Food, Nashville, 2005
It started Thursday night, with two very large, very live Dungeness Crabs who were unlucky enough to fly in with our guests. Split amongst the four of us, our fingers were covered in butter and crab-fat.
Then came Friday, which began with donuts from The Donut Den, progressed to an enormous bucket of Butterfly Fries and ended with a membrane-numbing Hot Chicken Death-match. I don't really remember if we had dessert.
Saturday...ah Saturday. On the way to THE LOVELESS CAFE we made a pit-stop at the beautiful Belle Meade Chevron, to deal with the aftermath of the previously mentioned death-match. Feeling refreshed (it really is a nice gas station, very clean facilities) we pressed on to the Loveless, where we enjoyed God's own biscuits (God is a hardworking black woman. In case you were seeking her, now you can relax.) Of course we had to have sausage and red-eye gravy, as well as the fruit preserves. And of course country ham was involved and some of us had Bloody Marys while some just had coffee with lots of sugar and cream.
Saturday afternoon meant sampling the often advertised bag of Krystal burgers. Very good. Superior to White Castle. Definitely.
Saturday night? Saturday night meant a trip to Neely's barbecue. Beef ribs, pork ribs, pulled pork, a 3lbs. order of rib tips just in case, wings, slaw, beans, and Neely's own BBQ spaghetti.
Did I mention that Miller High Life is the Champagne of Beers? Did I leave out the part about Buffalo Trace Bourbon and Reed's Ginger Brew? (Make it with Buffalo Rock Ginger Ale and call it a Double Buffalo). Just mix those things in throughout.
Sunday morning arrived and we were all swollen like ticks. A few of us actually felt pain. Pain in our abdomen. However, there were eggs to poach and Hollandaise to prepare. A member of the party just happens to make the best Eggs Benedict ever. And it was Mother's Day, after all. And we did have a couple of bottles of Prosecco and a little orange juice.
Sunday evening we ate salad (and a sizable helping of peel-n-eat shrimp).
Monday morning I went to work and our two visitors from Seattle, who really are like family, went home.
Looking back, it is all just a blur. A thousand sensations all wrapped up in one long moment.
They are welcome back here, anytime.
