Ian's Pizza

Milwaukee,

From "Late Night Paradise"

2035 E North Ave, Milwaukee, WI 53202

What they say: "Mac N' Cheese Pizza (20-inch dough topped with local mozzarella, boiled elbow macaroni noodles, and homemadecrème fraiche, along with shredded Wisconsin cheddar cheese); Barbecue Brisket & Tater Tots Pizza (topped with local mozzarella, disk-shaped tater tots, and 18-hour smoked beef brisket, drizzled with homemade barbecue sauce)"


Take a moment and think about this answer. What does the perfect pizza look like to you? What would be on it? No two people may have the same answer, nor should they, thats the beauty of food and the beauty of places like Ian's pizza. Pizza comes in many shapes, styles and sizes. Square, round, deep, thin, red sauce, white sauce, clams, veggies, cheese in the crust, hot dog in the crust. But Ian's pizza pushes what the "expectation" of how pizza is supposed to look and taste. to the maximum deliciosuness. Mac n Cheese, steak and fries, kung pao chicken, the options are endless and unexpected. Take a moment now and think about what the perfect pizza would look like to you. Thanks to Ian's, the possibilities and options destroy the barrier of what we know to be "traditional" with pizza making and open up a whole new universe of options.

What would your perfect pizza look and taste like?  It may be Ian's next great concoction.

The Best Restaurant in Nashville and Thus the Best Southern Food (aka Meat and Three) in Nashville

ARNOLDS

605 8th Ave S, Nashville, TN 37203

"Here's the deal Arnolds is the best there is. Plain and simple. The open in the morning and  piss excellence."-Ricky Bobby

When it comes to culinary experiences, Nashville is quickly becoming a cannot miss stop for gastronomic greatness.  In a city of James Beard award winners and new talent from NYC, LA, and Chicago coming to get in on the boom known as Nashville.  In a city of foams, amuse bouches, and pre-fixe menus, one restaurant stands alone as the best in Nashville, and it is a cafeteria near downtown with no windows, long tables, and even longer lines...and its only open for lunch,. Arnold's Country Kitchen is the best southern food in Nashville and the best restaurant in the city according to me and many nationally acclaimed magazines.

In Nashville, we do whats called the meat and three. I will let Wikipedia explain without paying the $3 donation.

"A meat and three restaurant is a restaurant in which the customer picks one meat from a daily selection of 3–6 choices (such as fried chicken, country ham, beef, country-fried steak, meatloaf, or pork chop and three side dishes from a list that may include up to a dozen other options (usually vegetables, potatoes, corn, green or lima beans,but also other selections such as gelatin, creamed corn, macaroni and cheese, and spaghetti).

A meat-and-three meal is often served with cornbread and sweet tea.[Meat and three is popular throughout the country, but its roots can be traced to Tennessee and its capital of Nashville.The phrase has been described as implying "glorious vittles served with utmost informality." It is also associated with soul food.[3]

The article goes on to say: 

Meat and three has been mentioned in connection with the increasing incidence of diabetes in the Southern population, with one expert saying:

"There's a real misconception in the South about what constitutes a healthy diet. People aren't lining up at the salad bar during lunch hour; they're opting for the 'meat and three and sweet tea' at the corner cafeteria. And that's not good; those cafeteria vegetables aren't really healthy when they're cooked with half a ham hock and butter.

Sounds like a gastronomic journey of greatness to me!

Mary Mac's Tea Room

Atlanta

224 Ponce De Leon Ave NE, Atlanta, GA 30308

From Soul Food Paradise

What they say: "Georgia Peach Cobbler" (fresh peaches smothered in homemade brown sugar, nutmeg & cinnamon cobbler sauce topped with a candied crust served a la mode), "Southern Special" (3 entrees including meatloaf, chicken & dumplings, roast pork, country fried steak, roasted turkey, and baked or fried chicken and 3 sides including fried green tomatoes, sweet potato soufflé and tomato pie)

Listen, the short and long of it is, I am a Southern boy by birth, by heart, by soul, and by belly. American (food) by choice, Southern (food) by the grace of g-d. You can take the boy out of the South, but you cant take the South out of the boy. However, you can take the southern food out of the boy by taking the boy out of the south.

I appreciate southern soul food, and love when it is done right.

Southern food is at its best when it is made at its core, its name sake, in the south. You wouldn't get waffles at pancake pantry or pancakes at waffle house, so why would you get Southern food not in the South.

Mary Mac's Tea Room is the perfect evidence of why Southern food excels to perfection when it is served below the Mason-Dixon line. Some of the finest soul food around. Everything is battered, fried, sugared, and creamed. Sweet tea. And it is all done so to greatness. Mary Mac's Tearoom is the epitome of Southern Soul food and a landmark and epicenter as well. Where recipes have been passed down from generation to generation. Where recipes don't come with measurements, but with a "dash", "pinch", "splash", or "dip".

