a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oClm5w3Om90/TH24LjjhquI/AAAAAAAAD80/GL5I-j5UnO0/s1600/Popeyes.jpg"img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 110px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oClm5w3Om90/TH24LjjhquI/AAAAAAAAD80/GL5I-j5UnO0/s200/Popeyes.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5511764027633674978" //abr /A Popeye's chicken joint recently opened near my office. I haven't been able to visit yet. As you may or may not know, I've been out of town for a while. br /br /For my money, I've always prefered Popeye's over Kentucky Fried Chicken. It's spicier and less greasy, and, well, Popeye's has red beans and rice. br /br /The folks at Slashfood.com recently did a Popeye's vs. KFC taste-test. I'm sad to report that the Colonel won. This only proves one thing: the folks at Slashfood.com don't know what the you-know-what they're talking about. br /br /I'm going to do a little Popeye's/KFC taste-testing of my own soon. Stay tuned for the results.br /br /If'n you care to read it, a href="http://www.slashfood.com/2010/08/31/kfc-vs-popeyes-our-own-blind-taste-test/"here's/a the Slashfood.com article.div class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/33552155-7903560581836361426?l=nashville-eats.blogspot.com' alt='' //div

a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oClm5w3Om90/TFjVANwULYI/AAAAAAAAD6k/55VqI9iQcuI/s1600/Drakes.jpg"img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501381144502087042" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oClm5w3Om90/TFjVANwULYI/AAAAAAAAD6k/55VqI9iQcuI/s400/Drakes.jpg" //abr /br /Remember the a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0697793/"emSeinfeld/em episode/a in which Drake's Coffee Cakes were mentioned several times? No? Perhaps this'll jog your memory ...br /br /emstrongJERRY:/strong Gina, do you know what a Drake’s Coffee Cake is?br /strongGINA:/strong Of course, the plane cake with the sweet brown crumbs on the top. ... I haven’t had one of those since I was a little girl.br /strongJERRY:/strong Really? You should be ashamed of yourself. I want you out of here!/embr /br /My job requires that I have to fly up to Connecticut a couple o' times a year. Each time I go, I bring back boxes of Drake's Coffee Cakes for friends and co-workers who, more or less, say that I'll be sorry if'n I don't return with the things.br /br /I can't blame my bring-back-Drake's-or-else friends for threatening me so. If you've never had one, here's why they're so good: moist cake with lots of crumbly cinnamon on top ... they're so damn tasty, you can't eat just one. br /br /Ask nicely and I just might give you one from my stash.div class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/33552155-3552100351051397695?l=nashville-eats.blogspot.com' alt='' //div

a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oClm5w3Om90/THxo5FTPjuI/AAAAAAAAD8M/trXipievkLA/s1600/pop.jpg"img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 173px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oClm5w3Om90/THxo5FTPjuI/AAAAAAAAD8M/trXipievkLA/s320/pop.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5511395373879365346" //abr /I like Pop-Tarts, but a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162-20013150-10391704.html"this/a is ridicu-rus:br /br /emIt might not be the healthiest breakfast choice you can make, but for those hungering for a Pop-Tart and roaming the streets of New York City, your prayers have been answered.br /br /The iconic toasted confection opened a flagship store and cafe in Times Square. ...br /br /According to the New York Times, Kellogg's, the company that has made Pop-Tarts since the late 1960s, is renting a 3,200-square-foot space until January, at which point they will consider whether New York needs a permanent tart-aria.br /br /What's on the menu at the new outpost?br /br /According to the emNew York Times/em, the menu includes:br /br /1. Fluffer Butter, marshmallow spread sandwiched between two Pop-Tarts frosted fudge pastries br /2. Sticky Cinna Munchies, cinnamon rolls topped with cream-cheese icing and chunks of Pop-Tarts cinnamon-roll variety br /3. Ants on a Log: celery, peanut butter and chunks of the Wild Grape versionbr /4. Pop-Tarts Sushi, three kinds of Pop-Tarts minced and then wrapped in a fruit roll-up. /emdiv class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/33552155-1438848817141350305?l=nashville-eats.blogspot.com' alt='' //div

