(photo courtesy of Hands on Nashville)

As some of you might know, Nashville and the surrounding area has suffered unprecedented flooding. All kinds of areas were affected, from tony white suburbs to poor, predominantly African-American neighborhoods. Since Monday, I have seen horrific picture after horrific picture and heard tragic story after tragic story. As I drove into town today to volunteer, the sight of the skyline rising triumphantly above the Cumberland brought tears to my eyes.

Even though I've only lived here for two years, I am immensely proud to call Nashville my home. To see the response of my friends and neighbors, known and unknown, is incredible. Jake Owen helped serve lunch to flood victims and volunteers. Taylor Swift donated $500,000 to the telethon. But there's also all of the other people who volunteered with me today at the Disaster Information Center, the ones collecting gift cards, diapers, and underwear, the ones who are gathering around their friends and family members who have lost everything. Nearly every other post on my Facebook is about people going to volunteer or notifying people how they can help or otherwise reminding everyone that we are all in this together.

And while those muddy waters were rising, the local media and alternative media outlets kept everyone abreast of the situation. Firemen and the police worked overtime to serve this community. Volunteers with boats help rescue people who were stranded, and our mayor and governor made responsible and wise decisions. The picture above is of volunteers who, alongside inmates, were sandbagging to save our last remaining water treatment plant.

The church where I just finished up my field education internship was destroyed by a tornado in 1998. Outside there's a sign with a quote from the rector at the time, Lisa Hunt, that says, "God was not in the tornado. God was in our response to the tornado." God has been in Nashvillians' response to the flood. Even Anderson Cooper said, "I've never seen a community pull together so quickly to respond to a disaster." Anderson, that's just how we roll. We are Nashville. We are a community of talented, caring, creative people. We are Nashville, and we are all blessed to live here.

Nashville is Drowning

The rain started Saturday morning. Heavy, drenching rain pouring out of the sky. I was down in Franklin pet and house-sitting for my parents. I left around 12:30 pm, driving slowly up I-65 back into town. Then I started hearing things about I-24 being closed, about surface streets in Franklin that I had just passed being flooded. We were supposed to go to a Derby party in East Nashville. I called over, and they reported that the roads were clear so we ventured over without any problems. After the horses ran, local news showed a house drifting down I-24. We left for another party, and the rain had stopped.

Sunday morning, I heard heavy rain outside. After checking Twitter, I came to the conclusion that I could not make it to church. I-40 was shut down going into town, and White Bridge was under water. We hunkered down and turned on the continuous local news coverage and watched the rain pour down outside. News images flashed on the screen of submerged cars and people being rescued from their houses on boats. This was the scene about a 1/2 mile from our house.

We're safe and dry, but many of our friends and acquaintances aren't. Many people did not have flood insurance because these areas have not flooded in 100 years. Right now one of the two water treatment plants is submerged and non-functional. The Cumberland River is still rising. The normal level is 19 feet. It is currently at 50 feet and is expected to crest around noon today at 51 feet. Water is in downtown Nashville flooding restaurants and businesses. MTA bus and train services have been suspended indefinitely

Nashville needs your help. We have not gotten the attention from the national media that we deserve. Recovery efforts need to be heavily publicized. Nashvillest has done a fabulous job using Twitter to keep everyone up to date. If you are in the Nashville area, you can go to Hands on Nashville to volunteer. Otherwise, donations can be made to the Metro Nashville Relief Fund or the Middle Tennessee Red Cross. Please help as you can.