#theroundup with Guest Host Shane Nasby

00:00Welcome to Nashville Restaurant Radio, a podcast for and about the people of the Nashville restaurant scene. Now here's your host, the CEO of New Light Hospitality Solutions, Brandon Styll. All right, hello Music City and welcome to Nashville Restaurant Radio Roundup presented by Springer Mountain Farms Chicken. My name is Brandon Styll and I am joined with the editor of Eater Nashville. Her name is Delia Jo Ramsey. Hello. And today our special guest host is Shane The Nas Nasby and he is the pit master and owner at Honey Fire Barbecue in Bellevue. Welcome to the show, Shane. Well thank you so much. I've been looking forward to it all week. You mean something different than? Yeah, not sarcasm there either. I've been researching the show being like, what does a co-host on the Nashville Radio Roundup do? So I had to do my research and figure this out. So I threw all that out the window and just said, you know, let's just turn this thing on. Let's do it. So I'm curious about that same thing. What does a co-host do from a perspective of somebody who's done the research? Well, here's what I've figured out is I can set that standard now. There's not enough that has been done up to this point to set the standard yet. So we can set that ground level now to build on in the future for future co-hosts.

01:38Okay. Well, we've had some amazing co-hosts so far, but now you're talking it up and I'm excited about it. Let's do it. All right. So excited, excited, excited to have you here. And there's still, there's, we actually have stuff to talk about today. So I'm pretty, pretty stoked about that. But one of the things that we always start the show off with is, I don't get to talk to you throughout the week, Delia, and I did talk to you, but I would like to, how was your week? What's going on? How was your week, Delia? I've been in recovery mode from birthday weekend staycation at the graduate hotel. So we had a fun weekend. I had three cakes. My friends got me a total of three cakes for my birthday week. There was an amazing cake they brought to Las Palmas that had, it looked like melted queso on top of it and a margarita glass. It was the most bomb brand, like amazing cake. This girl was so talented. It's Glutton Cakes by Jocelyn on Instagram. Incredible. This queso cake, insane. So I ate a lot of cake, drank a lot of like champagne jello shots in the pool, and kind of just been trying to recover since, but just, I mean, I had a really good week. I tried a new restaurant last night.

03:03I don't get to Nolensville road enough. I tried Edessa. It's Kurdish Turkish cuisine. Have y'all been? Negative. It was really good. We did a whole feast and super impressed with that. What was the best thing you had? They had this giant meat spread of all these kebabs and chicken. And it was just five different meats on this giant like boat tray, which I haven't posted this picture yet, but it's insane. It was for two people for like $49. They bring you all the dips and spreads and white rice, yellow rice, and the end with baklava. It was really good. I think it's been there a while. I just, it's one of those places, like there's so many places. It's hard to try them all, but I was excited to get there. I'm not going to be cliche, but Delia, how many people say this to you? How often do people say like you have the best job ever, like getting to go try all this food and do all this stuff? Because I mean, like that's the thought is, you know, you're obviously you're a pro when you get, when it comes to the writing and stuff, but to be able to experience all of this dining in a city that's full of it, like I would think like that's a, that's a pretty envious spot. Do you get that question a lot? Like, oh my God, how do you love your job? People, people say that a lot. And I mean, I agree. And I think it's something that I created was something I was already doing. And so I kind of created a career based on something I was already doing. It's like, Holy crap, I can get paid to do this thing that I love to do and spend so much money on. Right. Yeah. I mean, I agree. I'm lucky right now is a weird time in it. Like even with the James Beard award, when, you know, changing this year, like canceling this year and the association for food journalists that I'm a member of just disbanded. So it's such a weird time to do what I do, but I'm still thankful for the days like yesterday when I get to get out and enjoy a restaurant and remember why I do this. Cause some days, as you both know, with the current climate, it can get heavy and kind of depressing.

04:51So thanks for reminding me. I am lucky to do what I do. Wow. Your Instagram looks awesome. So I'm envious when I watch like your feed and your stories, and I see the different spots that you go and I'm like, Oh, I want to try that so bad. But you're working. I know. Well, I will give you the plug. If you want to follow Delia, go to diningwithdeliajo at on Instagram. And you too can also do that. It looks like we've got some people watching. We are live. Feel free to jump in there. Let us know you like it. That's good. Thank you for the likes. But if you have questions for Shane Nasby, the owner of Honeyfire Barbecue and Bellevue, please feel free to type them in. Let us know you're there. Say hello. And we're excited. You guys are watching right now. This is, this is always fun to do this live on Facebook. So you, yeah. So Delia, you've had a good week, birthday week. Yeah. You had three monster dinners last week. You were going to dinner the night that we were, the night that we did the roundup last week, you were going to dinner. Where were you going to Bastion that night? Bastion was like the third of my big dinner week. So how did, so I took, I took my wife to Bastion on Friday night. It was Saturday night. We went to Bastion also.

06:18What did you think? How was my first time? Yes. Right. I mean, I love it. I love, I think Josh is just the coolest, most unassuming chef. I think the first three times I went to Bastion, I didn't realize he was Josh because he was just so quiet and he was doing his thing. And I was like, like the third time I was like, wait, is that him? Because he's not what you expect a chef to be like, you know what I mean? Yeah. No, I was so, because having interviewed them, it was nice to know him a little bit and know what he looked like. And then Lauren, his wife, knowing that she's kind of like the mater de when you walk in the door. So we were, we had a five 30 reservation kind of did it last minute. We walked in the door and they were both standing there and I was like, hi. And they were like, Hey, there you are. And it, but it was like, that place was so cool. Like I was like, right now, but yeah, the food was amazing. The presentation was beautiful. The service was amazing. And you know, Josh is like bringing the plates out and Lauren's bringing the plates out and they come by and they talk and they, they have their own little hand sanitizers right there. And they just, they think of everything.

07:25It was so well done. Awesome. Love it. It was a good experience. And you were going to set it on, weren't you? When we, we, we did that night. Yeah. We went to set sun and it was equally, it was amazing because the next day we interviewed, I'll get it. I'm stealing my week in front of your week, Shane. Sorry. Go for it. I want to hear about your week. Well, so my wife's birthday was on Saturday and we went to a set sun on Friday. It went to Thursday night. It was, we did the round up Thursday, last Thursday, but then Friday I interviewed Jason Zigmont, who's the chef there. So it was so amazing because we got to go do the dinner. I didn't tell him we were going to do the dinner or anything like that. And, um, wasn't it, didn't even like, just like we're going to slyly go in and have dinner and then I'll interview him tomorrow. It'd be great. So we did the full interview. And then after the interview, I said, can we go over the entire menu and can you talk about each dish? So I got to literally the next morning, pull up pictures of every single dish and talk to him. And he explained all of the dishes. And I was like, I don't think I've ever got to do that. Cause we did, we did the, a bit of everything and we tasted everything on the menu.

08:35So both dinners Thursday and Saturday night, we ate everything on the menu, which was just a really cool way to do it. And, um, to have the chef explain everything in his reasoning behind it was like, that makes complete sense. That's awesome. It was kind of like the Paul Harvey. And now, you know, the rest of the story, that was really, really cool. Yeah. And then I had Tony and Kathy Montuano on the show on Wednesday. And now I have to go to Yolan and like the Joseph, I am, that's like, I keep thinking these amazing places in Nashville. And I had no idea. Like Tony, we watched the Top Chef Masters with him on there. Um, are you familiar with the Joseph Shane? Do you know that's coming in downtown? I'm not familiar. I mean, I've heard a little bit, but I need to learn more. Well, if you listen to the episode with Tony and Kathy Montuano, we don't talk a lot about it. We talk a lot about them and their story and their son. And, um, we, uh, it's been, he's, he's been nominated for 12 James Beard awards.

09:4312. That's a great question. You said, why the hell are you coming to Nashville? Like, I was thinking like, yeah, like, why did you leave Chicago? Like, why were you living in Italy? And I love the questions that you asked. I was like, are you, I was like, why does somebody for the 35 years run the best Italian restaurant in the city of Chicago? 12 James Beard. Now he's won a James Beard in 2005. He's a Michelin star chef. He retires and moves to Molise, which is his wife's ancestral home. Like his wife's family is from there. They find this, they have like a farm, they're raising sheep and all these things in Italy. And then, you know, he's like, they've been married for almost 40 years. He's like 60. Well, we'll just move to Nashville to open three restaurants in a hotel. Like, did you lose a bet? Like, what are you doing, man? Sure. Yeah. Well, I mean, I, I, I affectionately say that because everything that he said makes complete sense as to why he's doing it. Um, but it's like, wow, what an honor for us to have a chef like that come to Nashville and to up our level of Italian food. I mean, the stuff he's going to be doing there is just going to be incredible. I'm so excited. I mean, I'm meeting him tomorrow for a tour and then I have, I got made a reservation for opening night cause I just couldn't help myself. Yeah. I'm it's full of sold out for opening night. So I couldn't do that, but yeah, so it was an awesome week. Um, next week on Nashville restaurant radio is going to be a, a barn burner. We've got a, a really amazing week. I'm kind of shocked at the week we're having next week on national restaurant radio. Monday, we are going to have Will Newman on the show. Will Newman, you know very well, Shane, as being in your world. He is the owner of edley's barbecue, as well as poncho and lefties. And then on a Wednesday, we are going to have Mr. Pat Martin. Oh, it's barbecue on the show. Yes. Uh, we are filming a brand new edition of chefs reading one star reviews.

