Thursday, March 18, 2010
Here’s a quick update on how we began our trek to the milk farm in Part I: after an inspiring thought from Emily traveling back from the Farmer’s Market, we decided to call JD Country Milk farm just over the KY border and ask about a foodie tour. They said, “come on up, the boy’s ‘ll be back to show you around.” After delighting in the warm reception, we headed up to the border for a Saturday afternoon.
Armed with the dual swords of forgetfulness and improvisation (we forgot the camera – and barely knew where we were going), we aimed our afternoon road-trip for the town of Russellville, where the JD Country Milk farm calls home. We wound our way through the Tennessee backroads, noticing a few adorable towns we’d like to explore more, and found ourselves in deep farmland relatively quickly. After one wrong turn we scouted the sign for JD Country Milk. The area is pristine – barely touched by more than a small town with a gas station a few miles back, with farms and farmland on the left and right of the road. We drove down the small lane, and saw signs for a couple of area farms, and noticed the splashed black-and-white appearance of the Holstein cows hanging out alongside a rolling hill and pond. This sort of vista went on for about a third of a mile when the barn and small store appeared on the right.
We arrived and hoped we were not an imposition. We were greeted graciously by Willis, the father-owner and operator of the family-run farm, and we spent the next couple of hours learning about the premium milk product they make. Before I go into that, it was obvious that these are the type of people you’d like to know – and although we’ve agreed not to reveal a confidence – they are good people who believe in the value of a handshake and doing things the right way.
It takes a lot to get a milk business running, and they’ve run the gambit of Murphy’s law to get to the point where they are. They’ve learned along the way about strange things that make an impact – like the time that Willis reduced the amount of corn in his feed during one season, and the Starbucks people called to say his milk failed to foam. ”My milk doesn’t foam?” Willis said. ”Your milk doesn’t foam, Willis.” After several calls to experts across three states, including Wisconsin and the eventual winner at Cornell, it turns out corn is an important property in making your milk foam for those lattes.
Not to say that Starbucks is his typical customer. JD Country Milk provides the milk for all of the University of Kentucky, which includes a few Starbucks in their system. Due to the constraints of the delivery process – (you remember those milk machines at your college cafeteria, don’t you?)…those are bags inside the dispensing machines – and although you can shake a jar you can’t shake the bag for each glass – so they have to homogenize it lest someone gets a ton of cream from the bottom. But we don’t have to worry about that where we are in Nashville, because we each are buying the premium product in individual, shakeable glass containers.
So what makes this milk the best? JD’s Milk eliminates all of the typical problems with mass production. No anti-biotics, hormones, pesticides, or anything you wouldn’t want to voluntarily ingest. They don’t homogenize unless they have to, which makes the milk much more healthy. He’s said that teachers are reporting that their kids are dropping weight with their milk, because it fills them up without the high fructose corn syrup in all the sodas. He hears stories like that all the time. Our favorite story reminded us of our elementary experience – his younger son will stuff some pint-sized chocolate milk in his lunch for school – and sell them to classmates for a quarter. I’d be his friend.
I told a buddy of mine recently about the milk, and he shook his head, wondering about the non-homogenized safety. Turns out he confused homogenization with pasteurization. Pasteurization is critical, and is the process of heating the milk up to eliminate any impurities. The double-edged sword of pasteurization is that heating the milk up too high damages the flavor. So JD uses a low-heat pasteurization that gets everything but doesn’t destroy the flavor. And he pushes the temperature up above the required temperature just to be safe.
Walking around the farm revealed a quality facility. He was proud to show us all the places where they do their work, and almost all of it is hand-done. Their butter is churned by a machine, but Edna mixes the sea-salt in herself. They have a conveyor belt that helps with filling and bottling, but apart from the pasteurization stop, and separating for percentages, it pretty much comes straight from the cow.
