Okay, as promised, I have witnessed (again with the help of a DVR) the Chattanooga instalment of $40 a Day. And despite the train wreck of the Nashville show, it wasn’t bad. She breakfasted at Aretha Frankenstein’s which burned after the filming. (You can see pics of the gutted remains at the link). She lunched at the Back Inn Cafe, though she technically only had an app as her meal. According to the Rachel Ray Drinking Game rules that qualifies as an excuse to drink. She did under tip pretty much everywhere. She dined at the Choo Choo for dinner which seems like a cheesy choice given the plethora of truly fabulous restaurants that have sprouted up down there. She went back to the Bluff View Arts District for her snack, chocolates at Rembrandt’s Coffee House where Yours Truly worked before Julian was born.
I was happy to see that the Bluff View Arts District got so much coverage, but she didn’t do a very good job of explaining that the Porteras built up that area and that Rembrandt’s and Back Inn Cafe are both rightthere on the hill. Oh, well. That can be chalked up to my rather insider knowledge on that point compared to Ms. Ray. Now if Rachel goes to Knoxville, Tennessee; Bellingham, Washington and Ljubljana, Slovenia I can bitch about her treatment of all the places I have lived. Keifel and I already skewered her Tasty Travels in Trinidad.
Really, despite my bitching about her dinner choice and chirpiness, the show made me homesick. I love Chattanooga. Yes, it’s a little small and can be positively incestuous as far as everyone knowing you and your business, but that’s not entirely a bad thing. You do have to not go to the grocery looking like hell which I often get away with unscathed here in the sprawling Metropolis (snort, giggle) of Nashville.
On a completely off topic note: My only Nashville source for Waitrose Food Illustrated sold out of the August issue before I could get my greedy little hands on it and as I am positively geeky about the magazine (just shy of buying comic book sleeves to protect them), I am pouty that I have missed an issue. If anyone has a spare or isn’t attached to them in the fanatic, I would love to get one. I’ll pay postage. Leave a comment or email me victoria at foodieporn dot com. Thank you in advance for feeding the habit.