If you've never had country ham from Benton's in East Tennessee, you have most certainly missed out. The current a href="http://nashvillecitypaper.com/content/city-news/allan-benton-tennessees-boss-hog"Nashville City Paper/a has a story 'bout Benton's. A sample:br /br /emEvery week [Alan] Benton will get 400 to 600 hams trucked in, and a similar amount of bacon bellies. "We want our hogs as quick as possible after slaughter," Benton said, for quality’s sake.br /br /The meats are smoked with a blend of hickory and applewood. About 75 percent of the blend is hickory.br /br /From there the meats are cured: bacon for five to six weeks, and hams from 14 to 23 months.br /br /A variation of the old Benton family recipe — a mixture of salt, brown sugar, black and red pepper — is heaped on to the hams and bacon bellies to cure. After a couple of weeks in a cooler with this mix seeping into the meat, the hams are hung in a sock to form them into the familiar shape you see at your butcher. Meanwhile, the bacon hangs from a rack. A few weeks more, and the socks are removed and the ham is in its final, but long, stretch of racking until it reaches the desired age.br /br /"It’s like making whiskey," Benton said. "Anybody can tweak it, but it takes time, perseverance and patience. There are no secrets."/embr /br /Benton's was featured on Chattanooga's public television station, WTCI, a few months back. You can see the video a href="http://wtcitv.org/video/1532"here/a. Why Nashville's WNPT doesn't show this excellent program is beyond me.div class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/33552155-667254869423843294?l=nashville-eats.blogspot.com' alt='' //div

a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oClm5w3Om90/TFdz3UIjcJI/AAAAAAAAD6U/jLEKszOjtHk/s1600/OLD+BAY.jpg"img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 199px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oClm5w3Om90/TFdz3UIjcJI/AAAAAAAAD6U/jLEKszOjtHk/s200/OLD+BAY.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5500992863990935698" //abr /a href="http://www.oldbay.com/"Old Bay/a is a staple spice here at Chez Allison. I gotta thank emAMGE/em reader Michelle for forwarding the following a href="http://detnews.com/article/20100729/LIFESTYLE05/7290318/Seasoning-the-secret-to-delicious-shrimp#ixzz0vVGT9dom"shrimp recipe/a featuring, you guessed it, Old Bay seasoning:br /br /emLooking for a casual dinner cooked on the grill? Here is one of those simple recipes that never goes out of style. Old Bay is the secret ingredient here and works magic on many foods, but is particularly delicious on seafood. br /br /Make sure to use 13- to 15-per-pound count shrimp that have been peeled and deveined with the tail left on (this makes a pretty presentation). They also fit nicely on skewers. You also can buy the shrimp with the shell on and follow the recipe; make sure to have a bowl for the shells and plenty of napkins since it is a bit messy. br /br /Shrimp are best if cooked until just opaque. A good way to tell when they are cooked through is when the shrimp become bright orange on both sides.br /br /Skewers have changed in the past few years. Now you can find flat ones that make all the difference when cooking. Flat skewers are best because they won't turn the food, which makes it easier to cook everything evenly. Look for 9- or 10-inch length bamboo or stainless steel skewers. You can find them at your local cookware store or online. If you're using wooden skewers, be sure to soak them for an hour before using. br /br /Serve some vegetable rice, cooked black beans or corn on the cob as a side dish. br /br /Let the party begin. br /br /strongGrilled Shrimp With Old Bay Tequila Lime Marinade/strongbr /br /Marinade: br /br /1/4 cup fresh lime juice br /1/4 cup tequila br /2 teaspoons Old Bay Seasoning br /1 teaspoon ground cumin br /1/2 cup olive oil br /Salt and pepper, to taste br /br /Shrimp: br /br /2 pounds large shrimp, 13- to 15-count-per-pound, shelled, deveined and tail attached br /Wooden or stainless steel skewers, flat ones work best br /br /Garnish: br /br /Lime slices br /1 bunch watercress br /br /To prepare the marinade: Whisk together the marinade ingredients until combined. Taste for seasoning. br /br /If using wood skewers, soak them in cold water for at least 1 hour. This will prevent them from burning when grilled. br /br /Thread the shrimp on the skewers (3 to 4 to each skewer). Lay in a shallow, nonaluminum dish, large enough to hold the skewered shrimp. br /br /Pour marinade over the shrimp and marinate for at least 30 minutes and up to 4 hours. br /br /Prepare the barbecue for medium-high heat grilling. Grill the shrimp on each side for about 3-4 minutes, until they are bright orange and desired doneness. Remove from the grill and arrange on a platter. Garnish with the lime slices and fresh watercress. Serve immediately./emdiv class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/33552155-3877901552653399944?l=nashville-eats.blogspot.com' alt='' //div

