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Issue 05 SEPTEMBER 2013
MONTGOMERY
huetopia Fall 2013
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Montgomery
MONTGOMERY
PUBLISHER MADE Paper
Issue 05 SEPTEMBER 2013
EDITORS Brent Rosen, Anna Lowder, Caroline Nabors Rosen, Harvi Sahota CREATIVE DIRECTOR Harvi Sahota DESIGN Matter www.iheartmatter.com CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Brent Rosen, Caroline Nabors Rosen, Anna Lowder, Andrea Jean, Heather Steen, Tiffany Bell, Will Abner, Johnny Veres, Sam Wootten, Jennifer Kornegay, Scott Steen, Melissa Tsai, Joe Birdwell, Tom Jean, Edwin Marty, Evans Bailey, Tina Hofer Medico, Robert Wool, Will Steineker, Elliot Knight, Mark Bowen, Christian Kerr, Rebecca Seung, David Mowery, Brian Carroll, Josh Carples, Katie Lindgren, Natilee McGruder
CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Harvi Sahota, Grace Photography, Josh Moates, Jon Kohn, Ryan Muirhead, Luke Lindgren ADDITIONAL CONTRIBUTORS Joshua Pittman, Robin Birdwell
Made is a free, independent newspaper published monthly. Modern design, authentic voices, smart articles and curated events. ISSUE 05 SEPTEMBER 2013
DISCLAIMER: Made publishes news and commentary, critique and reporting, offering different views from our community. Our contributors offer a variety of views and perspectives on subjects covered in Made. These views and opinions do not necessarily reflect those of the publisher. Due to the nature of creative industries and the connections we foster with those around us, contributors may have some personal or professional connection with people, events, or organizations covered in the publication or website. All letters, messages, and emails sent to Made will be treated as intended for publication unless otherwise noted by the author. Letters and emails may be edited for space and content. Made celebrates the rich history of a free press and is proud to continue to strengthen this tradition.
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COVER PHOTO: Grace Photography MODEL: Kelly Michelle Lewis
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Column style feature: huetopia Feature: cottage tour inside out Makers Food & DRINK EAT SOUTH Football Music TRAVEL
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a i p o t hue
MADE is a collective of citizens celebrating the local, the authentic, and the unique. We are creatives featuring other creatives and the engaging work being produced in our city. We call attention to all fields forging new pathways in expression and innovation. We are makers who love to eat, talk, collaborate, question, party, and laugh, and we want you to take part. Thanks for reading this and supporting the artists, craftsmen, creatives, and active citizens that make a city thrive.
The Sixth Sense of Every Great City: Sense of Place WORDS BRENT ROSEN
Great cities are great because they have their own themes, feels, moods, tones; an identity locals know without being told and visitors can feel every minute on their trip. Great cities don’t create their identity from whole cloth, or focus-group ideas until they arrive on a theme that resonates. Instead, great cities develop an identity organically, authentically, until the identity becomes obvious. Atlanta acts as capitol of the new South, New Orleans serves as the Northernmost outpost of the morally-casual Caribbean, Nashville inextricably intertwines with country music. When taken to an extreme, these identities result in kitsch, but having a well-defined identity that all can attach to, can identify with, can respond to and want to further, is how a city becomes unique. And that matters. A lot. Think about your favorite city… go on, I’ll wait (shines shoes, files nails, throws out expired items from fridge). Ok -- what is that makes it your favorite? It could be anything, but I’ll guarantee the reason is unique to that particular city. San Francisco and New Orleans have a lot of similarities -- the food is great, the architecture is different than any other city in the US, both utilize streetcars for public transportation -- but you would never take a ride on the streetcar in New Orleans and say to yourself, “wow, I really love how much New Orleans is like San Francisco.” Despite the many similarities, those cities remain uniquely “New Orleans” and “San Francisco.” At this point, you might be looking for a concrete example. So here goes. I spent the last weekend in August in Florence, Alabama, and holy shit was it amazing. It was the weekend of Billy Reid’s Shindig, so I expected fashionability. What I didn’t expect was the music. St. Paul and the Broken Bones, The Bear, The Secret Sisters, Tift Merrit, The Pollies, Belle Adair, The Pyles, J.D. McPherson -- over a 36 hour span, I saw them all. The majority of this who’s who of Alabama music live and play regularly in the Shoals, so what seemed like the opportunity of a lifetime to me was “Friday and Saturday “ to the locals. Over the weekend I learned that the Shoals comes by this naturally -- it is the home of the “Muscle Shoals Sound,” featured in a new documentary called Muscle Shoals. The documentary is about FAME recording studios, and the influence this small, unassuming studio that shares a parking lot with a CVS has had on contemporary musical culture. If you like Percy Sledge, Aretha Franklin, or Wilson Pickett, you probably like them for the music they recorded in Muscle Shoals. If you like Lynyrd Skynyrd, the Rolling Stones or Paul Simon, ditto. I had no idea “When a Man Loves a Woman,” “R-E-S-P-E-C-T,” “Brown Sugar, “ “Kodachrome,” or “Freebird” were originally recorded in Muscle Shoals. This legacy is carried on, by the local musicians still performing regularly in the Shoals, to those acts who’ve graduated to the national stage, like the Drive-by Truckers, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, and the Alabama Shakes.
Music and fashion come together in Florence, creating a unique identity that everyone in town can understand, appreciate, and celebrate. For instance, some friends are opening “Odette” a restaurant in Florence in the next few months. The restaurant will be located a few blocks from the Billy Reid store, the table settings and decor will be explore the rakish Southern charm that characterizes Florence’s style, and the restaurant’s sound system will only play local music or music recorded locally in the Shoals. Embracing Florence’s identity will make the restaurant stronger, as it situates the restaurant within Florence’s burgeoning music/fashion scene. At the same time, the restaurant makes Florence stronger, serving as another outpost to enjoy Florence’s impressive, authentic culture. This beneficial relationship, when magnified across dozens of businesses sharing a common identity or theme, creates a sense of place. It’s what will make Florence into “Florence.” So, the question becomes, what is Montgomery’s identity? How can we turn Montgomery into “Montgomery” -- a unique place that people want to live in and visit, and not a place people commute to for work, turning around and heading back to Auburn and Prattville when the clock strikes 5:00? A few thoughts. Almost no other city has Montgomery’s historical legacy -from Civil War to Civil Rights -- yet, unless you read those historical plaques around town, you would never know. Montgomery could be the Washington, DC of the South, a capitol city infused with so much history you can’t turn around without bumping into a museum or historical site. I have some ideas about why Montgomery ignores this legacy, but the time for a collective shuffling, whistling, “nothing to see here” attitude has long past. What if future development encouraged Montgomery to showcase its historic, small-town charm, while also ensuring Montgomery has enough modern amenities that residents don’t have to feel like they live in the past. Something like “Montgomery, the Town that Lives Like a City,” a place where you can know your neighbors, fit into your community, all while remaining free of the hassles, inconveniences and expenses you find in other cities around the region. These are just ideas to start a conversation, and this conversation is worth having. Montgomery needs to know what it is before it can develop its own unique sense of place. Montgomery must avoid growth for the sake of growth, the kind of development that makes profit in the short-term, but makes no long-term sense. Look no further than Florence to see how much a city’s reputation can change once the city develops and embraces a unique identity. Montgomery has the “Who” and the “What,” but until we give people a unique “Why” to identify with, no matter how much we promote and celebrate our city, it cannot become one of the best mid-size cities in the South. If you have thoughts, email us at editor@madepaper.com. SEPTEMBER 2013 • MADEPAPER.COM
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The shop is packed with boxes stacked waist high: tissue and packing lists trail from ripped packages while clothes racks and hangers slide feverishly across the showroom. Neither the owners nor the staff seem to mind. For that matter neither do the customers entrenched in the chaos, with good reason. This is the opening scene of Fall / Winter 2013 at hue studio. That’s right, it’s time to shop. Not familiar with hue studio? Then it’s probably time for a makeover. Hue studio is the headquarters for style and fashion in Montgomery, with looks straight from New York and Los Angeles but curated for the
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modern, local maven. It’s everything a shop should be: locally-owned, independent, innovative, and supportive of its city. Moreover, it’s run by three sharp-witted and no-nonsense women, making it all the better. This month, it unveils its huetopia Fall 2013, a semi-annual runway-meets social event of the season, at The A&P. Bigger and badder than ever, this year brings New York City’s fashion gurus to Montgomery, a runway erected in the street, and an extra VIP Party. Let’s dig in...
