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Shirley Fong-Torres (Visit Shirley's site at www.wokwiz.com) (On their visit to Nashville, Shirley and Wro took a drive out to The Hermitage, above, a living history plantation) The next morning in Nashville, as Wro flirted shamelessly through another decadent southern breakfast in the Hilton Hotel atrium, my resolve to broaden our cultural horizons increased. After getting in touch with my inner elementary school teacher, I packed a day bag so we could take the short drive out to The Hermitage, to meet with President Andy Jackson, better known in those parts as Old Hickory. To my amazement, Wro had not forgotten his lessons in protocol and addressed our host as "Mr. President." Unfortunately, Old Hickory wasn't much for protocol. "I prefer to be addressed as Major General," he corrected my bear, as I prayed this didn't trigger a manic phase. Wro responded quite well for a bi polar bear. "Yeah, whatever. Let's have a photo." Only the Second President to Be Photographed General Jackson reminded us that he was only the second President ever to be photographed, and suggested that his famous grimace was the result of the lengthy time early subjects of photography had to hold a pose. "Get digital, Major General dude," Wro explained. The Hermitage is a wonderful living history plantation, 1100 acres now as then, except without the slaves, or Percehron horses and Galloway cows Jackson raised.
(A Tennessee weaver's hand carefully creates a prized work) We learned about Old Hickory's stoic death. Blind in one eye, at 78, swollen from dropsy, with an old bullet in his chest, he never complained through a long illness and wrote his last letter to President Polk - urging him to "freely use the power of his veto against our political enemies." The Hermitage has been a museum for 115 years and is run now with fully costumed actors who bring the president and war hero to life for young cubs. Before and after his war years, the Major General was a Constitutional attorney, so he well understood those powers he advised Polk about. His wife Rachel managed the farm, quite successfully. Was Old Hickory Gay? Today's lady farmers don't have ten household slaves to help, yet alone dozens more in the fields. We learned that her chief indulgence was wall paper, used to reflect light, which was dear in days before Tom Edison. After admiring the black French floral patterns in the Major General's bedroom, Wro asked him if he was gay. Politely, the Major General answered by showing us the musical instruments his grand-daughter played. Then he pointed out that carpeting was restricted to the dining room and told us that a famous story "about another impertinent bear" was probably not true. That apocryphal bear cub was found under the Major General's bed , supposedly was allowed to grow up at The Hermitage until he had a tragic altercation with Sam Houston. "Bears were not indigenous to Central Tennessee, though, so it's probably just a myth," the Major General said. "Times change," said Wro. The Spawn of Bubble Wrap My inner chef asked about dining on the farm. We learned that dinner was served at 3 p.m. and the dining room had an oil cloth floor. Jackson used a Franklin stove and his staff was instructed to serve all passing guests, even when the Major General was not at home. A beautiful giant empress tree grew outside the smoke house. These trees came accidentally to America from China. They propagated from their superfluous bulbs, which were used in shipping to protect delicate cargo, a precursor to bubble wrap.
