Bakersfield Tacos, Nashville

Jackie's tacos (short rib and crispy fish) were very good

I had the waitress pick this Chicken Chorizo Tostada over tacos and she was right, it was excellent and very filling

Since it was Valentine's Day customers got a glass of champagne and chocolate dipped strawberries...the strawberries
were great, they had a drizzle of chipotle but the champagne, not so much.  I thought about my fabulous sister-in-law
Kara when I sipped what I believed to be Andre Extra Dry Champagne, yuck!! If they were going to serve sparkling
wine instead of real champagne, they should've at least served Cook's Grand Reserve, Kara and I figured that out
way back at our Christmas Party when we introduced champagne.  I think at this year's party we need to serve chocolate
dipped strawberries to take it up a notch.

The guy in the cowboy hat is Nestor Andress (not a typo).  He and his buddies were there passing out his new CD
and Hershey Kisses during lunch.  They were tying one on and one of his buddies asked that they play one of the
tracks from his CD that he released that day and they did and it was really good.  So when it was over, I clapped and he
came over and shook my hand, gave me a CD and the kiss.  Jackie and I listened to the CD on the way home and it
was really good.  I do think he should change his name tho.  You know, John Legend's real name is John Stephens.  

Dang blurry shot of Sheryl Crow with her band (and original guitarist Peter Stroud) on stage at the Nashville's
Schermerhorn Symphony Center.  One of my favorite Sheryl Crow concerts (and I've seen her 12 times).  You
can see the symphony behind her.  That place was really cool...

The place was packed.  I loved her set list, she played "The Difficult Kind" off her second album, I'd never heard it live
before.  She also sang "I Shall Believe",  "Am I getting through" and "Hard to make a stand" all of
which I'd never heard live.  I was surprised last May when we heard her in Little Rock and she played "Sweet Rosalyn" and others I'd never heard live.  

Dang blurry camera 

That place was amazing and had such great sound

I saw this on Chloe's camera roll of Buddy and I had to add it

Chloe's talented

This was Christmas morning of Biscuit

Oh Buddy.....

I don't think he's happy here....

Monday, February 15, 2016

Sheryl Crow performed with the Nashville Symphony on Valentine's and Jackie and I were sure to be there, of course.  I'm so glad she still tours and sings her hits from her rock albums.  Her song list was impressive as she sang several from her first two albums and I was thrilled to hear Perfect Lie (which she did say she felt like Taylor Swift when she wrote it about her breakup with Lance Armstrong), Run, Baby, Run, Always on your Side and It's the Best of Times, some of my favorites!  We only heard one country song which I found crazy since we were in Nashville but I was thrilled with the songs she sung.  It was one of my top 3 concerts in the 12 we've seen.

We had a late lunch at Bakersfield Tacos, just two blocks from our hotel on a rainy and cold Sunday.  Bakersfield is a cool, taco and whiskey chain that has locations in Pittsburg, Charlotte, Cincinnati and Columbus.  The menu was great featuring salsas, tostadas, tacos, sandwiches and salads.  They also had a long list of tequila and whiskey, none like I'd ever seen anywhere.  Of course, we don't drink whiskey or tequila so Jackie and a local beer Yazoo's Dos Perros and I picked Sonoma Curter Chardonnay.  I did crave an unsweet tea but much to my disappointment they only serve sweet tea.  (I know Kara's gagging) So I had a diet coke for my caffeine craving.

Our waitress helped me pick between a tostada and the chicken tacos.  She said the Chicken Chipotle Tostada was her favorite and it was fantastic.  It is served in a little cast iron dish with salad underneath it.  It was a huge portion that I couldn't finish.  Jackie and two versions of short rib tacos and the crispy mahi taco.  All were delicious.  We rarely get appetizers but we got the chips and queso with their house pickled jalapenos that were marked (HOT).  We got them and they were not.  Pretty disappointing.  I was planning on getting knocked over with the all caps HOT next to them.  My homemade pickled jalapenos are the gut busting bomb of (HOT).  Theirs were pretty wimpy.

The waitress offered us a glass of champagne and chocolate dipped strawberries for Valentine's Day.  That was a neat gesture but would've been cooler if the champagne wasn't rough.  I seriously think it was Andre Extra Dry, one of the cheapest California Sparkling Wines on the planet.  The only reason I know this is that Kara and I had a California Sparkling Wine tasting a few years back to pick a reasonable one for our annual Christmas Party.  We eventually went with Alexis' recommendation of Cook's Grand Reserve and now Kara's moved on to another one she gets at Buster's in Memphis.  I'll have to share that brand when we serve it up this December.  The strawberries were great and had a chipotle caramel drizzle over them.

We stuck around and table watched what eventually we found out was a young, and talented, country singer named Nestor Andress and is entourage next to us.  They were loud, putting back some beer and margaritas.  Their crowd grew over the two hours we were there.  One guy showed up with a box of CD's and Hershey Kisses.  When I went to the ladies room (and it was a damned good one too by the way), I over heard a girl hand his CD to the bartender and ask him to play track #3.  It was a great song called "Drunk at a Bar" which was what they were.  When the song was over, I clapped and he came over, shook my hand and handed me a kiss and the CD.  While we were there, I googled him and he released those tracks that day.  We listened to it on the way home and they were really good. I wish him well with his CD.  I do think he should change his name though.  Like Bruno Mars is really Peter Gene Hernandez, Jay Z is really Shawn Corey Carter, Jamie Foxx is Eric Marlon Bishop and the list goes on.  You never know who you'll run into or see in Nashville.  Jackie's cousin Blaine took yoga with Nicole Kidman when she was at Vanderbilt.

When you're in Nashville, be sure to check out Bakersfield Tacos.  Or I guess at any of their locations.  Bakersfield Tacos, 201 3rd Ave, Nashville, TN 37201 (615) 522-0970.
http://www.bakersfieldtacos.com