Hot Chicken in the City

Nashville Hot Chicken, I'm told by the natives, is not a long-standing tradition.  But the term is now used as if it's been around forever, and let's face it, Southerners know how to fry up a good bird.  The "hot" is only an option, by the way--all of these places offer a mild version, so don't be scared if you don't feel like burning your lips off.

Like a good BBQ joint, a plate will offer you two sides, like mac & cheese (often done with pimento cheese), greens, corn on the cob, cole slaw, or baked beans. Here are a couple delish ones in the South, and one bonus joint in Colorado that definitely does it right, despite the lack of twang from the servers.

...special thanks to my Southern pals who helped me find the best places in Nashville!

Bolton's Spicy Chicken & Fish, 624 Main St and 2309-A Franklin Pike in Nashville, TN 

Features: Chicken on a Stick plate (trust me) makes you feel like you're at the county fair, and there's also a great selection of fried fish and pork, either in a platter or sandwich.  SO, it's basically a BBQ place that also does great fried chicken, which makes it a real crowd-pleaser for mixed groups. 

Best sides: white beans, corn on the cob, spaghetti (I mean, it's not the most amazing spaghetti you'll ever have, but-?!)

Hattie B’s, 29 Seven Apartments, 2808 7th Ave S #101 in Birmingham, AL; 596 Cooper Street in Memphis, TN; 5209 Charlotte Pike, 112 19th Ave S, and 2222 8th Ave S in Nashville

Features: Besides becoming pretty ubiquitous in a short amount of time, it's probably the most hipster place I visited (in newly gentrified Melrose, Nashville, anyway). There are some great local beers on tap, and the service is super fast and friendly. Shut the Click Up!! is their hottest chicken, and it's near-nuclear. And the banana pudding is just super Southern, if you're and outsider like me and looking to go all-out. 

Best sides: black eyed pea salad, red skin potato salad

And believe it or not:
Music City Hot Chicken, 111 West Prospect Road #C , Fort Collins, CO 

Features: Since they're just a couple shops down from Black Bottle, they have their own BB brew on tap (it's a light, summery lager called Music City Cold Beer, and it's perfect with spicy chicken). They also have some exotic flavors, like a green chili flavoring and also a Jamaican Jerk, which are both super tasty. Each chicken comes with a dipping sauce, as well, which I didn't see in Nashville.  I don't really get the point, but it's nice if you like that sort of thing...

Best sides: mac & cheese, waffles (get the Fireball syrup as your sauce)

Red Beans and Rice, hold the meat (unless you want it)

I always forget how great canned chipotles in adobo sauce can be--smoky, earthy. and spicy--and how little I need meat if I put them in a dish.  (However, Field Roast's "Mexican chorizo" is also kinda the bomb if you're into vegetarian "sausages"...)

Vegetarian Red Beans and Rice

Serves 4-6

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, finely diced
6 cloves garlic, minced
5 celery stalks, finely diced
1 large green bell pepper, finely diced
1 pound dry red kidney beans, soaked in water overnight, drained, and rinsed
3 bay leaves
2 teaspoons dried thyme
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper, plus more to taste
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, chopped
2 teaspoons hot sauce (I like Franks Red Hot), more to taste
6 cups vegetable broth or water
Salt, to taste
Cooked rice and sliced green onions, for serving

Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven or stockpot over medium high heat. Add in the onion and cook until very tender and beginning to brown, about 10 minutes.

Add the garlic, celery, and bell pepper, and continue to cook until just softened, about 3 minutes.
Add the soaked and drained kidney beans, bay leaves, thyme, oregano, cayenne pepper, black pepper, chipotle peppers, red pepper sauce, and vegetable broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for about two hours, or until the beans are very tender.

Season with additional salt and hot sauce. Serve with cooked rice and top with sliced green onions.

DFT goes to the Mississippi Delta!

March is a great time to visit the Southeast; the flowers are already starting to bloom, and the temperatures/humidity are nowhere near oppressive yet (by May, in this Yankee's opinion, it's best to steer clear of the Mason-Dixon line if you care at all about physical comfort). It's a great place for lovers of blues and its history, Southern Gothic novelists, Roman(ish) columns on EVERYTHING, and of course, barbecue. I went last week on a short master class tour and a visit to the inaugural Music by Women Festival at Mississippi University for Women (a unique experience in itself), and here's what I can recommend:

Cleveland, MS: Home of Delta State University (go Fightin' Okra!) and a (though not the) Grammy Museum. The tiny downtown is adorbs and can be walked in about 10 minutes. 

