Cafe Intermezzo

When I am in Atlanta, I always stop by one of my favorite places Café Intermezzo. The first time I was lucky enough to try this place was when my friend John and his fiancé invited me for a late night drink and dessert (I have been hooked since). This European style coffee house has everything you would want in a café. The décor is amazing with hard wood floors and brick lined walls. The ambiance is sexy with dimmed lights, burning candles, and a variety of international music playing in the background. They also have a nice bar set up as well as an overwhelming dessert case and coffee station.

You have to look at the beverage book (yes a book) it has close to 50 pages in it filled with teas, coffees, champagne, liquor, wine, non- alcoholic beverages, chocolate drinks, and more. The food menu is great, I love the crepes, french toast, and sandwiches. They also serve entrees, a lot of breakfast items, and salads; however, the desserts, and coffee beverages steal the show. They have a case with various cakes, pies, cheesecakes, and tortes. They also ship their tiramisu from Italy that’s what I was told by one of the staff members (it was way too strong for me). The coffee bar is very impressive with very helpful baristas, you can tell they take pride in every beverage they make.

Friends and family that have joined me at Café Intermezzo loved it. From the food to the atmosphere everything is good.  For a late night drink, dessert, or the ending of a date this is the place. For the many times I have been there, I have only experienced one bad dessert that did not taste fresh.  The service can be very slow at times, but the servers are always gracious and informative. The parking is the one thing I really hate about this place, not enough space, and being from out of town giving money to a man who tells me to park on the side of the building is shady. You will forget about all of that as soon as you go inside and smell the beverages coming from the coffee bar. Oh how I wish there was one in Nashville.

Overall Rating: 9.6 out of 10

Off the Bone BBQ

Being from the south, we are surrounded by fantastic BBQ, giving us high expectations. A friend mentioned a place called Off the Bone BBQ, near Rosa Parks Boulevard and Monroe. When I go to a BBQ joint, I love the scent of the wood smoked BBQ filling the air, the friendly home atmosphere, and the assortment of different BBQ sauces that will make your taste buds dance (Literally and figuratively). When we pulled in the parking lot of Off the Bone I should have instantly known that this place was going to destroy any hopes I had about eating and enjoying such delicious barbeque. Cheap signs written in permanent marker were written all over the place, BUT given that most “hole-in the-wall” places are usually spot on I ignored the warning signs. All I could think about was the delicious BBQ I was about to partake in. The line was moving very slowly. There was only one person working the line and one on the register. While standing patiently in line, we notice the dirty windows. Wait, I think dirty might be an understatement. Just imagine someone took mud, water, grease and smeared the windows and left it to dry. However, I still don’t think that example justifies how bad the windows looked, but given that it’s a BBQ joint, I was not expecting anything classy, but damn wash those windows.

When we finally got to order and I chose the Mr. Dolla Beef Shoulder Sandwich with mac and cheese, plus a side of slaw. Ashlea ordered wings and G also ordered the Mr. Dolla Beef Sandwich with mac and cheese along with fried okra. We got a table and a free tan from the sun shining through those “greasy” looking windows. You’ll never guess what happen next! Drum roll please! They were out of BBQ beef and mac and cheese. WHAT!? Are you serious right now?! Who the hell runs out of beef BBQ before noon?! So then I ordered the catfish, slaw, and turnip greens. G got the Mr. Dolla Pork Shoulder Sandwich with fried okra, with a side of extra okra because they sorry asses ran out of what I wanted. They did not adjust any of the prices of the new order, which didn’t make a major difference in price, but come on…..who doesn’t love to pay for something that you didn’t get to eat. Ashlea’s wings smelled and looked hot, but “BAM” they were only room temperature. I love hot sauce with my catfish, but guess what; they ran out of that too. Let me repeat that, THEY RAN OUT OF DAMN HOT SAUCE!!!!! The catfish was soggy, and the turnip greens had no flavor at all plus the slaw looked and tasted like mayo based shredded paper. G’s pork sandwich was not hot and had little to no flavor as well. Who am I kidding!? I mean is anyone shocked by this?????

