Gettin' (Vegan) Crunk in Nashville

Hey y'all! Sorry for the absence. I was visiting a friend in Nashville over the past couple days. But I'm back now, and I have fun food pics to share. My best friend Greg lives in Indiana, but he's in Nashville for a month dealing with some family stuff. Greg's Indiana apartment is about 6 hours from Memphis, but Nashville is only 3 hours away, so I knew I should get over there and see him while I could. And just so happened that I was also invited to a fun dinner with some foodie folks at Butcher & Bee on Tuesday night, so I cut two carrots with one knife and did it all!

I'll share a full post on Butcher & Bee next week! But tonight's post will feature everything else I ate and did while I was in Nashville. As soon as I arrived on Tuesday afternoon, I picked up Greg and we had lunch at Sunflower Cafe. We both opted for the daily special — Tempeh Chorizo Tacos with Avocado Crema, and I picked Sesame Kale as my side. Amazing tacos!! I wish I had these every Taco Tuesday.

Then we hit up Trader Joe's! I always stock up at TJ's when I'm visiting Nashville since we don't have one in Memphis. Greg doesn't have one in his small Indiana town either.

I got lots of fun stuff — more bagel seasoning and onion salt, the Turkey & Stuffing kettle chips (VegNews says they're vegan!), salsa-style refried beans, Charles Shaw shiraz, and more. But the coolest thing I found was Bamba Peanut Snacks! I saw these on Sarah's blog, Long Island Vegan, and knew I had to get some. These are like salty peanut butter Cheetos. OMG.

After our TJ's trip, we went to my AirB&B so I could check in. It was a super-cute 1920s apartment with three beds! And cable! And wifi! And it was just across the street from several cool bars and a vegan-friendly pizza joint (more on that in a few).

Greg and I parted ways for a few hours while I dined at Butcher & Bee, and then I picked him back up at his hotel. We had a glass of wine at my AirB&B, and then we walked to Canvas, a cute gay bar just a few minutes away. Look at this Warhol-inspired Divine art!

After a drink at Canvas, we grabbed a late-night pizza snack at Two Boots Pizza. I've blogged about this vegan-friendly pizza place before, and I just LOVE it. They sell vegan pizza by the slice, which is such a rare thing. The V is for Vegan Slice has artichokes and pesto. I fully intended to eat a few bites of this and save the rest for breakfast since I had a big dinner a couple hours earlier. But it was so hot and delicious that I just devoured the whole thing right there.

Finally, we hit up Kung Fu Saloon, an arcade bar across from the B&B. We played skee ball and Street Fighter.

And then we called it a night! The next day, we had one final meal together at Wild Cow in East Nashville. The daily special was a Thanksgiving plate with Tofu Dressing, Mashed Potatoes & Gravy, Mac & Cheeze, Smoky Collards, and Cranberry Relish. SO GOOD. It made me really excited about the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. Also, I loved the bits of tofu in my dressing. I'd never thought to add tofu to dressing, but it makes sense. It was like the vegan version of turkey bits in dressing.

I had to head back to Memphis after lunch, but we made a quick stop at the International Grocery first. I found Vegemite, y'all! And a Bhel Puri kit! And pre-made Dosa Batter! So expect to see those finds worked into posts soon.