The very last "exhibit" at the a href="http://www.worldofcoca-cola.com/"World of Coca-Cola/a museum/celebration of all things Coke features tasting stations at which you can sample some 60 different Coke products from around the globe. Some of 'em are pretty tasty, but the majority of 'em lead you to ask yourself, "How in God's name can anyone drink this?" Just goes to show how much tastes differ from one country to the next. 'Tis not such a small world after all.br /br /The folks at a href="http://www.walletpop.com/blog/2010/07/29/beijing-duck-lays-potato-chips-familiar-brands-offering-very-f/"Wallet Pop/a tell us about some of the 'round-the-world variations of Pepsi. Can't say I'm dying to try any of 'em:br /br /emstrongPepsi Ice Cucumber/strong, Japan: a href="http://vimeo.com/291440"Kevin Corrigan/a spent $15 on eBay to taste-test the product. He found that it did indeed taste like cucumber, or "like you're drinking a sweetened salad." It did not, he found, taste anything like Pepsi.br /br /strongPepsi Fire/strong, Southeast Asia: Matt on the blog a href="http://www.x-entertainment.com/articles/0961/"X-Entertainment/a described this version of Pepsi, spiked with cinnamon, as "a car accident between a can of Pepsi and a bottle of ground cinnamon." In a glass, It looks like regular Pepsi.br /br /This drink, with the tag line "Cola on fire," was released with a companion type, Pepsi Ice, described as an "Ice mint cola." Pepsi Ice is the color of a swimming pool, and the blogger compared its flavor with mouthwash.br /br /strongPepsi Azuki/strong: Like Kit Kat, Pepsi has run some peculiar flavors up the snack flagpole in Japan. One of the most puzzling was Pepsi Azuki, which came out for sale last fall. The azuki bean is the second most popular legume in Japan, but, according to a href="http://japanesesnackreviews.blogspot.com/2009/10/pepsi-azuki.html"Japanese Snack Reviews/a, the soft drink "smells like someone threw up in their bean cake." Harsh. The writer describes the taste as "jasmine with a red bean chaser."/emdiv class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/33552155-4354551519805120356?l=nashville-eats.blogspot.com' alt='' //div

Back in August '09, I a href="http://nashville-eats.blogspot.com/2009/08/gone-but-not-forgotten.html"told you about/a some of my favorite defunct Nashville eateries, one of which was Café Orient in Antioch. Here's what I said about the place:br /br /emCafé Orient was owned by a chap from Japan who also had (and maybe still does) a pretty popular catering business. The sushi served there was first-rate, but it was the Thai-inspired dishes that I enjoyed most.br /br /One particular dish featured juicy chunks of pork, and long strips of green peppers, jalapeños, onions, and carrots, which'd been simmered in a spicy, garlic-filled sauce. I would take a spoon and ladle the sauce over white rice, and eat the meat/vegetable mixture and rice separately. It was like getting two different dishes in one ... and I always had plenty of leftovers!br /br /Café Orient didn't stay open for very long, a victim perhaps of the fact that it opened right across the street from the well-established - and damn popular - Your Choice Asian restaurant./embr /br /I was driving past the strip mall in which Café Orient was located today when I spied this on the big sign out front:br /br /a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oClm5w3Om90/TFY2XnwNOgI/AAAAAAAAD6E/MiTiPtcBITo/s1600/Cafe+Orient.jpg"img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5500643774315706882" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 179px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oClm5w3Om90/TFY2XnwNOgI/AAAAAAAAD6E/MiTiPtcBITo/s320/Cafe+Orient.jpg" border="0" //abr /I drive past that sign every day on my way home from work. I'd never noticed that Café Orient was - and is - still being "advertised," four years after it closed. Now I'm not going to be able to emnot/em look at that sign every time I pass it.div class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/33552155-3335785256046964416?l=nashville-eats.blogspot.com' alt='' //div

a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oClm5w3Om90/TFNTAZQXK8I/AAAAAAAAD5E/8A2t2TtRdtQ/s1600/lasagna+2.jpg"img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oClm5w3Om90/TFNTAZQXK8I/AAAAAAAAD5E/8A2t2TtRdtQ/s320/lasagna+2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499830836194126786" //abr /Yesterday was National Lasagna Day (I didn't know there was such a "holiday" until today, or I would've posted this last night). In honor of Day-After National Lasagna Day, I'm finally getting around to posting my famous lasagna recipe -- famous to the many co-workers who've sampled it over the years, some of whom got to sample some last week (which you see in the picture above).br /br /Anywho, here's the recipe ...br /br /strongJoltin' Django's Famous Lasagna/strongbr /br /Ingredientsbr /br /1 box of Barilla no-boil lasagna noodlesbr /2 eggsbr /2 15-ounce containers ricotta cheesebr /3 cups pre-grated (in a bag) mozzarella cheesebr /3 cups fresh-grated mozzarella cheesebr /3/4 cup parmesan cheesebr /1 1/2 lbs ground Italian sausage, brownedbr /Tomato sauce (recipe a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/mario-batali/basic-tomato-sauce-recipe12/index.html"here/a)br /br /Directionsbr /br /Preheat oven to 375°.br /br /In bowl, combine beaten eggs, ricotta cheese and the two cups of the mozzarella cheese and parmesan.br /br /In a 13x9x3 pan, spread 1 cup of sauce on bottom of pan. Layer 4 uncooked lasagna noodles (they will overlap), then 1/3 part of the ricotta cheese mixture, half the browned meat, 1 cup mozzarella cheese, and 1 cup of tomato sauce.br /br /Next, layer 4 uncooked lasagna noodles, 1/3 part of the ricotta cheese mixture, and 1 1/2 cups sauce. Then layer 4 uncooked lasagna noodles, remaining ricotta mixture and remaining meat, and 1 cup of sauce.br /br /For the top, layer 4 uncooked lasagna noodles, remaining sauce (spread it so that it drips down the sides of the pan), and three cups fresh-grated mozzarella.br /br /Bake covered with foil for 60 minutes.br /br /Uncover and continue cooking until all the cheese is melted on the top (10-15 minutes).br /br /Let stand 15 minutes before serving.div class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/33552155-2262780253438130511?l=nashville-eats.blogspot.com' alt='' //div

