Coco's Italian Market & Ristorante

Our "C" lunch this week was our first taste of international cuisine (many more to come, though!) with a trip to Coco's Italian Market & Ristorante off Charlotte Ave.  The somewhat bland street entrance masks a nicely appointed and comfortable interior, which is home to a small deli counter and grocery in addition to the restaurant itself.

In case you missed it, this is an ITALIAN place.

Don't let the lack of curb appeal fool you.

This was also our first lunch attended by not one, but several, special guests. Garrick's wife, Nicole, and their precious baby Vivienne joined us, as well as two of our newly commissioned and currently stashed Ensigns (yes, we do feed them on occasion-- it's a kinder, gentler Navy these days, folks). Although 3 of the 6 of us ordered the same thing, we were able to cover slightly more of the menu than 3 of the ABC regulars can alone.

Coco's offers a full menu of Italian favorites, ranging from pizza and pasta dishes to salads and paninis.  They have a beer and wine list, and provide wine pairing suggestions with everything on the menu, to include the sandwiches.  The pasta dishes are made with fresh pasta prepared in-house. 

Most of our group ordered sandwiches (muffalettas and a chicken & pepper panini), which are served with either chips or pasta salad.  The pasta salad is a light rotini salad with olives, tomatoes, and Parmesan, that is set apart by its tangy sweet tomato vinaigrette dressing.  Two of the boys ordered the "special"-- spaghetti with marinara -- which was well-received but unremarkable.

While everyone agreed that lunch was tasty, our overall experience was tarnished somewhat by the less-than-mediocre bread brought for the table and by the inconsistency of service.  Nicole arrived early and ordered a small bowl of buttered pasta for the baby, asking that it be brought out as soon as it was ready, while she waited for the group to order her own meal.  10-15 minutes later, the rest of us arrived, ordered lunch, and received our meals rather quickly.  It wasn't until all of the food was served that Vivienne's lunch was brought out.  The server was aware of the delay and couldn't explain "what was taking the kitchen so long."  He was polite and courteous, however, despite the tardiness of the kitchen.  

The Muffaletta with pasta salad was the popular preference this time (x3)

Ethan went with a chicken and pepper panini

And Garrick opted for the "special" --

traditional spaghetti with marinara and a meatball

Overall, Coco's earned a 3.67. Better than the average, at a very reasonable price, but not stellar. 

Most of us could not resist the lure of the gelato counter after lunch, and were so pleased with the variety (and uniqueness-- banana pudding, anyone?) of flavors available that we felt the Coco's gelato experience was worthy of its own rating-- a 4.75.  If you have the chance to check out the place for lunch or dinner, don't skip dessert!

We will be on hiatus for a few weeks for summer leave, travel, and training, but will be back at the end of June.  Next to taste:  Demos' Steak and Spaghetti House.

~B

Bobbie's Dairy Dip

B is for burger.  Specifically, the first burger joint in the series:  Bobbie's Dairy Dip. 

Not your average side of the road burger stand-- this one's worth a stop.

For lunch this week, the group agreed on Bobbie's Dairy Dip, a classic burger stand on Charlotte Ave and 53rd, that appears to have been there since their "James Brown Milkshake" was culturally relevant.  The restaurant is a walk-up stand with ample outdoor self-serve seating.  Our picnic table was perfect for a mild day like today, but I can imagine one of their signature "dip" style soft-serve ice creams would be a necessity to survive it on a Nashville summer day.   

 

A colorful menu boasts classic burgers, dogs, and sides-- with a few surprises.

We went three for three on bacon cheeseburgers, however, there are hot dogs, grilled cheese sandwiches, and veggie burgers on offer, in addition to chicken sandwiches and a few other odds and ends.  Sides range from fries (done plain, w/ cheese, or w/ chili and cheese) to onion rings to fried pickles.  Everything is made to order, including the hand cut fries, so there is a bit of a wait.  While slower than the drive-thru, it's considerably quicker than dine-in service.

Bacon Cheeseburger, Cheese Fries, and Fried Pickles

(the pickles were for the table-- I'm only 500lbs on the inside)

All in all, it was a tasty lunch that "got the job done."  The burgers, while juicy and flavorful, were noticeably not fresh or hand made, but seemed to be the pre-fab frozen patties you can get at your local warehouse store.  The sides, on the other hand, were definitely fresh.  Like any Southern gal, I'm a sucker for fried dill pickles, and these were on point.  The batter was light, so they didn't come out super greasy.  I also appreciated the addition of a kick of spice, which really made them unique.   I was pleasantly surprised to find that the cheese fries had real cheddar cheese melted on them, vice that gross pseudo-cheese sauce you find pumped onto the food in so many places.  Unfortunately, none of us had room for dessert today.  I'm always a sucker for a great milkshake, and Bobbie's, I'm told, won't disappoint.  Their soft-serve portions are also said to be huge-- so order carefully (or don't-- who doesn't love soft serve?!?).