(Barbecue is serious business down here) The farm cured and smoked 25,000 pounds of pork each Fall. Bacon and ham were smoked with green hickory chips and corn cobs. These are two things that Chinese and Americans totally agree upon, and it set off my inner dinner bell. We thanked the goddess of empress trees for putting a Monell's on Hermitage property. Monell's is the most elegant of Nashville's traditional family dining rooms. All of Monell's restaurants are in historic old homes, and all feature skillet fried chicken, along with two other daily specials, like catfish, ribs, chicken and dumplings, etc. Southern home cooking is served family style, and no one ever leaves the table hungry, which is extremely important for a mother who must maintain vigilance over a bi polar bear. Peach Brandy: Gone with the Wind Refreshed by dumplings, something that Chinese and Americans do not agree upon, we headed down the road, still determined to expose Wro to history and culture rather than guitars and gin drinkers. Travellers Rest was the home of one Judge Overton, a friend of Jackson, and a legendary peach brandy aficionado. Unfortunately, Peach Orchard Hill , the source of his brews, has been destroyed by a battle in the Civil War. "There's nothing civil about destroying peach trees," Wro told our docent, who, thank God, agreed with him. Snuff boxes were prominent in the ladies room. Tennessee women in the 19th century were tough birds. One Peggy Eaton famously passed out in that room, after too much snuff, with Mrs. Overton laughing at her. It seemed that Eaton was Jackson's friend, but her rough background made her the subject of scorn to other ladies, who snuffed her out, as Wro put it. Athens of the South
(The lights of Nashville illuminate the city's skyline at night) Back in Nashville, we headed to the Vanderbilt University area. Tip #1: Nashville is an ambulatory town, literally. Just as the Nashville Hilton is a short walk from all things Country Western and honky tonk, the Nashville Marriott at Vanderbilt renders a car unnecessary to visit the educational and medical parts of the Athens of the South. We visited the Parthenon, which resembles the one in Athens in all things except for not being desecrated by barbarians, art collectors and tourists. It's an impressive place to sit and read, but one doesn't read much while traveling with a bi polar bear. I thought about a picnic, but The Acorn was too close. The Acorn is an arty little bistro a few blocks from the Marriott, the football stadium and the Parthenon. It's more San Francisco than Tennessee, but after all, a bear needs fresh fish and seafood. Thanks to the miracle of Fed Ex, we dined delightfully on halibut and coconut shrimp, calamari and lobster.
(Take time out for golf during your visit to the Nashville area) In honor of the restaurant's name, we ordered an appetizer platter that included imported prosciutto, so I could teach Wro that acorns, along with cheese leftovers, used to be the diet of the pigs destined to become prosciutto di Parma, the most famous example of a genre that includes Tennessee (Virginia) ham. Feeling extremely thankful to have survived a day of educational inspirations, without a single fit, we went to bed without visiting a single honky tonk. We ordered an early wake-up call for a journey to southern Tennessee, and the early 20th century. The
Cathedral of Whiskey & BBQ So for nearly two hours I had to listen to my bear complaining that he could have been "doing grits" with "Antonio," a gorgeous gay waiter who I believe is a fantasy of Wro's. I was regretting the trip, until we got there.
(Time for a little music at the Jack Daniels whiskey distillery in Lynchburg) Lynchburg is a delightful little burg whose soul reason for being is to welcome the pilgrims to Jack Daniels. The whiskey distillery is set in hills so tall you can see Alabama. Every Fall, this is the final stop on the competition BBQ circuit. So it's a holy cathedral to devotees of the American food culture. Our tour guide was marvelously named Morgan Stillman. He told us he as a former farmer and dedicated whiskey drinker. "You got to have whiskey in a small town cuz that's all we got to make the time go by," he explained. Ironically, Lynchburg is in a dry county, liquor has not been legal here since 1909, and yet, all kinds of concessions have to be made because of the economic impact of the distillery. Morgan reminds us, "This place pays $13 million a year in federal taxes, let alone other taxes," as we watch charcoal being made in a huge bon fire of stacked maple logs. The fire was started fire with 140 proof whiskey which elicited a few EPA jokes from our docent. Morgan shows us: a 1919 fire engine, "We got modern equipment, but we ain't used it;" And the house that Jack built, "They must a been pretty lit when they built it cuz it leans to the left pretty bad."