a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oClm5w3Om90/TFDZgAVlgHI/AAAAAAAAD4c/S8ZUS4H1Sqo/s1600/san+antonio+two.jpg"img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499134288888954994" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 229px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 202px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oClm5w3Om90/TFDZgAVlgHI/AAAAAAAAD4c/S8ZUS4H1Sqo/s320/san+antonio+two.jpg" border="0" //abr /About ten years ago, a friend of mine embarked on an ill-fated adventure as a bar-owner on Nashville's 2nd Avenue. I him do some work on the interior of the bar when it was in its "opening soon" phase, most of which was emgratis/em (with hopes that I'd be able to drink emgratis/em once the place got up and running). He did, however, treat me to lunch several times, and one of the places in which we regularly ate was San Antonio Taco Co. on Commerce Street.br /br /I didn't really remember much about my dining experiences at San Antonio Taco Co. (or "Satco" to the hipster doofi set), but I must have been thoroughly underwhelmed by the place 'cause it took me a long time to go back. Well, I did go back; and I must say that I don't care if it takes me another ten years to go back to a restaurant that serves tacos that're only marginally better than the tacos served at Taco Bell (I'll have more to say about Taco Bell at a later date).br /br /Prior to a recent Bluegrass show at the Ryman Auditorium, a friend and I visited the ducked into the Commerce Street San Antonio Taco Co. for a quick pre-concert meal. I'd forgotten that you don't just walk up to the counter and place orders. You write down your order on a little slip of paper, and then you walk five feet and hand said slip of paper to an employee who was just scratching his ass while you searched for the one pencil - out of 50 on hand - that will actually write. Now, while the f'ed-up ordering system at San Antonio Taco Co. is pretty bad, the food is even worse.br /br /First of all, I made the mistake of ordering some chips and guacamole as an "appetizer." They chips-'n'-guac consisted of a small tray containing about 2 lbs. of chips and 2 ounces of guacamole. The guac was pretty good, but the chips were coated with enough salt to line the rims of about four-dozen margarita glasses. I think my systolic went up by 20 after about four chips. Then came the tacos.br /br /It's pretty difficult to mess up a taco ... but messed up tacos seems to be all San Antonio Taco Co. serves. There was hardly any beef in the beef tacos I ordered, or any chicken in the chicken tacos served to my friend. That was strike one. The tortillas were cold, like they'd just been taken out of the refrigerator, and they didn't taste like they were "homemade," as a href="http://www.thesatco.com/"TheSatco.com/a says they are (maybe "homemade" is Satcospeak for "storebought"). That was strike two. And my friend and I stated several times that we would've been better off stopping at Taco Bell for cheaper tacos with just as meat in 'em as the ones we were eating. That was strike three emand/em four.br /br /They only good thing about my visit to San Antonio Taco Co. -- and, yes, I was able to find something good there -- was the salsa and empico de gallo/em served on the fixin's bar. Both the salsa and pico tasted very fresh, and both were loaded with cilantro (always a plus for me). If not for the heaps of salsa and pico I loaded on to my tacos, which you can see in the picture below, I doubt if I'd have been able to finish my meal.br /br /a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oClm5w3Om90/TFDZAK9Ky-I/AAAAAAAAD4U/3dcPSv2kIk4/s1600/san+antonio+one.jpg"img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499133741983517666" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oClm5w3Om90/TFDZAK9Ky-I/AAAAAAAAD4U/3dcPSv2kIk4/s320/san+antonio+one.jpg" border="0" //abr /I'm sure there are some folks who really enjoy the San Antonio Taco Co.'s food. Actually, I know people enjoy it because the place was packed when I went there. How anyone can eat that dreck, though, is totally beyond me. Needless to say, someone will have to literally drag me into the place if I ever find myself inside the San Antonio Taco Co. again.div class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/33552155-5125370889568748796?l=nashville-eats.blogspot.com' alt='' //div

