On a recent trip to the Music City, the Little Woman and I were looking for an open liquor store (but just as in Indy, they're all closed on Sunday), and we saw this grand old mansion on Murfreesboro Pike next to the airport with a sign out front that said "Monell's Family-Style Dining". In the South that means that your party sits with others around a big ol' table with like 10 chairs and they bring the food out in big bowls that you pass around just like you were at home and feedin' the family. While we were waiting for the food to come out, we helped ourselves to the bowls of cucumbers & onions in ranch dressing, and bowls of cole slaw that were already on the table along with pitchers of sweet and unsweet tea, fruit tea, and water. Then the main course arrived and I was in home-style heaven with perfectly cooked fried chicken followed by mashed taters, green beans, and macaroni & cheese in their own bowls. I had just begun to dig in when the REST of the main courses arrived: pulled pork, meat loaf, and pot roast! No wonder they sell t-shirts that say "Help! I've eaten at Monell's and can't stand up!" There are 3 locations in Nashville, all in historic houses. It was the best part of the Nashville leg of our trip.
BTW, if you make it to the Volunteer State, try to get your hands on some Popcorn Sutton's Tennessee White Whisky. Popcorn Sutton was a famous moonshiner who unfortunately took his own life at age 62 when he found out he was going to prison just a couple years back. A group of investors including Hank Williams, Jr. were in the process of obtaining Popcorn's recipe at the time, and now they've managed to go legit, although the stuff is currently only available in Tennessee. Supposedly the state said they have to call it White Whisky because "moonshine" is by definition illegal. It is just about THE SMOOTHEST alcoholic beverage I've ever sampled, exponentiallly better than Georgia Moon, the other well-known legal 'shine, which is produced by a large distillery in Louisville, KY.
No comments:
Post a Comment