Bundaberg Guava Sparkling Soda
We’re fans of just about all things guava. And, we were drawn to the gorgeous pinky peach color of this soda. We weren’t disappointed. This is guava in a bottle with a nice bit of fizz. The one downside? It is super sweet. That’s ok. We’ll just treat it like a sweet snack or…. better yet, it’s perfect for cocktail time.
Our Favorite Cocktail of the Week:
Guava Soda with Vodka
makes 2
2 ounces of your favorite vodka
1 bottle guava soda
ice
Toss some ice in two rocks glass, add one ounce of vodka to each glass. Fill with soda.
Cheers!
(We found this 4 pack at the Buckhead location of Cost Plus World Market.)
Next time, we’ll be grabbing a pack of Bundaberg’s Lemon Lime & Bitters.
World Market
Bundaberg Brewed Drinks
Cinco — Suwanee
Chips & Salsa
The salsa was quite enjoyable. The roasted bits contrasted nicely with the bright, fresh cilantro. As a matter of fact, the cilantro was so fresh it was barely wilted.
Sangria
Cinco’s version is very light, fruity, and easy to drink. It’s simply fruit punch for adults.
Carnitas, Pork Shank
The pork shank was the highlight of the meal. Crisp, golden brown edges shred easily to reveal the moist, tender interior. The sinewy tendon was melting into the surrounding meat. This pork shank would be the one and only reason for a return visit …if we’re ever in the area again.
With the lightest touch of the fork, the pork pulled easily off of the bone.
The accompanying cheese filled flour tortillas, drippy mac & cheese and super-sweet molasses dipping sauce were extremely odd pairings. But, they weren’t awful.
Chipotle Shrimp
Now, this was awful.
The chipotle sauce had zero heat, the sauce itself was separating in an unappetizing fashion, and it was dreadfully bland.
Stuffed Poblano Pepper and Jalapeño Masa Cake
Completely drenched in that awful “chipotle” sauce, the stuffed poblano was gummy and rather tasteless. The jalapeño masa cake was seriously lacking jalapeño. And, it was oozing wetness. It was just plain inedible.
Cinco
Le Croissant
H&F Bread Co.’s almond croissant might be our all-time favorite croissant. But, their plain croissant is mighty tasty, too.
1 Croissant + 1 Piping Hot Cappuccino = The Perfect Breakfast
H&F Bread Co.
400 Degree Fried Chicken Breast
It looks innocent enough, doesn’t it? But, this chicken breast is uniformly coated with chili pepper “sauce”. This is a sauce is so thick it’s more like a paste. And, we’ll guess that the main ingredient in this sauce is a blend of chili powders.
Prince’s chicken was pure heaven, so, this must’ve been hell. We’ve never tasted anything quite so spicy. Where Prince’s Hot Chicken shows balance with a blend of spices, 400 degrees offers pure fire. The pepper blend is so powerful and deadly it’s hard to taste much other than the heat of those peppers. And, there’s a bitterness that comes with such an overload.
We were able to eat it …just barely. But, our mouthes were not happy about it. We were feeling the burn. And, our eyes were close to watering. We’re happy we tried the 400, but, we can’t quite say that we enjoyed eating it.
200 Degree Wings
If 400 degrees = inferno, then 200 degrees equals the spiciest food at 400 Degrees Hot Chicken that we can eat and enjoy at the same time. There’s still a bit of bitterness from the pepper sauce. But, we really enjoyed these. These offered an addictive and tasty heat.
400 Degree Breast In Back, 200 Degree Wing Up Front
You can literally see the difference in the shades of red. If you want to taste one of the hottest things you’ll ever put in your mouth, order the 400. Everyone else might wanna stick with the 200. The jump between 200 and 400 degrees is exponentially wicked.
We both left 400 Degrees Hot Chicken craving and wishing for a 300 Degree level of heat.
Next Road Trip To Nashville:
We need to take more pictures. It’s just ridiculously charming.
400 Degrees Hot Chicken
319 Peabody Street
Nashville, TN 37210
615 244 4467
Right smack-dab in front of the ordering window at Prince’s Hot Chicken, you’ll find this charming lady who makes cakes. Lady Irene makes some seriously yummy cakes… strawberry, red velvet, caramel… too many to name, really. But, our favorite is…
Chess Bars With Caramel Icing
Ooey, gooey and creamy, these chess squares are divine. And, the literal icing on the cake is the rich drizzle of caramel. It’s almost as rich as dulce de leche. And, it’s equally delicious.
Underneath that icing, the cake is incredibly moist with a custard-like quality. It’s one part chess pie and one part blondie.
Sinfully good.
Or, as Lady Irene says, “We all want to put something sweet in our mouth.”
Strawberry Cake
Another favorite, the strawberry cake is tender, moist and ultra-rich with loads of strawberry flavor. The strawberry frosting is super sweet … in a very good way. This slice has the richness of a doughnut, but, it’s cake.
So good. We can’t wait to go back.
Nashville Farmer’s Market
(It sits right under the State Capitol Building.)
After our feast at Prince’s Hot Chicken, we wandered around the Nashville farmer’s market. It’s one part nursery, one part farm stand, and one part flea market with a handful or restaurants set up food court style. The food court area reminds us of Atlanta’s Sweet Auburn Curb Market. While, the outdoor covered farm stands remind us of New Orleans’ farmers market.
Those green tomatoes were $1 a pound. Nice.
