Five pictures per 306 words. Have a seat for this one.

Hello all,

Still living vicariously through my travel log while you push the paper? Come one, come all, and join me in my reflection of gluttonous adventure. More about food per your request…

All Good Cafe in Dallas, TX was the venue on April 15th. We arrived at our hotel mid-afternoon and were engulfed mid-lobby by balloons. The Sheraton in Dallas was hosting a balloon convention, if you’ve ever heard of such a thing. I wish I’d taken a picture for you, but I don’t really. It was as hectic as it sounds.

We had dinner with Chip and Isaac at the venue, which is known for great comfort food. Chip ordered chicken-fried chicken and mashed potatoes with NO GRAVY(!), but his order was overridden in the kitchen and brought out drenched in the stuff. It was funny enough to last us until warm apple pie and vanilla ice cream. There was nothing funny about that.

(Paper cranes and butterflies were hung from the ceiling as wedding decorations, and then left up afterward because they were so cool. What do you think, Devlin?)

Photo by Kasey Anderson

It was another three-man show accompanied by a respectful audience, including my beloved cousin Madeleine. I hadn’t seen Madeleine in several years, and she brought a friend and did what she always does best: made me laugh. Thank you so much to Madge for coming. It was so good to see you.

We drove in to Memphis, TN early Saturday afternoon from Hot Springs, AR. It was International Record Store Day, so we stopped by a couple of record shops before celebrating International Eat Too Much Good Food in Memphis Day. We stopped in at Central BBQ just long enough to destroy a pork sandwich, a beef sandwich, and a side of macaroni. My theory is, the faker the cheese looks, the better the mac will be. I’ve put this theory to the test, and my theory is right.

Another theory is that the longer you wait for your food, the better it will be. This theory was put to the test and proven when we hit Gus’s Fried Chicken directly afterward. A spicy, crispy crust and tender, juicy chicken arrived in a take out bag a mere thirty minutes after we placed the order for it. Worth the wait? Why yes, yes it was.

The following morning, Kasey and I drove to Sun Studio where Roy Orbison, Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash recorded albums. We didn’t take the tour, but we did buy the garb that would make anyone think we did.

We headed over to Beale St. after that and did the tourist thing real quick before Chip joined us and we hit the road for Nashville. For those of you just joining the blog and those of you who were unaware, Chip Robinson will be in the car and hotels with us for the next two weeks of the tour.

Photo by Kasey Anderson

Photo by Kasey Anderson

Nashville was uneventful for me, since I stayed behind from another show. Not to worry, though, since Knoxville was awesome.

We drove in to Knoxville early on the 19th so Kasey and Chip could play a radio show for WDVX Blue Plate Special with Carrie Rodriguez, who I’m told is a “real live badass.” Check her out.

While the guys did the radio show, I walked around downtown Knoxville and stopped in to a printing press called Yee-Haw. There were a ton of cool posters for sale and on the walls and the ceiling, so I asked if I could take pictures. I was told that I could even walk around in the back if I wanted to, and I did want to. So I wandered in to the back and saw where all of the paper and supplies were kept neatly in shelves and on racks, among all of the back stock and yet-to-be-made new posters and cards. Below are some pictures from the tour I took myself on.

After overstaying my welcome at the printing press, Kasey, Chip and I headed to The Tomato Head, a restaurant in Market Square. But this wasn’t just a restaurant. This was an incredible eating event! I had pepperoni rolls, made with pizza dough and served with marinara sauce. A slice of cheese pizza on the side. Kasey and Chip had sandwiches, and Kasey’s came with bean sprouts. Bean sprouts! What a classy joint! After stuffing ourselves, we stopped three doors down at the Preservation Pub to check out the venue for the show. What a sweet surprise we found in the window:

Kasey and Chip waiting to play their sets at Preservation Pub:

The show in Macon was canceled due to a break in at the venue, so we drove straight to Decatur and hung out in the hotel for the night. If you haven’t seen Fantastic Mr. Fox yet, see it.

Today Kasey had an interview at Paste Magazine and I started my day by driving around a couple of neighborhoods in Decatur. The neighborhoods are shaded by litters of hundred-year-old trees, and houses whose lawns require hiking boots just to reach them. That may be an exaggeration, but you get the idea. I decided to punch a destination in to the GPS and the address was for the Dekalb County Farmer’s Market. Thanks a lot, GPS. Really.
Upon turning in to the parking lot, there’s a sign on the side of the building that says “World Market”. This was no exaggeration. When I walked in (an indoor farmer’s market, have you ever heard of such a thing?), my heart broke.
“No Photography” read across a sign in big, red letters.

Laid out in front of me were rows upon rows of fresh produce, sitting under flags from hundreds of different countries. Outlining the store were shelves reaching beyond reach, of organic food products from all over the world. I grabbed a few of our favorite European food products before heading to the far right side of the market, where an entire wall was dedicated to spices and herbs in bulk. It was wonderful. I meandered my way through carrots and apples, jackfruits and pomellos, picked up a quart of (unpasteurized!) tangerine juice, and made my way to the baked goods. Samples were given out, Costco style, but I ignored them and moved on to greater things. Oh! Greater things! Live lobster surrounded by case display upon case display of any kind of fish you could name! I couldn’t take the time to check facts like that, since I was whisked in to the land (yes, it probably did qualify as a piece of property by itself) of meats and cheeses and other dairy products, including Holland-style whole chocolate milk, a temptation that was resisted because tangerine juice had already won my heart.

Getting out of there was tough, but it had to be done because Kasey was finished with his interview and Decatur is near un-walkable, similar to the meat and cheese section of the farmer’s market. It was an almost victory, since I could only leave with non-perishables, but an almost victory nonetheless.

Kasey and Chip played at a great venue called Eddie’s Attic located in downtown. When we arrived, the band Down The Line was sound-checking. A band composed of four men, each with long (some kempt, others unkempt) hair in varying colors, and each playing different instruments. One guy was playing a c/b/ongo, one played an acoustic guitar, one alternated between a hollow-body Martin and a bass guitar, and one alternated between a mandolin and a fiddle and threw in a couple of different harmonicas during the same song. It was one of the most confusing things I’ve ever heard in my life. The instrumental parts sounded great, and then their songs would begin and I would completely lose my mind. It sounded like a Disney movie had given a boy-band instruments and asked them to sing the songs for a movie about Jack Johnson making a soundtrack for the Curious George movie. It was a disaster, and for this reason, I couldn’t look away. The music had so much potential, and it didn’t. You’ll really do yourself a service (or at least be able to understand what I mean) by checking it out. Down The Line is from Chicago, and will be on tour until they get beat up in a bar.

Kasey and Chip played great sets, and Chip broke a string mid-song but ended it gracefully and with an a cappella tune which the audience loved. The venue (Eddie’s Attic) was excessively great to us. Next time you’re in Georgia, make a trip to Decatur if possible. That and Knoxville have been some of my favorites.

Well, folks, unfortunately I’ve updated the trip to the point where I’m in my pajamas in a hotel room, more ready to turn the light off and crawl in to bed than you are to turn Down The Line off of your computer speakers since I know you’ve got it open in another window and can’t figure out how you feel about what’s happening to your brain right now. In the meantime,

Advertisement