(You'll love the Tennessee outdoors with its lakes and hills) Jack Daniels was a 61-year-old bachelor when he died. Jess Motlow and his sons then took the company to international prominence. All together, there have only been six master distillers, and all came from within 6 miles of the distillery, all but two from within 2 miles. Morgan tells us that since it's the first Friday of the month, all employees get free whiskey. Tip # 2: Every Friday, between May 1 and October 1, the distillery hosts a mountain top BBQ, with hickory smoked pork shoulder, chicken and all the usual trappings of Q, including live music. The pavilion is a huge open air venue with unbelievable views. The Q is pretty darn good too, so good in fact that we talked them into sharing a few recipes from the "little lunch" we had there. While celebrating the joys of pig butt, Wro asked Morgan: "Why is the whiskey called Old # 7?" "My theory is it was probably the maximum number of girl friends Jack kept at any one time." After lunch we watched the six day fermentation process, in 40,000 gallons stills. We visited the barrel aging room, "where whiskey gets its color, not flavor." "Each barrel pays $13.50 in federal tax," we heard, surmising that Morgan doesn't much care for taxes. After fermentation, the grain mash is recycled to local cattle. "The cows are famously happy in these parts. Keeps 'em from kickin'," Morgan explained. Finally we saw the mellowing room where the whiskey is filtered, through the charcoal we saw being made earlier. In the case of Gentleman Jack, it is twice filtered. "The difference between bourbon and Tennessee whiskey is filtering in charcoal." A British tour group was excited to hear that master distiller Jimmy Bedford had been sited on the property, They were told that his autograph on a Gentleman Jack or single barrel bottle was worth $400 on E Bay. It's legal to buy whiskey here, just not to drink it in public, I think. Single barrels are for sale, too, 53 gallons for $9,000. "Only $7,500 in states without so many taxes," Morgan reminded us. We were told that George Strait had just been here to pick out his annual barrel for aging. Suddenly, Wro was no longer interested in Jimmy Bedford, he started pining for "a Texas baritone." Mommi settled for a bottle of Gentleman Jack with Mr. Bedford's autograph. She has no intention of selling it on E Bay. A Reason to Return As soon as the long drive to Nashville was over, I tried to calm Wro down with some shopping. We bought some music from the huge selection at the Hall of Fame, which you will recall is across the street from our hotel.
(The Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville is well worth a visit) I also tried to bribe him into a good mood with tickets to the Grand Ole Opry. He wanted clothes though, so we stopped in the funky Hillsboro neighborhood near Vanderbilt. I had to give him two espressos before he stopped growling about "the dearth of gay boutiques." Back downtown, we stopped to check the progress of the new Schermerhorn Symphony Hall. Ted Dedee, the Executive Director, told us that the building hired the architect of Bass Hall in Fort Worth, David Schwarz, and raised $120 million to build a palace that will include $8 million just in limestone! Music City's crowning glory. We were told that a grand lady angel named Martha Inghram is principle donor with naming rights and she chose to bestow that on the symphony conductor. Wro told Mr. Dedee that "I'm all about others, too." This is going to be state of the art. Two layers of block wall, with 2 inch air space between them, will produce the best acoustics in the world - a building within a building. Thirty windows on the upper level will bring in natural light, the first ever to enter an American concert hall. To do this, they are using 2 inch glass, a 24 inch airspace and then 3 inch glass. Wro told Mr. Dedee he'd be back for the opening, but that he had to go. Sigh. Before going to the Opry, we stopped by Gaylords Opryland Hotel, the largest in the world outside Las Vegas. If the Schermerhorn is a hall within a hall, then GOH is four hotels within a Disneyland. It's a city, with festivals, town centers, neighborhoods and river ways. There's a 44-foot waterfall, laser-light and fountain shows, and tours aboard delta flatboats - all inside the "hotel." More to my purposes, there are five restaurants, including the Old Hickory Steakhouse with its renowned collection of whiskeys and cognacs, plus five pubs and a food court, providing something for most any taste buds. Tip #3: Gaylord Opryland Hotel provides an intimate weekend with several of the best chefs in the south. 2005's DIRONA Chefs' Weekend (Distinguished Restaurants of North America) was August 26-28 and the event included: a reception with the chefs on Friday, seminars on Saturday, a gala Saturday dinner and a Sunday brunch, all priced in the mid $300's, including hotel rooms. We stopped by one of the many restaurants for some Southern-style appetizers and liked the corn pudding so much we made the chef cough up the recipe, which we share with you below. Our biggest question about the hotel is, how does anyone ever sleep here? There's too much going on all over. Our Night at the Opry Grand Ole Opry is over 80 years old now. It began when Uncle Jimmy Thompson played two hours straight on the radio and a flood of mail persuaded the insurance company that sponsored the show to sponsor the broadcast of a barn dance. Insurance salesmen went door to door as soon as show ended and gave away tickets.
