Gorgonzola Acorn Squash – A Recipe

You really don’t have to do much with acorn squash. At least that’s what I think. I like the taste of it. Just as is. I used to flavor it with butter and maple syrup. Now I’ve got gorgonzola taking over and making acorn squash a rock star.

Here’s how:

Cut squash in half. Scrape out seeds and stringy stuff. Place cut-side down on a foil-lined sheet pan. Add a little water to pan, about a 1/4-inch. Bake at 400 for 40-45 minutes until a paring knife easily pierces and flesh feels soft.

Baked Squash Just Out of Oven

Baked Squash Just Out of Oven

Flip over cut-side up.

Squash ready to stuff

Squash ready to stuff

Season with salt, pepper, and a little hot pepper.

Seasoned squash

Seasoned squash

Add some crumbled gorgonzola. (If you like add some butter and a pinch of breadcrumb, too.)

Crumbled gorgonzola in your squash ready to bake

Crumbled gorgonzola in your squash ready to bake

Drizzle with olive oil. Bake for another 10 minutes until cheese melts.

Tasty cooked sqaush

Tasty cooked squash

Eat with a spoon. Half a squash per person. Your own personal squash (half).

Eat it with a spoon

Eat it with a spoon

Gorgonzola Acorn Squash

1 acorn squash, cut in half, seeds removed

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

salt & pepper to taste

Pinch hot pepper

1/4 cup crumbled gorgonzola cheese

2 tablespoons breadcrumbs

drizzle of olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Line a small sheet pan (with at least 1-inch sides) with foil. Place the cleaned acorn squash cut-side down. Pour a little water in the pan to make a not too deep puddle. Roast squash for about 45 minutes until tender (test by poking a paring knife into flesh). Remove from oven and gently turn squash halves over making cut side up. Season with salt & pepper, add a little hot pepper. Add 2 tablespoons of butter to each half. Sprinkle with gorgonzola, then breadcrumbs. Drizzle with olive oil. Return to oven for about 10 minutes until cheese melts and breadcrumb is golden.

What I Buy at Costco – Part One

Campo dei Fiori, Rome, Italy

Campo dei Fiori, Rome, Italy

Costco ain’t Campo dei Fiori. But…

I resisted for a long time. The idea of paying a yearly fee to shop didn’t sit right with me. But my mom (my voice of reason and still my advisor) encouraged we join. So we did. Little by little we discovered and tried and explored and now have a list of regular stuff we buy and rely on.

Costco’s brand is Kirkland. It’s not the only brand they sell, but when you see the Kirkland label you know it’s reliable and (so far that we’ve tried) really good quality.

Everything is extensive at Costco. Huge produce department, cheese department, meat and fish, big frozen food department, aisles and aisles of jarred, canned, packaged foods. I push around the SUV-sized shopping cart thru aisles stacked, stocked & full…agape at this Museum of Giant Food.

Here’s what helps: my mom and I often share stuff, which means we can get the multi-can package of baked beans, or the large bag of mini-cucumbers, or the 8-to-a-pack artisan romaine lettuce, or the 4-lb package of unsalted butter sticks. And because of my classes I often pick up the “large” size; my menus absorb quantity. STILL a single shopper can do great (helps to have a freezer).

I’ve got a long list of favorites but here’s a partial roundup. It would be fun to take people with me when I shop so I can show them where I get my ingredients. People in my classes often ask. In lieu of that, here’s a Costco shopping tour on a page!

Large Bag ‘O Lemons/5 lbs.