11:51This is the barbecue edition. Yeah. So as I'm filming these, I'm like, Hey, let's do an interview too. And they're like, yeah, let's do it. So we'll on Monday, we have Pat Martin on Wednesday. And then on Thursday, we are going to have Steven smithing from greenhouse grill at Maribor. He's been on the show twice on the roundup. We're doing a full on hour and a half with him. Uh, so next week, I mean, you, you, you need to stay tuned in next week. Nashville restaurant radio is going to be insane. So we're very, very excited. All right. Looks like, uh, Denise Springhill in the house. I know Denise. Hi. We're excited to have Denise, uh, listening or watching right now. Thanks for being here. And, uh, so that brings us. So my week was amazing. I just did amazing week of love and life. Got to eat some amazing food. I'm getting to talk to some amazing people. I wouldn't solve this guy over here. He read an amazing one-star review for us. Yeah. A one-star review that you Delia read on the, uh, read on here. She read the one where the woman called before the restaurant was open and demanded to, to order food before they were open and then got pissed off because they didn't have brisket before they were open. Oh, that's just one of many that we've, uh, there's some doozies out there and, uh, you know, I just trained my staff. We're not in the food business as much as we're in the people business. And, uh, you have to deal with, especially right now, I mean, with everything that's happening and having to have people wear a mask, like you get people on opposite ends of the spectrum and you just have to, and I hate to put that on my staff, which is why, you know, I wish I could be there 24 seven, you know, when we're open to kind of take that off of them, but you just can't, you just, you just gotta, the, the, you know, you get extremists in both, both, both sides of the issue and, um, it's just, it's just challenging. It's, it's tough to navigate right now because you're never going to please everybody, which you couldn't before, but now it's even more so. So are you getting a lot of that? I mean, do you feel like guilt when you're not in the building?

13:57I used to, but I'll tell you this, I have a phenomenal team. Um, our managers, we have three or four managers right now and they've all been with us for so long. Most of them, since we've opened and, uh, they've, I trust them so much. And that, that is, that goes so far into, uh, me just being able to sleep at night and just know like, uh, they'll, they'll text me or reach out to me if anything major has happened. And I'm in there almost every day, but like, I just, I trust my team so much. And you know, when people ask me, like, I get people to ask like for advice, like if they're thinking of opening a restaurant or something like that, I just, I just tell them, invest in your leaders and choose wisely. Um, because it'll make your life so much easier because you hear all the horror stories when it goes to open a restaurant, especially when it's a family owned restaurant. And like, I cannot tell you how many rest, previous restaurant owners and people who've been part of the industry, when you're getting ready to open your restaurant and chase the dream, you get the, you get the same story from everybody. And that's, oh, get ready to kiss your life. Goodbye. Uh, you'll, you know, you'll never be home. Like all of this stuff, which is like the worst case scenario, but I'm telling you, if you get people that you trust to, to help you and to, uh, your leaders, uh, and you take care of them, I'm telling you that that, that's a game changer and we've got some great ones. So, um, it's, it's, it's, I don't have to be there 24 seven, which is great. Um, but I'm always in communication with them. Um, but I, I am, I'm in there a lot because I also want to try to support them in every way that I can.

15:29Have you gotten to take a break at all throughout all of this? I think that's important. Yeah, we did. Um, and it just kind of came at a, like, it was one of those things like, and, and everybody, like restaurant owners and, uh, people who are managing them, they'll all tell you, like, we wake up every day and we're just like, what's, what's going on today? Like, do I have text messages from this employee or that employee? Uh, what's like issues with staffing or issues with like, is there a new mandate? Is there a tweak to the mandate? Now what can we do? Health department's following up and then you have, you go through emails and you have, you know, you're always going to have people that are fussing about something. And so every day's has, has become, um, it's become the same day over and over. It's like a bad groundhog day. Um, it really is. It's, uh, but like I said, you know, our teams has persevered and done a great job. And, uh, your question was, is have we got to take a break? Like we had someone who has a house in Destin just randomly just say, Hey, uh, it's free this next week. If you guys want to go, um, you just get four or five days away. And I didn't think that I could. And it was one of those things where it was a very last minute. Like I was going to, my wife and kids were going to go and, um, and then like the last minute I was like, you know what, I'm going to go. And we ended up going and it happened to fall on my son's 12th birthday. So we went out fishing and chartered a boat for the day. And it was, it was so needed. Um, you know, when you're, when you're dealing with all of this, to be able to go out and just spend a, you know, spend four or five days with your family and, uh, just disconnect from everything. Um, just kind of hit the reset button a little bit and then be able to come back. But again, it comes back to, I wouldn't have been able to do that if I didn't have the right people in place to make sure that the restaurant's held down. So, you know, it's interesting because I was talking to Will Newman and I was asking him, how do you scale? Because you go from your one location in 12 South and then you grow into East Nashville and Sylvan Park and Pancho and Lefties and Lexington, Kentucky,

17:33which, um, he's, he's going to be closing tomorrow. But, um, how do, how are you able to do that? And he basically said, it's the people, you know, I, I hired a number two and, um, I got people who were, I got, I got great people. I invested, I paid, I paid a little more and I got people that, um, were amazing, isn't it? It changes everything. And it sounds like you've got that. You've got those people too, and it helps a lot. A hundred percent. And you're not going to hit, you're not going to hit on all of them. I mean, you're going to, this industry and anybody will tell you, like, it's a revolving door, um, with your staff, but if you can focus on your leaders and I, I listen to a lot of leadership podcasts and one of them, you know, one of the, you know, one of the things that I heard that, that stuck with me was the best time to fire someone is before you hire them. And whenever you're sitting down and you're, you're, you're bringing people who are going to, you're going to invest in and you, I'm telling you, invest in them, pay them good. Um, because that is a lot more, um, beneficial in the long run than having four or five managers over two years. And, um, because it costs you every single time that you lose someone with, with all staff, but especially managers and you get, you have to get someone new, like there's a major costs attached to that. So, um, and, and, and honestly, like, just, just, just love them. I mean, like my, my staff knows that I care about them personally, and, um, it's not just about, you know, them doing their job. And, um, so, but if they feel that, and, and again, a lot of restaurants will tell you this, like it's a family atmosphere, but if you don't have that, if you don't, if they don't know that you care about them, um, especially in a city like Nashville, where there's hundreds and hundreds of restaurants, they can walk across the street and get paid the same thing. So you really have to go above and beyond and try to create something that's, uh, completely, uh, unique. It's not going to be the best, but it can be a unique situation to where, um, they want to stick around

19:38because they know you care about them. So, um, I've learned a lot in these two years. I'm by no, I'm far from an expert. I'm learning as I go, but that's the biggest thing that I've learned is it is a people business. And I'm not talking about just the people who walk through the front door. I'm talking about your staff, how they engage with each other, how, uh, I speak with my staff, how they, like we're, we're all in the people business and just encouraging each other. So, um, I've learned a lot and I've made some mistakes, but at the same time, you know, we've, I haven't died from them, so we're good. Love it. So how was your week this week? What'd you, what, uh, what'd you do? Give us a week in the life of, uh, the NAS. Okay. A week in the life of me. So you wake up and you figure out, so now the kids are back in school. So you, you do that thing, you get the kids up and you get them ready and then, uh, at school or are you doing homeschool? So they go to a small private school. So, uh, it's a Montessori school, which is really hard to do online, um, because it's so hands-on. So they've created like these little pods with a very small amount of kids in each one of them. So they are at school and they're doing it really safely. Um, so we do, I do take my kids to school. Usually I'm the one that takes them in because usually I just drop them off and I go straight to the restaurant. Um, so that's, that's usually what it is. I have a 12 year old boy and a Nolan and a, you know, eight year old girl Harper. And, um, so I get them up and my wife and I tag team Angela, we tag team and get them together. And, uh, we, I usually take them to school and that's, that has been a nice, like, because like this summer and prior to that, like that, our whole routine was out of whack because we were trying to homeschool via zoom. And then like, you also have to manage a restaurant. Um, and it was, it was crazy like March and April, but now we're starting to get a sense of normalcy, uh, which is good. Um, and provide some structure.

