Cupcake collection – Nashville TN

Cupcake Collection in Nashville TN

I like sweets. I especially like cupcakes. Even though I like sweets, I am still really picky. I don’t like just any type of cupcakes. They have to be done very well. There is two parts to a delicious cupcake. (1) the cake part (2) the frosting. If either part is not done well, it can spell disaster.
Yes. I know this is a first world problem – to have a cupcake you do not like, but that’s the way it is.
My friend told me that the best place for cupcakes in Nashville was Cupcake Collection. Of course, that means I have to go!
When I entered the Cupcake Collection, after inhaling the wonderful fragrances of the bakery, I looked around for any indication of the cost of the cupcakes. I could not find prices listed anywhere so I assumed that these cupcakes were three dollars. At the most $2.50 maybe (if I was optimistic)? So I only ordered two. To my surprise the price was less than $4. My eyes widened as I did the quick mental math. Cheaper than I thought. Instead of doing a dance to celebrate my good fortune, I decided I was going to get more cupcakes. Might as well make it an even six.

In my head, I was dancing.

Coconut cream with key lime frosting – it had a coconut cream custard in the center! I was not expecting that, and I usually do not like cream filled anything, but this cream was so good. It was had a light coconut flavor. It was the consistency of cold vanilla pudding. When I bit into the cupcake the cream did not ooze out and make a mess. The tart sweet key lime frosting complimented the light sweet of the cake and coconut cream.
Carrot cake with cream cheese frosting – this was good but did not have as much carrot pieces or walnuts as Hey Cupcake. However, it was still a worthy contender for carrot cake.
Yellow cake with buttercream frosting – This was the best yellow plain cake cupcake that I had. So simple and sweet.
Sweet potato with cream cheese frosting – this was good almost like a muffin instead of a cupcake. I could eat this for breakfast everyday if I lived in Nashville.
Coconut cream with cream cheese frosting – More of the coconut cream custard in the center. More yum-yum.
Red Velvet cake with cream cheese frosting – I could tell this was the REAL deal red velvet cake and not some white cake with red food coloring. The flavors were rich and complex as only a true red velvet cake can be.

And I feel like a little piggy telling you this but I ate all six of them. I could not help myself. They were THAT good. And then I was sad that they were gone and Nashville is 6 hours away.

Nomad dosa – food truck Austin TX

Jan7

If you are like me, you probably never had a dosa before. It is best described as an Indian crepe.
I was in Austin for dinner and I did not know what I wanted to eat. After driving around, I knew that I wanted something light because I did not feel like eating too much. I decided on the food truck Nomad Dosa.

I ordered crispy dosa Kerala Kokonut (butternut squash, zucchini, carrots, eggplant, cauliflower, avocado). I chose basmati rice and sambar lentil soup as my side items. The lentil soup was good. Usually I don’t like eating beans, but if they are pureed into a smooth milkshake-like consistency, it is palatable.

By accident, I ended up eating a purely vegetarian meal. It was so tasty that it was not until afterwards that I realized, "Hey I did not eat any meat." From the picture of the food, you can see that once I began to eat , the filling is not the most appealing looking food. Trust me when I say it tasted better than it looked. It was just what I needed too- something light, but filling. The feeling of fullness made me start to wonder if I should try to go vegetarian for the health benefits, but then I thought about bacon and nixed that. Mmmmm bacon. But I digress.

Overall, this is a dish that will appeal to meat eaters and vegetarians alike. It has enough depth that you won’t miss the meat. Like most Indian food, it was full of spicy (not heat) flavors that stayed with me after I finished my meal. I had to brush my teeth and rinse with mouthwash to regain feeling in my taste buds.

TW Boons – Greenwood SC

Jan6

Until last October, every time I went to TW Boons , I ordered the same thing: Roadrunner with fries (see top photo). It is basically a chicken sandwich with bacon, cheese, and honey mustard sauce. I used to get the chicken fried, but once I started trying to lower my calorie intake, I ordered it blackened. I love the seasoning mixture they put on the chicken when they put it on the grill. The fries are standard with a dash of season salt. Since they can be skimpy on the salt, I ask them to add extra.
Even though I have been to TW Boons several times in the last few months, I have not ordered my standby sandwich. They installed a hot bar! I am not usually one for eating bar food. I detest Ryans / Quincy’s and many of the chain all-you-can-eat places. But TW Boons’ hot bar is so different.

1. They only put out a little bit of food at a time so the food does not get stale
2. They have REAL mashed potatoes (that are a little lumpy just like I like them) and other vegetables PLUS salad bar
3. The fried chicken is really good
4. Dessert is included!

I think that reason #4 is the best reason of all. I don’t have a picture of my dessert but try to imagine this: Fried sweet pastry with a cheesecake filling with a light dusting of cinnamon and powdered sugar.
My goal was to lower my calorie intake, but I am eating fried chicken and dessert now. Oh the irony!

Buffalo Grill part 2

Jan4

I went to Buffalo Grill a second time with some people from work. This time, we got wings and appetizers.
Home run out of the park!
We ordered the lemon pepper and classic buffalo hot flavors. I think lemon pepper is my new favorite. The citrusy flavor coupled with the pepper salt seasoning was on point. Is the picture making your mouth water yet? The wings were fried enough so that the skin was crispy without being overly greasy. Their buffalo hot sauce was not too spicy for me, but I think others might find it has heat.

We also ordered fried banana peppers. Every time I looked at it, I would think calamari. The batter was light and adhered to the peppers well. These were not spicy at all. There was a slight vinegary taste which led me to believe these banana peppers were probably pickled. The flavor was good but I don’t think I could eat a whole serving of these since they are not very filling. Good thing I had some buffalo fries on the side.

This was not the most healthy meal I ever had, but it was quite tasty!

Grits and Groceries – Saylors Crossing

Jan3

If you don’t know where Grits and Groceries is located, is hard for me to explain. It is in the middle of nowhere between Abbeville and Anderson South Carolina. Yes there is a sign that says Saylors Crossing, but that means nothing to me. All I know is that when I want to go to Grits and Groceries, I have to travel on a two-lane road through a small town called Due West going for some distance through a speed trap at 25 miles an hour. About 15 or 20 minutes on the other side of Due West, there is an intersection with a large chicken statute as your landmark. And this is how you know you’ve reached your destination.

So why would I make the trek into the deep country? For the praline bacon, of course. The praline bacon is delicious. It is scrumptious. It is addictive. It’s sweet, salty, crunchy, and everything you would want a vice to be.

But one cannot live on praline bacon alone. I ordered the big breakfast sandwich. It is basically a couple of eggs, bacon, and cheese on Texas toast. It is way too much food for me, but it was sufficient.

The picture in the top right corner was what my friend ordered. It was rabbit with a tomato based sauce served over grits. I don’t like grits, but I did taste the rabbit and it was good too.

If you want to go to Grits and Groceries, it is best to go in the summer time so that you can sit outside while you eat your breakfast. If you go in the winter time, there is probably going to be a 45 minute to an hour wait because this place is always crowded (and they don’t take reservations). I have talked to people that have traveled over an hour just to eat at this restaurant.

My suggestion is to order the praline bacon definitely. If you feel adventurous, try one of their gourmet specials. Pretty much everything on their menu is good, but something are AWESOME while others are just okay. Did I mention the praline bacon?