1) Where are the best eats in town? and
2) Where's your coolest independent bookstore?
Yesterday, I got the best of both of two cities.
Multiple people had recommended Sunergos Coffee in Louisville to me, so after I packed up my things at the farmhouse, I made my way there. I grabbed a cup of the Mexican Chiapas blend, and then headed next door to Nord's Bakery for a doughnut. Though I was approximately 0% hungry, I heard their doughnuts shouldn't be missed, so I grabbed an apple fritter (my favorite), and (lord help me) a maple bacon doughnut for the road. Hey, just ask my friend Nancy about the road trip emergency doughnut. It's a necessity.
I grabbed a table outside Sunergos and sat to enjoy my breakfast. And while I sat, out of nowhere, like a one-two hit, I got slammed by my first two major road trip/life epiphanies. I set out on this journey five days ago with a hope that I would wade through some of my mental muck and come out the other side with a bit more clarity, but that moment threw me a couple fastballs and said, "Here you go, Louisville slugger. You know what you need." (Epiphanies to be revealed at a later date, when they have been firmly planted and are unjinxable...) I even had myself a bit of a weepfest right there outside the coffee shop, though I'm sure everyone there thought I was just crying tears of bliss because my doughnut was so damn good.
Before I left town, I had to visit Carmichael's, an independent bookstore that has been open in Louisville since 1978, and has even been successful enough to open a second location. They've weathered the changing tides of bookselling over the years with their authentic connection to the community and curating expertise. Though their location is small (I visited the original Bardstown Road shop), the selection is superb and perfectly fits their clientele. I chatted with bookseller Kelly and the owner Michael for a good long while, and they told me how much they love their Random House reps (duh, John Hastie and Eileen Becker are the coolest!). They had a phenomenal collection of signed and limited editions of the Kentucky writer Wendell Berry, so I went on a huge Berry splurge, picking up a beautiful hardcover edition of his New Collected Poems, along with some lovely small letterpress editions of poetry printed by Larkspur Press, which include some stunning wood engraving illustrations.
One last stop in Louisville, was at the Blue Dog Bakery, an artisanal bread maker. Again, not hungry, but I didn't want to miss this local favorite, so I picked up a mini Pugliese loaf for the road.
Then it was time to head south to Nashville. I always like to read books that are set in places that I'm traveling, so I started the audiobook of Barbara Kingsolver's Flight Behavior, a novel set in Appalachia with a strong female protagonist, and I was transfixed for my entire 3 hour drive. Looking forward to more listening on that one.
Arriving in Nashville right around lunchtime, I routed myself straight to Husk, which came emphatically recommended from my cousins who just moved up to NYC from the South. The restaurant is set up on a hill in a former mayor's house, which includes gardens surrounding and a carriage house out back. They source their food locally and have a strong seasonal bent. I started with the Rutledge Iced Tea, mixed with bitter lemon syrup, lavender, pink peppercorn, and cane sugar and ordered an appetizer of fried green tomatoes with pimento cheese. For my entree, I chose the seasonal summer vegetable plate, which included a sampling of succotash (asparagus, corn, tomatoes, red beans, summer squash), grits (with roasted tomatoes and peppers and a poached egg on top), green bean salad, and charred okra. Veggie heaven.
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| Husk source board |
Next I traveled over to Parnassus Books, the wonderful independent bookstore opened by local author Ann Patchett and one of my former Random House colleagues, Karen Hayes. I loved wandering around their store, and searching for their personal picks, displayed on shelftalkers around the store was like going on a literary treasure hunt. I purchased a couple of their recommendations and had a chance to catch up with Karen a bit.
After a pretty drive through the historic Belmont neighborhood, I made my way over to East Nashville to check in to my cottage for the night.
I dropped by things and turned right around to head out to the Loveless Cafe, famous for their biscuits and jam and fried chicken. It's also the site of Music City Roots, a weekly showcase for some of the best folk, rock, country, and bluegrass music, which gets broadcasted live each week. At the cafe, I had the signature meal with a local amber ale, and sides of turnip greens and squash casserole.
As I was eating, I was surrounded by families, and I started to miss my own. My family has recently been getting very interested in bluegrass music, and I was thinking of them tonight. I wished they could be there. Then, I remembered that Music City Roots live streams their shows from their website. So I called my momma in Colorado and asked her to be my virtual date. She tuned in from her home and we watched the show together, texting each other back and forth when we heard artists we liked. Though I got to see it live and in person, I suspect she had a more comfortable seat. The show packed in five artists ranging from rockabilly to singer-songwriter to bluegrass, and ended with a lively jam session of "When the Saints" with everybody on stage together at the end.
On my way home, I made one last stop at The Station Inn, known for their bluegrass acts, and caught a bit of the second set of the Nashville Twangcats, which included a phenomenal fiddle player.
Worn out and belly full, I drove back to the cottage and called it a good night.
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