Mississippi Grounds
219 S. Court Street
(662) 545– 4528
Coffee House with great breakfast burritos and a killer cappucino

Mosquito Burrito
301 Cotton Row
(662) 843-4822
www.mosquitoburritoms.com
Fresh-Mexi Cuisine for the hipster student crowd

Hey Joe's Cafe & Record Shop
118 E. Sunflower Rd, Suite C
(662) 843-5425
www.eatheyjoes.com
I didn't try the gourmet burgers, but the local craft beer menu was impressive.

Starkville, MS: Home of Mississippi State University and a bigger downtown.  They host a film festival March 2-4 (or thereabouts) every year and a restaurant week charity event in mid-April. This place is pretty hoppin', actually. 

Nine-twentynine Coffee Bar
VISIT WEBSITE
106 E. Main Street
Starkville, MS 39759
(662) 268-8014

Not only beautiful inside, they will make coffee however you can imagine for it to be made.  The pour-over was divine.

UMI Japanese Cuisine
VISIT WEBSITE
315 Highway 12 W
Starkville, MS 39759
(662) 323-5258

Two tasty rolls for $6.95 for lunch? Yes please.

Lost Pizza Company
VISIT WEBSITE
325 Highway 12 W
Starkville, MS 39759
(662) 324-0050

Chewy crust and a plethora of toppings, this is a local favorite with several locations across northern MS.

The Little Dooey
VISIT WEBSITE
100 Fellowship Street
Starkville, MS 39759
(662) 323-6094

If you want a proper plate lunch, this is the real deal.  Suggested by a local, I do not regret the gut-busting plate of spicy pork, potato salad, and turnip greens that kept me full for over 24 hours (see below).

Harvey's
VISIT WEBSITE
406 Hwy 12 East
Starkville, MS 39759
(662) 323-1639

Upscale local chain (there's one in Columbus, below, too). Known for the broccoli bites, which as far as I can tell are delicious blobs of broccoli smothered in cheese sauce, battered into balls and deep fried.  And the bartender makes a mean Old Fashioned. 

Oxford, MS: I was there to visit the flute studio at Ole Miss, but of course couldn't resist driving by Faulkner's house (disappointingly surrounded by gas stations and other modern crap on the edge of campus, but still...). This is the center of intellectual and artistic activity in northern Mississippi, and it shows.  Oh, and the campus is ridiculously beautiful (below).

Burns-Belfry museum about African American history:
710 Jackson Ave. East
Oxford, MS 38655
Sunday 1:00 to 4:00 and Wednesday through Friday 12:00 to 3:00
Admission is free

Civil Rights Monument on campus:
University Circle,
University of Mississippi,
University, MS 38677

I did more wandering than eating here, but the local chain deli Newk's on campus was actually super delish.  The Square is also a great downtown area for shopping and eating, it would seem, but alas, I had to hurry back to a rehearsal in...

Columbus, MS: Birthplace of Tennessee Williams and home of Mississippi University for Women, now a coed school that prefers to be known as The W. Also an insanely beautiful campus, this one has a certain kind of private school opulence you can only find in the good old South (I think).

There's another Harvey's at 200 Main Street, I can tell you now that the Cajun Pasta (very much like Crawfish Monica) was fantastic.  Still liked the Old Fashioneds here, too. 

Mississippi State Committee of the National Museum for Women in the Arts Exhibition. Visit www.muw.edu/as/art/gallery for information on this and other W exhibits.
Gallery hours are Monday - Friday, 8am-5pm. The exhibits are free and open to the public.
1100 College Street MUW-70 

(662) 329-7291

Here's an handy Interactive map:http://visitcolumbusms.org/index.php/interactive_map#top

Other restaurants recommended to me by locals, but which I did not get to try, include

Huck's Place

121 S 5th St
Columbus, MS 39701Phone number(662) 327-6500
Cajun/Creole: great fried green tomatoes

Jackson Square Grill
1927 U.S. 45
Columbus, MS 39701(662) 328-8656

Big on seafood and with a great brunch

Hana Korean Restaurant and Market

4226 Mississippi 373
Columbus, MS 39705

(662) 434-8881

Cheap and comforting stone pots and curries.

When in Rome...or Arkansas

I traveled with my trio to Southwest Arkansas last weekend.  The continuous deciduous forest everywhere I looked was pretty, and all the people I met were extremely nice.  I was staying in a town with a college, but no coffee shop (but three donut shops), in a county that had just gone from dry to wet in the past year, in a state that fries everything.  So, it wasn't like my usual haunts, but I nonetheless managed to eat some tasty stuff.  (I am still detoxing from the alt intake, but I hear you body needs salt, so...)