WORDS ANNA LOWDER Photo GRACE PHOTOGRAPHY
Owners Heather Steen, Stephanie Brown and Edna Steen are as varied as the offerings of hue studio. With backgrounds ranging from finance to interior design and a span of thirty years between them, this crew is a balance of creativity, sensibility, and determination. Connected as both family (marriage and birth) and as friends, they play off each others strengths. Stephanie is the “all things financial” gal and keeps the lights on and bills paid; Edna has a warmth with customers and keeps the place organized and running smoothly; Heather (the “Yankee turned Southerner” by way of South Florida and NYC) has the passion for “all things design.” We talked shop one summer afternoon. How did the idea of opening an independently-owned women’s boutique in Montgomery, Alabama come about? When Heather moved to Montgomery, we were all talking and came to find each of us had a vision for a retail store we dreamed of opening. We decided to join forces and open a new concept to Montgomery: a “lifestyle store.” We noticed all of the Montgomery stores had the same feel, look, and sometimes products. Traditional design and objects were king, we just thought there was a bigger story to tell. We opened with a modern store design and with edgy products to shake it up. We found that most of our customers who initially “got it” were military or well-traveled and were excited that we offered something different. Over seven years, our modern lifestyle concept has gained a great following and we’ve been there to teach and fuel its fire. It couldn’t have been easy for a group of professional females to open an independent fashion boutique in Montgomery. Tell us some of the obstacles you faced early on. One of our obstacles was also our biggest asset: none of us had ever owned a store, bought for retail, or had our own business. We made mistakes along the way - but not knowing what we were in for, or what the rules were, allowed us to do things our way. We’re not so sure we would have made some of the decisions that created who we are today if we had been groomed in the business prior to opening. So that’s one. Anything else? The 2007 economic downturn, scarcely a year after we opened. That was definitely our biggest obstacle - one that we still feel the effects of today. We had projections from our amazing first year, and when everyone stopped spending, it was a big shock. We had to look carefully at everything, throw out what didn’t work, and lean on the things that did. We re-wrote our program, and from that moment we never held on too tightly to what we thought we were supposed to be. We listened to what our customers needed us to be.” You have the most successful, highest profile womenswear store in the region. You are sought after and respected today. As women in a male-dominated entrepreneurial role, was this always the case? We were told more than once that our idea would not work: our name didn’t make sense, or we were “doing it all wrong.” Each time we heard that we would do a few things: laugh, shake our heads, look closer to give more thought, and then press on full steam ahead. We didn’t fit a mold, and for that we had to have tough skin. It’s funny now that we think about it, most of the people we work with are women. We have a team we generally go to for banking, photography, graphic design and more, who loved our concept and store and none of them happened to be men. We’ve worked hard for our current status and know we have to continue to create, develop and grow to keep things at this level. You individually juggle career, family life, personal time - it’s a full schedule. How do you each organize and prioritize it all? We are still learning day by day how to make it work. Since opening, we’ve added five children to the mix. There is always a constant shift of kids from one owner to another to help get tasks completed. Edna is a grandmother to two of the children
and a great aunt to the other three. They’re all cousins that function more like brothers and sisters and we wouldn’t have it any other way! Our staff is essential too - it’s all hands on deck and no one is too big or small to take on a task. Personal, family, career lives tend to all mesh together so it’s hard to even separate them anymore. We just put our heads down and plow through. Sometimes it proves to be harder than we ever thought but we do it together and have a great time with each other in the process. You’ve expanded and adapted the offerings at hue studio over the years. Talk us through how you have adapted to meet the needs of the local market and changes in the economy. When we first opened we were a little bit of everything. This worked for the first year until the market sunk and people had to focus on what they needed rather than wanted. We were labeled “expensive” and that didn’t sit well with us. We weren’t looking to own a store that catered to one type of person… this was for everyone. It took years to debunk that first impression and sometimes we still fight it today. We narrowed down our list of what we offered and became the experts on just that. Women still wanted to look fabulous, so we brought in well-priced lines that met the quality and design standards we were known for, and only kept the best of the best at the higher end. Through the years we have added and dropped lines but one thing remains: you can get a variety of styles, sizes, and price points when you shop with us. Now that things are on the upswing we have started to add back some of the higher end and special occasion brands but we will always continue to look for those great deal brands that service a large portion of our customer base. You relocated to Old Cloverdale last year. Why did you choose to move to an older, neighborhood setting? When we first opened, we had an idea of what we wanted to be and how we wanted to function. We didn’t quite get everything on that list in our first location. Our visibility wasn’t perfect, which didn’t help with traffic, and the one thing we really pined for was a sense of community. Lifestyle centers, interstates, national chains: all are missing that connectivity with a community. They just lack heart. Cloverdale, and specifically The A&P, provided a place where we could collaborate with similar businesses and gave us an audience that cared if we were successful. Our fashion show, huetopia, is a big tell for this. People want to be a part of this, whether as a retailer or a customer, and everyone wants to contribute to its success. We feel like we are at home now and we love that we can be a part of something bigger than just our store! Who is your target customer today? The majority of our business is women aged 25-45. But this is not our only target. Our target is anyone who wants something different, something that you won’t see everywhere, something that you make your own. We truly have all age groups that shop with us. What sets hue studio apart in Montgomery? We sell a lifestyle, not just products. We strive to keep brand exclusivity and when we can, we buy local. Most of our jewelry is made by local artisans, either as one-of-a kind or made in small quantities. We’ve had trunk shows with Susan Starr, Anchor and Daisy, Catherine Brawner, and we carry our very own Jenny Johnson Lockhart’s collection in the store. Tell us some of the new offerings and products this season at hue studio. Our biggest adventure this season is our new website (www.avibrantlifestyle.com). With our current work load we can’t offer another store, but what we can do is bring hue studio to the masses via the internet. So for all of our “outof-towners” that visit here and there, you will be able to shop with us on a regular basis! What’s your advice to younger entrepreneurs looking to do a
start-up in Montgomery or a town similar? Know what you want and go for it. People will tell you no (A LOT) but it’s your choice to either listen and quit, or press forward and find a way. Owning your own business is not for someone that wants it easy, or isn’t willing to go that extra mile. If you want a 9-5, we recommend you be employed rather than be an employer! Also, read up and be prepared. Learning things the hard way is always a lasting lesson, but if you are informed about what you’re doing, those lessons come at a lessor price. What’s next for hue studio? Our next adventure is SHOES! We’ve started with a small offering of five pair and will add 13 more over the next few months. Our goal is to expand our shoes in the rear of the store and have it as “(S)hue Studio” within a season or two. So watch out for our Fall (S)hue Collection!
And Now On With The Show ... Let’s Talk huetopia Fall 2013 huetopia is bigger and badder than ever this season. What’s in store for us September 13th? A true catwalk this season with national brands at the helm including J Brand Jeans and Cinda b. We have the collaboration of our favorite Montgomery retailers: it’s the best line-up we have ever produced. We are a little scared as to how we will top this one! Gorgeous ladies, high fashion, flash bulbs and cocktails? Done. Throw in a VIP Party to start it off and we’re definitely in. Give us the details. 5pm-7pm: Amplify Salon hosts a “Blow Out Bar.” Get your hair done prior to the event and look like one of the models! Appointments are available at Amplify. 6pm: VIP Party at True to start the night off right! A red carpet welcome leads you to cocktails and appetizers and a chance to meet Cinda and Oscar! Each VIP will get a gift bag filled with coupons, treats and Cinda has a special surprise for the attendees in each bag! This will kick off the night and get everyone prepped for the runway. Tickets are $20 and available at True. 6pm: Didn’t get a ticket in time? We have Pop-Up Shops on Graham Street that will sell great accessories and much more prior to, during and after the event. We have partnered with local brands Matter, Anchor and Daisy, Catherine Brawner, Capital City Challenge, Southern Posies, Wrap and Wellness, Amanda Roberson Art, Jamie Mitchell Art, Parish, Ex Voto Vintage, Holland Williams Photography and Grace Photography Studio to get you started on this Fall’s essential looks. 7:30pm: Our emcees take the stage to show you this season’s must haves for Men (The Locker Room), Women (hue studio), Lounge Wear (Christine’s Feathered Nest) and Athletic Wear (Pure Barre), while showcasing Hair & Makeup trends provided by Doug’s 2 Salon and L’Esprit de Salon. Trends for Autumn / Winter 2013: Colors: Pops of electric blue and jewel tones will make an appearance, but for the most part it is BLACK AND WHITE Fabrics: Vegan leather is a must. Combinations of multiple materials are in every collection. Brocade is big. Key pieces: For Fall/Winter you should have the following: Laser cut vegan leather anything. A Moto inspired jacket. A circle skirt. Accented vegan leather detailed tops and printed pants. Inspiration: Motorcycle Chic Soundtrack of the Season: We are going “Old School” drum and bass. Kruder Dorfmeister, Orbital, Ming and FS are a few on the catwalk list. We’re loving The Xx and Pharrell this season too. SEPTEMBER 2013 • MADEPAPER.COM
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Photos GRACE PHOTOGRAPHY
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Q&A with Oscar Adames J Brand Jeans’ National Denim Guru How is it you were crowned “J Brand Fit Specialist”? I have been in the fashion industry for 17 years, seven with J Brand. I have traveled the US and the world appreciating all types, shapes and sizes of women and from this I’ve learned how jeans should look and respond to a woman’s body. Have you fit anyone we would know in J Brand? Ohhhh more than I can remember! Serena and Venus Williams, June Ambrose (style architect), and so many more. But my main goal is to fit Rihanna! What is the most common mistake women make when buying denim? Women always think they are one size bigger than they are. They focus on what they think their faults are rather than accenting the positives. Focus on the style and fit that looks best on you rather than hiding what you think is wrong. Is there a fit or style that is a universally flattering fit for most body types? Skinny, Straight, Flare, Boot Cut? J Brand Maria High Rise Skinny is a universal fit for women. What is your most asked question when fitting women? “Does my “sitting area” look good in these jeans?”
When you travel, do you see that most of the country embraces high fashion trends or do you have to teach trend? Both! Each area has their own trend and style. But then there are places like NY and LA that set major trends. Each city will have things that “locals” are wearing and it differs from place to place. This is what really helped me hit “Guru” status; I see it all and have a healthy knowledge of what is out there and melt it all together for the individual I am helping. Are your subjects more likely to buy “outside of their comfort zone” when you fit them? Yes. I get women to wear what looks good on them rather than what they “think” looks good on them. The way others see you is not how you see yourself and this is a hard thing for women to understand on their own. What “rules” can you give our readers for buying a great pair of jeans? BE OPEN MINDED. Be open to multiple styles that will accent different areas of your shape in different outfits. You may need a few different pair of jeans to complete different looks - don’t settle on one pair or fit. Who is your easiest subject to fit in a jean? A confident women who is not afraid to show what she has. Jeans are like bathing suits: they show everything. A woman who is not afraid to walk out that door showing what God gave her always wears them best!
Photo J BRAND JEANS
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Q&A with cinda b: Founder Cinda Boomershine
Cinda will join huetopia Fall 2013 as one of this year's celebrity guests. Here, she talks shop with MADE about her wildly successful brand. For those readers that haven’t tried your line, what is the best feature of the Cinda B product? I’d say our unique fabrics are our best attribute. They are all custom designed by me and my team. They are all water resistant, stain resistant, machine washable (and pretty darn stylish if you ask me.) How do you select your colors for your line? Is it based on trend, Pantone or gut instinct? When selecting new colors we have a rather strategic and methodical approach. We are constantly looking at trends and talking to customers. But we also mix in a healthy dose of gut instinct, and then cross our fingers and hope that everyone likes what we have created. What is it about the Cinda B brand that most excites you? We make everything in our line right here in America. Being “Made in USA” is critically important to me. When I started cinda b in 2004, I had two goals. One was to make a fabulous, casual, chic, functional line of bags. The other was to make those bags in the USA. Initially, no one appreciated that the bags were made here. I found that incredibly frustrating. But as our economy changed people started to realize the importance of buying American made goods.
How did you arrive at your selection for the Cinda b fabrics and accents? We design all our fabrics from scratch using a similar approach to how we select our colors. We watch trends and talk to customers about what they would like to see, then we start designing and let our creative minds take over. The pattern is the result of blending a little science in with a little art. At the recent Southern Makers event we asked the public “What inspires you?” Since you design a great product and custom patterns, we feel this is a good
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question for you too. That is a tough one as I find inspiration by just about everything I see. It could be the repeating pattern on the top of a manhole cover, or a vintage scarf my friend happens to be wearing. But if I had to name one thing, it would be my travels. I love traveling to new places, staying in new hotels and seeing a different side of our wonderful world. Many of the cinda b fabrics have been largely and directly inspired by my travels. What can we expect from Cinda B in the future? Will we see you branch out of the luggage industry with your great patterns? We are always thinking, planning (and dreaming) of products extensions for cinda b. I’d love to see us expand into everything from stationary to personal accessories to more baby items. Do you have any advice for our budding designer / artist / entrepreneur readers that will help in their quest to start their own company? If I can do it, you can do it! Start by writing a business plan. It doesn’t have to be pretty, but you need to do it, as it will help you flesh out all your ideas and give you a path to follow. Then take one little step down that path every day.
Photos JON KOHN
WORDS BRENT ROSEN
The welcome mat in front of Rich and Christy Anderson’s house says everything you need to know about the Landmark Foundation’s upcoming cottage tour: “Sometimes I feel like I’m the Only One Trying to Gentrify this Neighborhood.” This is not a tour of mansions for the unattainably wealthy. Instead, every house on the tour was bought by someone willing to see opportunity in a neighborhood where others only saw blight. The homeowners in these areas weren’t worried about whether they knew, or even had anything in common with, their neighbors, and were willing to take a chance in order to create something beautiful. Fortunately for everyone in Montgomery, on September 29, you will be able to share in that beauty. Scott Finn and Charlie Caldwell live in the beautiful hacienda-style home on the corner of Girard and Felder. While the outside looks like something from the old west, the inside is European influenced Southern beauty. Scott teaches architecture at Auburn, and you can tell from the details in his home. Look for the armoire/head board in the rear bedroom, the candle chandelier on a pulley in the dining room, and the re-purposed set from the Shakespeare Festival Scott and Charlie use as a screen to block their fireplace during the summer to make their living room feel cooler. This is just one example of how Scott and Charlie live seasonally, changing the layout of their house from Winter to Summer. Dr. Susie Paul found beauty in a concrete, mid-century modern home in Historic South Hull. Susie has lived there for the last five years, continually collecting period appropriate pieces at flea markets and antique stores to complete a thoroughly unique home. Originally, the home was built by a concrete maker as a part of a series of display homes, but now Susie’s house is one of the last ones left. Susie severs as President of the Historic South Hull neighborhood, and she loves the fact that White, Black, Latino, Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Rich and Poor all call Historic South Hull home. While we walked through her home, looking out through the enormous windows that run the length of the house’s southern face, Susie explained that a neighborhood like Historic South Hull forces you to understand people that are different from you, and makes you learn how to get along with others you might never otherwise meet. Historic South Hull is an example of diversity that works, and everyone that lives there is better because of the experiences shared with neighbors. On Plum Street in the Highland Park neighborhood, Emily Burge has rebuilt a 1910’s home from the ground up. Originally created by a builder that owned the entire block, Emily’s house was originally built identically to the house next door. Over time, each house has taken on a character of its own, as different owners expanded and contracted until the houses no longer no longer share much of a resemblance. The most impressive thing about Emily’s house isn’t the homes age, but that Emily has renovated everything in the house on her own. She has redone floors, built and stained bookshelves, and even wallpapered the ceiling of her house in order to restore period detail that had wilted over the decades. Emily praises her neighbors and the sense of community she feels when neighborhood children on their walk to school stop and visit with her as she sits on her porch. In Capitol Heights, Rich and Christy Anderson rehabilitated a home from the 1910’s with near perfect attention to detail. The wood paneling, exposed beams, antique floors and high ceilings are pure old South, while the Ikea kitchen, modern bathrooms and well-appointed study bring their home into the present. The Andersons have an amazing heart of pine table in their kitchen they repurposed from a wall they tore down during the house’s renovation. That is the beauty of old homes -- if it was built in the 1920s, everything in it was built to last. The walls, the windows, the doors, the floors: everything in that house is a good today as it was 100 years ago. That quality of construction is what separates the neighborhoods being redeveloped from the neighborhoods currently in development. Montgomery’s original neighborhoods have been around for over 100 years, and with owners willing to put in a little time and effort, those neighborhoods could still be around in another 100 years. While gentrification may have negative connotations in other places around the country, in Montgomery, it’s not so much gentrification as preservation. We have an amazing stock of historic properties in this town, and right now many of them are falling apart. Take the tour of homes, talk to the homeowners, and see that living in a historic neighborhood isn’t dangerous or crazy, but an investment in Montgomery’s past that will preserve our unique historical heritage for the future. SEPTEMBER 2013 • MADEPAPER.COM
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What are you dreaming? I’d been making the drive from Opelika to Montgomery for a handful of Saturday mornings to work with the women at Friendship Mission when I saw it. As I approached the city limits, a billboard informed me I was no longer headed to Montgomery, but to “The Capital of Dreams.” I was intrigued. For the rest of the day, I couldn’t stop thinking about this bold, perhaps over the top, statement. But more than that, what if it was true? I’ve now lived in Montgomery for one year. The people who walk or drive past my home each day come from all walks of life. As I open my blinds each morning and see these people living downtown near Five Points, many who have become friends, I wonder has anyone ever asked them what their dreams are? Has anyone ever helped them realize their dreams? I live on hallowed streets walked by the man who famously said “I have a dream,” and I look out over this city and know that I too have a dream.
what the inhabitants of the Capital are dreaming? Are those who have been entrusted to make such a pronunciation eager to actually know the dreams of those living in this city? MADE was started by dreamers. I see a group who dreams of the preservation of our history while envisioning a Montgomery that is alive with the creativity of a new generation. This is a publication about the heart of this city, and understanding that the beat of its heart is its people. If this is truly “The Capital of Dreams,” when will we see these dreams come true? Does the city even know what you dream about? I thought about writing a section on Community, but the usual updates of events, organizations and calendars would certainly be passé for a “Capital of Dreams!” There is no agenda here. It doesn’t even matter who I am. This is about YOU. We’ll meet each other along the way as we discuss our dreams together and attempt to make new realities. But first I have to hear from you. Tell me, “What are you dreaming?”
So, if we live in “The Capital of Dreams,” what does that mean? Is this merely another slogan or is there a sincere interest in knowing Email us with your thoughts: dream@madepaper.com
PHOTOS WILL ABNER
WORDS ANNA LOWDER It’s time to turn Montgomery INSIDE OUT. Luckily, it’s already happening. A couple of weeks back, INSIDE OUT 11M hit the streets of Montgomery on a nationwide tour of 20 cities across the US this summer with the goal of capturing 4,000 portraits in its PhotoBooth Trucks. The trucks set up in front of the state capitol, in Old Cloverdale at The A&P, and then did some “installation work” around town. The crew of Italian & Brazilian volunteers explored Montgomery had sought out the unique spots, climbing water towers and such.
large scale installations, the works aim to raise questions without determining the outcome. It’s about debate and thought on complex matters like Arab-Israeli conflicts (through huge portraits of Israelis and Palestinians face to face in eight Palestinian and Israeli cities, 2007) and the plight of women as targets in war torn regions (The Wrinkles of The City, 2008). JR received the TED Prize in 2011, then used this to create INSIDE OUT in which over 120,000 people from more than 108 countries have participated
Fun and games aside, INSIDE OUT has a serious message. It’s creating a portrait of America that includes immigrants and the descendants of immigrants - and starting a candid conversation about immigration. “Beyond any political debate about 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the U.S., these portraits taken in Photobooth Trucks traveling in cities across the country remind us that behind the numbers are real human stories.”
INSIDE OUT PhotoBooth Trucks pull up to a planned or spontaneous spot and ask the public to join in. A few seconds in the booth, a pose, and a snap. Within one minute, a large scale black and white poster rolls out the side of the truck, and participants encouraged to post in a public space in their communities. Check out the public art wrapping Montgomery from this project, and next time join in the effort.
Created and inspired by JR, an anonymous street artist renowned internationally for his provocative
Follow the trucks and participate in the next project: www.insideoutproject.net SEPTEMBER 2013 • MADEPAPER.COM
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Words ELLIOT KNIGHT
September is an important month for visual arts in Montgomery. A number of events and exhibitions take place this month and will provide opportunities to view artwork from Alabama artists and learn more about visual arts in the River Region. These opportunities culminate Sunday, September 15 with the annual ArtTREK and Montgomery Art Guild Regions Bank exhibition. ArtTREK is organized by the River Region Art Gallery Association and participating galleries will be open from 1-5pm on Sunday
ArtTREK at The Georgine Clarke Alabama Artists Gallery RSA Tower, First Floor, 201 Monroe Street, Suite 110 Montgomery, AL 36104, Phone 334 242 4076, www.arts. alabama.gov, Hours: Monday-Friday 8am-5pm The Alabama State Council on the Arts is proud to showcase the work of Alabama artists in our downtown Montgomery gallery. The gallery exhibits six to eight shows a year showcasing visual art ranging from painting, photography and printmaking to folk art and fine craft. Galleries participating in ArtTREK and exhibitions that will be on display during this event: Marcia Weber Art Objects, 1050 Woodley Road, Montgomery, AL 36106, Phone 334 262 5349, www. marciaweberartobjects.com “Just Us Folks” September 15 - October 30, 2013 Self-Taught art by Anne Buffum, Spencer Herr, Woodie Long, Sarah Rakes and others Georgine Clarke Alabama Artists Gallery, 201 Monroe Street, Suite 110, Montgomery, AL 36104 “50 Years of Bluff Park Art”
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make the trek to Art TREK afternoon. Kick off the afternoon at the RSA Tower downtown with the opening reception of the 47th annual Montgomery Art Guild and Regions Bank exhibition. Awards will be presented to winning artists at 1:30pm. The Georgine Clarke Alabama Artists Gallery, located at the Alabama State Council on the Arts office on the first floor of the RSA Tower, will also be open and will feature an exhibition of winning artworks from the Bluff Park Art Association from the past 50 years. Beginning at 2pm, a trolley will
October 30, 2013 Selections from Alabama artists who are part of the permanent collection of the Bluff Park Art Association in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Bluff Park Art Festival. Stonehenge Gallery, 1041 East Fairview, Montgomery, AL 36106, Phone 334 262 82560, stonehengeinc.com New Works by: Mary Lynn Levy, Emily Gassenheimer and Melissa B. Tubbs Thru October 5, 2013 Gallery hours: 10-5 Tuesday - Friday, 10-4 Saturday Montgomery Visitor Center in the Train Depot 300 Water Street, Montgomery, AL 36104 The 34th Annual Waterfront Show and Competition. Featuring artists throughout the state of Alabama. In honor of the region’s river roots, art in this show has either a water or downtown Montgomery theme.
SAC’s Gallery, 529 S. Perry St., Ste. 14, Montgomery, AL 36104, Phone 334 265 993, www.SACsGallery.org SAC’s Gallery will be featuring art and fine crafts from throughout the region. SAC’s Gallery is a not-for-profit,
begin taking people from the RSA Tower to all of the other participating galleries, and will make a loop throughout the afternoon. Take the ArtTREK to experience a wide variety of artwork from paintings, photography and printmaking, to folk arts and fine crafts and learn more about the artists in the River Region. This event and the addition of the trolley tour offer a great way to support local artists and experience all of the galleries in the area.
cooperative gallery with art in all styles and price ranges. Gallery hours: Tuesday-Friday 12 pm - 5 pm The Gallery at the Prattville Creative Arts Center, 342 Chestnut Street, Prattville, AL 36067, Phone 334 358 0297 Dimensions featuring the works of Ed George, Kellie Newsome and Barbara Simpson will be on display through September 30. Textural abstracts, vibrant acrylics and exciting watercolors, along with multimedia relief and sculptural pieces will fill the Prattville Gallery with a truly artistically dimensional show with the works of these three very diverse artists. Also on exhibit will be works by members of the Prattauga Art Guild. Gallery hours: 2-5pm September 15 during ARTrek, and normal gallery hours Friday-Saturday 10am-2pm and Sunday 1pm-4pm Anita P. Folmar Youth Art Gallery, Armory Learning Arts Center, 1018 Madison Avenue, Montgomery, AL 36104 “Rivers, Trails and Cotton Bales” featuring works in an array of colorful styles and multifaceted media depicting sites and scenes of the River Region. Thru September 30, 2013 Gallery hours: Monday-Friday 10am-5pm
WORDS TIFFANY BELL
September 11 The Art of Food: MMFA Mixed Media Event TRUE Restaurant
FEATURE FILM
5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Mixed Media (Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts young professional group) and Jackson Thornton Young Professionals are hosting this event to celebrate the Material Transformations exhibition opening. The first 100 guests to RSVP are invited to a complimentary happy hour at TRUE complete with a drink, hors d’ouevres from chef Wesley True and a chance to meet the artists. For info visit mmfa.org or RSVP to adam.causey@ jacksonthorton.com
September 12 Material Transformations Exhibition Opening
Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts
WORDS EVANS BAILEY
I’m seventeen years old, and I’m driving to my girlfriend’s house to watch a movie my parents said is funny. They told me its a movie about a loser who gets high and loves to bowl with his loser friends. This strikes me as not the type of movie my parents would like. I trust their judgment, and put the VHS in the VCR. I laugh out loud only twice. Once when the guy with the flat top and the firearm nearly murders a conscientious objector over a foot foul. The second time, when the same guy with the flat top tells Jeff Bridges that he can get him a toe by this afternoon. In other words, I only got the ridiculous stuff. A character in the movie says “vagina” a lot. My girlfriend didn’t laugh once. Despite being teenagers watching a movie together, we do not even make out. She tells me the movie is weird. We breakup later. This was my first time. The first time I watched the The Big Lebowski. In the movie, the Dude (Bridges) juggles bowling, random acts of violence, and a kidnapping plot he’s been asked to solve. With the help of his bowling buddies, including the flat top, Walter (John Goodman, in a classic role), the Dude meanders around Los Angeles as the anti-private eye. Usually drunk or stoned, he gets tossed from one hilarious lead to the next. His poor PI skills prolong the search for the real kidnapper and give the film its best gags. Lebowski is the cult classic of the ’90’s. There are yearly festivals across the country to celebrate the film. Lebowski-heads come from around the world. Patrons guzzle white russians in their jelly shoes while academics submit serious papers about the Zen-ness of the Dude. Local cinemas play the film at midnight once a year (the assigned time for cult films) and pack the house full of potheads, weirdos, frat guys, Coen Brothers nuts, and nihilists. Maybe not the nihilists, they believe in nothing. Since that lackluster first viewing I’ve seen the Dude at least 40 times. I laugh out loud at the most minuscule things in the film I didn’t notice years ago. I laugh before some of the punchlines. It remains one of the smartest, densest, and subversive films I’ve ever seen, but its funnier now too. At 17-years old, I didn’t have a checking account, so I didn’t know it was strange to write a check for $.69 for a gallon of half and half. I’d never met a true burnout, but then I went to college and met a bunch of little (future) Lebowski under-achievers. I didn’t know firsthand about the maddening obsession for fame in Los Angeles until I visited last year. Arthur Digby Sellers is not real by the way.
5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Material Transformations exhibition opening unveiling works from Angelea Ellsworth, Alison Foshee, Johnston Foster, Kirsten Hassenfeld, Rune Olsen, Lucrecia Tronsco and Paul Villinski. On view through January 5, their inventive works of art utilize found and repurposed objects to give ordinary products and extraordinary second life. Hear from three of the artists during a Material Transformations panel discussion at 7 p.m. in the Museum Auditorium. For info visit mmfa.org.
September 19 MADE Paper & Leroy Present: Big Lebowski Pre-Party Leroy Lounge
4 to 7 p.m. Pre-party Big Lebowski-style with MADE Paper and Leroy. Come as you are or as your favorite movie character for drink specials, White Russians (of course), raffles & prizes before the Capri’s 7:30 p.m. showing. For info call Leroy at 334 356 7127.
September 26 – October 6 Wait Until Dark – A Mystery by Frederick Knott Cloverdale Playhouse
7:30 to 9 p.m. A Broadway hit, this thriller moves from one moment of suspense to another as it builds toward an electrifying, breathstopping final scene, that will leave you on the edge of your seat or, in the Playhouse’s case, the edge of your pew. You won’t want to miss this. For info and tickets call 334 262 1530 or visit cloverdaleplayhouse.org.
September 27 Ballet and the Beasts The Montgomery Zoo
6 to 10 p.m. Free performance from the Montgomery Ballet Company featuring classics and original choreography. Bring lawn chairs, blankets and picnics for a performance under the stars. Admission is free. For info call 334 240 4900 or visit montgomeryzoo.com.
As I get older and gain experience, the film opens up like a 7-10 split. Lebowski and its Dudeness are hard to capture. The amount of ink that’s been spilled discussing all of its themes and implications could fill volumes. As with most cult classics here’s what it really comes down to: At a cocktail party or a dinner the subject of favorite movies inevitably comes up with new acquaintances (it’s the conversation right after Auburn vs. Alabama and music tastes, but just before TV shows). There are some movies that give you an idea that you could be friends with someone. (“Oh, you like The Rock, too?” “Nic Cage’s best work.” “But what about Con Air?” “NOOOOO!”) With Lebowski, there is no uncertainty. We are going to be friends because we know the Dude abides.
Instagram: MadePaper Post photos of your Makers events, gallery shows, and more. Tag us at MadePaper!
SEPTEMBER 2013 • MADEPAPER.COM
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r e g r u Das B
OFF THE BEATEN PATH WORDS DAVID MOWERY
The lament of people who are hungry, yet missing key ingredients to make something, is best expressed by Smokey in Friday: “Y’all ain’t never got two things that go together. Cereal, No Milk; Kool-Aid, No Sugar; Ham, No Burger!” And while Montgomery may be plagued by never having two things that go together, we are blessed with a deep bench of places to get a world class, gut busting, Bloomberg trolling, grease factory of a hamburger. Elvis died 36 years ago, and there’s a reason he’s still known as The King. Here, Hamburger King has been around for years, and their moniker brings to mind the old saw “It Ain’t Braggin’ If You Can Back It Up.” Located on S. Decatur St., it’s a Montgomery institution. It does not disappoint. Cash only, and the type of dump you’d avoid in a city you didn’t know – this is the type of place “Off The Beaten Path” was built on. I was introduced to Vicki’s Lunch Van by my fried The Late Great Joe Thomas, Jr. In addition to being an amazing musician, autodidact and renaissance man artist, he also liked to get lunch at the type of out of the way places featured in this column. Though it’s now housed in an actual restaurant on Fairgrounds Rd. over by Montgomery Coliseum, Vicki’s was Montgomery’s Original Food Truck. Long before we needed a Development Department Contest and a newfangled truck, Montgomery had a van that served cooked-to-order hamburgers that are simple, fresh and delicious. Run by a mother-daughter duo, get there early or after the lunch hour if you have any hope of getting out in under 45 minutes – but like the best things in life it is actually worth the wait. Not to be outdone by Montgomery’s homegrown hamburger establishments, Five Guys Burgers and Fries is pretty much The New Maniac Tough Guy In Town when it comes to the American Burger Scene. Founded in Alexandria, VA in the late 90s, it has become one of the most profitable and fastest growing burger chains in the country. We try to stay local and off the beaten path here at Made, but there’s no denying Five Guys puts out a consistent, killer product, quickly and cheaply. An anchor in the Starbucks’ shopping center on Zelda, along with Chicken Salad Chick and Ted The Wine Guy, Five Guys (and the neighboring Starbucks) represent mass-market product that gets the stamp of approval. Most of the above places will cost you $10 or less for lunch, and don’t serve booze. While I’m often skeptical of the “Gourmet Burger” trend at high end restaurants or steakhouses, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention The Railyard Brewery downtown and The Chophouse at Vintage Year’s offerings. The Railyard refurbished the old Montgomery Brewpub space and features locally brewed beers and numerous takes on burgers. From beef to pork to lamb, the beers and the burgers compliment each other nicely. The Chophouse burger is another level altogether. It’s a classic steakhouse, you can get a martini, and they’ll crack an egg on top for you to boot. Plus if you want to cut down on the massive amount of calories brought in to the equation by fries, you can get a salad. If you have a favorite place not mentioned here, let us know and we’ll put it on the ever growing list of places Off The Beaten Path.
The Bloody Mary is not a cocktail to imbibe with reckless abandon. That is, any more than two and you’re headed toward salty dehydration and a belly full of tomato acid. Nobody wants this. The Bloody Mary is a friendly drink, a “healthy” aid to ward off the demons of a night before. It’s a salad in a glass, full of vitamins and vodka to start a day of revelry. It’s just a kickstart, so don’t jump full speed into hedonism with this drink.
Bloody Mary
inspired by Simon Hopkinson
British chef, writer and presenter Simon Hopkinson shares his take on the classic Blood Mary including an unusual secret
ingredient: sherry. The result is an unusually bright and refreshing Blood Mary that’s perfect as a prelude to a meal. Turns out, sherry is not that uncommon in the British version of the Bloody Mary, though vodka still reigns supreme (BTW a Bloody Mary with gin is a Red Snapper) WIth such a flavorful, savory drink you need to balance with some deserving snacks. Bread is a good balance for the tomato, as are cheese and fresh vegetables. Go for celery stalks (peeled of the nasty strings) stuffed with home-made tangy grilled cheese, or fresh carrot slices with Alabama goat cheese stirred with chives and pepper.
serves 2 lucky people. Ingredients: tomato juice 150 ml ice cubes vodka 75 ml dry sherry 25ml (fino or amontillado) worcestershire sauce 1 tsp hot sauce 1 tsp lime juice 1/2 lime pinch celery salt and black pepper steps: 1. combine all liquid ingredients in a cocktail shaker. 2. shake. 3. pour into ice-filled glasses. 4. garnish with a sprinkle of celery salt and fresh pepper. WORDS ANNA LOWDER
Peanut Butter & Chocolate Bars WORDS & Photos MELISSA TSAI
I’m one of those people who eats something delicious and immediately wants to go home and recreate it. And so I did, but not quite immediately. A couple of years ago, while traveling through Hong Kong Airport (HKG), I picked up a chocolate/fruit/nut bar from a Starbucks. It was delicious and hearty. After studying the list of ingredients, I realized it was grain/wheat free and rather healthy. Save: it was mentally stored in my back of brain to make later. Fast-forward two years later to one random morning: I have a craving for something comforting and (ideally) healthy. Most of the time, these two things don’t come hand in hand. I raided my pantry and gathered a bunch of ingredients on the counter. Oh! There is nothing more comforting than the combination of peanut butter and chocolate. Spotting dates and almonds, it brought me back to that yummy breakfast bar I had in Hong Kong. The best part of this recipe is that it is no-bake.
Recipe online at madepaper.com 14
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Follow Melissa on her blog www.madebymelis.com
The Market Watch Farewell To Summer at EastChase Farmers Market WORDS KATIE LINDGREN Photos JON KHON
Oakview Farms This grain farm, based out of Wetumpka, Alabama, grinds their grain with an electric stone grinder at a slow rate, which produces a fine, delicate product. They do not de-germinate their grains, so all the whole grain is fresh from the field, ground, packaged, and ready for use (store in the freezer as it does not have a shelf life). On market days, Oakview Farms sells whole wheat flour, cornmeal, grits, pancake mix, all-purpose flour, oats, hydroponic lettuce, and homegrown honey. Oakview Farms has a retail store on-site in Wetumpka, open Thursday, Friday, Saturday 9am - 4pm. www.oakviewfarms.com Aunt Beez Delicious Desserts Brenda Sonner, the owner of Aunt Beez Delicious Desserts, is from Montgomery, and the creator of Pie Sauce. According to Ms. Sonner, “It’s not a jam or a jelly. It has less sugar, is thickened differently, and the result is a much fresher fruit taste. It’s a great alternative to the gelatin goo found on grocery store shelves to make pies.” This does make a delicious pie: simply pour into a pie shell and you have yourself a dessert. Pie Sauce can also be used in breads, muffins, cakes and cookies. Ms. Sonner sent me home with a fruit filled cupcake, and wow, it was delicious. Aunt Beez’s Delicious Desserts will be all over the Southeast for holiday market shows. auntbeez.com Leo Vazquez Leo is from Tallassee, Alabama. His booth is a colorful array of
delicious homegrown vegetables. From tomatoes and peppers to watermelon and cantaloupe, the Vazquez’s grow a little bit of everything. It’s a 5-acre family farm run primarily by Mr. and Mrs. Vazquez. They have a booth three days a week in Auburn and Opelika, and is at East Chase Farmers Market on Saturdays. Leatherwood Nursery Elizabeth and Eric Leatherwood have a nursery in Shorter, Alabama with a greenhouse operation where selling perennials, annuals, and ground covers. The Leatherwoods strive to form relationships with their customers to make sure they get quality plants that fit the customers needs. While they don’t do landscaping, they do focus on container planting. They will even grow specific plants for customers. www.leatherwoodnursery.com. Bulger Creek Farm, L.L.C. Kyle and Melanie Payne are the owners of Bulger Creek Farm, where they make local goat cheese made 100% with milk produced on-site . Founded in 1998 on 80 acres near Notasulga, Alabama, the farm focuses on quality over volume, promising “no outside milk or curd will ever be used at this farm,” and turning out fromage blanc chèvre, goat cheesecakes, and goat milk. You can catch Bulger Creek Farm on Saturday mornings through November at the Columbus Market, or find their products in Montgomery at Health Wise Foods. www.bulgercreekfarm.com
Meet the Owners: MADE on Multi-Cultural Montgomery Words NATILEE MCGRUDER The landscape of food in Montgomery is noticeably changing: there is Venezuelan, Jamaican, Korean, Mexican, Thai, Chinese and Indian food now available in a town where “meat and three” reigns supreme. The food served in these restaurants acts as a gateway. For those from abroad who now call Montgomery home, the gateway opens to comfort, solace, the evocation of memories. For those from Montgomery, the restaurants are a gateway to cultural diversity, to new experiences and new memories, to people one would otherwise never meet. By exploring the people behind these restaurants, I hope that you might come to know them more personally and be inspired to step outside the culinary box when eating around town. While it’s simple to stay on the trail blazed by ease and familiarity, that path will lead you right past an upstart local gem like La Coronilla -meaning “the crown”. Friends Apolonio Ramirez and Epifaunio Barrios own La Coronilla. Epifaunio (or Epi) runs La Coronilla on the service road (near Wares Ferry) that runs alongside the Eastern Boulevard, while Apolonio owns and runs El Chido, a Mexican tienda on Burbank Drive just a few miles away from the restaurant. Epi came to Montgomery in 1996 and has spent the past 17 years working hard to realize his dream of owning a restaurant. I walked into to La Coronilla and asked him if he wouldn’t mind telling me his story and that of his restaurant. Epi’s story began in his home state of Guerrero, Mexico which has a deep influence on his particular brand of Mexican food which is fresh, traditional and made from scratch in La Coronilla’s open kitchen. He came to the United States for work and ended up in Orosi, California doing backbreaking work as a field hand. He moved to Montgomery in 1996 and began cooking at the newly opened China Buffet which many long-time Montgomery residents will recall. After five years at China Buffet and five years at Lek’s Taste of Thailand, Epi had honed his skills in various culinary traditions but still heard the siren call of freshly made enchiladas con mole and pozole from his native Guerrero. He has put those skills to work in La Coronilla, a place he decorated by hand with Mexican artwork and live plants. He stresses the freshness and his commitment to delicious traditional food that includes augas frescas (fresh juices), tamales, carnitas, various types of soups, as well as tacos with hand-patted tortillas made fresh daily by his sister. When I asked
Epi what were the main challenges of owning his restaurant in Montgomery, he said that people don’t like “cebolla y cilantro”— meaning that people don’t want the fresh onion and cilantro (which, along with lime, complements most any authentic Mexican dish), they want cheesy, saucy, Americanized Mexican food. I told him that I didn’t think that was strictly true, but rather that the local culture of wanting to experience the familiar or making a selection through word of mouth can be limiting to new and “foreign” establishments. When your friends, family and co-workers are not Korean or Mexican, don’t speak Korean or Spanish, and don’t frequent those restaurants, you are less likely to receive a recommendation and or get a wild hair to seek one out. La Coronilla has been in Montgomery for four years but according to Epi people are not as interested in 100% authentic Mexican food, although he hopes to change that. When I ask if he means that they seem to prefer Mexican food a la Taco Bell he shudders and affirms with a nod. He notes that he welcomes more residents and visitors to experience his version of the Meat and Three: various savory choices of meat or seafood with rice, beans and salad. Some of the Montgomery Crossfit community patronize his establishment and often order dishes off the menu that fit a paleo or primalstyle diet, which generally excludes beans and grains. He even remarked that when a large group of them came by one weekend he made them Tom Yum soup by special request. Urbanspoon has highly favorable reviews of La Coronilla from some satisfied souls who have experienced Epi’s homemade food. Epi has made his home and business in Montgomery and he plans to stay for the long haul. At this point, he says, he just needs a wife. He enjoys the calm way of life in Montgomery but thinks that we need more jobs. According to him, “Si no hay trabajo, no hay dinero y si no hay dinero no hay negocio.” Which means if there are no jobs there is no money, and without money, businesses like La Coronilla cannot survive. Visit Epi at La Coronilla located at 425 Eastern Boulevard. Open from 9am-9pm, serving Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner Wednesday to Monday (closed Tuesdays). On Thursday, Saturday and Sunday they serve pozole. Epi is happy to explain anything on the menu or create an order to meet you or your child’s needs. La Coronnilla is also on Facebook at LaCoronillaGrillCosinaMexicana.
FOOD & DRINK EVENTS Fridays in September Desde el Jardin Central
5:30 to 11 p.m. Chef Leo Maurelli, III and the EAT South Downtown Farm join forces every Friday night for Chef Leo’s popular Friday night dinners. Menus are created based only on what’s fresh from the farm and sea. Follow Chef Leo to watch the meal unfold from delivery to finished product on Instagram @ chefleo3
September 10 & 24 Every Other Tuesday Dinners TRUE
7 p.m. 4-Course Tasting from Chef Wesley True every other Tuesday at 7 p.m. Reservations required. Visit facebook.com/ truemontgomery for details.
September 20 4th Annual Oktoberfest The Tipping Point
5:30 to 10:30 p.m. Featuring live music by Birmingham’s Iron Giant, beer tastings, brats, pretzels & more. Tickets $20 before September 15 ($25 week of event.) Proceeds benefit ClefWorks. Tickets & info online at tippingpointhampstead.com.
September 21 & 22 Music City Eats Downtown Nashville
For two days, top chefs, wine, spirit and beer purveyors from across the country will join Nashville’s top culinary heroes - see Travel Feature. $275 for 2-Day Pass. For tickets & info visit musiccityeats.com
September 28 Front Porch Fest
Back Forty Brewery, Gadsden
1 p.m. to midnight Live music, award-winning chefs, locallysourced cuisine, craft beer & more at the Back Forty Brewery. Bring friends & kids and join us rain or shine. Tickets $35/person & include food tastings & music (free for kids 12 & under.) Visit frontporchrevival.org
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E.A.T. South encourages healthy lifestyles through education and sustainable food production in urban areas throughout the Southeast. www.eatsouth.org Words MARK BOWEN
This is not an article about why I choose to eat local food. What reason can I give you that will not sound cliché? The ‘I’ in the title of this article actually refers to a couple of real players in Montgomery’s local food scene; home-town giants who aren’t just jumping on the local-food trend wagon, who aren’t half-stepping in their commitment to the movement. Although these two mostly fly under the radar, their actions show the gains from investing in local food production. David Gadilhe owns the Jim ‘N Nick’s BBQ restaurants in Montgomery and Prattville. Certainly, a national chain like Jim ‘N Nick’s is one of the last restaurants that come to mind when you think of local food, but Jim ‘N Nick’s is changing the game. Nationally, Jim ‘N Nick’s explores sustainable farming of heritage hogs as a viable alternative to factory produced pork. Locally, Dave’s mission is to bring “sustainable food to the table on a large scale at an affordable price.” But it’s not just about the food for Dave; it is also about community. “By supporting local farmers we are supporting our community that supports us.” If only we could get all large chains to adopt this thinking. Hiding in an unsuspecting strip mall a mile down the road from Jim ‘N Nick’s on the Atlanta Highway is a small, independently owned business that has been buying and selling local produce, cheese, milk, honey, meat and other products for almost three decades. Healthwise Foods, owned by Steve Thompson, has been all about community for longer than most people
who care about building a local food economy have been alive. When you walk into Healthwise and speak with Steve, it’s like talking to an encyclopedia that makes being healthy attractive. Healthwise store manager Michael Gaby says “there is a higher good to be done for the public than simply selling products.” For Healthwise, the greater good is improving the community’s health. For Jim ‘N Nick’s, the greater good comes from supporting their local farmers and making local food available to everyone. These owners could teach a course called “The Importance of Eating Local 101.” They wouldn’t focus on the same old reasons -- the food is more nutritious, your dollars stay in your community, local food creates local jobs, the community’s health increases, etc - but if you didn’t know, now you know. Instead, David and Steve could explain that when EAT South’s food is purchased, part of that money pays our super bad (read as “good”) farmers, but part of that money also funds our education programs. Our farmers don’t simply go home, tired and dirty, after they have made a buck. Instead they assist with teaching children and adults how to eat healthy and grow food sustainably. Through programs like Garden in Every School, Good Food Day, and the River Region Food Policy Council, EAT South is improving our communities’ awareness and health. When you buy local food from a farm like EAT South, you also help pay for those programs. It takes the right kind of store owner to grasp the importance of the River Region Food Policy Council, to
understand the impact that Good Food Day will have on children’s health, to see a program like a Garden in Every School as an investment in the future, not a waste of time and resources. They buy our produce because it’s delicious, but also because they want Montgomery to be a healthier community. That’s why they choose local. You can Choose Local by supporting these local spots, and others like them. Sign up for the EAT South CSA, take a free gardening course at our farm, or buy a bunch of sweet potatoes from us. Choose Local too! Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, our blog and more #eatsouth
What Is A “Community Supported Agriculture” (CSA) Program ?
It’s simple: members sign up for a season of vegetables (Spring, Summer, Fall), pay in advance, then pick up a box of fresh veggies and fruit every week of the season. Easy and delicious! Members of a CSA buy a subscription to the farm early in the year, which helps to pay for the seeds and farm equipment needed to get the season rolling. Additional revenue from the CSA program supports EAT South’s farms and children’s education programs. The CSA program is offered three times each year. CSA members visit our Downtown Farm or Hampstead Farm to pick up a weekly harvest of in-season, naturallygrown vegetables, fruits, and herbs freshly harvested
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from both farms. Participants receive a family-sized variety of produce valued at $25 and a newsletter complete with healthy recipes and updates about farm life and events. A limited number of work/trade positions are available each season.
Produce grown at our EAT South farms for the CSA includes:
Cut Flowers, Herbs, Peppers, Eggplant, Tomatoes, Melons, Green Beans, Sugar Peas, Arugula, Sweet Potatoes, Fennel, Collard Greens, Turnips, Shelling Peas, Onions, Squash, Cucumbers, Beets, Kale, Broccoli, Broccoli Raab, Kohlrabi, Lettuce, Choi, Pumpkins, Carrots, Radishes, Chilies, Chard, Spinach, Tomatoes, Cabbage For info regarding EAT South’s CSA program, email jetson@eatsouth.org
Holland Williams Photography
Holland Williams Photography
Celebrate Life at Alley Station Montgomery's Premiere Events Location Rooftop Terrace • Gorgeous Ballroom • Parties
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Word is you don’t like soccer. It probably has something to do with all of those fauxEuropean hipsters who go out of their way to call it football. It doesn’t help that they’re usually wearing skinny jeans while they rant about how much you should like their version of the game. The worst part is how the condescension just oozes out of them as they look down their noses, right through their conspicuous glasses, and chirp about how “you just don’t get it.” Word is you don’t like soccer and that makes perfect sense. After all, soccer’s just a bunch of pansies and pretty boys running around playing a child’s game. Nobody ever scores. Games can end in a tie. You can’t even touch the ball, for God’s sake! The fact of the matter is that soccer’s a sport for seven year olds, and sports for seven year olds are not real sports. It’s a game played by children and wannabe male models. Real men don’t play soccer. Real men play American sports. Real men play real football, not that hot pansy nonsense. And every single bit of that may be true. But before you decide to consign soccer to the wastebasket reserved exclusively for soft sports played by soft people who do soft things, consider the events of the evening of January 25, 1995. It was a damp, chilly night in South London when Manchester United forward Eric Cantona was ejected from his team’s English Premier League match at Crystal Palace. He was tossed for blatantly kicking a Palace defender and was headed back to the locker room when a Palace fan named Matthew Simmons made his way to the front row to toss a couple of insults in the visiting player’s way as he made his way down the tunnel. It seems Simmons was no fan of the forward, a fact he made known by shouting a few choice words Cantona’s way while insulting his nationality. Cantona, a proud Frenchman with an often-volatile temper, had just spent the last ninety minutes running at full speed while taking cleats to the shins and elbows to the face. As such, he didn’t appreciate what the home team’s supporter had to say. He registered his dissatisfaction by launching himself from the field, kung fu kicking Simmons in the chest, and punching him in the face. Think about that. A professional athlete kung fu kicked another team’s fan in the chest and punched said fan in the face, and he did so after exerting more energy in an hour and a half than the average person goes through in a week. In most countries, that kind of assault gets you arrested. In the UK, it made the Frenchman a god. That night, Cantona went from mercurial professional athlete to the nation’s most famous celebrity. His endorsements exploded, his jerseys sold out, and his next contract was a record breaker. Still think your favorite football player’s a hard ass? Think again. Listen, that hipster who’s always talking about how everyone else in the world calls it football may very well be insufferable. Nobody’s going to argue with that. Still, there’s a very real chance he’s actually onto something. It happens to be that soccer’s played by tough guys in top physical condition, and it turns out soccer fans are notorious for their passion and intensity. And nowhere are the players tougher and the fans more intense than in the English Premier League. Here’s the skinny on how it works: The English Premier League (the EPL or, alternately, the Premiership) is made up of the top twenty teams (or clubs) in English soccer, and it works in a manner that’s pretty easy to understand. Each team plays thirty-eight matches, with each match lasting ninety minutes (plus a few extra minutes added onto the end of each half to make up for any stoppages in play due to injury). Each club earns three points for a win, while a tie (or draw) gets you one point and a loss gets you none. The points are tallied at the end of each season, and the club with the highest points total wins it all. It’s that simple. In a twist that might seem amazing to the average American sports fan, the bottom of the EPL’s standings are even more interesting than the top. The three clubs with the lowest points totals at the end of the season are sent down to the Football League Championship (a professional division that can best be described as the AAA baseball league of English soccer) in a process known as relegation, while the League Championship’s top three teams are promoted to the Premiership. Relegated teams miss out on the massive revenue that’s shared among the top flight’s teams, while
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promoted teams get a cash infusion that can change their trajectories for years to come. And while there are a few traditional league powers who consistently remain in the top tier of English soccer (London clubs like Arsenal, Chelsea, and Tottenham Hotspur come to mind alongside powerhouse sides from industrial towns such as Liverpool and current league champions Manchester United), there’s a parity that’s created by the struggle to remain in the Premiership that gives every single one of the season’s 380 games the sort of meaning that you just won’t find in your average week twelve matchup between the Buffalo Bills and the Cleveland Browns. The Premiership’s rules of the road certainly offer an interesting twist or two, but the truth is that rules don’t make fans. No, fans need teams. Fans need teams because nobody cheers for a league. Fans need teams so they can buy shirts, learn chants, and talk trash. Fans need teams so that they can properly live and die with each and every weekend’s results. Premiership fans, referred to as supporters, understand what it is to do all of those things in a way that can challenge the faith of even the most fervent American football fan. In fact, EPL fans are so ardent that sold out stadiums are the norm and pubs across the UK are packed on game day with supporters sporting their team’s colors as they drink beer and sing songs in support of their most beloved players. And those are just the guy and gals watching in the UK. Over 2,700,000,000 people in 212 countries watched the EPL last season, making it easily the most followed professional sports league on the planet. The question of fandom is one that’s decided at birth for most Britons, but fans around the world have the privilege of choosing for themselves. Which begs the question of which teams you should consider when choosing your side. It’s a tough question, but the good news is that we’re here to help you make what very well may be the toughest, most important decision of your sporting life. Here goes nothing... Are you a fan of teams that have been good for so long that finishing second is unacceptable even if it means everyone else hates you (Manchester United) or do you prefer scrappy underdogs with a ton of oft-unrealized upside (Arsenal)? Speaking of underdogs, how do you feel about hopping on board with one of the teams that were just promoted (Cardiff City, Crystal Palace, Hull City) and are looking to make top-tier soccer an engagement that lasts longer than just a year? Perhaps you’re the sort of person that has a taste for eccentric owners (which means you’re probably a Dallas Mavericks fan). How about a side owned by a Russian billionaire (Chelsea) or a Sheik from Abu Dhabi (Manchester City), both of whom spend money like crazy while enjoying their fair share of time in the tabloids? No? Maybe you need an American connection. What about team that’s owned by the same guys who own the Boston Red Sox (Liverpool) or the Jacksonville Jaguars (Fulham) to ease yourself into your newfound fandom? Or maybe you’re just looking for a way to cheer for American players abroad (Aston Villa, Everton, Stoke City, Sunderland, Tottenham Hotspur). No matter your angle, the fact of the matter is that the only issue you’ll have when choosing an EPL club to support is narrowing it down to just one. Just take your time, do a little research, and remember that the cheering’s the thing. You can’t make a wrong decision. If you’re still reading, you’re probably interested in finding out how you can give this whole Premier League thing a shot. The good news is that watching EPL games in the US has never been easier. This season’s action kicked off on August 17 and will run through May 2014, with the every single match being carried live on the NBC family of networks. Comprehensive online coverage is available through the Premier League’s website (premierleague.com), the BBC (bbc.co.uk), and ESPN FC (espnfc.com). But watching the Premiership’s biggest matches is a communal experience best enjoyed while sharing an adult beverage or two with a few dozen of your team’s biggest supporters. Give Hampstead’s The Tipping Point or Cloverdale’s Bud’s a shot if you’re looking to have a beer as you cheer for your boys alongside your fellow fans. Once you’ve decided where to watch the game, all you need to do is sit back and enjoy the experience. It’s big, it’s loud, and it’s strangely familiar. Matches flow beautifully and the crowd practically tells you when to cheer. It helps that NBC’s announcers are among the best in the business. So grab a beer and cheer your face off, folks. Give it enough time and you’ll fall in love. Give it a little more and you might even find yourself buying that condescending hipster a beer when you finally admit that he was right all along. That’s not so bad, really. After all, there are worse fates than having to admit you were wrong. Just ask Matthew Simmons.
A Christmas Carol By Geoffrey Sherman Based on the novel by Charles Dickens
The Taming of the Shrew By William Shakespeare
March 14 - March 30, 2014
November 29 - December 24, 2013
May 16 & 24, 2014
Goodnight Moon
- WORLD PREMIERE By William Shakespeare, Translated to modern English by Kenneth Cavander
Book, music and lyrics by Chad Henry Adapted from the book by Margaret Wise Brown & Clement Hurd January 11 - February 1, 2014
The Great Gatsby
Timon of Athens April 25 - May 23, 2014
Romeo and Juliet
Adapted by Simon Levy Based on the novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald
By William Shakespeare
January 31 - February 16, 2014
Mary Poppins
May 18, 22 & 25, 2014
Twenty Seven - WORLD PREMIERE
By Edward Morgan, Adapted from Old Man by William Faulkner February 14 - March 2, 201
"The Best Snack Bar in the US"
May 18, 22 & 25, 2014
Disney and Cameron Mackintosh’s MARY POPPINS Original Music & Lyrics by Richard M. Sherman & Robert B. Sherman Book by Julian Fellowes Co-Created by Cameron Mackintosh New Songs and Additional Music by George Stiles & Anthony Drewe July 16 - July 27, 2014
New Summer Menu featuring our Famous Chicago Dogs, Grown-Up Ice Cream Floats, and Legendary Pimento Cheese 100+ Craft Beer List • Cocktails • Outdoor Gardens Dog & