After driving up the wrong side of a mountain, we got some good sleep and headed out for a new adventure on Monday, August 8. Our Smoky Siesta continued after leaving Chicago, visiting family, enjoying Nashville, and cursing GPS directions in the mountains.
Hiking the Oconaluftee River Trail
We had breakfast on the porch of the cabin and our view… well, it was pretty awesome! After a relaxed morning, we hopped in the car and drove over to Cherokee, NC.
Continuing our Smoky Siesta story, we left off in Nashville, after spending an evening enjoying some great BBQ and music. Before continuing on to the Smoky Mountains, we spent a little more time in Nashville the next day by visiting the Cheekwood Botanical Garden and Museum of Art.
Steve is framable!
Since we've done a lot of the normal tourist stuff in Music City in the past, it was nice to explore something different and new. Also, given that we recently became members of the Chicago Botanic Garden, we got discounted admission because of a reciprocal admissions program run by the American Horticultural Society. In this case, membership actually did have its privileges!
Welcome to Cheekwood, stay for the pineapple
Cheekwood is a lot different from the botanical gardens I'm familiar with. In reality, it's more like a historic estate that happens to have gardens on the property. In this case, that estate was owned by a couple who made a lot of money after creating Maxwell House coffee… a brand that originated in Nashville (named after the Maxwell House Hotel downtown, no longer in existence). Eventually, the 55-acre property was opened to the public in 1960.
As I mentioned in my post about BevReview business cards, I recently attended the National Restaurant Association show here in Chicago to check out what was on display in the world of beverages. I was joined by my friend Nicko Sahlas, founder of BevReview's partner site ChefTalk.com, as we explored the thousands of exhibitors showcasing their products and services.
Steve & Nicko
This coming weekend I'm heading to the National Restaurant Association show down at McCormick Place here in Chicago. The "Food Show" is always a fun event to attend, as I've been able to go in the past as a guest with some of the food service management I used to work with when I attended Taylor University. During college, as part of my student loan work program, I spent 4 years in the Dining Commons… and probably learned more about management and leadership than I'd ever learn from books today.
It's that time of year again. That's right, time to find the "good pop." That is, Kosher for Passover versions of Coke and Pepsi. These are considered awesome because they use real sugar as sweeteners instead of high fructose corn syrup. I'm not Jewish, but this Kosher stuff is awesome!
Note the yellow caps to denote Kosher
This year, the demand isn't as great, I feel, because we've been blessed by similar drinks in the form of Pepsi Throwback, Mountain Dew Throwback, and Heritage Dr Pepper. But still, as a beverage enthusiast, it was time to make a "Kosher run!"
Sucrose = Sugar
I've previously reviewed Kosher Coke, Kosher Pepsi, and even Kosher Caffeine Free Pepsi for BevReview.com, so I don't need to go into that here. This year, I went with my friend George up to Hungarian Kosher Foods in Skokie where they can always be counted on to have the Kosher drinks. And sure enough, I walked away with some 2 liters of Coke and CF Pepsi.
Kosher Bazooka Gum
But even more interesting was the box of Kosher Bazooka Gum that George walked away with. It had a very different taste, in my opinion, though to be honest I can't remember the last time I actually chewed Bazooka. (Michael Ei$ner now owns Bazooka's parent company, so maybe that's a reason!)
Click to enlarge
Beyond that, it was somewhat funny to find that the enclosed Bazooka Joe comic was written in Hebrew. I'm not sure what's happening in the comic. Care to give a guess? (Make sure you read from right to left!)