21:37So that, that's a big part of my day. That's how I get my day started. And then just go check in with my team and just see like, what do we need from, for the restaurant? Um, so a lot of times somebody will call out or call in and, you know, I, you know, I actually enjoy jumping in and helping wherever I can at the restaurant. But, um, mostly it's like I said, I have a team that does such a great job. Um, but you know, I'm constantly just trying to figure out the curve balls, um, like with staffing and with different things like that, but I'll spend most of my day at the restaurant until about four or five. And then my son is in gymnastics. So he's at the gym five days a week or four days a week in Franklin. So either my wife and I will go pick him up and, uh, I'll usually hit a, I'll tell you this, a nice spot that I have learned to hit, which is close to my son's restaurant for food is the urban market. I don't know if you've been there or not, but, um, they have amazing salads and, uh, some great food. So that's kind of my chill spot. I'll get caught up on emails and stuff like that, wait for my son to get out of gymnastics. And again, that's four days a week. So that's a huge part of the week. Um, so, so yeah, that's, that's what a week looks like for, for us. So it's, it's doing family life, but it's also doing the main, the restaurant life. And so it's, uh, you know, there's, there's, it's pretty simple, but it's also a lot to it. So what do you do for fun? What do I do for fun? Um, man, it's been so long since right. Right. What is this? What is this fun you speak of? Well, I love whiskey. I love bourbon.

23:12We have 175 at honey fire. Um, um, 80 over 90 of those are bourbons. We have our whiskey club. So, uh, I have my nightcap when I come home at night, once the kids get in bed or on eight or eight 30, that's kind of my thing is that just, and I'll, uh, I'll do a, uh, I'll do a pour of something, whatever I'm in the mood for that night. Um, uh, right now super, we're super into Yellowstone. I don't know if you've watched Yellowstone with Kevin Costner, but like it's the best show that I've ever seen. Like really? Yeah. Oh man. It's so good. And where's that? Is that on Apple TV? No, it's that on it's on the Paramount network, which we don't have, we don't have cable or anything like that. So I just get it through iTunes and I just subscribe for the season and it's like 20 bucks or whatever. But, um, and then every week they upload a new one, but it's Kevin Costner's Western and I'm a huge Western buff. Like a lot of the things on our menu are named after my favorite Westerns or Western characters. So I love Western movies. They're my favorite kind of movies. So whenever this, this TV show came out and it's like a modern Western and Kevin Costner is the star. And it's like, it's, it's almost like Breaking Bad meets Tombstone. It's so good. Um, it's like a mafia cowboy mafia, but anyway, it's phenomenal. It's on the Paramount network, highly recommend it, but that's kind of been our, like, so I watched it currently and then my wife's, you know, Angela said, you know, well, I'll, I'm interested. I would watch it. So now we're kind of binge watching to catch up to get her current. So I'm rewatching it right now. So that's kind of been the whiskey and Cowboys is kind of like, you know, what brings me happiness that circling back to the answer to your question. So I just, I'm enamored by Breaking Bad meets Tombstone. I'm like, hell yeah. Yeah. So we have a question for you. Yeah. Can you read that there from your buddy?

25:10That's Brian Stover. Um, I'm not answering that beast over, you know, I was texting Brian the other day and I was on your website and I go, dude, you're on his website. You're on Brian and his wife are on your homepage eating at your restaurant. Do you, did you, did you notice that? Like I did notice that it's on the homepage. Like there's a shot of our patio, which is full. And then I noticed it too. Brian Stover sitting there with his wife. So, um, Brian, I appreciate you. I love you, but I'm not going to go, I'm not going to go down the football path right now. I'm going to put it back up there. No, no. Yeah. And by the way, I just started this stream yard thing a couple of weeks ago. I'm learning how to do all these cool things where I put questions up there like that. That's all new to me. I'm just practicing. You're doing great. You're doing a great job. This ship and we're just riding along. Brian had a follow-up. He's asking me if I've ever seen, like, how can you never have seen Yellowstone? All right. So good, good conversation. Thank you, Shane, for all of that. But, um, I think it's time to talk about restaurant news. What's been opening, what's happening in the city and we're going to turn it over to the queen, Delia Joe. What do you got? It's a lot you guys, um, because bars are back and they're now allowed to be open until 10 30. And we've got some new places opening and some old places coming back. So it's, it's kind of finally an exciting week.

26:42And I feel like finally there's something to talk about that's not political. So that's exciting. We can make it political if you want to. We can. Yeah. Um, so I'm very excited about, you talked about Tony and Kathy Montemano and Yolan opening on the 25th next week. And you said that it's already sold out opening night. That's what, that's what they told me. Wow. Well, make it, make it for the 26th, right? I guess, people are excited. So very excited to have them. They don't, I'm trying to get the menu from them when I meet them tomorrow. Cause I'd really like to snag a peek at what we got looking forward to for that. And on the whiskey front, Shane, there you go. Um, do you know, do you know about standard proof whiskey company? Oh yeah. Red Eye Rye is one of my favorites. It's all my show. And their Hickory is really good too. Okay. Well they're opening their downtown tasting room today and they've got whiskey flights and rye cocktails. Yeah. Um, I'm not familiar with them, so you can, so they're, so they do rye whiskey and then they do signature blends with them. So they'll add something to the rye whiskey. So their biggest seller and the one that I really love, which surprised me because I don't like coffee is they take a rye whiskey and they blend it with coffee.

28:04So it's called Red Eye Rye. And so that has quickly become one of my favorites. It's not a traditional bourbon or whiskey, but they do a unique spin and, uh, they kind of some really cool stuff. And now I think at the new location you're talking about, they're doing the mixing right there and they're bottling right there in front of people. So it's going to be a really cool concept. So it's good stuff though. On the ramen front, we have two pieces of news. So Black Dynasty, who I have sung their praises for since they started their little back alley ramen shop out of the back of Bar Sovereign and pop up previously, they now have dine in at Bar Sovereign because of the bar mandate loosening. So now you can walk up to a window or you can still order online through their websites and go up to the window and order. And then they'll call your name and you pick up the order and you can sit there and eat it. And I'm so excited to not have to bring it home and eat it. I'll plan to do that soon. And then, um, Otaku ramen is going to open for takeout only at Sylvan supply, which just opened.

29:08So, you know, something that with, with your Black Dynasty story, something that I really recognized this past week, we were on the way to bastion and we're in the car and we've, you know, you get dressed up. Like I think I wear like my standard jeans and a black t-shirt. It's like my, my outfit basically covers up the COVID-15. And, um, I get in the car to start driving. I go, do we have masks? And she's like, yeah, we got masks like they're in the car and we just go. And it felt normal. Like I felt normal for the first time in a long time. Like I got in my car and I started driving out to dinner. We went to dinner. You know, this was the second time we went out to dinner. We started driving. I went, I feel normal. And then I kind of went, is this the new normal? Is the new normal? The fact that like, we just, we get dressed, we know we're going to go there. We're going to put a mask on. We're going to walk up to the front door. We're not going to touch. I'm going to like use my shirt to open the door and then we're going to like go in. We're going to sit down. We're going to take it off. And we're going to like, is this just it? Is this where we're at? And I thought, here we go. I said, you know, it's going to be weird to me. It's going to be weird when I go into a Kroger without a mask on.

30:20Mm hmm. Do you guys find that like your, your daily routines, like all of these little things are just like, that there's this new normal that is set in? Kind of, yeah. Like I'll get on the elevator to go downstairs to my car and I'm like, Oh, the mask. And I come back. Cause I've got a hook. I mean, whoever thought I would have a hook by my door for my mask. Like, I mean, is this, I think it is normal. And if I have to do that to ensure I get to keep dining out and and supporting restaurants, then I'll accept that. Like I'll follow the rules and do the safe things and take care so that people can work and have their businesses and I can support them. You know? Yeah, that's good. I realized it was kind of the new norm. Whenever I overheard this was a week or so ago, right before the kids started school, like what kind of mask do you guys want for this year? Cause they were, she picked out the fabric and had someone make them. And, you know, they're like, Oh, I hate it. But just by the way, my son picked an ACDC mask, by the way.

31:21And that was a really proud father moment for me. He was just like, he was looking through the fabric and there was one with an ACDC logo. And he's like, can I have that one? I was like, yes, you can. You can have that. You know, he also got a Harry Potter and Garfield, you know, so there's still a child element to him, but like I was, I was super proud. So did they have a new lunchbox? Yeah, totally. Do they have a favorite ACDC song? Oh, back in black all day. Both of them, actually, my year old daughter. Mine are Thunderstruck and Highway to Hell. And I don't know how it happened that way, but they have an Alexa in their room and they're like, play Highway to Hell. And they're like, yeah. And I'm like, no, you're seven. Stop it. So last night, my eight year old daughter is out of the shower and she's like, she's such a girly girl. And we're downstairs and we hear my wife goes, Angela said, is that Guns N' Roses? And she's got her little iPod and her little music and Paradise City is rocking out. And I look up there and I can see her and she's doing the Axl Rose sway. And again, I was like, this is amazing. Do you realize what we've done?