Fresh potatos anyone?

All in all, a decent burger, great sides, and a way-better-than-the-average-fast-food-joint atmosphere earned Bobbie's a (not quite unanimous) score of 4.33-- two 4's and a 5.  I for one plan to head back to sample the dairy dip treats.  


...Garrick plans to head back for dinner tonight.


Next week: Coco's Italian Market

~B

 

Arnold's Country Kitchen

Lunch 1: Arnold's Country Kitchen.  And man, oh man, Arnold's earns their "A."  We first found Arnold's through the "Best of Yelp", and were intrigued enough to make it the first meal in the series.  This weekend, I also caught Arnold's on an episode of Food Network's "Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives."  If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it-- Guy Fieri is a hero of mine-- but, I digress.

Arnold's is a local favorite, and is known for being a "Meat & Three" style lunch spot.  The food is Southern all the way, offering standard Dixie flavor on a menu that rotates by the day of the week.  We tried three of the six Wednesday entrees, and six different sides (pictured below). 

Roast Beef w/ Gravy, Green Beans, Squash Casserole,

Mashed Potatoes, and a Cornbread Muffin for Ethan

Brisket w/ Gravy, Boiled Okra, Mashed Potatoes,

and Mac & Cheese for Garrick

Baked Chicken w/ Gravy, Mac & Cheese, Mashed Potatoes, Turnip Greens,

and a pair of Dinner Rolls for me (don't forget the Sweet Tea!)

The restaurant itself is of moderate size, with a buffet-style line and cash register, and self serve seating. While the line was (and apparently, often is) out the door, the serving line moved quickly, and tables turned over just as rapidly. There was a four-top open as soon as we finished at the register. The interior isn't much to speak of, but every bit of what might be lacking in decor has been poured into a hearty, homestyle meal at a great price-- Meat and Three with a drink for under $10. The staff was welcoming and friendly, and attentive to quickly clearing tables and looking after customers still eating (drink refills are free, and they'll happily bring you another!).  We were in, out, and back to the office in almost exactly an hour!

~B

Unanimous rating for our first meal was a 5 (out of 5).  Next week:  Bobbie's Dairy Dip

Alphabet Soup

With this, our first post, I'd like to introduce you to the JOPA.  JOPA...?  Many of you likely are asking. It's the first of a certainly endless string of acronyms and jargon, but I hope you'll forgive us that-- you'll shortly see why we speak our own language.  We are the Junior Officers (JOs) of the wardroom of a local university ROTC program.  Three Navy LTs-- Ethan, Garrick, and me-- and a Marine Corps Captain-- Kevin-- we comprise the instructing and advising staff of the command.  We are a varied bunch: a couple of aviators, a submariner, and a ship driver-- all eagerly embracing this, our first taste of "shore duty" since completing our obligatory first tours at sea.  Two of us (Ethan and I) are local alumni, returning to the Nashville area after 4-7 years away from our adopted home.  Kevin is a Tennessee native as well, though he hails from the eastern side of the state.  Garrick is our only resident alien, a product of the Windy City, and a new Southerner. 

What we all share (aside from a coffee pot, some office space, and our military experience) is a love of food, friends, and great beer-- preferably a combination of all three.  We also love any excuse to get out of the office for an hour or two.  From these interests, the Alphabet Lunch Series was born.  We have made it a weekly ritual to grab a quick lunch together somewhere in the neighborhood.  While we have our routine favorites, we all wanted to get out into the community and start really seeing what the Nashville food scene has to offer.  Ethan proposed the alphabet approach-- a new restaurant every week, with a name starting with the next letter in the alphabet. 

We've been eagerly adding to our list, compiling current favorites, friends' recommendations, and the places we keep hearing about but haven't gotten around to trying yet.  It's apparent that we may have to make more than one lap through (we're up to 3 B's already), and that some letters are going to prove challenging-- any X recommendations out there?  But a great time, and alot of great food are sure to be had by all. 

While I doubt many will actually read the blog, we all knew that we don't stand a chance of remembering all of the places and plates we've tried without some sort of record.  And with that, we give you-- "Fork and Knife School"!  Got a place you think we should try?  Tell us about it!    If it's within 20 minutes of Midtown, and open for lunch, we're there.  Care to share a lunch with us? Come on out!  We promise not to share too many sea stories...

~B