In Magnolia, AR:
Backyard Barbeque was way too much food, but crazy good. I had the pork sandwich (sliced rather than pulled, but the equally good brisket is pulled rather than sliced) with coleslaw and beans that came heaped with sausage, pepper and onions. They also keep mugs frosty in the chest freezer for one of the three beers on tap: Bud, Bud Light, and Goose IPA (?!) Apparently the pie is very good, but I don't know how I possibly could have digested it.

We went to Flying Burger several times, because they were often the only restaurant open, and they had salads.  Fried catfish, tilapia, crawdads. and shrimp can be put on salads, in po' boys or tacos, or served up on a platter with sides like greens, grilled squash, fried broccoli, beans and rice, etc. And everything comes with hush puppies, so no need to order extra.

I never made it to Marlar's Cafeteria. which gets high ratings on Yelp but was never opened when I wasn't working.  But I would have liked to have tried their chicken and dumplings with black eyed peas and greens. Another time, perhaps.  Also, the first Yelp review is a perfectly charming summation of my time in Magnolia.

Shreveport, LA:
Sadly, many restaurants, even in this booming metropolis, were not open for lunch Sunday on my way back to the airport. I can tell you that locals recommend the boudin at Bergeron's. We did manage to find an absolutely beautiful Indian buffet at Indigo Bistro, and it was heaven. The vindaloo was quite spicy and flavorful (pretty brave for a buffet, but maybe they're more hip to that sort of thing in Cajun country), tikka was surprisingly tomato-y but good, and the aloo saag was a surprising symphony of flavors. The service was welcoming and the restaurant itself was this glorious mix of Gothic Southern architecture and classic Hindu style, all cleverly disguised by its boring facade (see below) in a suburban strip mall. It's right off the loop that gets you to the airport. Go there.

PS--The staff at the Hampton Inn were so helpful that when we bought beer at Walmart because there were no bars and discovered we didn't have a bottle opener, they let us use their's for, like, three days.  Also the breakfast waffles were pretty good.

What I ate on the Gulf last week

I went to University of Southern Mississippi last week to teach and perform in my role as an Altus Performing Artist, so of course, I ate my way from the airport in New Orleans all the way to Hattiesburg.  It was a short trip, but I'm pretty sure I still managed to gain a few pounds, mainly in butter.

In Hattiesburg

Crescent City: Cute family restaurant down the street from USM. I had crawfish Monica and a sad glass of water because I had to play that night.  The food was super good.

Branch: Chi-chi small plates and cocktail place.  I ate smoked wings, fried broccoli (no breading, just a bit seared and black on the ends) with lemon-yogurt sauce, mussels and fries, and deviled eggs with Sriracha, bacon, crab and avocado. The cocktails looked lovely, but I stuck to a glass of Chardonnay as I considered my 6:30am departure time for the airport the next morning.



In New Orleans

Jacques-Imo's: I think this is officially in the East Carrollton neighborhood, spitting distance from Tulane University. This place was utter chaos--I had to scream like I was at a Prince (who died the day of my recital, which is what I'm blaming the poor attendance on) concert. We split an app of friend calamari, then I had the daily special of blackened snapper on top of a bed of spicy mussels, crawfish, and shrimp with my choice of sides, a red cabbage with sausage braised in butter and perfectly seasoned red beans.  I think there might have also been a salad, but I blacked out at one point. Oh yes, the house white wine was delish and cheap.

Rue De La Course: Right down the street from Jacques-Imo's. It's in a big old bank building, playing classical music, of all things, and catering to the hipster Tulane set (I say this with affection). I ate Almond cream cake and had a smooth, smooth latte.

Blackened Fish, the Yankee Way

When I was a freshman in college, the most exotic meal I tried was blackened catfish.  I had never heard of, let alone tasted, anything so vigorously seasoned at that point in my life. It was cooked by our token Southern professor, who probably got a real kick out of watching us dairy-fed Midwesterners poke at the dark slabs of fish, hoping it wouldn't burn our mouths too terribly.  I loved it, and that was my introduction to the magical world of Southern dishes.  

I still love blackened seasoning, but I don't do the ten pounds of butter or the frying so much.  I also think catfish is kind of a pain, with all those stupid bones to pick around.  So, here's a quick, healthy, and easy way to try to recapture some of the weird wonderfulness that was Dr. Hearne's blackened catfish back in 1993. You'll excuse me, I hope, if it's not as authentic as a Paula Deen recipe, but I promise it won't give you diabetes. 