32:28This is perfect. Like she's listening to Guns N' Roses on her own without being prompted by dad. So anyway, I'm looking like a bad father right now to a lot of people, but you know what? Dude, I'm right there with you. I'm like parenting wins sometimes happen. And the it's good. At least she's not up there singing soul provider. She's like, I just love Michael Bolton. And you're like, no, it's okay. She's like, daddy, have you heard of Justin Bieber? I'm like, I haven't. Have you heard of Randy Travis? And I immediately get her off of it. I'm just like, let's focus. Shift, shift, shift. I'm trying to brainwash you here. Let's do this. So it's awesome. We got restaurants opening back up. We got cool things happening. We have a new normal that's going on. What was my point? What's my point? I almost went off on a tangent on an 80s music store. We'll go there another day, but you can do it. No, it's not the right time. Okay. It's a pageant story and it's for another day, but tomorrow I'm going to a preview for a karaoke place. And so I'm very curious to see how this works because Sid Gold's request room, which is a New York based, like it's a piano backed karaoke bar. They're doing a preview for the weekend. So I guess you're getting ready to open. So I'm very curious to see how karaoke is going to happen in this new normal. Like do we see the microphone? Like what's happening? Like I'm very curious to see how this plays out. That's coming next to where El Fuego used to be on Gallatin and down in Franklin, Pinchy lobster company was supposed to open in the factory today, but they posted that like their lobster shipment didn't come in. So obviously the lobster company could not open today. So that should open tomorrow factory in Franklin. So those are new things.

34:20And then back open all the bars. I mean, all the small bars that we've kind of been trying to shout out for all this time, Topper and Pearl Diver and Old Glory are back. I saw Paradise Park on Broadway's back with a patio. Fox. Fox. I think most of them are back now. So that's good. 25 people max. So actually I went into Old Glory for one drink after dinner the other night and I was like, this is like when I want to go to these bars, because you know that you're going to be spaced out and no one's going to be near you. You don't have to go stand up at the bar and wait for a drink. It's actually kind of the best time to go to a cocktail bar, honestly. Follow the rules and someone comes up and you don't have to wait. But Pelican and Pig is back as of yesterday. Yes, I'm so excited for them. I'm so excited for them because we've been waiting for them and now they're doing brunch and the brunch food they've been posting online looks incredible. Have you been out there, Shane? No. In fact, I have a list of places that I really want to go to, but it's on my list for sure. I have never been. I want to know about your list.

35:28You do. I have it. Do you want to know what's on it? Yeah, what's on it? I'm actually ashamed to say there's a few spots on there that I'm ashamed to even say that I've never been to. But you guys were talking about Bastion earlier and I want to go to Bastion because I'm a child of the 80s and I'm a never-ending story lover. It was one of my favorite movies as a child. And so all I can see is like, I don't know the story behind the restaurant, but if they named it after the never-ending story, did they? It is a part of it. Yes. Is it? Yes. So for that reason alone. And then I see the Instagram pics and I'm just like, I really want to go there. So Bastion is the top of the list. I want to try Hawthorne. I've never been to Hawthorne. Rolf and Daughters. I've never been. Again, I follow a lot of stuff on Instagram and they're kind of state. A lot of them are staples. Woolworth on fifth seems really cool. I really want to try that place. My wife really wants to go with me. Lachlan Table. I want to try that. You haven't been to Lachlan Table before?

36:33I've never been. No. You just put that at the top of the list. Yeah. I hear great things. And then for obvious reasons, I mean, there's a lot of people who've never been to the catboard seat, but I really want to go there. I really want to experience that. And then this is the one that I'm because I'm friends with Khalil. I have never been to Arnold's Country Kitchen. Right. I know it's crazy. And I know he's, I hate to even say that, but I need to go as many times as I've been to Peg Leg because here's what happens is when we do have time to go do something and to actually like my wife and I to have time to go, like we have so many close friends in the industry and especially right now you want to go support them. So we have like this six or seven places that we go once every month or two, because we feel like we need to connect with our friends. So a lot of this is just about making new friends too. But we have our favorite spots in town that we go to and we hit those up quite a bit. So. What's your favorite restaurant? Oh man. I go on kicks. This is with everything in life. Like I get, whether it's a TV show or music or whatever, like I'll wear something out until I'm just over it and then I move on. But no, I was on a childable kick for a long time, getting to know Manit and Chef Tom really well. And we actually had something really cool planned before the pandemic. You know, a nice cool collaboration with childable, but because everything happened, we had to push that out. But love childable.

38:13Great buddies with Trey. So Black Rabbit Farmhouse. Trey and I actually cook Omni Peg Leg Porker Memphis and May team together. So yeah, so we've gotten to know each other over the last few years, just cooking those hogs for the world championship. He's a fun guy to hang out with, isn't he? Oh, he's a trip. Yeah. We were just out at the farmhouse. I had tried the pig years for the first time the other day at the farmhouse last week. You've never been to the farmhouse. Well, we didn't make that happen. Oh yeah. You got to go check that out. The pimento cheese beignets are phenomenal. So yeah. And Katie at Husk, Nina Tysane, Carrie Pegleg. We just kind of make our rounds, depending on what we're in the mood for. You know, we've got lots of other friends too. We visit a lot of places, but sometimes we'll try something new. But that's kind of our rounds, just mainly because of the relationships. But I see a lot of these restaurants and the people behind the restaurants, and I really want to get to know them and get to meet them. And we just got to know the owners of Lady Bird Taco. And so we went down there and that might be the best tortilla I've ever eaten in my life. That tortilla is phenomenal. And I've been thinking about that tortilla for like two weeks since we've been there. So yeah. Is that a Maiz de la Vida?

39:34Okay, it is. I'm right. What's that? He's working with Maiz de la Vida, right? Yes. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. That's Julio's. Right. But it's so good. And then, you know, obviously you have Redhead a Stranger, which is great tortillas as well. Like a good solid tortilla is, I mean, a lot of people, some people judge their Mexican place based upon a lot of different things. But like for me, like a good flour tortilla. And obviously the queso has got to be a big part of it. But like, and I never thought, like everybody thinks chips and queso, but Lady Bird, we had the tortilla, the fresh tortillas dipped in the queso. Oh, I don't think I'll ever go back to chips and queso. I don't think I ever will after that. You're talking to the queso queen here. I know. I know. Segway to these pop-ups. We got like three Mexican pop-ups happening in the next five days. Talk about it. What do you got? Can we call this a trend? Because Maiz de la Vida is doing, you know, their pop-up on working with Josh Cook on Saturday at Chopper from four to 10. Somebody tagged me in the nachos. So I might have to get to Chopper on Saturday for that. And then Alibrije is going to be at Bar Sovereign on Monday. Alibrije said it wrong. They're doing chicken wings al pastor, blue corn harache, and adobo chicken tacos. And there's some burger on there that's kind of interesting. And then Miho Gordito is going to be at Nicky's on Tuesday. So we've got like a trio of Mexican pop-ups happening in the next week. So I think I'm going to try and go to the one on Monday, the one at Bar Sovereign. Yes. I know I'm trying to plan. I'm like, I don't think I can do all three. I don't know what to do. I think I'm going to go Monday night.

41:24I think I'm going to go down there and just check it out. If anyone wants to go with you're welcome. I'm just going to check it out. Go say it. Go holler at my boys over there. And it's the industry night. So I'm going to try it. We should record. You should record something now. Yeah, I should. I'll take pictures for sure. For sure. I do have a question because still no one will tell me anything about closings. And I'll ask a question and they don't want to tell me. And I'm like, well, eventually I can drive by and see that you're moving out. But until that happens, I've heard rumors about Parsons Chicken and Fish, which just opened last year over in Woodland. And their Nashville location is gone from the website, but the building is still there. The stuff's still there. So I just, I don't know. Like that's the only closing rumor that I've heard. Oh, wow. Does anybody out there know anything about Parsons Chicken and Fish? Let us know. And just as a, go ahead Shane. Another thing that disappeared that I'm curious about, and you guys probably have the answers, whether you want to discuss it or not, I don't know. But Music City Food and Wine, which obviously is very debatable, but I think they've just kind of disappeared too. And there may be information out there and I'm just unprivileged to it, but nobody really knows kind of what's happened with that.

42:42I don't know. I mean, I think all these places are kind of hoping to just fade away. And like this event just kind of hoped to fade away. But I think everyone had its frustrations with it the last couple of years, based on what people were saying. With the event? Music City Food and Wine Festival? Yeah. I don't know the technical term, but Music City Food and Wine. The big one with Jonathan Waxman. Yes. But wouldn't participate the last year and maybe the last two years? Yeah. There's a, there's a hot debate there. There's a lot of, like I have a lot of chef friends and it's, it's, there's a lot of opinions that are beyond that, but I just didn't know, like, I know obviously nothing's happened in 2020, but it seems like that might be gone for good. I don't know. I don't know. We don't have to touch on it. I was just curious. I love touching on stuff like that. What is the, what's the, is it, is it because the organizers are, I'm just shooting in the dark here because I went last year, I think for the first time, because it's like $500 to go for a couple of days. I mean, I think they're relying too much on chefs to create the content and they're not getting any kind of return on it. What's the chef's argument? I think, I think the local chef's argument is, there's not enough featured local talent. It's more about the national talent that comes in and there's not enough onus being put on the local talent here in Nashville. So, and I'm so new to the scene. If for me, last year to get invited for 2019, I was not privy to a lot of that until I had a lot of discussions, but I really enjoyed the event. I know Katie from Husk and Carrie from Peg Leg and there were some people there that were some of my peers that we really enjoyed.

