Good Life Aficionado - Mambu, Corrieri's and wines

Good Life Aficionado - part one; Mambu

Good Life Aficionado - part two; strawberry wine

Good Life Aficionado - part three; Vinea

Interview with Troy Smiley, Tennessee farmer

Good Life Aficionado visits Walnut Hills Farm

~
Introduction to Doug Bagwell of Walnut Hills Farm


What kind of cows and goats do you have?


What are some of the benefits of buying locally?


Are shoppers looking for local foods?


Is there a season to raising cattle and being at the Farmers Market?


Should you ask questions when buying locally grown food?


Visit the Walnut Hills Farm website to learn more about them. http://www.localharvest.org/farms/M23158

Boer Goats at Walnut Hills Farm

A thought about Tennessee tobacco and CAO Cigars

Restaurant Week is on in Nashville

Check them out! http://www.nashvilleoriginals.com/restaurantweek.php

Nashville's local restaurants and specials for you to enjoy

This list will continue to grow with more information, so please keep coming back to visit and find the new additions. Thanks for coming by and having a look around. ~Corey

Chappy’s:

Sunday Brunch

4-course champagne brunch

soup, salad, entrée and dessert

$24.95

Grouper (every night)

Salad, grouper, side

$29.95

Visit Chappy's.com to learn more

Ellendales:

Sunday Family Night
family style dinners 4-7pm
$15 Adults/ Kids eat free (1 child per adult)
$15 bottles of wine

Happy Hour 4-6pm Mon-Fri (bar only)
$4 Margaritas
$2 Domestic Beer
$3 House Wine
&
Complimentary Appetizers:
Asiago Crusted Calamari
Global Cheese Course
Gypsy Sampler
Bruschetta

Visit their website to learn more.
~~~

Zola:

Chef Deb is doing a four-course tasting menu at a reduced price.

This prix fixe menu will feature Pan con Tomate y Jamon, Paella Martini, Spanish Brisket and Seared Almond Cake with Smoked Vanilla Bean Ice Cream all for just $39.95.Also offering a Spanish wine pairing with this menu for just $15.00.

Same great quality you’ve come to expect from ZOLA over the last twelve years, just smaller portions and a wider variety!

Visit their website to learn more.

Andrew Chadwick's restaurant has closed

Sad to say it but it is true, another incredible restaurant in our fair city has closed it's doors. Andrew Chadwick's at Rutledge Hill, an upscale California-inspired restaurant that was located in the southern edge of downtown was a truly unique restaurant and will be sorely missed. I wish Andrew all the best and hope he stays in Nashville and comes up with something else incredible.

He spent nearly two years restoring a Civil War-era home on Rutledge Hill near downtown Nashville before opening the restaurant in November 2007. Such a shame that all that work and passion is all for nothing now but I'm sure he will move on to bigger and better things soon.

A message on the restaurant's confirmed it, they were closed. "Unfortunately, we are no longer in business, we thank Nashville for the opportunity and hope you have a great day."

~~~
A little bit about Andrew and his restaurant...(this comes from the restaurant's website)

The technology he used:
Andrew Chadwick's is one of only three American institutions that use a professional induction cooktop. An induction-cooker element (what on a gas stove would be called a "burner") is a powerful, high-frequency electromagnet. When a good-sized piece of magnetic material--such as, for example, a cast-iron skillet--is placed in the magnetic field that the element is generating, the field transfers ("induces") energy into that metal. Basically, the pan itself is where the heat comes from and not the elements.

About Andrew:
The majority of Andrew's culinary training took place in California, where he acquired an uncanny discernment for food and wine pairings. Prior to moving to Nashville, Andrew served as executive chef at the prestigious Meadowood Napa Valley, a private estate featuring fine dining inspired by the traditions of Napa Valley, and at the Ritz Carlton Resort St. Thomas, a Virgin Island resort offering Caribbean-inspired cuisine. Andrew also served on the prestigious culinary team providing cuisine for the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.

After graduating from the California Culinary Academy in 1991, he worked at acclaimed restaurants in New York, California and Europe. In New York, he helped establish a Four Star restaurant with Donald Woods. Following his tenure in New York, he served as chef of the Fine Dining Restaurant at the Renaissance Esmeralda Resort, where he was ranked one of the top ten chefs in Southern California. He also was an executive sous chef at the St. Regis Monarch Beach Resort and Spa.

Hotel Preston (outside)

Gaylord Entertainment is cutting 350 jobs

Sad to hear the news but this will affect Nashville and also affect all locations of the company. I'm assuming this also seals the coffin on the expansion of the Opryland Hotel for a while longer.

Read about the layoffs in the Nashville Business Journal.

Small-Mart Revolution by Michael Shuman

In Michael Shuman's new book, "Small-Mart Revolution," he explains why local businesses create a vibrant local economy with more local jobs and wealth. This is true and should be something practiced by us all.

See more of Michael and his thoughts on YouTube.