Willis wasn’t parting with his recipe for chocolate milk, which we have come to crave, even after we begged a bit. (I briefly considered a thumb-wresting challenge, but thought better of it given my opponent milks cows on a regular basis.) Em and I got a chocolate half gallon on Saturday – and we ran out on Wednesday. We both looked at each other and wondered how we would make it through the rest of the week. Willis spent several months developing it to perfection, and we think it is pretty darn close to addictive. We also get a half gallon of whole milk for the week. We’ve been blown away by the sour cream, as well, which we blended with minced, dried Mexican chilies and kosher salt to make a fabulous supplement to Latin-inspired steak tacos. Ahh, foodie goodness.
Prior to our departure, we asked Willis what they’re looking for in their ideal Nashville customer. They are looking for customers who appreciate their premium product and realize its not the usual fare. Willis is happy to point out that his family has never missed a delivery to anyone, and they’ll deliver to restaurants who want better cooking ingredients, local colleges, area grocers, as well as the typical consumer at the Farmer’s Market. You can find their truck on Saturday mornings behind the main Farmer’s row, or if you miss them, try the Produce Place which regularly stocks their milk.
All told, we really enjoyed ourselves and it was a privilege to be shown this special world. If you’re a foodie and prefer a healthy, wonderful alternative to your store-bought milk, take a close look at what the good people at JD Country Milk are up to. And if you’re a chef, college foodie who wants better options at your school, or restaurant owner who wants to make a great addition to your cooking stocks, consider giving JD Country Milk a call.
JD Country Milk
Willis & Edna Schrock
270-726-2200
willschro@aol.com
Friday, March 12, 2010
Have you felt the whiff of spring (and maybe even summer, with the touch of humidity I’ve sensed) in the air lately? It’s tantalizing and I can’t wait to be out and about in the sunshine again. I also can’t wait for spring/summer foods, like farm tomatoes and of course, ice cream. Just in time for the seasons to change over, the nice folks at Bravo Gelato contacted us to tell us about their gelato and sorbet offerings. We sampled a few sorbets today and are so excited to tell you about them.
When we went by the store, owner Noel had just put out sorbet in three flavors, which you see in the photo: apricot chardonnay, lemon, and tangerine. We got to sample them and I was thoroughly impressed. Normally I’m not a big fan of sorbet, but this product was different: it was actually creamy, with no hint of iciness. The flavors were delicious and very pure, especially the lemon, which had slivers of lemon zest in it. If you go for sorbet over gelato or ice cream due to lactose intolerance, as many of our friends do, you won’t feel left out at all, because Bravo’s sorbet is unbelievably creamy.
The gelato for the day wasn’t out yet, but Noel gave us a flavor guide, which was really impressive. Here’s just a few that caught our eye, which you might catch at the store on a given day:
Dulce de leche
Marron Glace (chestnut)
Mora Panna Cotta (blackbery cooked cream)
Zabajone (sweet egg yolk and marsala)
Chocolate pear
Nutmeg Cappuccino
Cereal Milk
Honey Peanut Butter
Honey Roasted Fig
Black Cherry Zinfandel
Sweet Potato Marshmallow
Those aren’t your usual flavors! There’s a lot of other interesting sorbet flavors as well, such as peach bellini and pluot. Additionally, there are a number of savory gelatos and sorbets, such as avocado and basil.
We had a chance to talk with Noel for a bit and it’s clear that he takes being a local business very seriously. He keeps his ingredient lists as pure as possible; we saw a tub of beautiful blackberries about to go in the machine while we were there. His gelatos and sorbets are being served at fantastic local restaurants. Prices are very reasonable; a 4 oz cup or cone is $2.99 while a 6 oz cup or cone is $3.99. You can have your order in a waffle cone for a $1 extra, as well as take home pints ($8.99) or quarts ($11.99).
Gelato and sorbet offerings change often, so signing up for Bravo’s Twitter feed is a great way to keep up with what’s available.
Bravo Gelato
Green Hills (The Village Green Shopping Center): M-F 9am-6pm; Saturday 10:30am-6pm.