Come on down to Mary Mac's Tea Room you hear!

Au Cheval

From the Best Burger In America

800 W Randolph St, Chicago, IL 60607

Ever since Kuma's Corner (http://shilshuldiaries.blogspot.com/2013/06/kumas-corner.html) people have told me one thing.  "Yah, Kuma's is good, but have you tried Au Cheval.  It's the best"

Challenge accepted.

Here is what I knew about Au Cheval, it is on Randolph which has become the hub of new culinary excellence in Chicago (see Girl and the Goat http://shilshuldiaries.blogspot.com/2015/01/girl-and-goat.html).  It seated only like 40 people.  There would be a long wait. It was a new age diner aka fresh organic ingredients done in masterful ways re-inventing old classics like burgers, omlettes, nachos, and grilled cheese. And there was this burger.  A single is a double.  A double is a triple.  You must get the THICK cut bacon and the fried egg on top.  After all, Au Cheval literally means "on horseback" but in France, if a food on a menu is described with that phrase, it means "a fried egg on top."

And…..well….David Rosengarten of the Huff Post puts it best:

"My mind was simply blown by Au Cheval.

I daresay this is not only my favorite informal restaurant in America... this may well be my favorite restaurant of any kind in America today! I'm there! And so are thousands of others...

Most of them, in fact, are lined up at the door exactly when you want to eat. This is decidedly not a three-star restaurant, with a three-month maneuver to get in. No reservations. As I was putting my name on a list at the front of the house (which can lead to as much as a 2/12 hour wait), I was told that if the owner himself wanted a table he'd have to go through the same waiting list."

Au Cheval was spectacular on every level.  I went with my brother in law and my sister in law and waited in line for an hour.  We sat at the bar and watched as the masters of this masterful diner worked their masterful magic in the open kitchen.  A wise man once told me that an open kitchen means they are proud of their work and have nothing to hide and is the sign of a phenomenal eating experience.  Why do you think the kitchen at Applebees is behind a granite slab wall. Why do you think Waffle House has an open kitchen.  Excellence in the culinary pantheon. I rest my case.  You just got lawyered like it is 1:57pm on WGN by Perry Mason.

 We got the toasted blueberry muffin with hand whipped butter and jam and it was sublime and fries that were so perfectly overly seasoned that they would stand alone in perfection

But I was here for one thing and one thing only. The burger.  Like Holman Finch (http://shilshuldiaries.blogspot.com/2015/02/holeman-finch-public-house.html), the burger stands lone on the menu.  They make them by the hundreds.  It is meat, cheese, pickles, and onion.  It is made to perfection and tastes of perfection. The meat is cooked so perfectly and tastes of hevaen.  The cheese is gooey and melts you soul.  The condiment and sauces accompany perfectly but dont overwhelm.  The bun holds up the test of time.  The bacon is the burger's best friend.  The egg is the burger's best man.  They all go together in perfection.  This burger accomplishes what only a handful have.  The Au Cheval Double (REALLY A TRIPLE) Cheeseburger meets all five standards of the perfect burger.  (http://shilshuldiaries.blogspot.com/2015/05/the-burger-checklist.html). The meat, the cheese, the condiments, the sauce, the bun.  Perfect.

This is the best burger in Chicago and in the top 3 of my life..until I got text from my buddy Adam. "DMK is better".

CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!!

Muir Woods Trading Company

From Best Thing I Ever Ate

1 Muir Woods Rd, Mill Valley, CA 94941

Let me begin by saying something that is blasphemous, that is atrocious, that is offensive, and un-patriotic.

I do not like grilled cheese.

DO NOT HATE ME!!!

I despise, loathe, hate the taste, texture, and idea of congealed cheese.  Cheese that is melted and then has been left to room temperature to be cold. GROSS Unless cheese is in its original form cold or so hot that it melts RIGHT as it is served, it's not for me.

Grilled cheese is the epitome of congealed cheese.  Melted cheese that has now set.  It's like the lava flows in Hawaii.  Rock hard fragments of what was once liquid hot queso…I mean magma.

Muir Woods Trading Company is located at the entrance to Muir Woods, a majestic and wonderful national park just outside San Francisco home of magnificent red woods.  A must see.

The trading company is the cafe and the park shop, but it holds a much better secret.

This pace is supposed to have the best grilled cheese and tomato soup, so I said no to hate and gave it a try.  My wife is a grilled cheese afficinando, so this was a must try.

When we told people we were going, they asked "did you try the grilled cheese?"

