Amy's Soup Review

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I haven't had many of the Amy's soups, so today after a long day I tried this one. Verdict? Good, not great. Too much celery, despite what I am sure are several tried and true official taste testers saying otherwise.

Enjoy!

Friday

This past week has been both busy and not busy. It would be much better if things evened out more. As it is, anything new to report involving food mainly involves alcohol. As far as new goes, it all happened mainly on Friday so I'll dedicate this to a recap of that....

We started off the day getting family portraits:


While the pictures developed we headed to Chili's for some lite food and drinks...

I had a Chili's Strawberry Daiquiri which I hadn't had in awhile. Good? Yes of course, but I couldn't even tell I drank it which makes the calories completely not worth it if you're there to do serious drinking. I was dismayed at the consistency, but it ended up not mattering that much. I think I was really just dismayed that our waitress was slow and poor at multi tasking.

After the Chili's afternoon, I headed downtown with a couple friends to Urban Flats for dinner...

The food was awesome and I decided to branch out and try the Sea Dog Apricot Wheat Beer. I really liked it, but could probably only stomach one and if you don't like apricots the smell will make you similarly not like this beer.

After dinner we headed to the Flying Saucer here in Nashville. Keeping with the branching out I tried a Paulaner although I cannot remember which one. It wasn't bad but I didn't go back for a second pint. I then tried a Franziskaner beer. It was absolutely disgusting. I was trying to find a wheat beer besides Blue Moon so I went for this and it was a total flop. It kind of tasted like banana bread with this horrible after taste. I spent the better part of 2o minutes trying to convince everyone around me to drink it so I wouldn't feel like I had wasted my money. This was a fruitless pursuit. Waste I did.

After that I went with Blue Moon for the rest of the night. Three new beers a night seems to be the cut off.

Enjoy!

Weekend Home

Parent's are proud.

Sweet gift from Dad. Just because.

Despite previous failures, this Indian Amy's meal rocked. Not a bad weekend.

Enjoy!

Eating Disorders and Body Image Series: Part XI

Laura Collins Lyster-Mensh: She's Anorexic, and You're a Bad Mother

A good follow up for last installment.

Enjoy!

Wish You Were Here: Park Path

Touche park path. Touche.

Home and Eating

I think it will be best to just hit highlights in this post, there's enough pictures to make it lengthy enough...

So I've been home approximately four days and things are going well enough. My Mom is trying to move and I will miss our neighborhood once she does. That said, anyone need a house in Nashville? Family friendly neighborhood and beautiful?

Check the street post rainfall. Not bad huh?

This could be your bus stop. Picturesque no?

Enough plugs. First night back my sisters and I went to Mazatlan at my begging. My guacamole obsession is just that: an obsession. Mazatlan is fast and good, that's all I wanted.

Check out my sister's goofy face...

and not so goofy. Beautiful isn't she? She is, I don't need you to tell me. If you're under 30, make six figures, don't beat women, and don't have a criminal record, let me know if you're interested. Scratch that, criminal records are okay, just let me know why. I've come to understand those are touch and go on actual severity.

She's wild though. The faint of heart need not apply.

See, everyone loves Mazatlan.

Guacamole lacks the required chunky level to get a 10, but it's good none the less.

Saturday we celebrated my graduation with a trip to Mafiaoza's and 12 South Taproom. Oh man, I highly recommend both. I'm leaving Nashville and all of a sudden I feel like I have some many unexplored locations. So is life I suppose.

We get it from our Mom. Also beautiful. Aging well which makes me happy since I'm all for aging with grace. My Mother may or may not also be single if you're interested. I don't check in with her often, but if your application is up to par I'll pass it on. Same requirements as the sister, except must be above 30 not under. Preferably over 40 just so I don't feel uncomfortable.

Salads to start...

This was for me so I could get the hummus. Have to order at least three little sides...worth it.

My salad. I was sadly underwhelmed despite the amazingness of the rest of the meal. I think it was just my taste buds. Next time I would ask for half the tomato, double the artichoke hearts. I would also leave the hearts on the salad instead of eating them all first. Their lack may have been why I was underwhelmed. Also maybe because I took off the Feta due to veganism. So is life.

Right next to Mafiaoza's is one of my new favorite places in Nashville: 12 South Taproom.

My Aunt is picking her nose. This would have been such a good picture otherwise. My middle name is in honor of this lady. Where does that put me?