(The Grand Ole Opry is over 80 years old now) The most amazing thing to us was just how many different performers one can see in one evening. Our night at the Opry included: Jimmy Dickens, John Conlee, Connie Smith, John Anderson, Porter Wagoner (Wro loves his clothes), The Whites, Sierra & Cody Hull, Alison Krauss & Union Station, Vince Gill, Jean Shepard, Tony Rice, Larry Sparks, Bill Anderson, George Hamilton IV, Osborne Brothers, Patty Loveless, Jim Ed Brown, Helen Cornelius, Jesse McReynolds & The Virginia Boys and Radney Foster. Star struck as we were (Wro had completely forgotten George Strait and was telling complete strangers that "Vince Gill could melt my ice cream"), I had a larger craving.
(Terri Clark performs before an admiring audience at the Grand Ole Opry) Among food culture junkies, Nashville is known as THE hot chicken town. This is the only place I ever heard of where "hot chicken" has its own separate category in the newspaper restaurant listings! And one chicken place is part of southern lore. When Colonel Sanders started his chicken business in the neighboring state, Prince's Chicken Shack had already been serving Nashville for a three decades. Their chicken is still skillet fried, in a rather small kitchen, so orders take at least half an hour, and sometimes a lot longer. While Wro and I waited, near midnight, other people would joke about taking orders that weren't their's. "Number 83, is number 83 here?" "What he got?" We sat down and waited with newlyweds Erica and Zach Marable. Erica grew up in the neighborhood, Zach in Murfreesboro, where they met and now live. "She made me bring her to Prince's on our second date. Since she got pregnant, she has been having a craving for Princes a lot more often though," Zach explained why they drove an hour each way to wait another hour for their fix. Andre Prince is the current matriarch of the Shack. She explained to us that all her chicken is spicy to some people, so maybe "mild" is all the hotter we want to order it. I go for mild, Wro gets "hot," but at least not "extra hot." Erica tells us she grew up on mild, but since she got pregnant, her addiction has progressed. "I used to always eat mild, then medium, but now I am up to hot, and I think the baby might be an extra hot," Erica said. "Last week, it hit her at 11 p.m., we didn't get home from the chicken run till after 1:30 in the morning," Zach added. "I crave it," Erica confessed. "I just think it's something that everyone needs to experience." Andre Prince was busy counting money. It was the middle of a shift change, and some employees needed to get paid and cash their checks too. So things were a bit slower than usual. No one seemed to mind. When she finished, she acted amazed that anyone would want to take her picture. Even more amazed that anyone would come from as far as San Francisco just to eat her skillet fried chicken. "You came from where? My goodness." Our orders came just as another shift of workers and customers filed in, so Wro and I bid Andre, Erica and Zach good bye and took our chicken back to the hotel. Andre was right, mild was as hot as I wanted it. Wro claimed that he should have gone hotter. "Radney Foster was hotter than this, and he wasn't as hot as Vince Gill," he explained, assuring me that his lasting memory of Nashville was not going to be anything historical, culinary or educational. Recipes Corn Pudding by Michael Swann, executive sous chef at Gaylord Opryland Resort (12- 4 oz portions) Ingredients For custard 6
whole eggs Wisk together and let set at room temperature for 10 minutes. For filling ¼ stick
butter Preparation Heat
half the butter in large sautee pan. Add corn and saute 2 minutes. Add spices and continue cooking 2-4 minutes. Add half the bread crumbs and half the cheese and remove from the heat. Allow to cool on cookie sheet. Butter the bottom and sides of 9 by 13 baking pan. Mix custard and corn together in mixing bowl. Place in the baking pan; Place in 350 degree pre-heated oven for 35 minutes. After 10 minutes, mix remaining cheese and bread crumbs evenly over top of casserole. Remove from the oven at internal temperature of 160 F, browned well on top. Serve immediately. Jack
Daniel's Three Bean Baked Beans The Hermitage 4580 Rachel's Lane Nashville, TN 37076 Phone 615-889-2941 www.thehermitage.com
Grand Ole Opry Gaylord
Opryland Resort and Convention Center Nashville
Marriott at Vanderbilt University Prince
Chicken Shack Monell's The
Acorn Jack
Daniels BBQ Hill (Click
below for more travel).
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