Tag Archives: Local Companies

31 Days of Nashville – Adventure Science Center

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12 - Adventure Science Center

Way up on the hill behind Fort Negley, facing Nashville’s beautiful skyline is the Adventure Science Center where children of all ages can spend a day learning about many areas of science and have fun.

I have visited the science center more times than I can count. When I was a kid, it was called the Cumberland Science Center, and we went on numerous field trips with school throughout the years. The center had been remodeled several times since I was a kid, but I can still clearly remember a few exhibits that were there when I was a kid, like the brain in a jar where we could push a button, and it rotated around so that we could see a 360 view of a real human brain, not from a photo or drawing. There was also the general store set up in a little town-like environment with a real cash register (a big deal for kid me!).

I’ve been a few times as an adult, too, when the credit union where I am a member offers a family night once a year for members. Each year I’ve been, I always try to visit one of the planetarium’s presentations to see the stars and constellations. Maybe Neil deGrasse Tyson will show up one year 🙂

The Adventure Science Center also offers Way Late Play Dates where every few months they open their doors from 7-10 pm to adults-only for a night of science and fun. They offer themes for these nights, and the next Way Late Play Date is October 24th with the Zombie theme, Blood Thirsty Thursday. The price for the ticket includes 3 beverage tickets (alcoholic and non-alcoholic), and they also have food trucks on site, because what event in Nashville doesn’t have food trucks these days?

Adventure Science Center
800 Fort Negley Blvd
Nashville TN 37203
(615) 862-5160

This post is part of a series I am writing, 31 Days of Nashville, where I am introducing several awesome places that make Nashville a great place to live and visit. Each day of the week has a different theme, and I am trying to focus on those hidden gems that aren’t as well known but just as worthy.

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31 Days of Nashville – Food Trucks

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10 - Food Trucks

A few years ago, the Food Truck craze made its way to Nashville, and it only seems to get bigger every year. I guess food trucks aren’t a new concept for big cities, but I hadn’t really heard of them until 2010-ish. I remember I kept seeing people talk about The Grilled Cheeserie here there and everywhere online, but it was still a while until we really found out what it was all about. Now it seems like there’s at least a food truck or three are at most every outdoor event in and around the Nashville area…and I’m not complaining! I’ll talk about a few of my favorites.

The Grilled Cheeserie

The Grilled Cheeserie is the first food truck I heard about in Nashville, and it was the first food truck that we had the pleasure of experiencing. I remember the first time we tried, we heard that they were going to be at an event at Third Man Records, so we tried to seek them out in that area, only to find that the area was jam packed with people. We had brought Shelton along that day without a leash, because we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into and thought maybe we’d be able to just walk up to the truck, order and leave.

A few months later we finally had our first bite of some delicious cheese goodness when they were set up in Centennial Park. We came prepared that time (without Shelton) and with cash (because ‘back in the day’, they only took cash). The experience was pretty much awesome, and we’ve been back several other times. They usually have a Melt of the Moment, which is often times some strange concoction of ingredients loaded onto a grilled cheese sandwich, obviously), but I wouldn’t let the odd combination scare you away unless one of the ingredients is totally not to your tastes. The combination may seem weird, but the flavors usually go together well.

Hoss’ Loaded Burgers

We discovered Hoss’ Loaded Burgers at an annual event at Second Harvest Food Bank every year on Valentine’s Day. We’ve been two years in a row, but 2013 was the first year Hoss’ showed up, and the first time we had the Hoss’ experience. They serve some seriously delicious burgers. They have a regular menu, and they usually have a special burger at different events. The burger at the Valentine’s Day event was the “King”, which was Thick Sliced Bacon topped with Grilled Banana, Creamy Peanut Butter and Strawberry Preserves. It sounds weird, I know. I get it! But like The Grilled Cheeserie, the mix of ingredients really deliver. If different ingredients on your burger aren’t your thing, they do have normal burgers that you should give a try. Really, you should. The parmesan fries are definitely worth trying, as well.

Just Like Nannie Fixed It

Food trucks in Nashville aren’t all about gourmet cooking. Just Like Nannie Fixed It is where to get your home cooking in a roaming food truck. Nannie was at an event downtown last year after church where the lines were long but the wait was shorter than expected. Maybe they were prepared to feed the 5,000 with chicken and dumplings instead of bread and fish, because we got our food fast and hot. As a southern girl, I can be picky about my country cooking, but Nannie represented well. And the banana pudding? You know it!

The Cupcake Bus

If there’s sandwiches, burgers and home cooking in food trucks, there has to be a few with dessert, right? The Cupcake Bus is the food truck version of the Cupcake Collection. It’s not too hard to make a regular cupcake, but it’s a little more difficult to make an exceptional cupcake. With several flavors to choose from, I had a hard time making a decision on what to order. What do you do in that situation? Well, you order a few flavors to share with your husband over a couple of days. I almost always go for Wedding Cake flavors, but I also went for the Sweet Potato flavor because I have a hard time turning away sweet potatoes. My husband is not on the sweet potato fan page, but he did share the Sweet Lemonade cupcake with me. So delicious! If you can’t catch them by bus, you can always catch them at their standing location in Germantown. You won’t regret it!

Nashville Food Truck Association

I could go on and on about other food trucks, but I’ll just point you to the Nashville Food Truck Association website where you can see ALLLL the food trucks in the Nashville area. There’s even an app for your phone so you can see where the various trucks are visiting each day.

Also, Biscuit Love Truck, I am looking for you next! 

This post is part of a series I am writing, 31 Days of Nashville, where I am introducing several awesome places that make Nashville a great place to live and visit. Each day of the week has a different theme, and I am trying to focus on those hidden gems that aren’t as well known but just as worthy.

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31 Days of Nashville – Green Door Gourmet

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3 - Green Door Gourmet

If you’re visiting Nashville, getting fresh vegetables may not be high on your list of Things To Do, but Green Door Gourmet has much, much more than just fresh vegetables. They offer many items you’ll find in a grocery store, except all of the items are from local companies.

I discovered Green Door Gourmet a few years ago when I first heard of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA). There are several CSAs offered to Nashville-area residents, but most require a multi-month commitment. Being a 2-person household, most CSA boxes offered way more food than we could eat each week or month. Luckily, I found Green Door Gourmet, who offers a CSA with no commitment, and I can decide week-to-week whether I want to order a box. They offer a small, couples box that is designed for two adults, so it works out great for David and me.

Green Door has grown and expanded a few times since I first discovered them. What started out as a small shed where we picked up our box, has turned into a decent-sized store that offers multiple items beyond vegetables, including chicken, beef and pork (all usually from grass fed an/or organic farms nearby), pasta, canned goods, snacks and even household items like soaps, lotions and shampoos from local companies.

The best part of Green Door is that I always feel welcomed when I am there. The staff are friendly, helpful and always there with a smile. The owner, Sylvia Ganier, is usually around to help with your selections, answer questions and give suggestions. The feel is definitely home grown all around.

This post is part of a series I am writing, 31 Days of Nashville, where I am introducing several awesome places that make Nashville a great place to live and visit. Each day of the week has a different theme, and I am trying to focus on those hidden gems that aren’t as well known but just as worthy.

31 Days of NashvilleRead other 31 Days of Nashville posts

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