Dinner started out with one of their new cocktails. Unfortunately, I can't remember the name but it was the one with St. Germain and lemon. SO refreshing. Incidentally, dinner ended with a second one of these cocktails, too. Anyhoo.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Eat Out for Nashville: The Acorn
Based on all the accounts I've heard, Eat Out for Nashville was a great success with restaurants experiencing a boom in business on what would otherwise be a rather quiet night for dining. There was a really great list of participating restaurants, but we chose The Acorn. I've never had a bad experience there (and even hosted a really great private party there last year) and, well, we know the chef, so it was kind of a no-brainer. Also, despite being on the fine-dining side of casual restaurants in town, it's fairly baby-friendly. We had dinner upstairs on the patio. It was busy enough to have a pleasant din of noise enough to drown out any fussiness from the baby without being so loud as to prevent decent conversation. Perfect.
Dinner started out with one of their new cocktails. Unfortunately, I can't remember the name but it was the one with St. Germain and lemon. SO refreshing. Incidentally, dinner ended with a second one of these cocktails, too. Anyhoo.
The food portion started with a lovely amuse bouche--chopped strawberries with balsamic vinegar, celery leaves and croutons and topped with a bleu cheese (I think--sorry, the cocktail had kicked in by this point). I generally don't like celery, but this really worked. And it's strawberry season in Tennessee; we have the best strawberries on the planet. Dinner started in earnest with the arugula and butternut squash salad. The spiced walnuts and brown butter hollandaise were such a nice compliment to the arugula. I so love brown butter but rarely have it at home any more because Mr. Eats should really stick to his Smart Balance. And brown Smart Balance?...just doesn't work.
For a main course, I chose to have a double portion of acorn squash ravioli. Turns out, this dish typically is served with a pecan pesto and herbed apple cider that has a base of chicken stock. Luckily, chef Andy (er, Andrew) Hunter caught that for me and prepared an alternate sauce with the apple cider. It was delicious. The ravioli had a nice, delicate flavor and the sauce also had a light touch so even though I had a double order, I had no trouble polishing off the whole plate. I was eagerly anticipating dessert (I heard there was a wonderful strawberry dish served with something pretzel-y), but Baby Eats decided it was time to go...good thing I had that second cocktail. Ha!
Dinner started out with one of their new cocktails. Unfortunately, I can't remember the name but it was the one with St. Germain and lemon. SO refreshing. Incidentally, dinner ended with a second one of these cocktails, too. Anyhoo.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
Oh your dinner looks great! I went to Paradise Park Trailer Resort, not veggie friendly, but for meat eaters, they actually make a great burger! I liked the fries and sweet potato fries. I was going to go to Baja Burrito, but the line was down and around the building! Good for the diners who waited!! I moved on to others in 12th S and Belmont, and they were just as PACKED! So, I did what any industrious woman would do, I went straight to Bravo Gelato for 2 big containers, one lemon and one choco to take home :) Who says gelato for dinner isn't a good idea? I say it is :)
I love Bells Bend CSA! Did you know every piece of food at Bells Bend was literally hand planted by Eric and Brooke! Yup, back breaking work, and they did it. I can taste it, my food is sooo good! The farm is so pretty, it looks just like you imagine a picturesque farm scene to be. Bright red roofed barns, babbling brook, big old trees in the right places, free range cows that just live there and are happy to mow the lawn, children skipping in and out of the brook, mom with a broad straw hat watching and laughing at her kids being silly while splashing, and the list goes on. Eat Bells Bend food, there is a lot of heart and love in it.
Sounds like you had a great experience. We went to BurgerUp, but we beat the crowds and arrived at 4:50. Eating at 5-ish is REEAALLY early for me, but it worked out great for us, because we literally walked right in and sat at the bar. By the time we left there was a line snaking outside.
I ate what you might likely order, the black bean quinoa burger. I originally considered telling them I didn't need the bun, as I often don't eat them, but BOY OH BOY am I glad I didn't say that. That as the most amazing bun on the planet.
PS. That St. Germain & lemon cocktails sounds divine!
Sounds yummy. We just picked up burritos from Baja - we can't swing a dinner out during the week with baby. I'm just too tired after being on my feet all day. I will defintely have to try the Acorn1
Post a Comment