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7/15/10

Nashville: Fido's

You know what the problem with mini vacations is? Well, there are actually multiple: 1) not enough time to spend with the people you are visiting 2) not enough meals to try out all of the restaurants on your list 3) vacation withdrawals once you get back to reality of your normal life. Still, I love mini vacations, and Nashville was really great: fun company, great food, time off from anything Internet related, and great 4th of July fireworks.

One of my favorite places was Fido's. Right, I don't like animals, but this was a very funky, quirky, and pretty-to-look-at restaurant/coffee place. Alas, I can't remember who to thank for this recommendation.

Monday before dropping me off at the airport and after a great lunch at Jack's BBQ, Kenny and I went back to Hillsboro Village neighborhood and checked out Fido's for a coffee/dessert break.

Check out the cute bathroom signs! And of course I loved that this restaurant is on Twitter!


This is definitely not your typical Starbucks. Colorful and fun decor, original artwork on the walls: this vibe reminded me of many of the places I visited in Savannah.


But let's get to the food. I ordered iced coffee and chose Pink Radio Cake to share. After all, I'm Russian: I ♥ buttermilk and beets! And look at the different hues of pink in the cake.


Doesn't the cake look gorgeous?



But looks aren't everything: what about the taste? Take a look at the photograph below: we clearly loved it. The cake was moist and dense, but not too heavy. The frosting and icing weren't overly sweet and definitely did not scream "beets."



If you, or anyone you know, are planning a trip to Nashville, TN, definitely check out this place. The plates of sandwiches and salads that I saw looked fresh and appetizing too!

I think it's a great idea when you travel to check out local restaurants instead of sticking to national chains. Just my two cents ;)

7/11/10

Nashville: Farmers Market

Hard to believe a week ago I was in Nashville for Fourth of July. God, the time goes by quickly. Before I share a few of my favorite meals from Nashville with you, here are some photos from Nashville's farmers market. The market is open 7 days a week! How cool is that? Alas, some of the indoor sections of the market were still closed due to the floods.

Let me just say that I could not believe how inexpensive fresh produce was. I was really tempted to pick up tomatoes and peaches and bring them back to DC with me. Alas, there was no refrigerator in my hotel. I had to be happy with taking photos and buying a peach and a container of cherry tomatoes to snack on.


There were so many peaches: ripe, sweet, perfectly fuzzy peaches. And I loved how everyone's produce was displayed in these uniform baskets.



$1.50 for a pound of peaches? That's a steal. If only I could buy some to make my blueberry and peach cake.



And this next photo just screams: buy me. A box of red tomatoes for only $10. So what if they don't look perfect? They smelled like tomatoes are supposed to smell and would be so great in salads, sauces, soups or just on a slice of white bread w/a bit of mayo, salt & pepper.



These little patty squashes reminded me of the ones my mom used to pickle when we lived in Russia.



Other than peaches and tomatoes, the other most common produce sold was eggplant. "Regular" eggplant, little Asian eggplant, round purple eggplant, and so on. Alas, some of my photos did not turn out. So you get just one.



And finally, yellow & green zucchini: two colors in one.



Do you miss ability to cook while on vacation? How do you solve this issue?