Catfish Plate

To my surprise the fish and chicken were not cooked to order, it was pre-cooked and placed in a steam table with lids to keep them warm. I was soooo disappointed that I could not smell or see anything cooking, not even a glimpse of grill smoke out back. I know, because I peeped around the corner. The prices would be reasonable if the food was good, (hahaha), but there was more action in the funeral home located behind this tragic restaurant. I witnessed several employees in the back, but I do not have a clue as to what they were doing. I know they weren’t cooking or helping expedite food. Off the Bone has a lot of items listed on the menu, but more than likely they will not have it in stock. It is good for people to open a business, but please have some kind of idea on how to run it. This rented out DMV lookin’ BBQ place was absolutely terrible in my book. The barbeque in prison probably taste 100 times better. Off the Bone needs to be cleared Off the Map, so that way you never have the chance to accidently stumble upon this horrific establishment of food.

It’s bad when the topic of discussion at the table is where you’re going to eat after going here, so you can recover what taste buds you have left.

For a BBQ joint and overall restaurant this place gets

1.3 out of 10 (hello 86’d List)

Soulshine Pizza Factory

Soulshine Pizza Factory

There are plenty of pizza joints in Nashville, but the newest is Soulshine Pizza Factory on Division Street. This place started down in Mississippi and you can tell what the influences are by looking on the menu .Since they have opened, I have dined in twice and had take-out once. Each time I have been there, it has not been busy. The food and service has always been good. The building is brick inside and out with smooth concrete flooring. The atmosphere is very nice upstairs and downstairs with a bar downstairs which sits under the stairs. The downstairs bar is not that big but it is cute and it works. A few tables are sprinkled in the middle of the floor while booths surround the area. There is also a big ceiling fan in the room which fits the décor. Upstairs is a larger bar, tables, a stage¸ and an unfinished roof patio that will be great when the summer gets here. The music is bluesy, and there is great colorful artwork on the walls including a picture of Redd Foxx aka Fred G Sanford.

Soulshine has weekday lunch specials, and the pizza at this place is really good. They have various types of pizza, and you can also create your own. The 28 pizzas to choose from have very gimmicky names like the Mississippian which has pulled and grilled chicken, pepper jack cheese and sun dried tomatoes. Sleeps with the fishes has Alfredo sauce, mozzarella, spinach, bell peppers, shrimp, crab meat, and goat cheese (does not sound appetizing to me). All pizza can be made into a calzone or you can have white or wheat dough. Appetizers range from wings to cream of crawfish soup, and hummus for you vegetarians. They have several Po-boy sandwiches such as the Mama Mia which I have had. It’s a meatball sandwich with marina, mozzarella, and delicious bread (Very tasty). They also have a very delicious sounding muffaletta. My friends that I have dined with had the Greek salad which they both loved. The Greek had romaine lettuce, black olives, peppers, onions, and feta cheese. Entrees include red beans and rice, Nathan Hotdogs, and Spaghetti with meatballs. They have only a few desserts but that “slap yo momma bread puddin” is soooo magnificent the sauce is sweet with a taste of bourbon. An employee told me that it had apples in it but I did not taste the apples; however, I devoured it.

The Greek Salad

MaMa Mia Po Boy

Meatball Pizza

Bread Pudding

This is a wonderful place with ok staff and a lot of options. It is a great spot for groups and a late night weekend bite. We were informed that the people rent out the upstairs area for parties. They also have a psychedelic van that advertises catering. Mid-Town in Nashville is getting better with each additional restaurant. I recommend this pizza joint to anyone especially to the college “kids” (the po-boys are better than the pizza). The space next door is owned by some of the same people, and rumor is, they are going to open a sliders restaurant.

Overall Rating: 7.7 out of 10 for a pizza joint

Judge Bean’s Bar-B-Que and Steakhouse

I heard a lot about a place called Judge Bean’s Bar-B-Que and Steakhouse in Brentwood, TN. This place is supposedly known for their Tex Mex style BBQ. Various people have suggested Cowboy chili, Texas jumbo-laya, and the baby back ribs. So my home girl E.B and I decided to go, the parking lot was full, and that seemed like a good sign for us. We walked in and the place was a little busy. We waited a few minutes for a table and then we were offered a table in the back corner near the bar. The hostess cleaned the dining room tables surprisingly fast. I was not impressed with the décor or the wobbly table and chairs, but it fit in. The employees did not have a uniform, so I could not tell who was an employee, manager, or customer.