44:36That's where I got to know, for me, I love that stuff because that's where I get to know people and get to meet people. Ladybird Taco was right next to us at the event and I got to know them really well. So that's why I like it. It's like a conference, like people in other fields of work go to conferences in Vegas and stuff like that. But like food festivals are like a way for restaurant, restaurateurs and chefs and stuff like that to connect and build relationships. So that's why I really loved it. And I really liked having something like that in Nashville. So I hope they continue to do something even if it's not that, but. Right. That's what I was doing there is virtually. So I don't know why there wasn't a segue to a virtual event here. I don't know. And I got an email. We participated in Charleston Food and Wine for the first time this year. It happened like the week after the tornado. So we didn't post anything about it just because it was just, the timing was just bad. But they also sent an email out this week saying that they are canceling 2021 Charleston Food and Wine, which sucked because we loved it so much. Taking some members of our team down there and just really having that experience. But so I don't know what's happening with all of these events, but hopefully, hopefully they can, we can, you know, have something in the future. Yeah. Well, you know, that's partly what you said. The reason you can, why you like to do is it's partly why I started this podcast was because as a chef and people who work inside of restaurants, your time to really network and get to know other people on a deeper level is limited. I mean, you know, as somebody who worked in sales for 15 years in Nashville work, I talked to every chef when I go around, I just intentionally, that's what you do is you go and talk to chefs. And I thought, how fun would it be to start a podcast where if I was a chef, I could learn about my favorite restaurants, you know, in an hour long interview with somebody, you could get really deep in there and it'd be kind of fun. So it's interesting. I will ask people who have attended that event kind of some more information about

46:41that as we get going with more interviews in the future. So that's interesting. Good stuff, Shane. Yeah, you know, that's why I'm here. When I hear someone's like, I think they took their website down like it, it sticks in the back of my mind. And it's like, why'd they take their website down? Are they never going to do it again? You know? Right. Right. Anyway. As long as there's money to be made, I'm sure they'll do it. Somebody will do it. You can call it whatever you want to do it. But all it takes is someone who's, you know, good at that stuff, events, which is a whole different beast. And usually it's an outside source that comes in and sets everything up. I participated at the NFL draft along with and that's where I got to know Khalil and a lot of the Nina was right next to us. So that's where I got to know her. So that, and again, that's why I love those things. But the same company, I think that did the NFL draft are the ones who did the music city, food and wine. Were you one of the ones that was on team? Like I'm pissed off about that event. Or were you like, I think it was Khalil that was only one that was like, this went well. Well, here's the thing. I think we were right next to Hattie B's and I was like, this went well. Yeah. Right. So we were like, we were like the biscuit that softened up the gravy that fell off the Hattie B's plate. People would look at that line at Hattie B's and then I would watch them and look at us and they would be like, do you just want barbecue or do you want to wait? Like we were literally just mopping up the Hattie B's leftovers and we did okay. But at the same time, like I was so new to it. We had only been open for five or six months. Like I was just so thrilled to be invited and to be part of it.

48:22So to me, like any dollars, a dollar more than I had before, you know, so those, it was fine for us. Well, that's great. You were like Bradley Cooper's friend at a bar. Wingman. Oh, wingman. Yeah, totally. I was happy to be that. I'm just like, yeah. You really want to wait in that line? No, I mean, you can get your stuff. He's busy. I'm friends with him. Yeah. All right. So just for the people who are out there watching live, we are live. We'd love to hear from you. If you have any questions, anything you want to say, comments, whatever you got, we would love to hear it. Post it there in the comment section. Let us know that you are here. Just give us a quick shout out. Give us a, Hey, what's up? Something. We'd love to know you're here. Say, uh, Jordan is good to see you here, man. Delia. He says you have to try the pig ears at the farmhouse. I'll put it right up there. See that. I know I've got to go. So good. You gotta do it. Jordan is a, uh, Jordan's been amazing advocate for the show. We love you, Jordan. Thanks for, uh, thanks for listening, dude. What do you got next Delia? Um, well, you know what we posted asking for what's the Delia suggestions and I've gotten some good ones, but then I really wanted to know what Shane wants to talk about. Cause I think we might have a, uh, what's the Delia barbecue edition. Well, why don't we, why don't we take a, why don't we put a pause in this and let's talk real quick about faux and bow.com. Faux and bow.com is a website that you can go to right now to find your nest next hospitality job. If you are looking for a job and you're tired of posting something on a hospitality page or indeed you get these different emails, go to faux and bow. You can create a profile and you can follow the restaurants that you want to work for. It is that easy. And if you are a restaurant and you're looking to hire people

50:26and you don't want to continue to post and pray and just hope that you get people, there's over 2,500 people in the city of Nashville right now looking for hospitality jobs. You can create a job. You can sort by server. There's any different classification. You need a line cook. You need a back of the house assistant manager. You need an executive chef, a general manager, assistant general manager. You can go on there and there's people right now who you can hire and it is free for the end of this month. So the end of August, we got, uh, 10 days left folks for you to go and hire as many people as you want to go on, sign up, get an account set up. It is free. And even after this month, it's free to go on there and look. So, um, faux and bow.com is a, uh, is a great sponsor of the show and we appreciate them for everything that they do. We also want to talk real quick about Pennington distilling company. Shane, have you had their Davidson reserve? I've had it all brother. I've had it all. It's good stuff. I do like that one.

51:30Uh, Davidson reserve is named after the city of, uh, after Davidson county where Nashville is Jeff and Jenny Pennington. Um, that is the first made in Nashville grain to glass Tennessee whiskey since prohibition. Did you know that? I did know that. In fact, we have a whiskey club and we have different people come out and speak and give different presentations once a month and back before all this happened. So yeah, we've, we've got the lowdown on a lot of the local distilleries. So, well, they're doing a great job there. They're in the nations and, uh, they are local people and they also make pickers vodka as well as Walton's vodka and then Tennessee whisper Creek, Tennessee sipping cream. So we would love it if you next time you're at a bar or you're wherever you're at. Now the bars are open. If you order a vodka tonic, make sure you order it with pickers or, uh, go check out Davidson reserve, um, Tennessee whiskey. It is, uh, like I said, the first green to glass Tennessee whiskey since prohibition made in Nashville.

52:33All right. So what's the Delia is coming up next. And what's the Delia every single week is brought to you by super source. This is the advertisement section of the show. Ladies and gentlemen, super source is a local dishwasher and chemical company. They, uh, offer no, no contracts as well as no minimums. Let Jason Ellis know he's a general manager. He will come by your restaurant and he will do an audit and identify exactly what you're using, why you're using it and see if there's an opportunity for him to help you. If there's not an opportunity to help you then, then good. Now you can verify that, but no contracts, no minimums. Check them out. Go to our website, www.nashvillerestaurantradio.com and click on the sponsors tab where you will find a special offer. He's doing three months of a free dish machine rental as well as, um, he, uh, if you, if you do it today, I think he's doing 10% off your first order of chemicals. If you call today, so check them out. Super source Delia. I mean, we're kind of flying by the seat of our pants on this one.

53:41Um, the way to go was the Delia barbecue edition, because I think Shane was saying that he spends with the other barbecue guys in town and they all have common problems. Like I can't wait to hear them read the reviews because I know they all have like the same and people are so passionate about barbecue. I think some of the most angry comments that I've gotten at Eater are about barbecue and about burgers and about pizza. I think these are three topics that people get pissed off about. So I can't wait to hear your thoughts on this, Shane. Like, well, you just said it, people are passionate about it. And I think my what's the Delia would be what's the Delia with people treating barbecue places like favorite sports teams, because that's really what they do. Like, and, and I don't know if you saw a few months ago, what Carrie Bringle, uh, my buddy put out, uh, from Pig Lake Porker about, you don't have to hate someone else's barbecue to like mine. And that was kind of like, he even put it on a cup and that's kind of was his anthem. And, but what people don't understand, and it's probably unlike the pizza and all of those other worlds, which I don't know a lot about those. So I can't really speak to that, but we are, we're a really tight knit community. Like we're a family. Like we, a lot of us come from a competition background. We come from festival background. Like it, it really is a really unique thing to where we're not competitors. We don't try to, it's not cutthroat. Like we're friends. We go to each other's restaurants. We see how we're doing. Like for me, like for Carrie, like I've known Carrie for years, dating back to the competition days for both of us. And like for him, like Pig Lake was a big part of Honeyfire opening because he helped me set up my whole kitchen. Um, like what equipment to use and like allowed me to shoot our promo video before we ever opened in his loft. Like, um, and I would do anything for him as well. I cook on his team at Memphis in May. So, uh, Pat Martin lives close to Honeyfire. He comes in, I go to Hugh Baby's and Martin's a lot. So we, we support each other. We're friends. So when people come in and this is the,

55:45this is the, what's the deal here, because people will come in and when I run a food or I talk to customers on a daily basis, a lot of times people will lead with, well, I used to go to so and so, but I don't like them. Now we come here and it's almost like we have switched teams. And I, what I want to just communicate to the world is you don't have to pick a team. You can like both of them because it's, it really is. There's so many different things to offer, you know, like with like our, our barbecue sweet, I'll admit it. Like it's sweet. It's like a Kansas city style. You like sweet ribs. People come in and they're like, do you have any like whatever, like vinegar base? I said, we don't, you know, this is, this is our lane. We're staying in it. You want whole hog. You got your, you got Pat Martin. If you want your West Tennessee dry ribs, no brisket on the menu, then you go see Peg Leg. And like, and so if you want a great sandwich, go, you know, like one of my favorite sandwiches is an Edley's. So, um, there's some great spots and we all support each other. And that's what like, and then I'll, and then what I always follow up with is like, if someone says, well, so-and-so, I don't, I used to, I didn't like this or I didn't like that. And I'll say, well, they're a good friend of mine. Um, and then they usually back, well, I, you know, I, you know, I like it. You know, I just, you know, just they'll backpedal a lot because they, they realize, uh, we're all connected, especially in a small town like Nashville.