Costco Lemons

Costco Lemons

I LOVE lemons. Not only do they sneak into many of my recipes but I’m in the habit of making Duane and I a lemon elixir every morning. We split a squeezed lemon and a squeezed orange with a little water. It’s a shot of toxic-clearing liver-cleansing goodness. (This morning drink was recommended by Mom, but, added to that, I remember long ago when I was doing a residency at the MacDowell Colony, a long-time-resident writer there would drink a cup of hot water with lemon every morning. She was about 95 years old.) Costco lemons are beautiful and sometimes as large as the ones I found in Amalfi! Here’s something fun to do with lemons inspired by the Amalfi Coast: Click Here for TV Demo SegmentClick Here for Recipe

Columbian Coffee… 3 lbs

Costco Columbian Coffee

Costco Columbian Coffee

Okay. My mom’s advice again. She insists Columbian coffee tastes the best and loves this coffee. I don’t drink coffee (except espresso), but Duane drinks coffee every morning. He’s not fussy about what kind but likes this one just fine (it certainly smells heavenly). The price for the quality is excellent.

Citterio Italian Rosemary Ham… 2 – 1/2 lb. packs

Citterio Rosemary Ham

Citterio Rosemary Ham

Imported from Italy. This ham has a slight hint of rosemary giving it an exotic irresistible spin. Comes in a 2-pack. I cut them apart and freeze one for later.

Already Peeled (except for tail) Raw Shrimp…2 lbs.

Kirkland Shrimp

Kirkland Shrimp

Kirkland brand, 31-40 to a pound. So easy to defrost in 1/2 hour (put in a bowl and run cold water on top, then let sit in cold water until soft). I love shrimp (okay, who doesn’t?). Here’s a fav shrimp recipe: Spaghetti w Shrimp

Grated Parmesan Cheese…3 lbs.

Cello Grated Cheese

Cello Grated Cheese

Yes, I know. Grating your own parmigiano or grana padana is IDEAL. But I go through a lot of cheese in my classes. Not only is grating yourself time-consuming, parmigiano is EXPENSIVE. I found this Cello brand grated domestic parmesan to be a superior quality and it complements so many of my recipes. It’s reliable and affordable. (Put some in a container in your refrigerator, freeze the rest until you need more.)

Campari Tomatoes…2 lbs.

Campari Tomatoes

Campari Tomatoes

The size of these tomatoes is seductively charming. I can’t resist. They have a lovely taste and adapt to cooking or salads or pairing with mozzarella. And their name is Campari (my favorite drink). I love these for making Fish in Crazy Water (Acqua Pazza), which is a tasty, easy way to make fish: Acqua Pazza Recipe

Kirkland Unsalted Butter…4  1 lb. boxes

Kirkland Unsalted Butter

Kirkland Unsalted Butter

Butter? Oh, yes. I often have pastry-based desserts on my class menus: tarts, pies, galettes, and savory pies, too. I use a lot of butter. 1 lb. goes in the fridge, the rest in the freezer until needed. This brand has a great taste and works well in recipes.

Eggland’s Eggs…18 eggs

Eggland's Eggs

Eggland’s Eggs

You can certainly get Eggland’s eggs in any supermarket but this dozen and a half pack is a good price. I like these eggs. They make me happy. Got eggs? Why not make a frittata? Frittata Recipe

Stay tuned for What I Buy at Costco Part Two. In the meantime let me know if you try any of these products and how they turn out. I’m not sponsored by them or anything. Just a shopper, eater, teacher, appreciator!

When Meat Loafs. (A recipe.)

Meat Loaf

Meat Loaf

So is it only Italians who put mashed potatoes in their meat loaf? (Let me know.)

I put mashed potatoes in my meat loaf because my mother puts mashed potatoes in her meatloaf and she does it because her mother-in-law (actually it was my dad’s stepmom and she was from Sicily) put mashed potatoes in her meatloaf and so that’s how my dad liked it and so that’s how my mother made it. (Mashed potatoes gives your meatloaf a nice, tender-soft consistency.)

potato and onion about to be in maetloaf

potato and onion about to be in meatloaf

I also put in onion, but dice it and cook it till soft in a little water first (got that habit years ago from David Rosengarten’s Dean & DeLuca Cookbook meatloaf recipe). Then drain the onion and add to the mixture.

