A Nashville Birthday, Part 4!
Ok, so day 4 HAS to be the best day yet, a PEARL of a day…I slept in. Again. Knowing we were going to Hattie B’s for “brunch” (fried chicken, anyone?!?) I had no need for breakfast – didn’t want to be full for the next “leg” (get it?) of our trip. I had resisted Hattie B’s for the obvious reason that it’s so popular. There’s always a line out the door, and sometimes around the block, in BOTH locations…there’s the Diner’s and Dives review…even Lonely Planet found it. Now it’s growing all over the place (Atlanta, etc) and I was scared of all of this – you know my control issues. Not to worry. EVERYONE of us was thrilled with our food – and the wait was a total of about 15 minutes (after we drove away from the first location with the line around the block and went to the location I really WANTED to go to because of the junk store nearby I had found). There are 5 heat levels for your chicken, from Southern to Shut the Cluck Up. No one was adventurous enough to Shut the Cluck Up; mine was the first heat level from Southern, and everyone else tried medium or hot. Some of the best fried chicken I have ever had. I had dark, and everyone else loved their bosoms and said they were not dry. My sides were Pimiento Mac ‘n Cheese (did NOT disappoint) and Southern Greens (did NOT disappoint, though mine are a tad better).Across the street and down the block is a store called “Cool Stuff Weird Things” – if you want fun bar/kitchen/man cave stuff you can find it here – neon signs, wood carvings, etc. Elvis has definitely not left the building. I ended up with 2 Michael Crichton books – Gordon just wasn’t as excited about the kitsch as I was!Then, on to what I thought would be a drive by. NOT. The Parthenon is an exact full scale replica of the Athens, Greece Parthenon. Inside is what amounts to 3 museums, plus the requisite gift shop. Located in Centennial Park, The Parthenon permanently houses the art collection of James M. Cowan – all American artists. Some stunning stuff. Then there’s Athena – 41 FEET 10 inches tall, gilded with 8 pounds of 23.75 carat gold. To give you an idea of the size, Nike, winged goddess of victory, stands on Athena’s right hand at 6 FEET 4 inches tall! We probably spent 1.5-2 hours here – though we could have spent all day.Next, a trip to Grinder’s Switch Winery. We had no idea what we were in for – as its located Marathon Village in a warehouse with some “fun shops” I had read…took about 10 minutes to get there. Everything is so EASY to get to in Nashville!!! We got our wine on, then our whisky, then wandered into a fabulous jewelry shop where we were offered a glass of wine while we browsed…we sucked our cheeks in and arched an eyebrow and pretended we belonged there. Vincent Peach Jewelry, it turns out, adorns the stars… and I WANT SOME! Honey, if you get me the ring in the picture, I’m gonna commission some earrings to go with it!!Slightly silly from boozing…we headed back to the house to not miss the kickoff of the South Carolina Vanderbilt (Vandy to locals) game. It was a rainy day … glad we didn’t get tickets!! I would have hated it if it was sunny…I hate football. But it was the best 2 quarters of football I’ve ever seen thanks to our HUGE TV and the explanations of the other 3 who all love football. Or…it might have been the best 2 quarters of football because we put out a spread of Scotch Smoked Salmon with all accoutrement (look up a pic of my smoked salmon and you’ll see what I mean!), my wonderful birthday cake, and ¾ of the humongous TOMATO PIE from the night before that was supposed to be an appetizer (for 8 people, maybe!!). So…dinner taken care of!!We only got to watch half of the game, because our reservations at The Listening Room were at 6PM. What a wonderful place! There were 4 musicians on stage, headlined by Fiona Culley, a British songwriter and singer now living in Nashville – trying to obtain permanent status. There’s a $15. Minimum per person for drinks/food in addition to the $20 per head entrance fee on nights like these – and it’s totally worth it. Naturally, since we had eaten at “home” – we spent our minimum on booze. J This was, in my opinion, the best way to spend our last night in Music City. And thank the universe for Lyft! If you want to read about days 1,2, and 3 click here!