Green Hills Mall
Opryland Hotel
Thursday, March 11, 2010
One of the great joys of trying new food is not only to eat it yourself, but also share it with friends. I recently stopped by new Nashville bakery Fiddlecakes and, using one of the fantastic Groupons, got some breakfast for myself and picked up a selection of baked goods to share with my coworkers.
Fiddlecakes is on 8th Avenue South, in the cottage that used to house Savannah Tea Company. The owners have done some good work updating the shop; outside there’s a helpful sign noting that cars should travel only one way on the driveway that leads to the parking lot behind the store, which is much appreciated. Inside, you’re greeted with a display case of the goodies of the day, as well as a board noting other menu offerings. Seating has been updated with a lot of different options, including bar stool seating as well as regular tables. There’s a coffee-fixup area where you can add cream and sugar to your brewed coffee, and it’s helpfully out of the main traffic area, which I really appreciated.
The shop was already bustling when I got there soon after opening time. I ordered quiche ($2.95) and coffee for my breakfast, which I ate at the store. The quiche was fantastic – very flavorful and well-seasoned, and just moist enough. I’ve had my share of really awful quiche in my life and have gotten used to ordering with a degree of hesitance, but this quiche was really fantastic and had what is to me perfect texture. The coffee was very good too, with no bitterness.
On to the baked goodies. I picked up a selection of muffins, scones, and cinnamon rolls (all between $2.25 and $2.45) for my coworkers, and asked them to give me their opinions. Here are their comments:
Orange blossom muffin: delicious – tasted like the cake from the 1950s!
Cinnamon roll: the perfect texture to have with coffee, the nuts were great, and the roll was not too sweet (which most of them are!)
Brie and date scone: delicious, with a nice balance of sweetness from the dried fruit and saltiness from the brie.
Blueberry scone: just right.
Bran muffin: the end-all. Moist & tender, with a delicate hint of something that I couldn’t distinguish but absolutely loved. I don’t generally like raisins in baked goods, but these were perfect. We had a bit of debate about that flavor we couldn’t distinguish in the bran muffin. Maybe it was bergamot?
If you’re driving into Nashville, Fiddlecakes’ location on the right-hand side of 8th Avenue makes it extremely convenient for a morning stop. In addition to the items we mentioned, they’ve got a great selection of cupcakes, sandwiches, and panini (for my next visit I’ve got my eye on the french toastie, which is made of ham, brie, tomato, and blueberry mustard). We heartily suggest trying them out sometime!
Fiddlecakes
2206 8th Avenue South
Nashville, TN 37204
(615) 457-2127
Open Monday-Friday 7am-3pm
Open Saturday 8am-2pm
Photo credit Flickr user ahoy_matey
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Some of the information has changed for this event and we wanted to update you.
Raz’z Restaurant & Bar will be featured on “The Best Thing I Ever Ate” on Friday, March 12 at 9pm on the Food Network. The live viewing party will be held at the Murfreesboro Road location of the restaurant.
2241 Murfreesboro Road, Nashville 37127
615-399-8084
www.razbarandgrill.com
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
This is one I’ve been waiting to post for a while. As any of my former friends will tell you, I can chew anyone’s ear off about the benefit and power of hot chicken in Nashville. Maybe it’s because you just can’t get it anywhere else in the world. Maybe its because people who don’t like fried chicken still gorge themselves with it on a regular basis. Maybe its because I can’t find any other decent conversation piece. But whatever the reason, all brain function stops when someone foolishly brings up hot chicken in my presence: I become — Chicken Man! Just imagine the Hulk transforming from a businessman into a being with incomparable powers to walk, talk and act like a flaming idiot. [Watch the amazing documentary, 10 minutes long, about Prince's, and the idea of Chicken Man]
Chicken Man describes the hot chicken experience more frequently than insurance companies deny claims. You arrive at the hole-in-the-wall establishment on the outskirts of downtown, dodge the major potholes in the extra-space parking lot, ignore many people just sitting in their cars because they’ve already ordered and are waiting; somehow you’ve miraculously found your way to the front of the line without much ado, and you eye the menu. Before you order, you notice a plaque on the wall indicating that the humble place you’ve arrived also happens to be the Best Restaurant in Tennessee, according to the Tennessee General Assembly. In addition to making sure we can drink at bars while packing heat, the General Assembly has spoken.