Blackened Broiled Tilapia

Serves 4

1 pound tilapia fillets

olive or canola oil

Blackening Rub:

3 tablespoons paprika

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon liquid smoke

1 teaspoon black pepper

½ to 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon thyme

1 teaspoon oregano

½ teaspoon garlic powder

In a medium bowl, combine all blackening ingredients thoroughly.

Line a broiler pan with foil and add 2 T olive oil. Brush it over the foil in any area that will have fish.

Rinse and pat dry 1 pound of tilapia. Brush with olive oil. Cover the fillets with the spices and rub it in (both sides).

Place fish on broiler pan, then broil about 4 inches from heat for about 5 minutes on each side, or until fish flakes easily with a fork.

*If you decide to drop this onto the grill instead, which is delicious, don't bother with the liquid smoke.

Red beans and rice with a twist

I love rice and beans all the time. I love the puzzle of changing the seasoning and the rice to suit the particular beans I happened to find on sale in the bulk section of my local grocery store that day. And I love adzuki beans, those small, creamy, slightly sweet red beans that are usually the star of fried Chinese desserts at your local buffet.  This recipe combines them in a typically Creole way, except for the Asian seasoning...

East-Meets-South Red Beans and Rice

Serves 6

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small yellow onion, diced
1 link andouille sausage, cut into small pieces
3 cups chopped kale leaves
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
1 teaspoon (or to taste) hot Chinese mustard
2 cups cooked adzuki beans
1 tablespoons soy sauce
Salt and black pepper to taste
Brown short grain rice for serving

In a large sauté pan, heat the oil over medium heat.  Add the onion and sausage and cook until onion is soft and sausage is cooked through, about 5 minutes.  Add the kale, garlic, Old Bay, and ginger, and stir together.  Cover, lower to medium-low heat, and cook until kale is wilted, about 5 minutes. Stir in the mustard, beans, and soy sauce and heat through.  Season with salt and pepper if necessary and serve over rice.

The best vegetarian restaurant in Fort Collins

Tasty Harmony  is the whole package: located in a dressed-up old storefront, serving things like cashew cheese and fried seitan with gravy and mashed potatoes, and a wait staff that is heavily tattooed and pierced. The bartender even has white dreadlocks.  There is everything in the world to poke fun at here, if you're into rolling your eyes at the hippy-dippy college town stereotypes.  And who isn't?  It's fun. Here's why you should go here:

1. The food is incredible.  More details on our specific meals below, but the short-hand is that ingredients are local and organic whenever possible, plates are beautifully rendered, flavors and combinations are creative and delicious, and there is an amazing amount of time and care represented in a lot of these dishes.  That seitan?  Made in-house.  Cashew cheese and three kinds of raw hummus?  That requires special equipment and a lot of care to make properly. The house-made BBQ sauce is like none I've ever had (and better than any I've ever had), and TH is quite possibly the only place in northern Colorado where you can try jackfruit, the newest super food for vegans.  They go the extra mile--and then some--in the kitchen.

2. The drinks are incredible.  Beers are carefully chosen from the long list of possible suitors brewed in Fort Collins and surrounding towns, and they seem to keep only the best on tap.  Whole meal smoothies and shakes are the real deal--not only are they delicious, but they are packed with actual healthy goodness, like chia seeds, flax oil, and raw honey. These are not sugary shakes disguised as health food; these are honest-to-goodness health tonics packed with fruits, milks, natural protein, and nuts and seeds that will provide healthy fuel for hours.

3.  The wait staff is respectful, patient, and knowledgeable about everything that goes on in the kitchen. Ask them anything about cooking process, ingredients, flavors, and they will answer as if they have made it themselves.  And to prove how appreciative they are of first-time vegetarian diners, they have a page of terms explaining some of the more exotic ingredients and cooking processes on their menu.  It's not condescending, and there's no air of superiority.  They just know their stuff. And they always seem to be available when you need them without hovering at the table.  They leave you alone until you want their attention.

4. Meals are moderately priced by normal standards, but when you think about the price of individual ingredients and the labor-intensive nature of many of their menu items, you are actually getting an incredible deal on your food. You could easily spend $10 on a sandwich made with white bread and cold cuts at a coffee shop, but here you'll get a garlic grilled hoagie roll, homemade raw hummus, cashew cheese, grilled onions, cucumbers, tomatoes, sprouts and fresh basil for the same amount.  Oh , and a side of your choice.  Want some Southern cooked greens with that sandwich?  Good luck ordering it at Panera.  