The server arrived to the table with tortilla chips and smoky salsa (smoked paprika), and she also was bragging on the ribs like they were the best thing ever cooked on the grill. She also told us about some other amazing sounding items which I was ready to sink my teeth into. She said the brisket was flavorful, popular, and delicious. I ordered the brisket sandwich, house made fries, macaroni and cheese, and green beans. E.B ordered the smokehouse combo with ribs, pulled pork, macaroni and cheese, and fried okra. Let me start with the brisket, not tender, dry, no flavor, and room temperature. Mac and cheese noodles were overcooked and tasted cheap, but those green beans get a standing ovation. They should have soaked the brisket in that bean juice because they were well seasoned, and fresh off the oven. They could have kept those unseasoned ass fries in the back. E.B. said her ribs were OK and the same for the pulled pork, but she liked the fried okra (her food was room temp as well). Shockingly the homemade banana pudding was excellent, we had some shitty banana pudding at Edleys BBQ (tell you about that later).

Friendly staff, televisions to watch the game, and prices are a plus (would be better if the food was scrumptious). They also have all you can eat tacos on Tuesdays, and weekly specials. The food is a big part of the experience, and Judge Beans failed at that. Hopefully they can improve so I can get some hot delicious food instead of it being room temperature and tasteless. For now the Judge needs to stay out of the kitchen unless he is making banana pudding.

Overall Rating: 5.8 out of 10

Brown’s Diner

Right off of Blair Boulevard and 21st Avenue is a little trailer with a built on addition called Browns Diner. The first time I went to this Nashville institution, I was shocked that it looked like an outcast from the trailer park from the outside, but you can’t judge a book by its cover you must read some of the pages. The inside reminds me of an old drunk dive tavern. This place is known for the cheap food that is actually good (them burgers), and it’s friendly down home staff.

 

We wanted a quick late bite so we stopped by Browns Diner. There were only a few people there, but one guy was drunk, full of jokes, and getting takeout. We sat down at the bar and looked at the menu. They have everything; Frito chili pie, catfish dinner, homemade vegetable soup (winter months only), grilled cheese sandwich, and more. I ordered a cheeseburger with a side of hush puppies, and CP ordered a cheeseburger with a beer. The burgers were juicy and the buns were soft. After we smashed them, we were like we should have ordered 2 but the kitchen was about to close, and out of respect I never order food 30 minutes before a kitchen closes. The bartender was “cooler than a polar bears toenail” (thanks Outkast) he talked shit with us about football, and The Titans (they play so bad there are going to start paying people to go to the games). I have also been informed that people love the fried fish plate.

Cheeseburger and hush-puppies

 

Browns Diner has been open since 1927, this place is history and plenty of people have passed through with many stories to tell. Great burgers, friendly staff, cold beer mugs, and a place where no one is a stranger make this place what it is. This is one of the few places you can possibly eat, drink and enjoy community with pocket change. However, I would love to see a monstrous burger or something like a Juicy Lucy (burger with hot oozing cheese on the inside). If you are looking for 5 star cleanliness “child”  this is not your place, but if you want mid 1900’s trailer park dive bar realness this is it.

Overall Rating: 9.4 out of 10

Chappy’s

Chappy’s in Nashville “specializing” in New Orleans and Creole food, we wanted to see for ourselves. I have not been there for dinner, but I have eaten lunch there and that fried chicken sandwich was very delicious. When we walked in, the vibe was depressing; no one was upbeat and it seemed like everything was moving in slow motion, and the décor was French quarter on a messy budget.

Our server told us about his likes and the specials, and delivered the bread with an array of butters. We looked over the menu and decided to go with an appetizer and soup to start. The fried green tomatoes were just ok a little bland for my taste, but the parmesan cheese, and sauce helped it out. When I saw corn and crab bisque, I had to order it and the soup was good. For entrée, I ordered the chicken ship island (it was a shipwreck) the chicken breast had no flavor, I could not find it at all, and I even looked under the table. I chose not to get the rice du jour; I chose the mixed vegetables and it looked like a hot mess served on a plate. My guest ordered grilled bbq spice shrimp and it was not spicy, but he added the Chappys hot sauce and it worked that out. He loved the rice du jour but all in all it was just ok. Being a New Orleans style restaurant, I saw bread pudding on the menu and really wanted it; however, I no longer had and appetite.