All my other ingredients are favs and/or what happens to be hanging around the refrigerator and looks like a good meatloaf addition. (In today’s case: gorgonzola cheese, parsley, and hoisin sauce. Hoisin is good in any ground meat shape including meatballs and hamburgers, think: Chinese-spare-ribs-flavor.)

today's meatloaf ingredients

today’s meatloaf ingredients

I love deep flavor condiments like hoisin. I also added Dijon mustard and sriracha.

some choice condiments for meatloaf

some choice condiments for meatloaf

I’m sure you’ve got some goodies to add, too. (Worcestershire sauce, ghost pepper sauce, ketchup, BBQ sauce, horseradish, brown sugar, balsamic vinegar, and ____????) Go on. Load it in. The meat’s loafing, not you.

meatloaf mixture

meatloaf mixture

Meatloaf (my style) (for today anyway)

1 baking potato, peeled and cut into small pieces

1 small onion, peeled & diced

1.5 lbs. ground beef

1 egg

1 bunch parsley, minced

1/2 cup crumbled gorgonzola

2-3 tablespoons, Dijon mustard

2-3 tablespoons hoisin sauce

1-2 tablespoons sriracha sauce

salt & pepper to taste

3-4 strips pancetta

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In a medium saute pan heat about an inch of water. Add the diced onion and cook until softened. About 3-4 minutes. Drain and let cool. Put the cut up potato in a medium saucepan and cover with water. Cook till potato is soft, about 7-8 minutes. Mash potato, let cool.

In a large mixing bowl, break up the chopped meat. Add the egg, parsley, gorgonzola, condiments, cooled mashed potato & onion. Mix well. Season with salt & pepper. On a foil-lined sheet pan, shape the meat into a “loaf.” Drape strips of pancetta on top. Bake in oven until deep brown and pancetta is crisped, about 45 minutes.

Then eat it. (Any leftovers? Meatloaf is even better the next day.)

meatloaf, half-eaten

meatloaf, half-eaten, with stainless cake knife (why not?)

45-Minute Minestrone Soup Recipe

Minestrone Soup

Minestrone Soup

45-minutes. Hearty homemade soup.

I LOVE soup. I love hot tea. I love hot espresso (w milk and sugar–call it a cortado). I love drinking straight broth. And green, earthy vegetable cooking liquid just after the cooking is finished.

There is something restorative about soup. It makes you feel human again. It’s relaxing. It literally warms you up inside. (Well, if not physiologically, then certainly experientially). Spooning hot soup into your mouth makes you feel like you’re finally doing something right.

This morning I wanted a good homemade soup. But I only had 45-minutes. And I knew this would work in that amount of time. I was excited to prepare and cook it. And then, of course, eat it. (Best part.)

I started with carrots, an onion, and celery. Dicing, slicing, and mincing…

carrots, celery, onion

carrots, celery, onion

Then sautéing in a little olive oil…

sauteing

sauteing

When the vegetables get a little softened (about 3-5 minutes), I add some broth, either boxed or canned or homemade (about 2-3 cups), and a 15-oz can of petite-diced tomatoes OR dice some fresh tomatoes and add with their juices.

diced tomato

diced tomato

When that comes to a simmer add about 1/3 cup of small cut pasta like pastina, ditalini, orzo, acini di pepe, or small farfalle.

Pasta shapes

Pasta shapes

Let soup return to a simmer and add a 15-oz can of cannellini beans…

cannellini beans

cannellini beans

I happened to have some turnip greens, too. (This s the kind of soup that loves whatever vegetables you’ve got.) I love turnip greens and loved the opportunity to get greens into the soup and zingy ones at that (no timid spinach here).

turnip greens

turnip greens

I cut the leaves into bite-sized pieces and stirred them in.

simmering minestrone soup

simmering minestrone soup

Season with salt & pepper and cook for 10 minutes or more. Serve with a little grated cheese.

