Nashville

The Catbird Seat, Nashville, 9/14/17

~ hsnixon ~ Leave a comment
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entrance is lower left blond wood door

The Catbird Seat seats just 22 people in the evening for a tasting menu.  Reservations are a must and that will give you the time  when you are to arrive.  The building has a club on the upstairs level but there is one blond wood door below where a small reception room with an elevator is located.  The hostess will escort you to the restaurant in the order you arrive for your appointed time.  Seating is at a U-shaped bar around the kitchen.  Our night they did not seat those who arrived at the same time at adjacent seats so people on either side will be ahead of or behind you in receiving the set menu.  People were of various ages and pretty friendly as were the 4 chefs.  Chef Ryan Poli was in there cooking as well as presenting and explaining courses.  His brother Matthew Poli serves as Beverage Director and has assembled a nice wine list to chose from as well as offering pairings.   Continue reading →

Hattie B’s Hot Chicken, Nashville, 9/14/17

~ hsnixon ~ 2 Comments
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entrance

Hattie B’s is a well known place for Hot Chicken in Nashville and you can tell that by the line to get in.  You can count on 45 minutes or more if you get there much after they open.  The line is a mix of tourists and locals and the bakery next door was benefitting from some of the hungrier people who just couldn’t wait any longer.  The line leads to the counter where you order and pick up your drinks and get a number for your order to display at the table.  There are numerous combinations of chicken and 6 levels of heat for you to chose from from, no heat to “shut the cluck up!!!”.  Each order comes with some sides and then you can add more for $1 each.  They have several tap beers as well as cans but I saw no wine.  A cool pitcher of beer was just perfect after waiting in the warm sun and went well with the spicy meat.   Continue reading →