Take me to another place, Take me to another land, Make me forget all that hurts me, Let me understand your plan

Brick's Cafe

2020 Fieldstone Parkway

Suite 200 (next to Publix)

Franklin, TN 37067

Menu: Italian, Southern, Southwestern. Something for everyone

Atmosphere: Nice casual

Kid Friendly: Yes but not exactly Applebee's or a Friday's a bit nicer than that, so don't show up if you let your kids run buck wild.

Price: For the two of us it was about $45 with tip. Not bad for a good meal, leftovers and a decent atmosphere to bring a date before a movie. My sister was my date, and we went to see Avatar later on.

In my last blog, I mentioned visiting my sister, Colleen and her family in Tennessee last weekend. While I was there, Colleen and I went to Brick's Cafe in Franklin. My niece, Corinne is a hostess and food runner there. It was fun to see her work while we had a great meal.

When I was younger, I loved when my family would come visit me at work. Ok, I admit partly because they tipped me really well, but also because it was fun to have them come and support me. It made me proud of the job I was doing because I could tell they were proud.

Brick's Cafe is in a shopping center in the Nashville suburb, Franklin. I have lived in the city so long, it is always strange to me to go to a restaurant in a shopping center. I think I have this preconceived notion a restaurant in a shopping center is not going to be good. I know it is ridiculous, and to be fair on my blog, I need to get over my restaurant stereotyping. At least Brick's went a long way in changing my mind.

When we walked into Brick's I immediately forgot there was a Publix looming outside the door. The setting inside was exposed brick, nice table settings and soft lighting. We were sat quickly probably because Corinne sat us, but hey she seats everyone, so you will probably be sat quickly as well. We were greeted at the table quickly too.

Bricks has a little something for everyone. Their menu has an Italian influence, but it also has a Southern and South Western influence. It seems as though whoever owns Brick's figured they would just put all their favorite foods on the menu and who cares if they don't have a particular theme, as long as the food tastes good, people will come.

If there is one thing my sister and I have in common it is we LOVE to eat. We used to eat so much when we were tweens/teens we would have contests to see who could eat the most. Split a large pizza? No problem 6 to 8 tacos? A breeze. I was really excited to enjoy a good meal with her after all these years, but with the metabolisms of two 40 year old woman, we skipped the eating contest.

During our visit to Bricks we started with the Cajun Bayou Fondue. I ask you, what is better than melted cheese in a bowl? That's right nothing, especially when it is packed with shrimp, bay scallops, crawfish, spinach and baby portabellas. Check out the pic below. I am only sorry I would have looked foolish asking for a to go container for the leftovers. It was so good, I almost forgot to take a picture.

For dinner, I got the Portabellini Chicken, and Colleen when for the Smothered Chicken. The Portabellini Chicken was a grilled chicken breast over red mashed potatoes, smothered in sautéed portabelllini mushrooms in a roasted garlic red wine demi glaze. Yes, it tasted as good as it sounds. I ate most of it, and this is actually what I got to take home.

The Smothered Chicken was grilled chicken over sauteed spinach and covered with creamy smoked gouda sauce served with steamed vegetables. Here's Colleen enjoying it. She is going to be so happy about this picture. Look how into the food she is!

Both dishes were big enough to eat half and have another full meal to take home. Don't be ashamed to take your leftovers. Sometimes they taste better the next day. Besides restaurant portions tend to be enormous these days, and to be perfectly honest... we needed room for dessert!

We went for the Chocolate Truffle Cake. It was Kona coffee ice cream over a truffle cake, drizzled in Bailey's Irish Cream. Perfect way to end a really yummy meal.

If you happen to be traveling through Tennessee and stop in Franklin to eat at Brick's, say hello to my niece Corinne.

This Place Takes Their Name Seriously! STAX

STAX

Opryland Hotel (in the Delta)

Nashville, TN

Menu: Different types of Burgers

Pricing: Hotel's are always overpriced, for a burger and fries this was $13

Kid friendly: Sure if you want obese children

Atmosphere: Atrium style casual, tables around the perimeter amongst the trees

I was in Nashville this past weekend working a photo convention at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel. The Opryland is an atrium style hotel with rooms facing into the inner areas of the hotel which are filled with shops, restaurants, plants and waterfalls. As one convention goer put it, we were in a giant biosphere. The Delta area of the hotel actually features a boat ride along a small canal. It is a sight to be seen.

How does someone with a full time job in telecommunications end up working a photo convention in Nashville? I have a good friend, Maryann who does work with a company called Kimbra studios.Kimbra Studios is owned by Kimbra Orr. The company makes high quality photo jewelry and they have a wholesale program with photographers. Maryann helps Kimbra work conventions to showcase the wholesale program and allow photographers to see the quality of the jewelry in person. Check out her website www.kimbrastudios.com. I was lucky enough to be asked by Maryann to work the convention in Nashville this year. Lucky not only because it is a really fun part time gig I get paid for, but lucky because my sister lives in Nashville!

Most people who have worked conventions would say they can be tedious and boring at times, but not when you are working for Kimbra. Her booth is packed because her product is amazing. We barely have the time to take a drink of water, let alone eat, so at the end of the day, we are famished. This made Stax the obvious choice for our afternoon meal on the last day.

Stax is a burger joint in the center of the Delta area of the Gaylord. If you haven't been there or seen someone eating there, be warned. The burgers are GIANT. Walking in, you are presented with the basic menu to check off. Choose your size, single, double, or triple. Choose your bun,

white, wheat, or pretzel. Choose your type, beef, chicken, turkey, or veggie. Choose your cheese cheddar, pepper jack or Swiss. Choose your toppings, and choose your side chips or fries. Hand that to the cashier and then wait for your number to be called.

I got the single burger because Maryann had warned me about the size, but she and her sister Sofia opted for the double. The first thing out of the cashiers mouth was "that is a pound of beef!" but Maryann was starving and steadfast in her choice. She also boldly chose the pretzel roll as a twist to the traditional burger.

We put the ketchup in the picture to try to give it some scale. These burgers were huge.

Unfortunately besides the size of the burgers, Stax is nothing to write home about. I guess this is ironic, since I am writing about it in my blog. I don't think the burgers were awful. They just weren't anything special. I admit, I used to work at Fuddruckers where the beef is fresh ground and pattied every day so maybe my opinion is skewed, but let me present some facts.

Stax doesn't ask you how you would like your burger cooked. For a burger this big, that is odd. All of our burgers came out medium well to well done. Personally, I think the more you cook beef the less flavor it has.

I asked for lettuce on my burger, and on a half pound of beef I got one leaf of romaine lettuce. A leaf from the center of the bunch, so it barely covered half the patty.

As I mentioned, Maryann went for the pretzel roll. It seemed like an interesting twist, but she said it wasn't anything particularly earth shattering. Good bread usually makes good sandwiches and this roll didn't add anything to the flavor. We had a friend from the convention sitting with us who agreed with this assessment.

Speaking of bread, these burgers were completely opposite of the "Where's the Beef?" days. These were more like where's the bun? Especially the bottom half which was so small, it became soggy and fell apart making the burger hard to eat unless you had a fork and knife.

Overall, the only thing which makes Stax stand out from the crowd is the size of the burgers, and in these days of over portioning I am not sure it should be considered a plus.