Grilled Barbecue Spice Shrimp

Chicken Ship Island

Chappy’s has a plenty of space on the inside and descent parking out back. They also have jazz night and offer cooking classes. It has been open since 2006 and how it has been said to be the best Cajun restaurant in Nashville, but really there is not many around here. The owner is really a cool fun guy who chats with the every guest, but hopefully they can get it together so the place can stick around.

Overall Rating : 5.8 out of 10.

Hattie B’s Hot Chicken

We were starving and wanted something hot but we also wanted chicken so we went to Hattie B’s Hot Chicken. When we arrived, the aroma met us at the door. The first thing I saw was Miss Renita with her big grin, and a big ass chalkboard menu on the wall. The décor is nice and the establishment is very clean. This chicken joint does not have a lot of seating inside, but it has plenty on the covered front porch.

They offer white and dark meat chicken, wings, tenders (grilled or fried), and ½ bird. The temps that you can get are Southern which has no heat; Mild a touch of heat, Hot they say is just right, and DAMN HOT. They also offer various southern side dishes, desserts; beer, fountain drinks, tea, and lemonade (needed some more sugar). I sampled the southern greens they were ok, but not the favorite. We both ordered DAMN HOT tenders with some fries, pimento mac & cheese (creamy and stupendous), baked beans, and slaw. When that sauce says “DAMN HOT” it felt like the devil was tap dancing on my tongue with hot shit on his shoes. The chicken was tasty (tasted a lot of cayenne pepper), but all I could finish was the sides, pickles, and bread. On the other hand he finished my chicken and his and didn’t even take a sip of water until it was all gone. One thing is the menu said “JUMBO TENDERS” but they were normal size; however we also enjoyed the banana pudding it was really F’ing awesome. We talked to and overheard people saying that the chicken, service, and wait time is better here than at other hot chicken places.

Damn Hot Tenders & Sides

There is not a lot of parking in there lot cause Gigi’s has a sign for most of the spots. The service was great Miss Renita made our night we joked, laughed, and she made us feel right at home. The chicken is worth going back for as well as the staff. This place is a real game changer for midtown.

Overall Rating: 8.8 out of 10

 

Arnold’s Country Kitchen

Arnold’s

I am a southern boy, so when I heard of Arnold’s Country Kitchen and all of their accolades, I had to go. I grabbed my big appetite cousin and we headed over the railroad tracks. Luckily we got there just before the big rush, the place was almost packed, but fifteen minutes later there was a line outside the door and it spilled over into the parking area. The place is small with just a few tables but that’s cool. It wouldn’t hurt them to do a deep cleaning. The order line, plates, and eating utensils reminded me of a prison cafeteria (never been, but seen them on TV).

So we are about to order and the good thing is, you can see all the food you are about to devour (especially my beloved CHESS PIE). It was Tuesday so I ordered the meatloaf, 1 piece of catfish, candied yams, turnip greens, mac & cheese, hot water cornbread and chess pie of course. My cousin ordered the meatloaf as well, along with the same sides plus the white beans. Everything was just ok, but the turnip greens were missing that love and extra home cooked flavor. The meatloaf was not my fave but edible; however, the mac and cheese was the winner on the plate.  The chess pie was average (try Rose’s home-style catering and bakery chess squares). I made the catfish work with a lil added hot sauce. Oh boy I wish they would have had some good sweet red Kool-Aid ha-ha.

The Meat & 3 Menu

One of the good things was the service, they moved the line pretty fast and everyone had a smile on their face.  They recognized the regulars, and chit chatted with every guest. The price for portion size of food is pretty accurate. I can’t say it’s the best meat and three in Nashville, but all in all the food was average nothing to tell mother about. This establishment is part of Nashville’s’ history, but James Beard award winner, I don’t think so.  More important, this is a Nashville institution that the people here love.