Chicken Man takes a deep breath and orders. ”I’d like a quarter mild with mashed potatoes and slaw.” ”We don’t have mashed potatoes.” ”Oh, right…potato salad.” Jeez its been a while, Chicken Man thinks, and wonders if he remembered to bring cash – which is all they take. Once Chicken Man pays, the experience is just beginning, but that’s the most activity you will encounter for the next forty-five minutes. After you order, you will hopelessly eye tables of people who are also waiting, wondering when you can angle yourself into a seat. Be vigilant, and friendliness comes in handy.
Did you notice Chicken Man said mild? Yes, there have been instances where he’s been known to go darker, but usually mild is all he can take without tearing constantly. One of the best moments he’s had was being in line when some neophyte walked up to the window and casually said, “I’ll take hot.” With the instant reaction from the staff, ”You can’t handle it.” The rest of us in line cringed, generating a moment of camaraderie between you and whoever heard the foolish Hot request. It is possible to go extra hot, actually, but the person who last ordered it has not been seen in six months. They’re still on the can.
A part of the mystique of these chicken places rests in the secrecy of their recipe, the humility of the location, and the lengthy wait that is usually just as famous as their selections. On our recent trip, the Foodie team had had a grand total of a cupcake to eat that day – we were there for dinner, and we had all just finished moving furniture to a new place for most of the day. Chicken Man’s good nature was on trial, and he kept the smile on the face and the lingering anticipation of a great meal up for about 50 minutes. Then the arch-nemesis Hour Wait arrived and took control, relinquishing it’s hold on us fifteen minutes later. It is possible to call ahead and avoid some of the wait…give it a shot. Also on the planning side, bring your own platoon of napkins.
It was good, but not great as the memory of visits past. The cole slaw and potato salad were welcome relief from the spicy version of the chicken, which is mild in name only. Sadly, Chicken Man’s piece had been overdone and overbreaded, leaving a very difficult crunch to get to the meat within. Its also possible that Chicken Man’s taste has changed due to further explorations in the foodie world. If that’s the case, its probably because he passed the frog-leg space/time continuum in previous episodes. (See our review of Miel). There are some doors you just can’t turn back from. If only he had known.
All in all, its tough to call yourself a true Nashville Foodie if you haven’t tried at least one of the hot chicken places in Nashville. Prince’s is the champ, but consider avoiding the massive wait by hitting up Bolton’s Spicy Chicken and Fish, 400 Degrees, or perhaps King Fish on Rosa Parks. While our experience this time around was mixed, we’ve never been disappointed before, and we certainly wouldn’t want anyone to skip the memorable event. Also consider marking your calendar for the Third? Annual Hot Chicken Festival (usually in early July). Just get there reallllly early if you want chicken without a massive wait, never knowing if they’ll run out, and bring ample cash for true sampling.
Prince’s Hot Chicken Shack
123 Ewing Drive
Nashville, TN 37207
(615) 226-9442
Thursday, March 4, 2010
If you’ve been along the back row of the Farmer’s Market on a Saturday morning recently, you may have run into a long line that backed up to a gray-black refrigerated truck. This truck carries farm fresh milk of all sorts, and other goodies, which sell out by about noon on a Saturday. So it’s a not-quite-so-secret secret that Nashville Foodies wants to let you know about.
