Favorite Eats: The Pharmacy - Nashville

One the perks of my job is that I can count on at least one trip to Nashville each year. The thing I like most about travelling to Nashville is discovering fun new places to eat. In fact, there are so many restaurants in the greater Nashville area that you could probably visit a different one each day and not repeat in a year.

I always make a point to try to dine where local residents like to eat and just a few weeks ago discovered a place that will be well worth a return visit: The Pharmacy Burger Parlor and Beer Garden. Tucked away in an East Nashville neighborhood it would be easy to miss if you didn't know where to look for it.

The restaurant's slogan is that it is Nashville's Wurst Burger Joint. In that slogan lies the clue to the other great secret of their menu: their wursts (German style sausages) are fantastic. They are all made by hand, then grilled outside on the charcoal grill before finished indoors an the flat top before being served. We sampled both the burgers and the wursts and found them equally enjoyable.

Another great feature is their old-fashioned soda fountain. My youngest daughter enjoyed a creamsicle soda while my older daughter went for the strawberry ginger ale. My wife decided to try the Mexican Coca-Cola from the bottle (which is sweeter than Coke found in the United States) while I enjoyed a Sprecher Root Beer on tap which was just perfect with our meal.

For dinner we decided to share (which we often do when we can't decide what to eat). We ordered two Biergarten platters (each came with 3 wursts) and were able to sample all six varieties of the wursts they had available. Our personal favorite was the Bockwurst as it was the juiciest of all of them though they all had a good flavor. For our burgers, we ordered the Farm Burger (country ham, applewood bacon, willow farm egg, and maple mustard) and the Mission City Burger (guacamole, pico de gallo, slow-cooked black beans, and horchata crema fresca). Both were very good though the Mission City Burger had the slight edge.

But the best part of the entire experience was dining out in the biergarten. It was a lovely evening, not too hot and the atmosphere was perfect. It would be the perfect place to meet friends and hang out.

We all agreed that this would be one place we would visit again. According to the staff it gets busy quickly so you have to be prepared to wait. We went around 5:00 in the evening and had no problem getting seated but by the time we left at 6:30 the line was already out the door.

Nashville is an endless series of gastronomic adventures. If you are ever there, be sure to add The Pharmacy to your places to visit.

Meeting My "Other" Daughter

Have you ever decided to Google your own name just for the fun of it?

I've always been afraid to do it for fear of what I would discover.

But my oldest daughter, Annie, did it last fall.

Turns out there was another girl named Annie Parsons. She has a wonderful blog. They started trading e-mails. The other Annie wrote a beautiful letter to my Annie. They became good friends online.

But the best part is that the other Annie lives in Nashville. Last week we got to meet her.

A.P. (which is the nickname we gave to the other Annie to keep track of who's who - she calls our daugher Little A. P.) calls our Annie her Muppet Baby.

A.P. is one of the sweetest young women I have ever met. As we were saying good-bye after a lovely dinner, I told her that I felt like I had met my "other" daughter.

I hope my girls grow up to be as sweet and caring as A.P.

It was a real joy to finally get to meet her. We'll get to hang out again when we go back to Nashville in the fall. It will be a blast.



A.P. (center) flanked by my daughters Katie and Annie (otherwise known as Little A.P.)

Quick Takes 4-25-08

It's Friday and time for another roundup of random links for your consideration:

Some startling statistics that show the consequences of couples living together prior to getting married. It doesn't always work out as well as the couples think that it will. (Hat tip: Jonathan)

Blog tip of the week: How to link to other blogs.

Some sage advice on how to raise chaste teenagers in a sexually immoral society.

Could this year's election mark the end of the two-party system as we know it? Probably not, but both parties could look much different after November.

Nashville highlight #1: Earlier this week I made my semi-annual jaunt to Music City. I stopped off at this used book store which has quickly become a favorite. It's not in the best part of town but definitely worth the trip. The Knoxville store is also pretty good and a little bit easier to get to off the interstate. I've now got about three dozen books sitting on the shelf "to be read". I really should stop picking up books but when they're free or almost free (trade credit is wonderful), how can you resist?

Nashville highlight #2: The other treat in going to Nashville is the abundance of great dining options. Our big trip out was to The Loveless Cafe which is a Nashville institution even though it's outside of the city a little ways. The fried chicken, country ham, and fried catfish were all terrific. The biscuits, however, left a little to be desired. Maybe I'm just biased because I think my wife's biscuits are better.

Some thoughts on a troubling aspect of the Texas polygamist compound case. When the story first broke, I wondered whether the child protective services agency had overreacted. Now I'm sure of it. Though I don't support the FLDS and what they stand for, I agree they are entitled to protection under the Constitution.

Hillary Clinton's win in Tuesday's Pennsylvania primary did nothing to stop the Democratic bleeding. It's looking more and more like John McCain will win in November regardless of who his opponent is.

What it really means when you say you're a Protestant.

This means I might have to start watching CNN more often. (Hat tip: The Corner)

One of the interesting aspects of the Democratic nomination battle between Senators Clinton and Obama is how much better the Republican nominating system looks by comparison. Having winner-take -all apportioning of delegates seems to make more and more sense. Maybe folks will finally realize that we shouldn't tinker with the Electoral College, either.

I'm disturbed, too. I thought Newt was supposed to be a smart guy. Now I'm not so sure. Seeing Pat and Al together in the other spot didn't make me feel any better.

Have a great weekend.