Quick Minestrone Soup

Quick Minestrone Soup

Molto buono! 🙂

 

Lentils are Coins: Let’s Eat a Million

chefpaulette's avatarChef Paulette

Close up of Lentils Lentils

When I lived in Rome my Roman roommate (and soul sister), Enrica, made lentils for lunch one day. In Italy you can get lentils in a can, pre-cooked, like you buy baked beans here. They’re called lenticche in Italian. Enrica emptied the can into a small saucepan and heated the lentils. Then in a small saute pan she heated a little olive oil, added a garlic clove, and cut a few slices of bread into small triangles and fried them to crispy. We each sat down to a bowl of hot lentils topped with crispy garlic croutons. It was, actually, heaven in a bowl.

Lentils are adorable. Have you ever really looked them over? What a sublime invention of nature. So it’s no surprise to me that they represent the possibility of good fortune and prosperity. That they are the go-to traditional meal of New Year’s Eve in Italy. That…

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Fav Nashville Eats: Christmas in Chinatown

Good Fortune

Good Fortune

I always wanted to do it. Go out to a Chinese restaurant for Christmas dinner.

You know, there’s always the standard, traditional, you-gotta-do-it Christmas dinner. Turkey. Goose. Roast Beef. All great stuff. But sneaking off to a Chinese restaurant instead …makes you kinda giggly.

For the 2nd year in a row my mom, sister (Nina), Duane, and I have done just that. The first year we didn’t know where to go and just followed the local online suggestions. We went to Chinatown in Green Hills. LOVED IT. We’ve been back several times throughout the year. The hostesses & the waitresses know us now. And we have our favorite waitress, too, but love them all. Everyone who works at Chinatown is especially friendly and all of them smile so very easily.

So this Christmas we knew exactly where to go. We also heard that reservations might be a good idea altho we never made them before. But we did this time and it seemed to work a little magic for us in the overly stuffed entryway crowded with guests trying to get in, picking up a take-out order, or just making an attempt to get to the desk to check in for their reservation. This is a very ambitious group and you have to be sure to bring your patience when arriving at Chinatown on Christmas day.

Crowd waiting for tables

Crowd waiting for tables

We got to our table and our favorite waitress ran over, obviously in a frenzy (but with an enjoying-it smile), already apologizing for delays. But she got our hot Chinese tea, beers, crispy noodles & dipping sauce, and scallion pancake out right away.

Noodles & Dipping Sauce

Noodles & Dipping Sauce

I love Chinese oolong tea.

I love Chinese oolong tea.

Then we ordered our Chinatown favorites (read: best things on the menu according to us): Mongolian Beef

Mongolian Beef at Chinatown

Mongolian Beef at Chinatown

Shrimp w Black Bean Sauce

Shrimp w Black Bean Sauce at Chinatown

Shrimp w Black Bean Sauce at Chinatown

(We passed on our other fav: Pineapple Shrimp in favor for:)

Shrimp Lo Mein

Moo Shu Vegetables (you know, the one with the pancakes)

Nina likes it.

Nina likes it.

Let me divert here for a minute…my family LOVES Chinese food the way we knew it & tasted it made by Chinese people in New York restaurants. They called it Cantonese, but I’m not sure if that is indeed what they cooked in Canton (egg foo young, shrimp in lobster sauce, pepper steak, wonton soup, fried rice, lo mein, chicken chow mein, spare ribs, shrimp toast). Still, that was Chinese food to us.

Fortune Cookies at Chinatown are from Brooklyn, NY

Fortune Cookies at Chinatown are from Brooklyn, NY

Nashville’s Chinatown delivers some of this nostalgic taste plus their spin on classics, and many of their own signature dishes. They take it all many steps higher. WOW.  i.e. the Pineapple Shrimp. You have to try this. Little squares of pineapple (like those little math block squares) and chunky shrimp dusted with a mystery coating and fried or sautéed (hard to tell which). It’s a surprise with every morsel. WHAT IS THAT FLAVOR? I think it’s heaven.

