Anthony and crew!
Wow, where to begin. I’m a technologist living near Nashville, Tennessee, the object of my food lust. Sure, Nashville sounds like typical American middle of the road type stuff, but I think I can sell you and your team on the possibility that there’s something here, just under the surface, that’s more than worth checking out. I’m a local, sure, but a local with an eclectic history – didn’t graduate high school, grew up in the restaurant industry (Mom has a bed & breakfast near the slopes in WV), kicked out of college, then on the road in a rock band for 10 years or so, opened for a lot of national acts, toured all over the country (46 states and all over the Caribbean), and now back to Nashville to found a technology company in 2003. Nashville is kind of the center for eclectic lifestyle in the US, as far as I can tell; don’t buy the hype – it’s not all country music – there are thriving punk and metal scenes here (check out http://jeanoroid.com/bands.html or http://www.myspace.com/nashvillemetal ), some great bars, and some really fantastic food! What I think sets Nashville apart is this: while it’s still a cultural melting pot like many of our other great cities (NY, SanFran, DC, etc – interestingly enough, the ones that also have the best food), the cultures here seem to all preserve their own geographic and culinary centers. We have concentrations of Vietnamese, where eateries on the periphery feature items like lemongrass chicken, and as you approach the epicenter, you can get beef tendon and tripe with a jellyfish salad. Korean? Bulgogi on the fringe, budae jjigae on towards the center (Stew made from cheap meats, sausages, whatever they could scrounge up during the ‘bad times’ – fabulous stuff). We have fabulous German food (and beer), complete with oompah band for your dining pleasure. Spanish? Fantastic Paella at Zola’s (as mentioned in Esquire and Wine Spectator). We have the Boundr’y, where you can select from hundreds of beers to pair with your Emu, or the lobster BLT pizza (a local favorite – made in a real pizza oven in the bar). Surprisingly, we even have pretty good sushi – there are enough music and film industry folks here to keep the demand high enough that the fish is fresh (just skip it on Mon-Tue. You know the drill.) I can’t promise that you’ll see a lot of chef’s and newly married brides in the alley behind any of these places (I loved your book, in case I didn’t mention it earlier), but I can promise you this: If you want to come round Nashville, and show the country that’s it’s not just about country music while checking out some of the most culturally authentic fare in the US, I and my pal Joey would love to lend a hand in any capacity. If you need some local arm candy to take you ‘round locally, I can deliver (it is television, after all). If you want a couple of guys who quite obviously are food fans to drag you round to all the best spots, my pal Joey and I are happy to oblige. Heck, I’ll even pay my own way – I bet you haven’t heard that one very often!

Peace!