Music City Eats: Day 2

Day two of Music City Eats was the home stretch of the marathon eating weekend. I was personally slowing down, mostly due to the fact that there was no room left inside my belly. But it didn't appear that most people felt the same, because when I arrived on Sunday it was pretty darn crowded.

My first stop was at Margot for their kale and butternut squash tart with Gruyere cheese. This dish looked beautiful- you can see the striated layers of vegetables. It tasted like fall and put me in the mood for the hearty and savory foods that I'm sure to get in the coming months.

If there's one thing Nashville is known for in the food world, it's hot chicken. We are probably the only place in the world where you can get this insanely spicy fried bird. Newcomers to the Nashville hot chicken scene, Hattie B's, served up theirs on a biscuit and a pickle. My bite was unfortunately really cold, but I still felt the spicy heat. I think I'm going to have to stop by their restaurant for a full hot chicken dinner to make up my mind.

This simple dish from Blackberry Farms might have been my favorite of the afternoon. Their blackberry glazed quail legs were out of this world. There are few things that I enjoy more than quail leg in general, but what made Blackberry Farms' unique was the fruit glaze. It gave the legs a sweet and tangy flavor.

Over at Otaku South I had a small bite filled with a big flavor. They had savory pancakes with pork shoulder, bacon and pickled vegetables. I think my favorite part of this dish was the pickled veggies. They had such a lovely vinegar tang! I usually get the ramen bowls when I go to Otaku South's pop-ups, but this made me want more of their non-liquid fare.

My goodness, The Southern presented a purely decadent, true southern bite- a corn cake with pimento cheese and a hard boiled quail egg. My comment after taking a bite was "ung... unfair!" This was a nice take on traditional southern food, pushing the boundaries just enough to be interesting, but not insulting to the cuisine.

Over at Mangia Nashville I had a fried risotto cake with a lemon cream sauce. I think I was very lucky to try this, as they ran out right after I got my plate. I have to say I was pretty bummed that some vendors were out of food two hours before the event was scheduled to end. I hope that this mistake is a teaching lesson that will better prepare them for service next year. Anyway, this little bite was pretty good, but didn't knock my socks off. Perhaps it was because I've actually made these at home before. But I have to give credit where credit is due; that sauce was the bomb.

The Wild Hare was serving up a duo of deviled eggs with smoked Gouda and peanut butter pie. I honestly can't say I was impressed with these two dishes. Deviled eggs are a southern staple, and I have had them done better than this, although the smoked gouda was a nice addition. The peanut butter pie was solid, but I wish it had a bit more crunch with the addition of a crust. Maybe it was just my bite that was missing the crust.

Next I headed over to see Chef John Besh make a Soupe de Poisson with blue crab and fish heads. I was sitting really close to the front and the smell was amazing. I wanted to grab a spoon and run right over to try it straight out of the pot, even though I'm generally not a fan of fish soups.

I was confused by Tavern's apple dessert bite. They used raw oats that were too hard and difficult to chew. I feel like this needed to be cooked down and softened to be enjoyable.

My final stop for the day was 1808 Grille for their banh mi. It seemed that banh mi was the most popular flavor at the festival; there were many varieties available. This take on it was no great shakes, and it had too much bread. Why do people get the bread ratio wrong so often?

I was really bummed that by the time I got to the Silly Goose they were all out of food. I'm really happy for Chef Roderick Bailey and his team, but sad that I didn't get to taste the mole they had prepared. They were even all cleaned up by the time I got to them. Lucky for me one of the nice Silly Goose staff members sent me this picture so that I can pretend like I was there.

All in all, I had an amazing weekend at Music City Eats and I can only hope that this nascent festival grows and grows each year. And I would like to extend a hearty thank you to the Music City Eats team for letting this local blogger live out her food dreams!