57:13And I'm gonna talk about chains and stuff like that, but like locally owned places where we all kind of connect, like, um, I'll tell, and I trained my staff from day one. I was just like, if anyone comes in and they start badmouthing any of our peers, I was just like, let them know they're friends of ours. And that usually will stop it. Um, and, and I know like Carrie, for example, does the exact same thing. Like he came out and just said, Hey, we, we send people to these other places all the time. If you want a sweeter barbecue, you go to Honeyfire. If you want, you know, like, so that, that's what I want people to understand is like, we're all friends, we're all connected and we're not, we're not competing against each other, you know? So there's that. And then the other thing that I hear all the time is, um, I cannot tell you, like, if people have a good experience, which I'm so grateful when they do, um, what I will walk up to people or guests and I'll, you know, they had a great experience and they'll say, or maybe they had a bad experience, but they always lead with the same line. And I probably get this one. And I'm sure the other barbecue places do too. I get this multiple times a week.

58:25I'm from blank. So I know good barbecue, fill in the city, fill in the state, fill in the region. I'm from North Carolina. So I know I'm from Texas. I'm from Kansas city. I'm from, and then you'll get the random ones. Like I'm from Arkansas. I know good barbecue. I'm from Ohio. I know good barbecue, you know, so like, like, I don't think there has been a region or state that has not been covered with the, I'm from blank. So I know good barbecue. So I mean, that's, that's, that's one that I hear two or three, four times a day, I mean, a week. And, uh, it's entertaining, but, um, but what's the deal with that Delia? I love, I love both of those takes. I mean, just cause I'm from Alabama, I don't know, me not know anything. And also, you know, I think everybody in their own field has those questions. They get sick of hearing like, right. We all have those. Like I'd be, I'd love to know what Brandon most asked question is also.

59:33My most, how tall am I? How tall are you? The first thing they do is they inform me of how tall I am. And then they go, how tall are you? I get like, why are you not 500 pounds? Um, and then like, what's your favorite restaurant, which I hate. I thought Jordan, Jordan had a great, uh, Jordan pace put up here. He said, um, I'll put it up. Unless you invented fire, you didn't invent barbecue and you don't own it. Real barbecue is whatever you make it. People need to have an open mind. I'm trying to read that in a Carrie Bringle accent, Carrie Bringle on ugly delicious. Um, every, I, so we're doing these mean reviews, right? And so I was trying to find one from Martin's, uh, we'll meet with Pat Martin tomorrow. And, um, I found this one and I thought this was pretty good based on what you just now said. Uh, this is from I am Caribbean B. Wonder what the B stands for. It's my favorite line now. Uh, three, three reviews. This person has left, not one friend against an indicator says, I just don't even know where to start. We decided to try out Martin's barbecue joint because we love barbecue. My husband is a grill master and he wanted to try someone else's barbecue.

01:00:53And I went, there it is. My husband is a grill master. I'm like, so do you think that a grill is barbecue? Because in the West coast, so I mean, that's another thing too. Cause in the West coast, you don't go out, you barbecue. Like we're going to go out, we're going to go barbecue. That's a thing on the West coast. That's what grilling is. And so here it's a different deal. Like barbecue is an actual, it's a slow and low pork and you have different styles, but on the West coast. So maybe that's what they were thinking is that her husband is a, is a grill master went tries with big mistake. First of all, the pork tastes boiled, had no flavor except for liquid smoke. They use the brisket was full of fat, not even trim. Do you just hear this and just start cringing? Cause we have so many reviews of people who end point things with their palette and it's so far off. Like we don't even have those ingredients in our restaurant, but yeah. Oh, Mike, he's not, there's no liquid smoke.

01:01:57None of us. And we've been accused of that too. And, and then like some, like a microwave, we don't have a microwave in our restaurant, but we get accused of microwave this or microwave that. And it's like, okay, thank you for coming. You do a great job at responding to all of your reviews, every one of them. And so you're one that you're like, I guess you need to go somewhere else. Well, yeah. I mean, cause people, a lot of times people will leave, especially negative reviews. They just want you to know that they're never coming back. So really you just need to say, okay, well thank you for trying good luck. And then honestly, like reading some of those reviews, like, uh, you don't really want them back, you know, like they're, you're not ever going to meet their standards or their expectations. And, but I do try to respond to all of them because I want people to see that I am looking, I am watching. And then a lot of times people will read the one-star reviews and then they just read the responses, you know, and I'm just like, you know, and I think they're, they're looking at the response even more so than the review, you know, like sometimes they're just so like, I'll point off. I got, like someone says, I got a rack of ribs. It was covered in seasoning salt. So gross. I'm like, we don't even have seasoning salt. It's our honey rub made with dehydrated honey. There's no salt in it. Um, you know, but they want to, they want to get specific about things that they're completely inaccurate on. So I like to point those things out saying, Hmm, we don't even have seasoning salt, you know, in the restaurant, you know, I'm sorry you think that, um, and better, you know, happy hunting with your barbecue adventures. I think it's good. Um, Jason and Candace Ellis, I don't know if this is Jason or Candace, um, but Jason Ellis are our favorite person from super source. Absolutely. He wants to know what type of wood do you prefer to smoke over?

01:03:51I think, uh, I get this question a lot, uh, in the restaurant. Um, when guys want to break the ice and I'm not saying this is what Jason is doing, but in the restaurant, like if someone wants to start a conversation, that's usually the leading question. That's a, that's a, that's the question like, what kind of wood do you guys use? Um, well in, in Tennessee, it's hickory. You can pay for fruit woods, like your apple, your cherries and pecan. Um, but like if you want, like we go through, especially like, you know, like Pegleg and Martins and all that, like you go through a lot of wood. Um, you get, we get deliveries almost weekly of, of Ricks and, uh, you got to take what's in abundance. But fortunately for us, that's hickory and hickory is, it puts a great taste on the meat. So, uh, in Tennessee, especially middle Tennessee, hickory is king. So, uh, you'll get some places that will use, uh, blends of a little dose, so a stick of hickory and a smoker along with a stick of apple. But, uh, for us, it's just straight hickory. I think I asked you that question one time in the restaurant because I have a fire pit in my backyard and I put a couple cinder blocks in the fire pit. Like once I let it like, I let the fire go down and I put cinder blocks and then I take the grate from my grill and I just put it right on top. And I like to cook over wood.

01:05:08And I was in there talking to you and Dan, I go, Hey, what kind of, uh, kind of wood do you use? Cause I'm, I'm like cooking with cedar. You were like that week to ask that I had no idea, but I wasn't asking you cause I was like, what do you use? Cause it tastes good on your meat. I was asking you because I was like, Hey, I'm cooking with cedar. Is that, am I going to get sick? I didn't know what I was doing. I just got wood. I'm just cooking. Hopefully you ditch the cedar. Cedar is like the one thing I tell people not to cook with. Um, uh, but anyway, so I think a reason you get that question a lot is because backyard grillers typically get their supplies from like Lowe's, Home Depot, that kind of thing. So whenever you go to those places, you see bags of wood chips, wood chunks, and it's, you've got apple, you've got cherry, you've got this. So there's the selection from a retail standpoint. But when you go through as much as we do in a restaurant, like you're, I mean, you could probably get a rick of cherry, but you're going to pay a premium for it, you know? And then honestly, people who say like, like someone could take a bite of ribs and I could tell them that I use cherry wood on it and they could be like, Oh, I could taste that cherry. No, you can't. You can't. You're just trying to, you know, you can't. So, um, it's for us, you know, Hickory is, is, is, is king in Tennessee. So I'm never, I'm never going to be able to like, you're, you're, you're taking all the illusions away from me. I know the barbecue guys don't like jab each other. Like when they see each other, they eat each other's restaurants. Like, this is a revelation for me. I'm like, wait, you go in your place. I love it. Like such a spirit of unity in such an important time.

