Sunday, April 26, 2009

Catching up on Restaurants: Old Timer’s Pit BBQ, Mirror, Satay, Paradise Ridge, and Kien Giang

A blog about food is long overdue. I’ve actually been to a couple of new restaurants over the past few weeks. Here is the update:

Old Timers Pit BBQ: Barbeque is one of my favorite foods. Nashville BBQ has typically disappointed me but after reading Ulika’s coverage of Old Timer’s I decided to give it a try. Old Timers is located in Bordeaux. For the non-Nashville readers, it’s not one of those places you just happen to drive through. You actually have to make a concentrated effort to end up there. I went there for lunch on a Saturday instead of ordering a combo I decided to get two sandwiches: a BBQ sandwich and a fish sandwich. The BBQ was decent. It was moist, but not too moist. My only complaint was that there wasn’t enough “bark” the dark, slightly charred meat from the outside of the pork shoulder. The fish sandwich (sandwiches tend to be a mainstay the in the Nashville African-American community) was gigantic. There were at least five fish filets on two slices of white bread with pickles and hot sauce. I’d definitely eat here again. I’m also interested in getting some cracklin’ here if they ever have any freshly cooked when I pop in.

Mirror: I met up with a friend a few weeks ago for Brunch at Mirror. It was surprisingly empty when we arrived at noon. I do not recommend the Bloody Mary, as it was one of the worst non-commerical mix bloodys I have ever had. My frittata with goat cheese and roasted vegetables was excellent. Mirror doesn’t blow me away, but it doesn’t disappoint either.

Satay: I love thai food and was pumped when Satay opened up in the old Wing Basket location near my house. I have mixed feelings about this restaurant. The menu is way too basic. If I remember correctly there were two soups, two appatizers, two salads, and two entrees offered. The food was very basic and very fresh, but very unremarkable. Even though it was pretty affordable and very convenient to my house, I doubt I will eat here often.

Paradise Ridge: I was still on my BBQ kick and had to run out to West Nashville to get a few things. While I was there I popped into Paridise Ridge Grille to try out their barbeque. I was pretty hungry so I got the rib and pulled pork combo with fried okra and white beans. The ribs were good. They were pretty meaty and served with a decent sauce. The pulled pork was excellent. I’d definitely eat here again.

Kien Giang: This Vietnamese restaurant is located in West Nashville in a part of town that has become spotted with Vietnamese, Korean, and Mexican restaurants. I’ve eaten here twice over the past few weeks. The first time I went I had an excellent bowl of pho (Vietnamese noodle soup). The only problem was that while I remembered to ask for no tripe, I forgot to ask for no tendon. I think that the tendon does add some flavor to the broth, but don’t really like it’s taste or texture. The second time I went I got Bahn Xeo, or Vietnamese pancakes. Although called a pancake the dish is really more akin to an omlet. You place a piece of the pancake in a lettuce leaf and season it with fresh basil and other spices. My Bahn Xeo was stuffed with bean sprouts, vegetables and shrimp. While the atmosphere leaves a lot to be desired, it has become one of my favorite ethnic restaurants based on the low prices and great food. Expect terrible service if you go.

Well, it’s dinnertime. I’m saving the three restaurants I haven’t wrote about for after my meal.

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