a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oClm5w3Om90/TFDaJyOWArI/AAAAAAAAD4s/9go-EtERepU/s1600/tomato+n+dukes.jpg"img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499135006654988978" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oClm5w3Om90/TFDaJyOWArI/AAAAAAAAD4s/9go-EtERepU/s400/tomato+n+dukes.jpg" border="0" //abr /emHomegrown tomatoes, homegrown tomatoesbr /What'd life be without homegrown tomatoes?br /Only two things that money can't buybr /That's true love and homegrown tomatoes/embr /br /-- a href="http://www.guyclark.com/"Guy Clark/abr /br /Anyone who knows me personally is well aware of the fact that I start getting bummed out around the first of June. That's when it really starts to get hot in these parts, and there're few things I hate more than 90-degree temperatures on a daily basis. One thing I do look forward to in the summer, however, is homegrown tomatoes -- my homegrown tomatoes, especially.br /br /This year, I shook things up a bit by abandoning my preferred beefsteak tomatoes in favor of Bradleys. Having samples some two-dozen tomatoes from my personal vines I must say that I made a wise decision. Bradleys might not grow as big as beefsteak tomatoes, but they have a much sweeter taste ... and dammed if they don't taste a whole lot better on a tomato sandwich (with Duke's mayo, of course).br /br /Ask nicely and I might give you some!br /br /strongUPDATE:/strong Mister Jimmy has a post 'bout Tennessee tomatoes. Check it out a href="http://misterjimmy.livejournal.com/90600.html"here/a.div class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/33552155-9119605431658716969?l=nashville-eats.blogspot.com' alt='' //div

a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oClm5w3Om90/TFMqXBzCbaI/AAAAAAAAD48/ii41zr090lQ/s1600/serendipity-foot-long-haute-dog-590.jpg"img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oClm5w3Om90/TFMqXBzCbaI/AAAAAAAAD48/ii41zr090lQ/s320/serendipity-foot-long-haute-dog-590.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499786145057369506" //abr /Man, somewhere Ben Matlock is reading a href="http://www.slashfood.com/2010/07/26/worlds-most-expensive-hot-dog-taste-test/#ixzz0vCGGNboG"this /a... and he's rolling his eyes (as am I):br /br /emNew York City's a href="http://www.serendipity3.com/main.htm"Serendipity 3/a restaurant has a history of doing stunts to make the Guinness World Records. They've scored twice before -- with the World's Most Expensive Ice Cream Sundae and the World's Largest Hot Chocolate -- and on Friday, they did it again with the World's Most Expensive Hot Dog, which will sell for $69. br /br /So how do you get a hot dog to cost nearly 70 bucks? First, you start with a regular Serendipity 3 foot-long beef hot dog, which already sells for $8.50 -- a little more than your average street dog in New York (and a lot tastier, I'll admit). Then you use the tried and true pre-recession stunt of chefs around the world: Add foie gras, then add truffles, repeat as necessary until the price tag explodes. (The other surefire fancifier -- caviar -- would taste a little gross on a hot dog, though Serendipity 3 puts it on a burger.) br /br /To be more specific, this particular "Haute Dog" (as it's being marketed) is grilled in white truffle oil and is served on a chewy pretzel-bread bun (sort of like a cross between a soft pretzel and a baguette) that's toasted with white truffle butter. It's topped with foie gras pâté with black truffles. Condiments (served on the side) include Dijon mustard with black truffles, caramelized Vidalia onions and ketchup made with heirloom tomatoes (more like a tart tomato relish)./emdiv class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/33552155-7336013408835667556?l=nashville-eats.blogspot.com' alt='' //div

a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oClm5w3Om90/TFNWbplmaNI/AAAAAAAAD5M/XBak9-8AVxE/s1600/django+poster.jpg"img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 222px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oClm5w3Om90/TFNWbplmaNI/AAAAAAAAD5M/XBak9-8AVxE/s320/django+poster.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499834602969524434" //abr /After trips up North, and trips down South, and lots of work -- lots of work -- in between, I will finally be posting on a regular basis again. I know I promised such a few weeks back, but this time I really mean it. Promise.br /br /Thanks for reading and stay tuned ...br /br /emJoltin' Django/emdiv class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/33552155-8397282912606007347?l=nashville-eats.blogspot.com' alt='' //div

From the a href="http://www.louisianacookin.com"Louisiana Cookin'/a blog:br /br /emstrongOnly in Louisiana/strongbr /br /Here's a new twist on how to serve burgers and if you don't cook, give this handy little guide to someone that does and request them./em br /br /a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oClm5w3Om90/TEy6RTbCVFI/AAAAAAAAD4M/pN3e9Ob0QnQ/s1600/CajunTurtleBurger.jpg"img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 331px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oClm5w3Om90/TEy6RTbCVFI/AAAAAAAAD4M/pN3e9Ob0QnQ/s400/CajunTurtleBurger.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5497974051546747986" //abr /emHandmade ground beef patties, topped with sharp cheddar cheese, wrapped in a bacon weave, then the next step, add hotdogs as the heads, legs with slits for toes and tail. br /br /Next step. Place on an oven rack, covered loosely with foil and baked for 20-30 minutes at 400 degrees. A little crispy, not too crunchy ... just how a turtle should be, no?/emdiv class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/33552155-4286225394266406074?l=nashville-eats.blogspot.com' alt='' //div

