December 2015 Food and Drink Happenings – Nashville

Holiday Lights at Cheekwood

Open Now – January 3rd, 2016
Open nightly from 5-10 PM (except December 25th)

Cheekwood
1200 Forrest Park Dr
Nashville, TN 37205

Cost:
$12 – $25 for adults
$7 – $20 for youth
Free for Children 2 and under
Parking is $5

Note: advance purchase online will save you $5. Visit Cheekwood.org for more information on pricing.

For the first time ever, Cheekwood has decorated their beautiful gardens with hundreds of thousands of lights and I for one CANNOT WAIT to experience it! Not only do they have lights, but they also have other fun things, including yummy food and beverages. Check it out:

• S’Mores Pits
• Christie Cookie Sweets Shop
• Drinks and Hot Toddies for Purchase
• LIVE Reindeer every night
• Glow goodies in the Gift Shop
• Holiday Carolers
• Pineapple Room Restaurant open every night (reservations recommended)

Visit Cheekwood.org for more details.

Porter Flea Holiday Market

Friday, December 4th (Preview Market)
6 – 9 pm

Saturday, December 5th
10 am – 5 pm

NOTE: VENUE CHANGE!!!!

OZ Arts Nashville
6172 Cockrill Bend Circle
Nashville TN 37209

Cost:
$20 for Preview Market (21+)
FREE for Saturday Market

Purchase tickets for the Preview Market on Eventbrite.

Porter Flea Holiday Market will feature the largest lineup ever with over 140 vendors!
Thanks to Hey Rooster General Store there will be artisan food products and dry goods from 15 makers, millers, and bakers, also making it the largest-ever Porter Pantry.

You can shop for free at Porter Flea on Saturday, or you can be an early bird and call first dibs on items by shopping the Preview Market on Friday night for just $20. With that $20, you get complimentary local craft beer from Jackalope Brewing Co and an after party hosted by Bar Luca. There will also be food trucks serving all night including: Street Provisions, Smore Love, and Bang Candy.  See you there?

Southernaire Shop & Sip

Friday, December 4th, 2015
6- 8 pm

Southernaire Market
150 3rd Ave S
Nashville, TN 37201

Cost: FREE

If you don’t plan on attending the Preview Market of Porter Flea this Friday night, then perhaps you’ll want to drop by Southernaire downtown for their Shop & Sip event. They’ll be hosting a special open house with wine, small bites and 20% off purchases*. Worried about parking downtown? Never fear! They are also offering free valet at The Southern on 3rd and Demonbreun.

*does not include purchases of artwork, beer or cigars 

It Came From The North Dinner

Monday, December 7th, 2015
6 pm and 8:30 pm seatings

Fifty First Kitchen & Bar
5104 Illinois Ave
Nashville, TN 37209

Cost: $50/ person

You guys may or may not remember a glowing write up I did on Chicago’s Ada Street restaurant a couple of years back. If you don’t recall, you should take a sec, click on the link and read once you’re done here. Why? Because that chef from Ada St. is coming here to Nashville for a pop up dinner!

Chef Zoe Schor’s Chicage-themed “It Came From The North” dinner at First First Kitchen will include three savory dishes and one dessert paired with beers from Chicago-based Goose Island Brew Company. I just got some intel on the menu, so thought I’d share with you:

The Welcome Drink
Matilda Belgian Style Ale, Local Hickory Nut Syrup, Lemon, Old Forester 100, Allspice Dram

Courses 1&2
Chef Zoe will decide the dishes after arriving in Nashville and shopping local markets. The dishes will be paired with Lolita Wild Ale and Sofie Farmhouse Ale.

Course 3
Roast Pork Loin (Stuffing Croquette, Butternut Squash Puree) – Paired with Festivity Brown Ale

Dessert:
Matilda-Infused Belgian Waffle (Bourbon County Stout Syrup, Bacon-Vanilla Bean Ice Cream) – Paired with Bourbon County Brand Stout 2015

Call (615) 712-6111 or email hello@51nashville.com for reservations.

Cured & Curated

Wednesday, December 9th, 2015
5 – 7 pm

Mason’s
2100 West End Ave
Nashville, TN 37203

There is certainly no shortage of fun shopping opportunities this month! Mason’s is hosting Cured & Curated on Wednesday, December 9th with 26 local vendors offering samples and selling their wares. In addition, there will be live music and free food from Mason’s.

Some of the food vendors who will be in attendance include:

Haulin’ Oats
Firepot Chai
Walker Creek Confections
Sunday Morning Pancakes
Tempered Chocolates
The Caramel Theory
Walker Feed and Co.

There will also be several décor, fashion, home items and other local craft items as well. Samples while shopping? Count me in!

Music City Winterfest

Saturday, December 12th, 2015
10 am – 4 pm

Centennial Park
2500 West End Ave
Nashville, TN 37203

Cost: FREE

Has there been a Music City Winterfest in past years and I’ve missed it??

It popped up recently in my Facebook feed, so I clicked and found out that it’s “a free day of holiday cheer, activities, and entertainment for the whole family.” Sounds good to me!

There will be shopping (promises of unique gifts from Nashville craft artisans), live music, and my favorite, food trucks. In addition, there was mention of s’mores stations (but I don’t like smores, so you guys can have all those) and a beer garden. Oh, and Santa. And princesses!