SST: Name That Food

SESAME STREET TUESDAY

Greetings from Nashville, Tennessee. I've been on a spring break road trip of the South with Amy Jeppsen and Dave Pepper, and along the way we've gone out of our way to have some interesting food experiences. I, for instance, was determined to eat at the infamous Waffle House (pictured left), which is conveniently located on every other block from Kentucky on South. We stopped at a Waffle House just over the Georgia border and it was quite the experience: it was just as cramped and outdated inside as it looked from the outside, the food was just as greasy as I imagined, and the patrons were just as, um, "interesting" as I imagined. "Y'all've never been to Waffle House?!?" our waitress asked incredulously. "Hey everybody, these folks've never been to Waffle House!" she announced to the whole restaurant. I overheard the family ordering in the next booth over, and the mom said, "This brat here will have pancakes and this other brat will have waffles..." I had my very first biscuits and gravy and my first real southern grits, and also had a fascinating life experience.

Upon meeting up with our friend Jessica Allen in Atlanta, we went to lunch at this place that I had seen a few years ago on a PBS documentary ("A Hot Dog Program") called The Varsity. It is this unbelievably huge and unbelievably busy fast food place/Atlanta institution where the cashiers famously take your order by shouting at you, "What'll ya have, what'll ya have!?" The picture on the right shows only a portion of the main ordering counter, and then there were six or seven dining areas that branched off of that, and every single table in the whole joint was packed. I got this chili-cheese-slaw-dog with onion rings, and while it was amazing, I could practically hear my arteries clogging as I ate it.

To take a break from the the greasy, greasy southern food, Jessica took us to a Cambodian restaurant for dinner, another first for me. Jess served her mission in Cambodia and she used her expertise to guide us through the meal, which I ended up liking it quite a bit.

When we got to Nashville we were back to greasy southern food. where we went to a soul food joint that Amy's friend suggested. It was off on a sketchy side street in a questionable part of town, and we were definitely the only non-locals there. I got me a rib sandwich, which was a fat ol' slab of ribs stuck between two sad slices of Wonder bread that got way too soggy to eat, so it was essentially just a plate of ribs and pickles. They weren't exactly fall-off-the-bone good, but like most of our food stops along the way, the experience was worth it even if the food wasn't the best.

Although there are certain specific foods I still am not open to (I'm looking at you, mushrooms and tomatoes), I love to try all different types of cuisine:



While I like to try new foods, sometimes I have to draw the line - like with this gum-covered pole on the Stone Mountain trail in Georgia. However, I should have something much more appetizing to lick later today when we visit Las Paletas, a famous Mexican popsicle place here in Nashville (they beat Bobby Flay in a popsicle throwdown!). So until next Sesame Street Tuesday, bon appetit!