Overall Rating: 6.9 out of 10

Portillo’s

 

When I’m in Chicago and hungry for an Italian beef sandwich, there is only one place to go to cure my hunger. Portillo’s! This Chicago staple is known to everyone in the windy city. Now keep in mind this isn’t the place for the health nuts. Portillo’s has various locations (about 45 in fact) and I visited two of them. Both Portillo’s were very consistent. The Portillo’s at North Clark St. and West Ontario St. was amazing. If you don’t know where those streets are then just look for the big ass Micky D’s across from Portillo’s, can’t miss it. You walk into this big food court area with various food choices, BUT it’s a one stop shop. This place was busier than a Macy’s on Black Friday. Portillo’s was very fast and very efficient. The decor reminded me of a Chicago history museum in a bar on drugs. (The heavy kind) If you are in a hurry, they even have a drive-thru service for your lazy ass.

Italian Beef Sandwich “Dipped”

For my first trip, my Nashville friends (who once lived in the windy city) told me to try out the Italian beef sandwich. While standing in line at Portillo’s, everyone was giving me suggestions on what to eat. The menu has hot dogs, burgers, sandwiches, salads, beer,shakes, desserts and a shit ton more. Of course I ordered the famous Italian beef sandwich, a vanilla shake and the chocolate cake to go. So if  you order the Italian beef sandwich, please GAWD get it dipped and add some gardinaire. The prices are very reasonable for the amount of food you get. After I finished my sandwich I just had to have another one. Surprisingly, I didn’t fall into a food coma from this flavored pack sandwich. It made me want to move to Chicago A.S.A.P. The shakes were good and the chocolate cake was very moist. The secret is that it’s made with mayonnaise. I bet your mind is blown right now.

Portillos famous chocolate cake

Portillo’s is a kid friendly place with a food lover’s atmosphere. The staff is super nice and will help you with any questions that you may have. Everyone eats here; from business suits, construction workers, and the everyday Chicagoan. However, be prepared to pack a coat, because after eating at Portillo’s you might be staying in Chicago a little longer than expected.

For messy gourmet fast food.

Overall Rating: 8.9 out of 10

The Garden Brunch Cafe

When was the last time you ate brunch?  That was a rhetorical question… For us, it had been a very long time and we wanted a place to refresh our taste buds. So, we hit up The Garden Brunch Cafe on the north side of Nashville.

First off, if you are taking Jefferson Street to get to this place you have to drive through the Popeye’s parking lot to find their parking lot. It was a little tricky for first timers like us, because we didn’t know that the parking lot was behind the house. Just a heads up. I was expecting a warm home welcome as we walked in, giving that this cafe was once a house, but to my surprise, no one was insight. This left us confused whether or not we were to seat ourselves or wait for someone to seat us. After waiting around for five or so minutes someone from the back noticed us and proceeded to take us to our seats. Soulful music played through the restaurant giving it a nice “homie” feel. However, we couldn’t figure out what they were doing with the rest of the cafe. The decorations were random, as if they had been to 18 different yard sales and purchased stuff.

Once we were seated the server came over with menus and took our drink orders. We could tell he was not a well-seasoned server by the way he used his time moving from table to table. It seemed as if he created more work for himself which caused guest’s to have to wait even longer. All the of staff were extremely nice, but they really needed better service.

The menu was very nice and simple which had various pancakes and omelets plus other fabulous sounding dishes.  I was happy to see they offered turkey sausage, turkey ham, and turkey bacon. We both ordered omelets, one Fiesta omelet with grits and a Meat Lovers omelet with roasted potatoes. When the food arrived the Fiesta omelet came with potatoes instead of grits (but that was a blessing) and the Meat Lovers came out smelling great. They both had wheat toast and fruit for garnish.

Those potatoes will blow your mind.

Even though both plates looked very similar we were focused on those oh so sweet delicious potatoes. The potatoes were on point! No bull-ish, those were the best roasted taters I have had in a long time.  The omelets were good; they just needed a little more salt and pepper.

The Garden Brunch Cafe is only open Friday – Sunday (9am-2pm). For this place only being open three days, I would expect the omelets to have tasted a little bit better, especially for the price. The omelets were price anywhere from $10-13 dollars. I would have probably paid around $8 dollars.

All in all, I would say The Garden Brunch Cafe was average. It wasn’t a bad place, but on the other hand it wasn’t great. Except for their potatoes, those were great. The Garden Brunch Cafe has potential, it just isn’t there yet.

Overall Rating: 6.2 out of 10