My Best Day in Nashville

It is finally over, I am DONE with law school. The days leading up to my last exam were filled with tons of anxiety and very little sleep. This was not actually due to my secured transactions exam, but because I could not figure out how to celebrate finally being let off the roller coaster that has been the past three years of my life. Obviously my celebration was going to involve food, but I wanted all the foods and I wanted to have the best foods and I wanted them all day long. Yet, since eating healthy and exercising I HATE how I feel when I gorge myself, I feel awful, I get grouchy, I feel regret and it's just bad for everyone in the world. Thankfully, after scouring menus, "top lists," Thrillist and Yelp for days, at 4:30 am yesterday before my last exam I figured it out. I was going to have the "Best Day" in Nashville - to take these lists and choose places I have never been, spreading them out throughout the day. That way I not only could have all the foods without wanting to crawl under a rock, but also could spend the day pretending I am moving to New York to be a food critic instead of a banking lawyer. 

As you're reading this you may be wondering if I did all these things by myself and YES I did. I actually love doing activities and eating at restaurants by myself. It is so relaxing, I can actually enjoy and appreciate my food and surroundings and I always end up chatting away with the people around me. This year, I have come to be very satisfied with who and where I am in life, including being single.  There is something incredibly freeing about not having to serve anyone but yourself and to do the things that make you happy and bring you fulfillment. I've realized that this time in my life, before I start work and real life, is perhaps the only chance I will have to just be me, for me. So I now join the host of trendy articles and lists out there in saying just "do you" and take time to appreciate yourself, take yourself on a date, a vacation, an adventure, because you are going to spend your entire life being responsible for serving other people's needs and desires. 

So let me break down my Best Day in Nashville for you:

Early Morning Exercise: I'm not sure if I was just determined to have a great day and it was all mental, but my morning run was "the best." I had woken up super early, so I started out when the sky was still a deep blue, watched the sunrise, ran past a million happy pretty chirpy birds and didn't lose my stamina to make it back up the final most dreadful hill at the end. One thing I will really miss about Nashville and regret not having started taking advantage sooner, are the greenways and parks all over the city. We have a nice trail at home in Winter Garden, and running through Central Park will be nice in NYC, but the diversity and maintenance of all of the options here will be sorely missed. Check them out here before its too late! 

Breakfast: Red Bicycle Cafe chosen from Thrillist's Best Breakfast Spots in Nashville- double bonus, there was a scout mob deal for 50% off. I got the Mexi Breakfast Crepe (eggs, chorizo, manchego, sour cream and salsa) and an almond milk latte. The chorizo was awesome and the crepe was the perfect thickness. While I have had better eggs and better breakfasts, you can't really hate too much on such a glorious combination of ingredients. My latte was underwhelming, but I did appreciate my smiley face. I'm ranking Red Bicycle somewhere below Sky Blue Cafe, The Southern and Fido (PS Thrillist made a huge mistake in leaving Fido off its list), but above Star Bagel and Dunn Brothers. Best breakfast? Maybe not. Great start to my day? Definitely.

Morning Activity: Although I had to take my last final on this "best day," I assure you the last law school final IS the best law school final. 

 Lunch: Roasted Cauliflower at Etch. First off, I want to say that sitting at the kitchen bar, I had a close up view of all the food being prepared and each and every dish came out of the kitchen looking beautiful. My dish was no exception. The cauliflower is tossed in white truffle oil and roasted, served with a scallion feta dip, red pepper sauce, truffled pea pesto, olives and roasted marcona almonds. Thrillist should specify that the reason this makes the list is the pea pesto - it is one of the most incredible tastes I have experienced and I will likely spend my life trying to recreate it. The cauliflower itself was whatever, I honestly made better roasted cauliflower last week. But the Pea Pesto - I die, worth getting the dish just for the pesto. My lunch, dinner and dessert all came from Thrillist's 11 Best Dishes in Nashville. 

Afternoon Activity: Belle Meade Plantation. As much as I would have liked, I actually couldn't fill up an entire day with just eating, so I decided I should check out one of the "best things to do in Nashville" that I haven't done while I have been here. Taking #2 off of US News' List, I headed right down the street from my apartment to spend a delightful afternoon at Belle Meade Plantation. Maybe, not the BEST thing I've done in Nashville, but it was a really nice way to spend the afternoon. The organization has done a great job of making the experience equal parts leisurely, informative, interesting and fun! Better yet, there is a wine tasting after the tour and the wine was surprisingly great! Fun Fact, for the 12th year in a row, all the horses racing for the Triple Crown at the Kentucky Derby this weekend trace their sire lines back to a foundation thoroughbred from the Belle Meade Plantation thoroughbred operation in the 1800s!

Fifty Shades of  Earl Grey

Something About Rosemary

Happy Hour: I headed to Sinema to check one off of Thrillist's Best Cocktail Bars in Nashville list. Until yesterday at 5:15 PM my favorite drink in the world was the Juliet & Romeo from Patterson House. I am sorry to inform the Patterson House that they have been trumped by the "There's Something About Rosemary" at Sinema. This drink is incredible. It combines everything herby, crisp and refreshing that I love in the Juliet & Romeo with the sweetness of Apple Brandy and bubbles of champagne. It is everything that is right in a cocktail. The other drink I tried was the Fifty Shades of Earl Grey. It was still great, but not better than There's Something About Rosemary or any of the drinks I've had at Patterson House. On top of the fabulous drinks, I loved the lounge area at Sinema. It has so many different seating options, allowing you to find whatever vibe you are looking for there. While I was there, there was a group using a big room for a business meeting over drinks, a couple on a date sitting at the bar, a group of musician friends strewn on couches, and me in a pillowed nook. 

Dinner: Grilled Hereford NY Strip with Chimichurri at Lockeland Table. Okay this was the actual best thing I ate all day and may in fact be the best thing I have ever eaten in Nashville or in North America (the food I ate in Italy still trumps NA). I've been wracking my brain and the only thing that seems to top it for me is an egg custard dessert I had at Cat Bird Seat, where the custard was inside an egg shell, which was just both delicious and mind-blowing. Back to this steak, it was freaking incredible and unlike the Roasted Cauliflower dish at Etch, each component of the dish was phenomenal on its own and then next level together. It may actually be the best steak I have ever had, in stiff competition with my dad's grilled steaks. It tops Kayne Prime here locally for me, which I thought was impossible. The steak had a beautiful crust on it, but was so juicy and tender. I am just thrilled to have leftovers. 

Dessert: Butterscotch Habanero Bread Pudding at Midtown Cafe. Now, I love bread pudding, so I was ecstatic to be able to check this off the list. It definitely stems from the best basic bread pudding recipe I've ever had, but I don't know if those are the all-time best flavors. Don't get me wrong it was incredible, but I may be more of a banana chocolate chip bread pudding girl. If you're as skeptical about the habanero part as I was, TRUST ME it's a great addition. Basically, you enjoy a heavenly bite of butterscotch bread pudding with a kick at the back of the bite. Also, somehow the bread pudding was warmed to the perfect bread pudding temperature, yet the ice cream on top did not instantly melt - I am appreciative, but bewildered on how they made that happen. 

The worst thing about my best day was that it ended, but I can't imagine having picked a better way to celebrate being done with law school!