Just Give Me A Shrimp And I'm Happy.

Just Give Me A Shrimp And I’m Happy.

At this restaurant, you don’t have 5 entrees on the table all basically tasting like soy sauce. Every time you try a new dish you’re sampling a whole new flavor.

We liked it.

We liked it.

It’s a year-round regular stop (for dinner or lunch). It does not disappoint. And if you go next Christmas, make a reservation. I’ll see you there for sure.

Profound.

Profound.

Heavy.

Heavy.

[If you’ve got a minute (well, actually 4.5) I’m betting you’ll love this little film. It’s about eavesdropping at a restaurant– but it kinda connects.] CLICK: Table 7

Christmas Eve

My mom. "Auntie," & Aunt Nettie

My mom. “Auntie,” & Aunt Nettie

Since forever and forever (my forever ago) Christmas Eve has been the most standout holiday of the year. It sparkled brighter than Christmas. It had more traditions and excitement. And the best food all year was Christmas Eve dinner.

Seafood. Fish. As many as you could fit in the kitchen. My mom held reins on Christmas Eve dinner for years. Everyone came to our house. No one would have it any other way. Because it was the best. I remember spaghetti with spicy tomato scungilli sauce. Or calamari sauce. Seafood salad with lobster, crab, squid, and shrimp. Huge Shrimp Scampi (that came in 5-lb boxes from the fish store at the dock in Bay Shore, LI). Sometimes we’d get fried calamari as take-out from our favorite restaurant to add to the fun.

My mom’s gonna sit back on this one this year. I’m making the attempt. It’ll be clams oreganata, steamed mussels with cannellini beans and bacon. Crabmeat cannelloni. Cod with parmigiano crumbs. Shrimp Scampi. Okay it’s not 7 of the traditional Seven Fishes, but…enough. Yet bigger than the menu: this dinner is intricately entwined with love. Somehow, this meal, captures who we all are.

My mom in center, with her parents, my aunt lily at left, and we can't remember who the baby is

My mom in center, with her parents, my aunt lily at left, and we can’t remember who the baby is

I can feel it, you know. I can feel the history in my genes. In my blood. In my heart and soul. I “get it.” I get where I came from. Brooklyn. New York. And Italy. I look at photos from the days even before I was born. At my family. At my parents. At my relatives. All contributed to who I am.

My Dad with his father from Sicily, his stepmother from Sicily, and his sister Vera

My Dad with his father from Sicily, his stepmother from Sicily, and his sister Vera

They are all in there. Making me familiar to myself because I know them.

This holiday reconnects me every time. As the days and hours get closer to 12/24 I can feel the air, the world, the atmosphere get fuller. Start to envelope me in all that I came from, all of these people who made me. Their love, warmth, spirit, and lasting charm are with me the strongest now.

At "Auntie's" with the family. Me & cousin Steven in foreground raising hell

At “Auntie’s” with the family. Me & cousin Steven in foreground raising hell

Savory Spare Ribs from Brooklyn

West 11th Street, Brooklyn

West 11th Street, Brooklyn

Now I’m getting a little silly with Google maps and their wild way of getting you an image of a particular building. Snapshots from my past appear with a few key strokes (plus my solid memory of addresses!).

The building in the photo above is the first house I ever lived in. It’s on West 11th Street in the Bensonhurst neighborhood of Brooklyn. Those two windows on the first floor were my bedroom. It was a railroad apartment…each room right next to the other in a long line. My bedroom, led into my parents’ bedroom, led into the living room/dining room, led into the kitchen and then continued down a long hallway to the bathroom.

My Aunt Mary and Uncle John lived upstairs. They weren’t really my aunt and uncle but that’s how I knew them.  They were friends of my parents — I assume they met because they lived upstairs. But my Aunt Mary became a mentor to my mom (who was a new bride, a new mom) and showed her recipes, gave her tips, and was, in general, there for her.

