Pardon me if this is crass, but yes, this is real. Jason and I drove past it a few weeks ago (on Charlotte Pk. in Nashville) and busted out laughing. We had to go back for a photo.
Phone Photo Friday
08/19/2011
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Art, Art: eating out, Art: Phone Photo Friday | Tagged: asian cuisine, cell phone photography, ifuku, Nashville, Phone Photo Friday | 
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Posted by mahlbrandt
New Patio Dining Digs
06/20/2011I wanted to follow up Last Monday’s finished fence post with a report on our favorite new spot to eat meals at home:
We had actually planned on building a new wood table this summer using these plans. But, while we were at IKEA a few weeks ago and possibly feeling a bit exhausted by all the projects we’ve been doing lately, we saw the perfect patio table (VINÖ). Suddenly, $180 sounded like an offer we couldn’t refuse.
Being the cheapsakes that we are, we refused to pay $60 a pop for the matching outdoor chairs and instead found some simple metal and plastic folding ones (JEFF) for $10. (6 for the price of 1? Thank ya!)
Please note, this table is the easiest IKEA assembly ever! The legs fold out and then 2 wing nuts get screwed on. It took 1 minute. We were so pumped that we moved on from there to start assembly of the KURA bed—coincidentally, the most complicated IKEA assembly ever…
Anyway, we’re loving how the fence creates a cozy, defined space around the patio and garden.
Our first dinner on the new table: shish kabobs with shrimp, onions and peppers; corn on the cob and sweet tea. Perfect.
Even more perfect because I got to share it with this guy.
Yay for one more project checked off our to do list and to a summer full of relaxing on the patio!
1 Comment | Art, Art: eating out, Art: gardening, Art: interior design, Art: modern design | Tagged: cheap patio set, IKEA, patio table | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt
Eating Out: Drifters
05/13/2010
Drifters BBQ
1008-B Woodland St.
Nashville TN 37206
Dinner for Two: $15.27 + tip
Cuisine: pulled pork sandwich with coleslaw and baked beans, brisket with coleslaw and baked beans
Impression: Jason and I were pretty thrilled when a nice sit-down BBQ place opened up in East Nashville. The staff was very friendly. The food came out in 5 minutes … I guess that makes sense since good Southern barbeque requires hours and hours of cooking time. The brisket was delicious. Jason started picking pieces off my plate before I even took these [horrible, poorly lit, cell phone] photos. He said his pulled pork was also good. The server brought out a caddy of 5 kinds of barbeque sauces: Tennessee, Texas, Georgia, New Mexico and Drifter (a mix of TX & TN). We liked Texas the best but it was fun to be able to sample. NM was HOT, really HOT. The waiter wasn’t kidding! The baked beans were FABULOUS! I’ve never really been a fan of baked beans until I had homemade slow cooked beans made by my Arkansas/Lousianian friend Laren. These were just as good. (Why can’t they replicate that goodness in the canned variety?!)
Cost Saving Tips: The brisket plate that came with beans and coleslaw was something like $4 cheaper than the platter that came with bigger sides. The cheaper dinner was more than enough food. Additionally, we had just water with lemon to drink.
Come Again? Yummy, cheap, in the neighborhood, and maybe best of all, the kitchen is open LATE! Midnight Sun-Thurs and 4am on Fri & Sat. 4am!
Note: Paper plates and plasticware are because of the water conservation in effect in Nashville due to the recent flood.
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Posted by mahlbrandt
Eating Out: Zumi Sushi
03/09/2010
Introducing … a new blog column called Eating Out: modern dining with a mid-century budget! Jason and I love a good date night, however we don’t like to spend a lot of money on such things. The idea of Eating Out is to report on a new-to-us or trusted favorite Nashville restaurants and share how we made it fit a budget that would make our grandparents proud.
Zumi Sushi
2119 Belcourt Avenue
Nashville, TN 37212
Dinner for two: $21.30 + tip
Cuisine: 2 waters with lemon, 2 house salads, 2 miso soups, a Black & Gold Roll, and a Pacific Queen Roll.
Impression: I was pleasantly surprised after reading a mediocre review several months ago. Order at the counter and wait at your table with a number a la Pei Wei or Jason’s Deli. The servers were friendly and checked on us frequently, taking away dishes as soon as we finished our soups and salads. The rolls were quite delicious. We especially like the Black and Gold (named for Vanderbilt U. I’m assuming?) which was a white tuna roll lightly fried in tempura (so it’s warm) topped with crab salad that—despite looking exactly like fancy shredded cheddar—was delightful! The Pacific Queen was a very interesting pairing of yellow fin tuna, avocado, mango and cucumber. We didn’t care too much for the sweet poke´ sauce but it was lovely with soy sauce. Each roll came with 8 hearty pieces. Soup and salad were both inexpensive and generous portions. Presentation was beautiful!
Cost Saving Tips: Drinking water saved us $4 right off the bat. If you’re buying alcohol when you go out, there’s an obvious money sucker. Don’t be a sucker. Part of our reason for checking out Zumi was a bogo (buy one get one) coupon from a fundraiser book I purchased last fall. The book cost $20 and we’ve already saved at least $60 using it.
Come again? We’ll definitely be back for more of that Black & Gold roll.
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