So, let's talk details.  I had the BBQ pulled jackfruit sandwich because I was  curious to try jackfruit, finally.  I've heard about it so many times but have never been able to find it in my local stores, and quite frankly, I wouldn't know what to do with it if I did.  So, I let Tasty Harmony do the work for me.  I wasn't expecting to like this sandwich, however, because I never like anyone's BBQ sauce.  It's like a liquid candy bar: too much brown sugar and molasses, not enough salty or sour elements. But this homemade sauce was surprising: thick and very smokey, there was only a twinge of sweetness provided by the tomato paste in it.  It was salty, earthy, slightly sweet, and tangy all at once.  I actually loved it.  The fresh tomato slices and coleslaw on the sandwich was just right--very North Carolinian.  And the jackfruit itself had a tender texture and was an appropriate carrier for the sauce (it had a mildly vegetal flavor to it, but mostly it just tasted like the sauce).  The roll was an ordinary kaiser roll that had seen better days, and the side of greens I ordered were completely unseasoned, but the shaker of black and white sesame seeds and salt did the trick.  If I got it again, I think I'd ask for some mustard to put on the greens.  

We also tried the whimsically named "Kentucky Fried Freedom" plate, which had batter-fried, house made seitan cutlets served with mashed potatoes, seasoned greens, black-eyed peas, and vegan gravy.  Everything was spectacular.  The seitan really did mimic chicken pretty successfully, the gravy was nicely salty and flavorful, the potatoes were hand-mashed, and the greens and beans were both seasoned nicely.  The beans had a great al dente bite to them which seems impossible to achieve when you merely open a can.  And the greens in both of our dishes were clearly freshly cooked--still bright green and firm, these were definitely not fished out of a vat of day-old slop.  

Besides the ubiquitous half sandwich / cup of soup deal, I also love that you can choose from a long list of mock meats, vegetables, grains, and beans to make your own "Daily Plate".  It seems like the perfect way to sample everything you're curious about.  

Tasty Harmony is right around the corner from everything else you've already noticed in Old Town Fort Collins--the sports bars, dressed up pizza places, and yet another bar boasting local brews on tap.  But this place offers a truly unique dining experience and an honestly healthy alternative to the typical dining out experience in a laid-back, friendly atmosphere. I cannot recommend it highly enough. 

Nashville food rocks!

After a really fun visit to Nashville last week, it took me a while to get myself together to report to y'all about some great restaurants in the area.  Nashville is a surprisingly diverse city, a moderate size that can offer a lot of entertainment and food options without feeling overwhelming, and it's filled with great people who want you to have a good time.  I-65 is home to some pretty crazy driving, though--they could really use some public transportation (and I will continue to say this about every town I visit until American society embraces mass transit, which is to say, until blogs cease to exist).

Lockeland Table: New American and small plates, with an emphasis on locally sourced ingredients.  I sat at the chef's bar, which was centered around the brick pizza oven in the back just in front of the kitchen, and the small pizzas looked and smelled amazing.  If I had ordered one, I probably would have gotten the "Octopi", with octopus, tomatoes, caramelized fennel, oregano, garlic, chili oil, and Parmesan.  However, what I did get was also delicious: roasted heirloom carrot and beet salad and wood fired oysters Rockefeller from the starters, and a plate of local cheeses with homemade crackers, apples, homemade almond brittle, and fig jam. The cocktails are also cool, though I can't remember what I had.  Something with rye whiskey.  The wait staff are knowledgeable and friendly, and they are happy to make substitutions whenever possible.

The Smiling Elephant is tiny inside, so go early for the best Thai meal of your life.  Their Pad Thai is apparently award-winning, but I couldn't resist getting the Pad Makea, a spicy-sour stir fry with ground pork, smoky eggplant, tomatoes, bamboo shoots, and basil over jasmine rice.  When we asked about the spice level of the green curry, the owner brought us a sample--it was surprisingly fresh and light with a good bit of after burn.

The Slick Pig: Enough of this frou-frou shit; if you're in Tennessee, you should get some barbecue.  The Slick Pig, located in nearby Murfreesboro, seems like one of those grungy college hang-outs that is a part of graduates' memories from generations back (Murfreesboro is home to Middle Tennessee State U.).  My host loves the smoked wings; I really enjoyed my "pork plate", which was a huge pile of smoky barbecued shredded pork with little cornbread pancakes, seasoned white beans, and tomato and raw onion (the true sign of authenticity).  I had to do some extra jogging the next morning, but what's a trip to the South without the BBQ?!