A road trip to Nashville, that is what popped into my head. I love the city and I missed it. There are so many things to do. I love walking up and down Broadway, watching all the people and mesmerized by the neon lights.
I checked out a restaurant that was a little off Broadway called City Tap. It was an easy walk. As soon as I got close to the entrance I could smell their brick oven pizza. The aroma filled the air.
The restaurant was beautiful inside.
I decided to sit at the high top tables in the bar area. They had a huge nice screen TV over the bar and the best view was from the table.
Since I was visiting City Tap on a Sunday I got to enjoy their brunch menu. One of their brunch offerings was a carafe of sparkling sangria.
This extremely tall carafe was filled with sparkling wine, spiced Malbec syrup, and loaded with fresh raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries. It was not too sweet. The sparkling wine was more on the brut side. The fresh fruit added a lot of the sweetness. The blueberries were the sweetest I have ever had.
To go along with my sangria I ordered their Really Big Pretzel. They were NOT kidding about the size. This pretzel was 10 pounds of sweet dough.
The pretzel was soft on the inside. They had salted the outside to help balance the flavor. It came with a maple-bourbon mustard. The mustard was slightly sweet and had large mustard seeds that added texture. There was also a white ale cheddar sauce. The cheese was slightly creamy and had a little tangy aftertaste.
My server Logan recommended I try the Charred Brussels Sprouts. The sprouts were extra flakey and the leaves were crispy. I had never had sprouts quite like this before. It turns out that after they were sautéed, the brussels sprouts were then dropped in the fryer. That is how the leaves got that crispy.
There were a few pomegranate seeds on top. They added sweetness. The brussels sprouts were also tossed in a white miso sauce. It added a rich flavor. It was a little overwhelming because it was a little too much.
By this point I had finished the sangria. I wanted to try another cocktail. I went for The Whitehead Tart.
This concoction blended Papas Pilar Blonde rum, lime juice, grapefruit juice, black raspberry liqueur, and simple syrup. This drink was served in a gimlet glass which felt fancy to me. I do not get many cocktails served like this. These blended flavors were not overly sweet and slightly tart. It was actually deliciously smooth. It was also accented with a very sweet blueberry.
I ordered one last thing while I was there. I wanted to make sure I tried one of their brick oven pizzas. They offered some classic combinations like sausage and mushroom but I was intrigued to try the Prosciutto and Fig.
This thin crust pizza did not have traditional pizza sauce on it. There was a layer of stilton blue cheese and fontina with parma prosciutto on top. There were swirls of orange-fig jam all around the cheese. Piled in the center was arugula and shaved parmesan cheese.
With all the cheeses and prosciutto on this pizza there was a salt, savory taste. The arugula added an earthy flavor with a hint of pepper. The orange-fig jam was a welcomed sweet note to the pizza. This sweetness actually pulled the entire flavor profile together. It was a sweet/savory delight.
I ended up being at City Tap for a few hours. I really enjoyed my visit. I would definitely want to go back because Logan (my server) was telling me about all the daily specials that they have each week.
If you are interested in getting away from the crowds on Broadway check out City Tap. You can view all their food and cocktail menus at http://www.nashville.citytap.com/
Enjoy!
T
