Athens Family Restaurant

Last night we finally tried Athens Family Restaurant, a diner with an extensive Greek menu. We've heard great things about this place, it was even featured on Diner. Drive-Ins, and Dives, so we knew it had to be good... and it was! The building looks and feels like a diner. But the menu will surprise you. They serve breakfast all day, but we decided to stay on the dinner side.

My boyfriend chose a Lamb Burger with Bacon, a perfect fusion of American classic diner with a Greek twist. The fries even came with crumbled feta on top. The burger was huge and delicious. It had that great lamb taste mixed with the familiar flavor of bacon. I wanted to try one of the Greek entrees so I ordered the Kotopita. I had never before tried this dish, but hey, it comes wrapped in phyllo. How can you go wrong? Inside the delicious, buttery phyllo wrapper were pieces of chicken, cheese, and vegetables. Yum! It was served with a mixture of vegetables in a tomato sauce, which was slightly spicy and had a great flavor. In addition it comes with Dina's Creamy Potatoes, pieces of potatoes cooked in a creamy cheesy sauce.

Athens is a great place that has a huge and diverse menu. There will be something on the menu for everyone to enjoy, whether they prefer traditional diner classics or are feeling more adventurous and want to try something Greek.

Woodlands Indian Vegetarian Cuisine

Woodlands Indian Vegetarian Cuisine has to be my favorite restaurant in Nashville. Each time that we have gone there we have ordered something different, although I usually do stick with a Dosa. If you have never been here or have never had a dosa, you really need to try one. Like me before I ever tried one, yo may be asking yourself, what is a dosa? Well, it is like a giant crepe only it has a slightly sourdough like taste and is made from rice flour or lentil flour. These are huge! And they come filled with a delicious blend of vegetables and spices all accompanied with wonderful dipping sauces. The flavors of the spices all blend together wonderfully and each taste revels a new layer of flavor. They are absolutely amazing! So are the many other items on the menu.

Indian food is one of my favorite cuisines. Although I think that the term 'Indian' food is very misleading. India is a huge country with many different regional cuisines and access to certain spices and vegetables, and has a rich culinary tradition. If you are as interested in food as I am, particularly the cultural influences that food has on society and vice versa, then I suggest Curry: A Tale of Cooks and Conquerors, by Lizzie Colllingham. In this book the author examines Indian cuisine and how it has both influenced and been influenced by different culinary traditions brought by conquerors and outside influences. It even contains a few recipes that relate to each chapter. This book is a great example of how to examine change in foodways and how culture and foods influence one another.

For more readings on Indian cuisine and culinary traditions see

Appadurai, Arjun
1981    Gastro-Politics in Hindu South Asia. American Ethnologist 8(3): 494-511.
Appadurai, Arjun
1988    How to Make a National Cuisine: Cookbooks in Contemporary India. Comparative Studies in Society and History 30(1): 3-24.

The Smiling Elephant

Last night we finally made it to the Thai restaurant, The Smiling Elephant. We have wanted to try this restaurant for a very long. I don't know why we waited for so long because the food was amazing. The restaurant fills up fast and we were lucky to arrive when we did, otherwise we would be sitting outside in the humidity waiting for a table. The inside is VERY small. There are about 11 tables, if that, and you can view the kitchen through glass where the chefs are at woks cooking up a storm.

We started out with fresh vegetables and a peanut dipping sauce. These quickly blanched vegetables included zucchini, yellow squash, broccoli, cauliflower, snap peas, cabbage, and carrots. They were served with a peanut sauce that was both sweet and spicy. It was a great, refreshing appetizer to begin the meal.

At The Smiling Elephant they are known for their Pad Thai, so we of course had to try that. WOW! What a blend of flavors! The noodles were thick and cooked to perfection and provided a great base for the warm peanut sauce, chicken, and vegetables. This Pad Thai was unlike any other that I have had before. There was something very fresh about it while being comforting and homey as well. Great flavors!

In addition we had the curry of the day which was  Panang, with chicken. The flavors of coconut milk and lemongrass were melded into this curry. The flavors were so bright and blended perfectly together.

I would highly recommend this restaurant and we can't wait to go back and try even more of their extensive menu.

Suzy Wong's House of Yum Date Night

In an attempt to explore more of what Nashville has to offer, my boyfriend and I have been going out once a week to a new restaurant. This week's restaurant, thanks to a groupon, was Suzy Wong's House of Yum. I had been here before a while back and thought it was pretty good, but I wanted to try some other menu items.

We decided to share a Yum Bowl and a few small plates. We started off with Sesame Steak Yakatori Skewers. They were very flavorful and the sesame was strong. It tasted a lot like toasted sesame oil, which at times I am not as big a fan of as the regular sesame oil, but this melded well with the other flavors of the steak. We also got the Vegetable Gyoza Pot Stickers. My boyfriend was disappointed because he is used to the fried version and these were the boiled version. Next time I'll be sure to ask. In any case they were good, but not great. There was something missing in the flavor department and I though the dumpling wrappers were not as tender as they could be. Lastly in the small plate portion of the meal we shared the Five Spiced Braised Pork Ribs. Let me tell you, these were AMAZING! Definitely the best thing we ate that night. They were fall of the bone tender and the sauce was delicious with an array of spices and a little bit of heat. These are a must have when dining here.

We shared the Indian Crock Pot Chicken and Rice. This dish had flavor, sadly the flavor was one dimensional, a little too much of some spice, although I am not sure which. And despite me asking the server exactly what it was, we were still shocked to see what actually came to the table. She described it as being similar to a yellow curry. However it was really more like a fried rice with an accompanying flavored soy sauce to pour on top. Next I will ask better questions. Oh well, this is the point of trying new restaurants and new recipes.

All in all I think this restaurant is great for the food, especially the small plates, the price, and the ambiance. They have done a wonderful job with decorating and the music is great. The servers were friendly, although the one we head was not as knowledgeable about some of the food, she also seemed new.

We are looking forward to next week, especially since it will be my last dinner in Nashville for a month.