Mary and John were Sicilian. So the recipes followed suit, but they were also somehow influenced by this New World, this New York, this Brooklyn. Every recipe of Aunt Mary’s is wonderful. And each has lived within my family for years and years and are still reliable favorites.

Here’s her spin on spare ribs or baby back ribs. We made these recently in a cooking class with a menu of  Aunt Mary recipes!

Ribs-Aunt Mary Style

Ribs-Aunt Mary Style

Braised Pork Ribs w Mustard & Brown Sugar

1 rack of baby back ribs or spare ribs, cut into 2-3 bone pieces

3 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup vinegar, divided

2-3 bay leaves

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed

2-3 teaspoons mustard

salt & pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degree F.

Season ribs with salt  & pepper. Heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan. Brown ribs until golden on each side. Mix a couple of cups of water with half the vinegar. Pour over ribs and add bay leaves and some hot pepper. Let simmer partially covered for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile mix together the remaining brown sugar and vinegar with the garlic and mustard (add a bit more of any of these ingredients if you lean that way). Season with salt & pepper. Lift out ribs from the cooking liquid and transfer to a foil-lined sheet pan. Coat ribs with the sauce. Cover loosely with foil and bake in oven for 20-30 minutes until tender. Cut ribs into single pieces, pour any remaining sauce over them and serve.

Ribs-Aunt Mary Style

Ribs-Aunt Mary Style

Deceptively AMAZING!

Here’s my class who are now Aunt Mary Recipe experts (and enjoying all)! We also made Aunt Mary’s Baked Rice w Mushrooms & Celery, and Vanilla Cupcakes w Chocolate-Espresso Icing.

Cooking Class for Aunt Mary Recipes

Cooking Class for Aunt Mary Recipes

Where My Spaghetti Frittata Came From

My Apartment Building in Trastevere

My Apartment Building in Trastevere

I just entered the address I lived at in Rome and got a street-view image from Google. That is so wacky!

I lived there many years ago with a Roman woman named Enrica (at first she was Grazia, but then changed her name to Enrica). She became like a sister to me. Enrica grew up in Rome then moved out of her parents’ house when she was 17 to live on her own. In those days (and maybe even these days) nobody did that. You leave your parents’ home when you get married. Even her brother who got divorced moved back in with his parents.

Enrica’s parents disowned her because of that independent move. But they eventually re-owned her. She was a suffering free spirit if you can imagine that. But we knew how to giggle together all night long.

We’d go on walks at midnight through Trastevere’s small streets. She’d know friends to visit at that hour and we’d enter homes with full, but quiet, parties in deep conversation, music playing, cigarettes smoking, giggling.

Enrica wasn’t an avid cook, but there are a few dishes she made without thinking that really stuck with me. Spaghetti Frittata is one of them.

Spaghetti Frittata

Spaghetti Frittata

At first I couldn’t imagine that it could be any good. But one day she mixed up a couple of eggs with last night’s spaghetti (sauce and all), put it in a frying pan with olive oil and suddenly it turned into a round perfect “cake”…and the taste: oh, yeah…nothing crazy about this idea. Try it!!

Spaghetti Frittata

4-5 large eggs

about 2 cups leftover spaghetti, already sauced (any sauce)

¼ cup grated cheese (pecorino or parmigiano)

salt & pepper

4 tablespoons olive oil

Preheat oven broiler.

Lightly beat the eggs in a medium mixing bowl. Add spaghetti and cheese. Season with salt & pepper. Mix well.

Use a medium-sized skillet with a metal handle. Heat oil in skillet over medium high heat until hot. Add the egg mixture and spread out to evenly cover skillet. Lower heat to medium and let cook until the bottom is set. Place skillet in oven under broiler for about 4 minutes until golden.