Irene — The Cake Lady
615 227 5227 OR 612 473 1785
Irene The Cake Lady can be found inside Prince’s Hot Chicken.
Prince’s Hot Chicken
123 Ewing Drive #3
Nashville, TN 37027
615 226 9442
Prince’s Hot Chicken
This is where we should be posting the hours. But sadly, as we look at the hours sign in our photos, we now realize the posted sign is no longer accurate. We’re told they’re now open until 2am on Saturday night. (Saturday – noon until 2am, that is)
We were lucky enough to snag the window booth on the left just before our chicken was ready. Perfect.
And, this was our view of pure blue sky as we put some heaven in our mouths.
Perfect, seriously. The thick golden brown crust was literally perfect on every order we saw pass through the window. And, you will see many orders pass through that window before yours is ready. There was a steady line of hot chicken fans the entire length of our visit. We’re sure that’s no fluke.
We ordered one half chicken medium, the other half hot. This photo (above) was the hot version. We’re still debating the difference. The hot is significantly hotter than the medium. That’s a well-known fact. But, the debate revolves around the source of that heat. Is it a different sauce? Or, is it just MORE of the same sauce? We’re just not sure. We are sure of one thing. We love this hot chicken.
This is the medium. Do not underestimate the medium.
Prince’s medium will kick the ass of hot and extra hot chicken wings all across this country.
The breading is quite thick and dense. It holds up beautifully to the buttery pepper sauce that’s oozing with chili powder, cayenne, and other secret spices. There really are no words other than delicious.
Finally, a fried chicken that gives Busy Bee’s a run for its money.
We believe these giant chicken pieces are part of a roaster. But, they’re still super juicy, tender, and chock full of rich chicken flavor.
…Beyond good, great, fabulous and divine.
Sweet Potato Salad
Usually not a favorite of ours, we both agreed the sweet potato salad was a perfect fit for this chicken. You need that sweet contrast to balance out the fiery heat of that sauce.
Even the fries have a mild heat. We’re thinking they’ve kicked up the Lawry’s seasoning salt with more hot pepper … a chili powder and cayenne blend, maybe?
We’ll never forget our first glimpse of Prince’s. And, we’re sure that little sign glowing white from glare will be calling our names again …some time very soon.
Prince’s Hot Chicken
123 Ewing Drive
#3
Nashville, TN 37207
615 226 9442
We can’t let them go broke.
We’re lucky to live in a city with a diverse group of theaters. But, what if they disappear? A few weeks ago, Creative Loafing’s Curt Holman wrote a tragic piece about the playhouses going broke (or near-broke) all around the city. How many times have we thought about going to the theater, but, we’re too busy. We’ll catch the next show, right? What if we blink and they’re all gone? Do you want to live in a world without the arts?
Donate what you can to your favorite playhouse. And then, get out there and go to the theater, too!
Lets all get out there and fill up those empty seats.
Georgia Shakespeare
Shakespeare Tavern
Actor’s Express
Theater In The Square
Alliance Theatre
Theatrical Outfit
Fresh Market’s Gianduia Bar
($3.49)
It shouldn’t be a surprise when an $8 chocolate bar is outstanding. On rare occasions, those $8 bars are surprisingly bad. But, that’s another story. On the other hand, it’s always extremely shocking to us when we find a 3.5 ounce bar for $3.49 of this quality. The chocolate is meltingly soft, sweet and ultra creamy. The hazelnuts are roasted beautifully to a deep golden brown and ground to the size of a coarse French press coffee. This bar is divine.
Love it!
The Fresh Market
Jumbo Crimson Raisins
The color of each individual raisin ranges from deep gold to to bright pink to a purply red.
$4.99 a pound
Now, we’d be the first to tell you… we’re not big raisin fans. As a matter of fact, the baker in the family is notoriously guilty of a very serious crime. She unapologetically substitutes coconut in lieu of raisins in her oatmeal cookies. But, these raisins were GOOD. They’re like dried fruit candy. Simultaneously sweet and tart with a nice chewy bite, we’ll happily go out of our way to look for these in the future. And, by in the future, we do mean as soon as this batch disappears.
New favorite snack….seriously!
The Fresh Market
(locations)
Oaxaca Tlayuda
(With Chorizo & Steak)
The handmade tortilla had crispy charred edges with a smoky appeal. And, that tortilla was covered with avocado, roasted peppers, tomatoes, radishes, steak, chorizo and Mexican cheese.
Delicious.
Our Favorite Salsas
One with creamy avocado, one spicy, roasty-toasty, and salty with peanuts, and a mild roasted tomatillo salsa topped our favorites list. But, there are plenty of other choices. From super hot to mild pico de gallo, everyone is sure to find a salsa that they love.
What about the salsa that comes paired with the chips?
It was fine, but, not a favorite. It was extremely mild.
Oaxaca Mole
Buried under that deep dark mole, that’s one gigantic chicken breast cut into three peices. How big was it? So big, that two ravenous adults couldn’t finish it. The leftovers made a fabulous lunch for one.
Tender, divine and delicious…. pick a word. Made with a blend of six chili peppers, sesame seeds, nuts, chocolate, herbs and other spices, this is savory comfort food at it’s finest. You’ll barely notice the ex-fast food restaurant digs with formica table and chairs. The surroundings melt into the background with the first bite of fine food.
Now, we’re craving breakfast.
Taqueria La Oaxaquena
605 Mt Zion Road
Jonesboro, GA 30236
770 960 3010
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