Given that you can purchase bottles of "extra virgin" olive oil for $2-3 at your local Dollar General, a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/From-the-news-wires/2010/0717/Virgin-Olive-oil-not-truly-virgin-despite-labels-according-to-study"this/a shouldn't surprise you none:br /br /emMany of the olive oils lining supermarket shelves in the United States are not the top-grade extra-virgin oils their labels proclaim, according to a report from the University of California, Davis.br /br /Researchers analyzed popular brands and found 69 percent of imported oils and 10 percent of domestic oils sampled did not meet the international standards that define the pure, cold-pressed, olive oils that deserve the extra-virgin title.br /br /"Consumers, retailers and regulators should really start asking questions," said Dan Flynn, executive director of UC Davis' Olive Oil Center, which conducted the study in partnership with the Australian Oils Research Laboratory, in South Wales.br /br /Funding for the study came in part from California olive oil producers and the California Olive Oil Council, a trade group that works to promote locally produced oils.br /br /Although the survey's sample size was relatively small and selected at random — 19 widely distributed brands purchased from retailers in San Francisco Bay Area, Sacramento and Los Angeles — the study held the claims on their labels to a scientifically verifiable standard, said Flynn.br /br /The results came as the U.S. Department of Agriculture prepares to adopted scientifically verifiable standards for nomenclature such as "virgin" or "extra virgin," in an effort to clear up concerns about labeling accuracy. The standards will be implemented in October, and are similar to those upheld by the International OliveCouncil.br /br /The "extra-virgin" designation indicates that the oil was extracted without the use of heat or chemicals, is pure, satisfies a taste test and falls within chemical parameters established by the IOC.br /br /The United States is the world's third-largest consumer of olive oil, 99 percent of which comes from foreign producers./embr /br /For the record, this is Joltin' Django's preferred extra-virgin olive oil (don't look for it at your local dollar store) ...br /br /a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oClm5w3Om90/TEy2ZCZ__gI/AAAAAAAAD4E/eXgrr6XM6nE/s1600/olive+oil2.jpg"img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oClm5w3Om90/TEy2ZCZ__gI/AAAAAAAAD4E/eXgrr6XM6nE/s400/olive+oil2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5497969786371440130" //adiv class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/33552155-7551174038776806371?l=nashville-eats.blogspot.com' alt='' //div

I'm a man who's gotta eat who a href="http://nashville-eats.blogspot.com/2009/07/how-now-chow-chow.html"loves him/a some good chow chow:br /br /emMy grandmother canned all kinds of things. Green beans, pickled cucumbers, stewed tomatoes ... you name the vegetable and chances are she canned it at once time or another.br /br /Something else my grandmother canned -- or "put up," as she called it -- was chow-chow. My parents and I'd drive down to my grandparents' house on a Sunday and chow-chow was always on the table. We'd scoop big portions of the stuff onto the pinto or mixed beans my grandmother always served when she cooked a big meal.br /br /For the uninitiated, chow-chow is a Southern relish made out of chopped cabbage, onions, peppers, mustard, vinegar and sugar. It's used to give a sweet-and-sour kick to soups, stews, or slow-cooked beans. Some folks, my self included, don't need to be eating soup, stew, or slow-cooked beans to enjoy chow-chow; indeed, I often spoon it on meat, or just put a big pile of it on my plate to enjoy alongside whatever else I'm eating./embr /br /Speaking of chow chow ...br /br /object width="640" height="385"param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/-pT72_p2ucUamp;hl=en_USamp;fs=1"/paramparam name="allowFullScreen" value="true"/paramparam name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"/paramembed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/-pT72_p2ucUamp;hl=en_USamp;fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"/embed/objectbr /br /I'm hoping to get up to Granny's soon. Stay tuned for details.div class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/33552155-6385379556895698881?l=nashville-eats.blogspot.com' alt='' //div

