Music City Food & Wine 2015: A Recap
Exactly one month ago, under gorgeous sunny skies, I (+ a couple thousand other people) ate and drank my way through a magical Music City Food + Wine Festival weekend.
You know that “third times a charm” saying? Year 1 and Year 2 were such a blast that I would have been happy if they hadn’t changed a thing. But they did, and this 3rd year of MCF&W was definitely the best one yet! The new venue of Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park was perfection.
And now I’m just going to come right out and say it: There is no food event in Nashville that even comes close to this one!
If you live here in Nashville and haven’t attended yet, then you need to make it a priority to go next year. I promise you, the $150 price tag for a one day pass is a deal. The caliber of food, the quantity of available booze, and the entertainment and learning experiences are worth every. single. penny.
As I went back through my notes and photos from the weekend, it was SO HARD to narrow down my choices to the few that I have here, but there was simply so much that I couldn’t possibly cover it all. Also, words really won’t do it justice, so this post is going to be heavy on the visuals and light on the commentary. Here they are…. my favorites from Music City Food + Wine 2015. Enjoy!
Pinewood Social
Pretzel crumb, lemon curd, cream cheese mousse, lavender gremolata, fresh blueberries, edible flowers
I’m STILL thinking about this dessert. It may be one of the best things I’ve eaten all year, not just at this festival. I hope that Pinewood plans to serve this on the regular if they aren’t already.
The Treehouse
corn, zucchini & black eyed pea salad with chipotle dressing, fresh cheese and pumpkin seeds
Sinema
Ricotta Agnolotti – lamb sugo, parmesan bread crumbs
Porter Road Butcher
150 day dry aged beef tartare with fermented garlic scape
Catbird Seat
Ice Cream Salad
Yep, Ice Cream Salad. To be specific, lemon ice cream salad with candied pecans. No idea how to even explain this one to you, but that’s pretty typical of the surprises at Catbird Seat, right? This one prompted me to start planning my next visit before Trevor leaves us for Noma. So insanely creative and delicious.
Josephine
Dried Sweet Corn, Duck Confit, Pickled Mushrooms
Brown Butter Vinaigrette, Little Lettuce
Kayne Prime
white miso ice cream in a ginger cone topped with duck chicharrones
THIS. Oh my goodness. So much this. I’ve always liked Kayne Prime, but I’ll admit it’s been a while since I’ve been there. This was a great reminder that they do some really fun things, and it may be time for another visit.
Rolf & Daughters
semolina pudding, blueberry jam, saba
Little Octopus avocado, sour orange, crispy shallot, scallion ash, cilantro
Etch – upside down apple cake with foie gras crema, coffee caramel, and pickled cantaloupe rind
Adele’s – curried chicken salad, ritz cracker, kale salad, roasted peanuts
City House
lemon poppyseed pavlova
toasted lemon meringue poppy seed crumbs, ricotta cream, lemon marmalade
Goo Goo Shop
Premium Goo Goos
I think most of you reading this blog already know this, but in case anyone is joining for the first time, I should mention that I’m the Director of Marketing for Goo Goo Cluster. But, while that may cause me to be a tiny bit biased, I truly do believe that the Summer Chef Series Premium Goo Goos were one of the best sweet bites at the festival!
I absolutely love what our confectioner Lauren pulled together with 8 super talented local chefs, and I hope that we’ll able to make this a recurring series. For a full list of the flavors we served at MCF+W, visit the Goo Goo website.
The Dixie Crunch Premium Goo Goo
photo credit: Southern Fatty
Carla Hall, our favorite celebrity chef, stopped by to say hi! (and eat some Goo Goos of course)
There you go. My personal favorites from Music City Food + Wine 2015. Want to see what others thought of this year’s event? Here are links to a few of my food loving friends’ recaps!
Nashville Scene – Abby White (a self described non-foodie’s take on it)
Nashville Scene – Chris Chamberlain (carnivore edition)
Nashville Scene – Lesley Lassiter (plant eater edition)