01:06:46About you guys. So thanks for shedding light on that for sure. Yeah. That's a different animal out here in the barbecue world. So in a good way, Jason says he uses apple and Hickory and that it was Jason, not, not Candice Ellis. There's a lot of pellet cookers too. So their pellet cookers are really popular right now and you can get all different kinds of pellets made from all different woods. Um, so a lot of people will, will that's, that's, that's a lot of where that question comes from too, because there's such an assortment of pellets. So yeah, I was just looking for ideas and I don't want to get sick, but. Well, you happen to choose the one wood out of like 15 that I probably wouldn't recommend. So when you said you're cooking with cedar for real. Well, I've got like a million cedar trees and there's, you know, I'm clearing a path and I got all these like logs and I was like, it smells so good. Did you cook with it and eat the meat? Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Roll with it then. That's a good concept. I've had a gas grill for so long that I, um, you know, I had a fire pit and I was like, I'm going to cook over fires. We had like hot dogs on like the little sticks and we cooking a hot dog over an open flame versus a hot dog on a gas grill.

01:07:59I don't care what kind of wood you use. It's going to taste better, right? Well, it depends. There are some woods that will put some stank on some food. Like there's some bad woods. Like cedar. Well, I don't know. Like you might have a mild cedar, but there are some, like if it's really fresh, like it could like, and I, and it all comes down to preference. Like I don't love mesquite. It's really popular in Texas, but like I wouldn't choose that either. Like I like mild stuff and I like doing blends. Like I love pecan. Like when I do competitions, I'll do a hickory pecan blend or fruitwood, which would be a cherry or pecan blend or something like that. So. All right. I'm not trying to burst your barbecue bubble. You're still a grill master in my mind. Still a grill master. The term grill master, by the way, is probably the equivalent to like an influencer on Instagram. Oh, you just spoke Delia's language. I did. I'm trying to, I'm trying to like, so you're an influencer and you have a thousand followers and you want free food. Okay. Not happening. You know, so anyway.

01:09:06You have any of those emails? Uh, we get them. Um, we get a lot. We had a food challenge that we ended up taking off the menu. We see, cause we can still do it, but the biggest thing was the food challenge. Like people would want $500 to a thousand dollars to come do our food challenge and put it out on their socials. We'll come attempt your food challenge. Or want you to pay for them to do it? Oh yeah. Like we had one guy that was like $500. I'll do it. I've got 4,000 followers. I'm like, no, I'm not paying you a penny. Um, you know, and so you're welcome to do it. And then he ended up talking me down to like, all right, I'm not from Nashville. I need to get back to Missouri where I live. Can you instead of, because the reward is a $50 gift card. If you finish it, he's like, can you just do $50 cash? You know, he worked his way down for 50, but we get emails and all kinds of stuff from people that are, um, they're searching for content for their, their professional eater stuff, but they're also, they're also asking for a premium because they have a big reach. So you know what you, if you really like food, you'll go and you'll pay for your meal. If you're, if you need content for your YouTube channel, then you'll come anyway. I mean, that's just like started going and posting about it.

01:10:22Go figure. Yeah, they figured out a lot of times they'll come back though, but they'll come back, but I just, I don't, I don't pay them anything. So we did a whole, what's the deal with, uh, bloggers during a pandemic asking for free food. We get a lot of that, but it usually, they're not usually that blatant when they ask those, they'll say, we would love to work with you. Collaborate. Yeah. We would love to collaborate. We would love, they were, they don't word it like, Hey, can you pay us for it? You know, like, and typically like, I don't mind giving a meal or something like that, but it's like, there's a lot of them out there that, um, want a premium in addition to the food. They're like, well, you know, like we, for, for $600, we can do a post. And I'm like, I appreciate it, but no, thank you. Like I'm in the wrong business. Alrighty then. So, um, what's the deal? Yeah. With people walking. What, how do we phrase what's, what's the deal?

01:11:38With, um, which way you talk about the first one? Yeah. People, uh, comparing, uh, people treating barbecue joints, like there's favorites, both teams. Yeah. I'm like, there's an allegiance that you can't break. You can't like both teams, right? Like both cities, you have to like, you can't like two styles, but the same way with pizza, honestly. And in fact, I use this comparison with people. I was just like, I don't care if it's deep dish, Chicago style or New York style. Like I like it all. And it's okay for you to like all barbecue. They're different styles. They're from different regions. Um, you don't have to just pick one, you know, like you can like them both because I do like anyway. Love it. Love it too. Did you have another one? No, just those two. I mean, just those two in terms of the barbecue world. Um, I did have a question for Delia, but we can save that for a little bit later. So unless you want to talk I'm ready. So go ahead. Oh, I was just going to say that, you know, we, we typically do a local legend on the show. I think having you on the show is like having a local legend. Um, I don't have, I don't have the longevity to be even in that. Like Kerry Bringle is a legend because, because he's been open for eight years. We have eight years to be a legend. 10 years is our bar to be a local legend, but that is brought to you by Mobile Fixture. Uh, Ben Whitlock and Mobile Fixture over there, um, who was our guest host last week, I believe, right? Yes. Uh, it feels like it was a long time ago. Um, Mobile Fixture has everything you need to outfit your kitchen with the best equipment and the best service. So they will come in and help you identify where everything needs to go. They'll look at your menu, identify where, um, how to set everything up so that it has great flow. Did you use a company when you opened your restaurant to identify flow? Uh, no, but going back to what I referenced earlier, a lot of that was have,

01:13:45because I had Kerry to kind of lean on and his team to see how they built things and the equipment that they use. So, um, our, our kitchen set up is very similar to Peg Legs because of that relationship. So, but I can tell you right now, I had, had I not had that, like I used invest upfront and have someone just come in and help you set all that up and pick the right stuff. Otherwise you're going to be buying, even if you buy one piece of equipment that is wrong, that you have to replace after a month, because it's like, I'm not using it or whatever. I mean, that piece of equipment could be five, 10, $15,000. So it's better and it's better to have someone help you set that up upfront than it is to think, well, I got this. And then end up having to two or three pieces of equipment that you're not going to use, or maybe you've got the wrong size of equipment or anyway, just, just ask for help, especially if it's your first spot. But also when you're, when you're looking at a menu and how many, you have nine fry items and one grill item and, you know, two things that need to go on a salamander, like where you have that stuff set up in your kitchen can really expedite, expedite how fast it takes to get food out.

01:14:53So if you have nine things on a fryer and you put one fryer in and you have a grill that is, you know, six feet long and you only have two grill items, you're not setting yourself up for success. You're going to have 45 minute ticket times and you work with a company like Mobile fixture. They'll be able to come in and help you identify exactly what you need, where it needs to go so that you are setting up yourself for success. So give them a call, go to our website at nashvillerestaurantradio.com. Again, click the sponsors tab, find Mobile fixture and click. There's a link there that will take you straight there. They will, they have got a facility in Smyrna, which has a warehouse. There's a showroom. You can go look at stuff. If you just have an idea, give them a call and run it by, they will be happy to go over exactly what they can do to help you out. This is Mobile fixture. Okay. What were you going to say now, Shane? Okay. So I have a long list of what's the deal is, but this one is more of just a question for you. So when I see top five, I don't think you do this. I'm just speaking in general. When I see top five lists, top 10 lists versus just roundups. So top best of list versus roundup, I think is the best way to put this. So whenever like it's just, I've seen so much stuff come across the board. It's like top five barbecue places in Nashville. And you can tell that this person is not local. This person does not eat at these places. This person just did maybe a little bit of research online and put together their top five, whether it's burgers, pizza, hot dogs, whatever. But then you're just like, really? Like, is this just a Google search that you did? And you just kind of pulled because you're leaving like two or three like phenomenal places completely off of your list. Versus I think, which is more of the style that you do, which is a roundup, which isn't like the best, but it's just like, these are some great spots, go check them out, but you're not listing them like number one, number two, I mean, everybody has a different opinion.

01:16:57Right. As far as rankings go, but that's one of my, I think I'm gonna get tattooed like on my face. This list is ranked by location, not ranked rank. It's just listed by geographic location. Yeah. The essential 38 is that you're talking about? No, just like, you know, like he says like best of barbecue lists or like best of like Nashville. Oh, best of like Green Hills or yeah. There's all these maps, but I think the issue with some of those is they are trying to rank them and then people get mad and we do just try to do not comprehensive, just kind of highlights of here are 10 and especially right now we're transitioning all of our maps to take out. So now like we did the burger one yesterday and I was like, holy crap, like three of the best burgers aren't available for takeout. So they come off the list. I can't wait for somebody to be like, where is this? I'm like Huskies and open for lunch right now. Good. I'm not saying the burger's not good. It's not saying it's not good. It's just saying like we can't have a list of every single pizza in Nashville. We just try to have a curated list based on.