a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oClm5w3Om90/TCE_ovdXvOI/AAAAAAAAD2s/O85IOIN-b_w/s1600/Bombay+Garden+One.jpg"img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 145px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5485735790280948962" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oClm5w3Om90/TCE_ovdXvOI/AAAAAAAAD2s/O85IOIN-b_w/s320/Bombay+Garden+One.jpg" //abr /span style="font-size:+0;"Back/span br /Back in April, or maybe it was March, I took notice of a little Indian joint, name o' Bombay Garden, located near a music store I frequently frequent (for guitar string-span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-corrected"purchasing/span purposes, you see). The "$5.99 Indian Lunch Buffet" sign strung atop the restaurant's storefront drew me right in, and, lemme tell you, I enjoyed the hell outta the food I ate there.br /br /I snapped some pics, two of which you can see here:br /br /a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oClm5w3Om90/TCE8mQC8MGI/AAAAAAAAD2M/IgvfY_QFHZI/s1600/Bombay+Garden+Three.jpg"img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5485732448953970786" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oClm5w3Om90/TCE8mQC8MGI/AAAAAAAAD2M/IgvfY_QFHZI/s320/Bombay+Garden+Three.jpg" //abr /and here:br /br /a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oClm5w3Om90/TCFAY5ZaV_I/AAAAAAAAD20/f3PHQpv7T5I/s1600/Bombay+Garden+Two.jpg"img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5485736617582417906" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oClm5w3Om90/TCFAY5ZaV_I/AAAAAAAAD20/f3PHQpv7T5I/s320/Bombay+Garden+Two.jpg" //abr /I so enjoyed my span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-error"eatin/span' off o' the Bombay Garden buffet so much, I failed to jot down -- or even make a mental note -- of the names of the dishes I was span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-error"eatin/span', all of which were clearly noted on the buffet table(s.)br /br /"Not to fear," I says to myself upon leaving the place, "I'll go back in a couple o' days, and I'll take more pics, and I'll make a note 'bout everything I eat -- and I'll post it all up on emA Man's Gotta Eat/em."br /br /Well, sad to say, it took me more than a couple of months to find time to go back to Bombay Garden; this is what I got to see in Bombay Garden's window when I returned:br /br /a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oClm5w3Om90/TCFMK1cfL1I/AAAAAAAAD28/10zyGw5GY1w/s1600/bombay+vacation.jpg"img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 270px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5485749570142941010" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oClm5w3Om90/TCFMK1cfL1I/AAAAAAAAD28/10zyGw5GY1w/s320/bombay+vacation.jpg" //abr /Bombay Garden is emstill/em on vacation. Indeed, the folks who own it are emSO/em on vacation that they took the restaurant's tables, chairs, and other fixtures with 'em.div class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/33552155-2368888470545933554?l=nashville-eats.blogspot.com' alt='' //div

I was travelling past the Steak Out on Lebanon Road today when I spied this banner hangin' in the window:br /br /a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oClm5w3Om90/TDZo886Z2UI/AAAAAAAAD3M/AIcMJ4cB-DY/s1600/steak+out.jpg"img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 251px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5491692191977429314" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oClm5w3Om90/TDZo886Z2UI/AAAAAAAAD3M/AIcMJ4cB-DY/s400/steak+out.jpg" //abr /The fact that the emTennessean/em's readers think Steak Out serves the best burgers in town -- instead of a href="http://nashville-eats.blogspot.com/2010/01/whatta-burger.html"Rotier's/a, Brown's Diner, Gabby's (I can think of about a dozen different restaurants that serve better burgers than Steak-freakin'-Out) -- says a lot about ... well, I think you know what I'm talking about.div class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/33552155-8501661070184225141?l=nashville-eats.blogspot.com' alt='' //div

a href="http://www.salon.com/food/feature/2010/07/01/food_gendering?source=newsletter"Interesting/a ...br /br /emSo what is it with certain foods (and drinks) getting the boys vs. girls treatment? There may be a few male stars — like Joaquin Phoenix and Tobey Maguire who are vegetarians, and women may be joining the ranks of /ema href="http://www.goodeater.org/2010/06/29/in-heels-and-backwards-women-butchers-break-bones-and-barriers/" target="_blank"embloody-aproned butchers/em/aem, but in the American consciousness, /ema href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGLHlvb8skQ" target="_blank"emreal men still don't eat quiche/em/aem and women stick with chocolate, tofu and /ema href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1A_Y3IHOlwamp;feature=player_embedded" target="_blank"emyogurt/em/aem. This could easily be the handiwork of the evil geniuses on Madison Avenue, but might these clichés also arise from some long-buried grain of truth? Are genetic differences responsible for our gendered eating? How many of our eating patterns come from gender socialization, and how many are hereditary? And why is it that food rarely seems to be categorized this way outside the U.S.?br /br /Marcia Pelchat is a sensory psychologist specializing in food and beverage selection at the Monell Chemical Senses Center. Women, she said, are genetically predisposed to prefer sweeter tastes, with greater sensitivity to bitterness. As a result, cocktails and alcoholic drinks aimed at women tend to be sweet — as an attempt to mask the burn — and colorful (because, you know, pink will make anything more palatable). Drinks for men, on the other hand, tend to let the bitterness take the fore: "Men who drink hoppy drinks don't just not notice the bitter taste, they actually like it," Pelchat said.br /br /Others, like Yale University’s David Katz, said some of our gender-driven eating can be explained by evolution. Men, as hunters, see meat as a reward and also need more protein than woman in order to build muscle mass. "Men and women have differences in physiology which might have to do with access to different kinds of food," said Katz, who is the director of Yale’s Prevention Research Center. That is, the different caloric requirements of men and women may be because we had differing access to foods as cavemen and cavewomen. We’re only continuing along those patterns today./emdiv class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/33552155-6541680102897924352?l=nashville-eats.blogspot.com' alt='' //div