IMPORTANT: remember to use a potholder when taking out the skillet…it’s easy to forget you have an oven-hot skillet and just grab the handle as if it was on the stove. After skillet is out of oven, leave pot holder on handle as a reminder.

Loosen frittata with a spatula and slide onto a dinner-sized plate. Cut in wedges like a pizza. Serve warm or at room temperature.

See what I mean?

Here’s earlier me in always-earlier-than-most-cities (by 2000 years) Rome:

with some nuns at the Trevi Fountain

with some nuns at the Trevi Fountain

donning my disguise in front of a garlic truck

donning my disguise in front of a garlic truck

Fav Nashville Eats: Wendell Smith’s

Wendell Smith's

Wendell Smith’s

If a place has some character, serves good food (read: GOOD food…not necessarily complicated food, but GOOD), and the prices are reasonable…it gets my attention. Sure I love to sample what chefs create, but if I’m not in a sampling mood and just want something comfy and consistent and in an atmosphere where I relax easily…then I go to the ole reliables.

I lived in NYC for many years and one of my all-time favorite reliables was the local diner. Any one of them!

Malibu Diner in NYC

Malibu Diner in NYC

NY diners are usually run by Greeks with a menu that includes some Greek specialties, but the big draw for me was the all-day/all-night breakfast. Sure they had classic sandwiches, big burgers, a zillion salads, sometimes even lobster tails, steak, plus a lit-up carousel filled with mile-high cakes and pies (these I never ordered) (too much sweet for my timid sweet tooth). Gimme the eggs; I want the home fries.

Here in Nashville, diners aren’t on every other corner like they (used to be) in NYC (even there, they’re disappearing). But I’ve happily connected to 3 restaurants that do the diner thing and THEN SOME.

Today I’ll just start with one. Wendell Smith’s. To say I’ve discovered Wendell Smith’s just goes to show you what a Nashville greenhorn I am. When you walk into Wendell Smith’s for the first time you realize everyone in there has been going for YEARS. That maiden visit I almost felt like an intruder. But they greet you friendly enough. And now Wendell’s tickles me every time I walk in their door.

From what I understand the restaurant started in the 1950’s. The place still looks like the 1950’s including some wear and tear from the passage of decades. But that’s all added charm.

Wendell's menus

Wendell’s menus

It used to have a drive-up window that they closed in to add more tables. A friend’s mom and dad met at that drive-up window years ago!

Wendell’s is not necessarily known for its breakfast food. It’s a meat and 3 with a changing daily menu. Their permanent menu has the eggs and omelets, burgers, and sandwiches, and things like tuna-stuffed tomato.

Wendell's cheeseburger

Wendell’s bacon cheeseburger

But I’ve got my favorite breakfast dish and order it almost every time: 2 eggs, scrambled soft, home fries, and sliced tomatoes. (Okay, occasionally I get the cheese omelet.)

Wendell's eggs, tomatoes, home fries

Wendell’s eggs, tomatoes, home fries

Wendell’s is big on tomatoes. They ALWAYS  have big, ripe fresh tomatoes on hand. And they sell them by the pound, too.

Local tomatoes by the pound

Local tomatoes by the pound at Wendell’s

On some days they have Polish Sausage on the meat and 3 menu. Duane will always order that. And if their yumfest fried chicken is on the menu I’ll skip my breakfast for that. I also LOVE their turnip greens.

Meat & 2

Meat & 2

Meat & 3 Menu

Meat & 3 Menu

The place gets packed at lunch (when I seem to usually have breakfast) but each time we go there’s a booth available.

Wendell's at lunchtime

Wendell’s at lunchtime

ADDED BONUS: Wendell’s waitresses are the best in town. Serious career waitresses. They already know what we’re gonna order. And we love that feeling of being regulars.

Wendell Smith’s is true Nashville.

Wendell's is Open

Wendell’s is Open

Wendell's

Wendell’s