Public warning: stay clear of this UFO Raspberry Hefeweizen. It is an insult to taste buds everywhere. My sister was able to finish it. God bless her.

After our five hour eat/drink fest I went for a walk, made friends with some stroller pushers, and practiced my wildlife photography.

And finally this photo is from this morning, and I wish you had been there to stand on the bridge with me. I don't think it's coincidence a lot of my Wish You Were Here photos so far involve nature. Such a personal, solitary thing the environment can be, but as much as I'm running away from people when I'm in it, I often wish they were there for the experience.

Enjoy!

Bistro by the Tracks

Today is my last day in Knoxville. I think I am sad...no, I am sad, but I guess it's about time. It is the five year mark after all.

I couldn't sleep as late as desired so I woke up and went for a walk doing random errands along the way. Eventually, I meandered through campus with the intention of snapping some pictures. I didn't actually do that save for one photo as I walked away from the Torchbearer...

However, it's not all sad. For my last weekend in town M^2, my sister, her boyfriend, and I headed out to fancy dinner. Yeah, that's what we were calling it: fancy dinner. Our chosen location? Bistro by the Tracks on Kingston...

Dinner started off a little iffy as we had reservations for 8 and got seated sometime around 9, all the while being assured by the hostess there was nothing she could do and that this was not normal. We weren't really bothered by the delay, things happen, but we could have done without the third or fourth defense by the hostess. The photo above is right when you walk in, bathrooms are to the right....

...and here is a shot to the left of the restaurant. You can see the beginning of the wine cabinet...

...and here's the rest of it.

Eventually we were seated....

and ready to dine.

By the Tracks has an extensive wine list, with some very high end bottles for those who are interested. We're in college, we stuck to the lighter end of the list. Here is the $30 bottle of King Estate Pinot Gris that M^2 and I split....

Here is the $18 bottle of Beringer White Zin that my sister and her boyfriend split...

...both were delicious.
After the wine, the bread arrived. Two baskets later everyone agreed it was grand.

For our wait the restaurant offered us a free appetizer. I guess here is where I'll get into the vegan issue of the meal. I went in hoping to eat vegan, but well aware this may or may not be possible. Back when I became vegan I said I may only ever by 90%. I do my best, but I want to become really good at wine tasting, the cheese aspect as well, and then certain situations like this arise. In day to day life if I cannot eat at a restaurant because there is nothing to make vegan, I will just wait and get something later. There's no point in being vegan if you give in all the time. However, I didn't agree to a fancy dinner, just the four of us, and a lot of money spent, to sit at the table and not eat. So unfortunately, for this meal I was unable to be vegan, but of course maintained vegetarian. I'll never not be a vegetarian.

Anyways, the point of that was to say that for the free appetizer I just didn't partake. The others really wanted the BLT Stack and I wasn't about to make them get a cheese plate just so I could eat it when that would make the night even more un-vegan. So I have no idea how this appetizer actually tasted, but I can tell you that everyone enjoyed the experience of trying it.

Next up were our salads. The excitement of the salad was picking out the dressings. M^2 had been eyeing the Lime Chipotle Vinaigrette all night, my sister wanted to try the Southern Ranch, and I was all about the Champagne Poppy Seed....

We were not disappointed. All three dressings were amazing. They also have special cheese grit croutons which I passed on but which M^2 and my sister both declared interesting. My sister eventually tired of them, but I think M^2 enjoyed them well enough.

On to the main course. My sister's boyfriend got the Big Bistro Cheeseburger with Gorgonzola, something he had never had and enjoyed. He wasn't a fan of the cheese sprinkled fries, but everyone else was.
M^2 got the Peppercorn Pork Chop....he eventually threw dining decency out the window and attacked it like a dog so I think that's a compliment to the chef.

And finally the meal I can comment on best, the Butternut Squash Ravioli.

When I saw the Gorgonzola and walnuts on top I was at first excited because I thought at least if the cheese isn't stuffed in then I can pick around it and try for vegan-ish. HOWEVER, without the cheese this dish just falls flat. So bland and practically inedible. Add that Gorgonzola though, and the whole dish just comes together and is absolutely amazing. The Gorgonzola is absolutely key. So is life.

So our bills came, not Taco Bell that's for sure, but worth it none the less.

Enjoy!