JD Country Milk is a family owned and operated farm just across the Kentucky border that provides their milk on each Saturday in the Nashville Farmer’s Market. We’ve been getting our milk from them for the last few months, and we wouldn’t go anywhere else if we could avoid it. Word on the street is that they’ll soon be sending their stuff over to Whole Foods, as they’ve already hit up local favorite The Produce Place on Murphy Road. (Anyone that supplies The Produce Place is O.K. in our books.) As the demand has skyrocketed for their products, it will get harder and harder to get your hands on their milk. It’s better than anything else we’ve had – and here’s why. They do everything in the way you would do it if you thought of yourself as a farmer.
Most importantly, the milk is fresh. They bottle on Thursdays, pack on Fridays, and sell on Saturdays. So it’s within two days that you get a fresh bottle of milk. They also bottle in glass, so you don’t get any plastic aftertaste.
It is significant that the milk is non-homogenized. We recently had a nutritionist friend tell us the problem with homogenized milk – it’s a process that encapsulates particles that would separate and clump together at the top of the milk. The somewhat shocking collateral damage from this process is that those same particles can’t be digested by the intestine after homogenization, so they get into your bloodstream where they damage your body as cholesterol build-up and other problems. Given this side effect, if it were up to us, we’d never go back to homogenized.
Finally, the milk is just better because the cows are happy. If I were a cow, I’d like roaming around the farm at my leisure, being free-range, having non-chemical grass to eat, and getting some vitamins to boot to keep up my health. That’s why the farm never uses synthetic hormones or anitbiotics…and that’s why we think the milk tastes great.
So on our recent trip to the Farmer’s Market, we decided to introduce ourselves as members of the foodie team and ask how things were going. Our regularly present family member, who is extraordinarily kind, told us about their plans and successes (even with a long line behind us). So afterward, as only purebred foodies would do, we grabbed a brochure and called the number to ask if we could come by for a tour. Even on short notice, Edna arranged for us to be shown around on that same Saturday. Wow. So off we went to Russellville, KY, for our own private tour and chance to meet and play with these happy cows.
Turns out they make all sorts of things that are doing well at markets. A few weekends ago a Louisville paper wrote an article on them, and now grocers are practically screaming for their milk. They sell out each week, and as you’d expect, corporate grocers are the biggest hold up. We heard that Whole Foods in Nashville is now switching to their label – after already selling it under another brand – so things are looking up in the Nashville side of things. We have just bought some of their free range eggs and sea-salt butter for the first time, we’ll let you know how it turns out in comparison to our Avalon Acres crop-share experience for two years. They also sell unsalted butter, sour cream, and some homemade granola. When you buy the eggs, your family member will inspect them for you to make sure you’re getting a quality batch after the morning road-trip.
They sell whole “cream line” milk, 2 percent, skim, chocolate whole, lowfat chocolate, sweet buttermilk, half and half, heavy cream, and fresh egg nog. We have already been hooked on the whole milk and chocolate for so long that we purchase a half gallon of each weekly. Can you imagine what the egg nog must be like? Since we’ve just finished the holiday season, our recent trip to the grocery to find egg nog is fresh in our minds…we looked at the ingredients…and found high fructose corn syrup and several other preservatives on every style available. Since we loved it so much we bought it anyway, especially after our own efforts at making it produced a good sample, but we couldn’t get the result uniform enough to avoid some small chunks. So with that in mind, here is the total list of ingredients in their egg nog: whole milk, egg yolks, cane sugar, pure vanilla, nutmeg. Sound good to you? Here are the ingredients for Sweet Buttermilk: cultured whole milk, salt.
Anyway, that’s a part of the reason the line is getting longer on Saturday mornings. Be sure to bring back your glass jars. After the small deposit on the jars, you can get a quart of chocolate milk and a half gallon of two percent or whole milk for a grand whopping total of four dollars flat.
Well, we did find a small secret, and it just makes us more glad to be a customer. We learned that they donate any milk from their operations to the Nashville Rescue Mission. We are impressed. That’s a bit of a drive, but we’re glad to hear that the folks at the Rescue Mission are getting some great products and support.