a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oClm5w3Om90/TBA2QorM9RI/AAAAAAAAD1s/4kmNm8COtuM/s1600/vietnam-flag-jpg.jpg"img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oClm5w3Om90/TBA2QorM9RI/AAAAAAAAD1s/4kmNm8COtuM/s200/vietnam-flag-jpg.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480940405934322962" //abr /The popular account of America's involvement in Vietnam is "we lost." br /br /I hate to get political here on emAMGE/em, but the simple truth is: our troops on the ground, and in the air, kicked the shit out of Commie troops up until '73 ... and then Kissinger and the "Watergate" Congress of '74 went and threw it all away.br /br /See a href="http://www.amazon.com/Politically-Incorrect-Guide-Vietnam-Guides/dp/1596985674"The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Vietnam War/a and/or a href="http://www.amazon.com/This-Time-Win-Revisiting-Offensive/dp/1594032297"This Time We Win: Revisiting the Tet Offensive/a if'n you don't believe me.br /br /That said, there's a scene in Stanley Kubrick's a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093058/"Full Metal Jacket/a in which a Marine colonel opines that "inside every [Vietnamese], there's an American trying to get out."br /br /Vietnam already has emmultiple/em Golden Arches and lots o' KFCs, and it'll soon have a Carl's Jr./Hardee's -- home of the emüber/em-American a href="http://www.hardees.com/menu/"Thickburger/a! -- in its Commie midst. a href="http://www.slashfood.com/2010/06/02/conquering-southeast-asia-one-big-carl-at-a-time/"Check it/a:br /br /emJust on the heels of the 35th anniversary of the fall of Saigon, here comes more evidence that the domino theory was bunk (or, at least, that the dominoes fall easier in the other direction): Carl's Jr. has just opened its first outpost in Vietnam -- in Ho Chi Minh City to boot./embr /br /Puttin' it in a historical context ... looks like the U.S. has finally won the battle for hearts and minds (and emstomachs/em), emn'est-ce pas/em?!div class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/33552155-3116965014779103984?l=nashville-eats.blogspot.com' alt='' //div

a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oClm5w3Om90/TArWgP6eakI/AAAAAAAAD1M/b6d_SiVUvOA/s1600/homero-simpson-wallpaper-homer-1024.jpg"img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5479427746165582402" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oClm5w3Om90/TArWgP6eakI/AAAAAAAAD1M/b6d_SiVUvOA/s320/homero-simpson-wallpaper-homer-1024.jpg" //abr /br /I do love me a good doughnut -- or is it donut?br /br /I don't love 'em like Homer Simpson loves 'em, but there ain't many things I like better in the a.m. than a maple-glazed from the local a href="https://www.dunkindonuts.com/"Dunkin' Donuts/a. (There's yer "donut" ...!)br /br /Today's emLos Angeles Times/em tells us that makin' doughnuts at home is easy as snap. a href="http://www.latimes.com/features/food/la-fo-doughnuts-20100603,0,3172190.story"Check it/a:br /br /emThere's something magical about the doughnut. You don't have to be Homer Simpson to swoon when you're greeted with all those bright colors and sparkly decorations in a doughnut shop display case. But no matter how wonderful they may appear, it's hard to find a store-bought doughnut that compares with homemade.br /br /And believe it or not, they're really not hard to make. You can whip up a batch of cake doughnuts in about an hour. Put together a batch of yeast-raised the night before, and all you have to do is fry them the next morning. Making breakfast for someone special? Try a batch of French crullers, their thin, golden crusts yielding to the most delicate, lightly flavored interiors./embr /br /Look, I'm all for home-cooking. But why in God's name would you go to all the trouble and expense to make doughnuts at home when you can just get in your car and head to the local Dunkin' Donuts or Krispy Kreme? Even if you don't live near a Dunkin' or Krispy, you probably live near a Wal-Mart. And, I can tell you, Wal-Mart's doughnuts are pretty damn good (the maple-glazed are AAA to Dunkin's Major League).br /br /Not unlike a href="http://www.lpb.org/programs/lucy/"Ms. Lucy/a, I'm a messy cook. I can only imagine what my kitchen would look like if'n I whipped up a batch of doughnuts ... and it wouldn't be pretty.div class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/33552155-5501581374904545899?l=nashville-eats.blogspot.com' alt='' //div