The ingredients are simple and fresh.  Locally sourced bread, cheese, and veggies. My cousin Danny who was the basis of this blog said "It's shocking.  This is the best cafeteria food in the national park system and it's not that difficult.  It's mind-blowing that no one else has followed suit"

The grilled cheese, known as the Marin Melt, is outstanding.  Hot off the grill.  Melts perfectly (key for me).  Three distinct cheeses that on their own are outstanding, but together match in perfect harmony. Thick cut multigrain bread toasted to perfection.  Tomato soup that warms the soul both with temperature and spice and is the best I have ever had.  Perfect for a cool, damp day, which is common for the area.

You must visit Muir Woods for the grilled cheese and tomato soup…and while you are there take in some of the most incredible scenery in the world.  

Martin's BBQ

From Diner's, Drive-In, and Dives and Best BBQ in America

3108 Belmont Blvd, Nashville, TN 37212

The tag line says it all "Not ideal for vegan Bat Mitzvahs"

I grew up in Nashville before it was NASHVILLE! The Nashville I grew up in wasn't the place that make people giddy and excited.  It wasnt the bachelorette party capital of the world.  It wasn't a foodie paradise.  It was just Nashville.  It was the "you wear shoes" comment Nashville. 

Long before the James Beard award winning chefs and hipster craft beer and burgers and ice cream. Long before areas now considered trendy were visions of Green Acres or the Wire.  There was my Nashville.

The Nashville I grew up in had mediocre BBQ at best.  I would get my BBQ fix when we would make our monthly trip to Memphis to see family.  "Why can't we have (insert a Memphis BBQ institution) in Nashville".

Well, now we do.  The influx of people and culture has also brought an influx of Southern pride and tradition and an obsession with sharing it with the masses.

Thanks to this new wave of popularity, Nashville has had to step up its BBQ game in a big way to keep up with the trends.  The hot chicken, the music, and the BBQ.

Nashville was ranked the "best BBQ city in America" recently.  It wasn't awarded to Nashville because of the BBQ they had, they got the award because of the BBQ they got.  Nashville has become a hub for all things food related.  People brought the best of their talents, skill, and knowledge to Nashville and have set up shop.  

Martin's BBQ is a perfect example and metaphor of what has made Nashville great and unique.

This place is all about the classic southern BBQ experience.  They borrow and perfect methods and sauces from all the regions. Tangy and spicy from Memphis.  Tangy and sweet from Texas.  Mustard base from South Carolina.  Vinegar based from North Carolina.  White sauce from Alabama.  Whatever it is KC does.  They have it all under on roof and they do it right.

The pulled pork is amazing.  The ribs are wonderful.  The sides are phenomenal.  The sweet tea is delicious.  This is exactly what you want from a BBQ restaurant and experience.  This place is amazing, wonderful, phenomenal, and delicious.

Thanks to Martin's, Edleys, Jack's, and the best BBQ in town in my opinion, Peg Leg Porker, Nashville's claim to the best BBQ city in America is not only well deserved but is justified.

PS- The Devil's Nectar sauce is the hottest BBQ sauce I have ever had in my life. 

THE BURGER CHECKLIST

THE KEY TO A GREAT BURGER FALLS IN THE "ALBERT MARKS PEFECT BURGER CHECKLIST"

A BURGER MUST HAVE 5 CRUCIAL, VITAL, IMPERATIVE CHECKPOINTS THAT MAKE IT TRULY GREAT, OUTSTANDING, EPIC, MINDBLOWING, AND PHENOMENAL.

1.  THE MEAT:  THE BURGER MUST BE PERFECTLY PREPPED, SEASONED, COOKED, AND SERVED HOT!

2. THE CHEESE: MUST BE MELTED, NOT THROWN ON TOP AT THE LAST MOMENT.

3. THE TOPPINGS: MUST COMPLIMENT AND ENHANCE THE BURGER EXPERIENCE, NOT OVERWHELM OR LEAVE ANYTHING TO BE DESIRED

4. THE SAUCES: MUST COMPLIMENT AND ENHANCE THE BURGER EXPERIENCE, NOT OVERWHELM OR LEAVE ANYTHING TO BE DESIRED

5. THE BUN: MUST SUPPORT, COMPLIMENT, AND ENHANCE THE BURGER EXPERIENCE.  IT CANNOT FALL APART OR LOSE ITS INTEGRITY AND FOUNDATION BECAUSE OF THE CONTENTS IT HOLDS INSIDE. IT ALSO CANNOT BE SWEET.  NO HAWAIIAN BUNS!  THE ONLY HAWAIIAN BUNS I APPRECIATE ARE MARCUS MARIOTA'S!