01:18:00Would you say that a lot of the, the things that come across online or whatever, like the lot of the lists are put together, the top five, the top 10 and pick any category. Would you say the majority of those are probably from writers who are not part of the city and probably have not eaten at most of those places? I think absolutely. And I think that some people that are in the city don't dine out enough to know. Um, for instance, there was this, I won't, there was a terrible national publication list of 24 hours of what to do in Nashville. And it was the worst list of suggestions I've ever seen in my life. I was like, if I hated somebody, I might be like, go do that while you're in Nashville. But I was, and I found out that the writer lives in Nashville and I was like, they don't even leave their house. I don't know. I mean, now we don't leave our house, but this is before pandemic. And I think, I do think that's true. I think some people will say, well, you don't have to go to this restaurant to write about it because you can find information on Yelp or you can get on TripAdvisor and find the top 10 cheap eats. And I think some of them just ripped those. And I mean, I had some, my own list completely ripped and then ranked. And I think you're onto something in that those people aren't actually like foods on the ground, masking the restaurant, eating the food. Right. Totally. Yeah. And I think that's the thing. There have been some stuff that we've even been included on, but I look on it and I'm like, we're on here and so-and-so is on here, but I've got two or three friends that have phenomenal space that isn't on here. And it makes it even hard for you to share that and be excited about it because it's so, you can tell just by reading it, this isn't someone local. This is probably someone who, I don't know. So I think there's a big difference. And I even had the misunderstanding too. And I can see where you would get frustrated because before I got into the restaurant world, when I would just see stuff, I would see a roundup and think, oh, a top 10 list because when you post it, I guess you have to list it in, I mean, something has to just be in certain

01:20:01order. Right. So I can see where that would be really frustrating for you. Will people be like, well, how'd you leave this off? Or how are you going to say they're number one? And like, so yeah, but I imagine it can be confusing. It is. And we all have our own frustrations with what we do. And that's a big one for me is trying to explain. And there's no way for me to possibly know everything. So I do like hearing from like talking to people that go out in other parts of town and finding out, hey, where's your favorite pizza spot? Where do you get your donuts? Because there's no way for me to possibly know everything. And people don't understand I'm a part-time employee of Eater. I can't keep track of thousands of restaurants single-handedly. You say you're a part-time employee of Eater? Yeah. I thought you invented Eater. No, I didn't know that. Well, she is the editor of Eater Nashville. She is, yeah, part-time. One thing I will bring this back. What'd you say, Delia? Inventor of Dining with Delia Jo. That's it. There you go. Yes. We are going to, like the idea of the roundup, the show, is to do kind of what we've been doing. It is if you live in Nashville and you are, it kind of started when I used to drive Uber on the weekends. I'd pick somebody up who lived in town. I would drive them downtown and they would say, we're going to go to, we're going to Fifth and Taylor. And I would go, sweet. They go, we don't even know anything about it. And I would go, oh, they go, there's so many restaurants opening up. We just can't keep up with what they are. And I thought, hey, with this show, it'd be so much fun to kind of keep the people in Nashville up to date with what's happening in town. And we have absolutely every intention to do, I want to do the great eight list. I like the number eight.

01:21:42So the great eight, it rhymes. I don't know if that's going to be the thing, but I want to have essentially what Delia does over at Eater where she has the heat map, right? So you have a heat map, which will come back. The heat map is no longer. Yeah. Well, I mean, obviously with nothing happening in town, you can't really do a heat map for the hottest new restaurants. There are now, but we're just not doing it. So we are going to do a hot map. We'll do something along those lines. But on this show, the last three segments that we're going to do on this show, I want to do the hottest new restaurants. And then I want to do the essential restaurants. We'll call it something different, obviously, but something very similar to what they're doing at Eater. But I want to have, we'll announce the top three and they will be numbered in what we feel like is the best in town. And we'll do different categories too, but it'll be fun. It'll be controversial. And you can hop on here and go, you're crazy. Are people voting on this or how's this happening? It's all me. Just whatever I think. No, we will have votes. We will have people that will be able to go to our website and they'll be able to vote. Hopefully I have a way you can go to the website and join in to be an insider and you'd be an insider. Then maybe we'll do a quarterly, we'll get eight chefs in different parts of the city and those eight chefs will vote every single week. They'll go in and just kind of like a little survey monkey for us. And then, you know, we'll take those eight chefs as well with what we think. And then we'll create our top top eight lists for newest, essential, and then local legends. The people that have been around the longest who are doing the best job. I want to support the people who have helped shape what Nashville's restaurant community is. That's going to be a fun part of the show. I think talking about all those things once we're back to even a little bit more of a new normal, now that everybody's opened essentially, we'll see what we can do. I love that. I think it's going to be great. It's

01:23:46a great idea. Can't wait to do the best barbecue. Who do you think has the best barbecue in town, Delia Jo? Have you been to Honeyfire? I have. I love Honeyfire. I had a giant plate of meat when I was there. I ate it for like four days. If you look in my car right now, I almost took a picture today. There's two glasses in my cup holder in my car and one of them is green and it says Peg Lake Porker and it's plastic. And the other one is a Styrofoam cup that says Martin's. And then every night I make a root beer float. That's my version of whiskey that I have these days. And I make it in a black Honeyfire plastic cup. Yes. I would much rather have whiskey in my cup than be in your car. No kidding, right? But I have in my car right now, it's two different barbecues from two different places. Yeah, I think I have things that I get from different places. Like what's the sandwich that you have? Hold on. There's a sandwich I get in Honeyfire that I love. The Diablo? Is it the Diablo? The one with the pimento and the fried green tomatoes? Yeah, that one. That's the Southern Shine. Yeah. I love that one there. And I go to Peg Lake and I get ribs. And I really like the wings at Martin's. And I really like the brisket at the Oak Texas Barbecue and at Shotgun Willie's.

01:25:10And I think I'm forgetting one, but that's... And I wish everybody had that perspective. I really do. I wish everybody said, you know what? You can get something you like at every place. You don't have to have an allegiance to just one place. That's the perfect and that's the exact way to look at it. I actually go to pull... I love the dry ribs at Peg Lake and same thing. I usually get the burger or the wings at Martin's. Yeah. You know, since I started going to Honeyfire, I just stopped going everywhere else. I mean, there's no point in even dining at other barbecue places. Well, you do live right around the corner, so you have an excuse. We ordered just the other night. We ordered to go from you. And I got the... It was a burger with the diavolo. My wife got the buffalo and I got the devil version. No, but it was like a sandwich. It was a sandwich. The brisket? Diavolo Jones. My wife got the buffalo Jones. Oh, nice. She's got the popcorn chicken. It was good, man.

01:26:16Buffalo Jones is a secret menu item. It's not on... Like when you walk into the restaurant, it's not on the big board. It's on the online order. Yeah. So you can get it online if you order online, but it's pulled chicken, smoked chicken, and buffalo sauce, ranch, queso, fried jalapenos. It's a good one. Stop. That doesn't... They don't deliver to the gulch. I had a brisket burger today at Martin's. That's my favorite there. Yeah. That was legit. If you go to Martin's, that brisket burger was fantastic. And then I had the ribs at Peg Lake last week because it's damn good. Your beans though, your baked beans are like second to none, dude. Well, thank you. They're spicy. So we get some complaints on them because they have jalapenos in them. But whenever they order them, our staff is supposed to say, no, those are spicy. Is that okay? And all our sweet elderly Bellevue residents who come in for lunch. Oh, no, no, no. I don't want that. We'll switch it. We don't get a big lunch crowd in Bellevue. It's not a happening lunch place because nobody works in Bellevue. I was trying to find a place to go tomorrow. I'm meeting the boyfriend's parents tomorrow for lunch and I was trying to find a place and I was like all the places I would take. I didn't know where to go in downtown because everything's closed because no one is going to lunch. Shane, I'm sorry, but I have to interject here. Okay. Did you just say what I think you said? Yes. She just dropped a bomb like there was nothing. Did you see that? I heard it, but I'm not sure the current status of what you know and what the people know. Well, she went Facebook official with it like a month ago.

01:28:10Okay. You know, she was in a relationship, but now it's a boyfriend. Well, that's what that means, right? I mean, it feels weird to be a 38 and call somebody that, but it is. Did you guys have the conversation? Did you say, when you introduce me, will you introduce me as your girlfriend? And will you? We don't really say that. We just say names. I feel too old to use that, you know, when he's a dad and like, it's weird to call somebody. I don't know what else. This is my girlfriend. Yeah. But it's official now. Congratulations. Margo. I got a reservation at Margo. Nice. That's another place I need to add to my list to try. Yeah. Yes, for sure. Well, congratulations. That's really cool. Well, we've gone an hour and a half where does the time go? Where does the time go? Shane Nasby, the NAS joining us today.

01:29:14I look forward to this episode every week. It's so fun. I thank you guys so much for, for doing this. It's been in time with all you people out there. And, um, I, I, I, anything else, you guys got anything else? I'm good. You have a, did you, have you thought of a good sign off Shane? Oh, man. Um, I haven't, man, you didn't put that on my list of things to come up with. So, um, I don't, how about just thank you. And I'm grateful for everybody who's showing love to all of the restaurants right now. Um, yeah, just keep doing it and let's get through this crappy season together and, uh, let's get on the other side of it. And let's think that 2021 is going to be thriving again. People are going to be filling the restaurants, music, live music. Like I'm, I'm going to choose to believe that 2021 is going to be awesome. And, uh, what's all together, right? That's right.

01:30:16All right. Thank you so much for joining us today. And you can still be pretty with your masks on. I like it. And I hope that you guys are staying safe out there and, uh, love one another. Love you guys. Bye.