We’ll post soon on the results of our trip to the farm. Until then, happy eating.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Thanks to everyone who entered our drawing for a ticket to Appetizers 101 at Red Pony! We are happy to announce that…(drumroll please)
commenter #4, Melissa, is the winner! Congratulations! Melissa, please email us today so we can get your information to the Red Pony folks.
Thanks for entering everyone, and we hope that you’ll try out Red Pony soon!
Monday, March 1, 2010
There’s still time to enter our giveaway for one ticket to Appetizers 101 at Red Pony in Franklin, TN! Be sure to leave a comment on this post by Tuesday, March 2 at 11:59pm.
Friday, February 26, 2010
It’s been quite a week for Franklin restaurant Red Pony. Their half-off Groupon offering sold out, and now Chef Jason McConnell is hosting a special “Appetizers 101″ event next week, March 4. He’s invited Nashville Foodies readers to enter a drawing for one free ticket!
Here’s more info on “Appetizers 101″:
Searching for the perfect appetizer for entertaining guests? March Madness, St. Patrick’s Day, Cinco de Mayo—there are plenty of occasions for parties coming up, and with the help of Red Pony’s Chef Jason McConnell, hosts can surprise guests with innovative and delicious hors d’oeuvres.
On Thursday, March 4, Chef McConnell will host Easy Appetizers 101 and walk guests through the development of three simple, yet savory appetizers. Guests will enjoy tasting and learning with friends, while sipping on suggested wines to pair with each dish. The event costs $20.00 per person and includes three hefty portions of the featured appetizers and three wine tastings. Additionally, patrons will leave with the recipes and will also receive 15 percent off on all food purchases at Red Pony, SOL or 55 South for the following month. The cost includes tax and gratuity. For reservations or more information, call 615.595.7669.
We are pleased to offer through this drawing one ticket to Appetizers 101. To enter, comment below by Tuesday, March 2 at 11:59pm Central time. We will choose a commenter randomly, announce the winner on March 3, and you’ll pick up your free ticket at the door on March 4. Please note that you must be 21 or over to enter the drawing. And even if you don’t win, we hope you’ll stop by Red Pony or its sister restaurants SOL and 55 South soon!
Friday, February 19, 2010
It can be difficult to dine out on holidays. It seems as though a lot of places are closed (which we would expect, because who doesn’t want to have some down time?) However, if you do want to eat out it is often challenging to find a place, and to find a great place is even more difficult. We found ourselves wanting a meal out on New Year’s Day but almost every place we looked was closed! Happily, we found success at Franklin restaurant Red Pony and serendipitously chose a restaurant to which we’ll be sure to return. Josh and I had a great meal there with some members of his family.
We started our meal with the beef tenderloin pizza ($12), and we really like the flavors it contained, especially the bleu cheese and caramelized onion. The pizza was great, but I would have been happy with just the bread basket that was also brought (and is included with your meal). It included a wide variety of tiny savory muffins and slices of bread along with some inventive spreads, such as one made with lima beans.
For entrees, I ordered the Red Pony “BLT” ($27), which is Red Pony’s twist on the term. The dish is comprised of ravioli stuffed with Yukon Gold potatoes, topped with bacon, lobster, and tomato. A corn cream sauce finishes the dish and is a nice change-up from stuffy alfredo-type sauces which often accompany pasta dishes at some restaurants. Josh had the wood grilled beef tenderloin ($28) which came with bleu cheese-sweet corn risotto and asparagus, topped with a lemon butter. I was holding my breath on this one, because Josh is known to not really like dishes that include lemon flavors, but he pronounced it just right.
The service was great at Red Pony. Our server was attentive but not hovering or pushy. Overall, we had a very nice, pleasant evening, and recommend Red Pony if you’re looking for a Franklin restaurant.
Red Pony Restaurant
408 Main St
Franklin, TN 37064
www.redponyrestaurant.com
(615) 595-7669
Photo credit: Flickr user LAYeiser
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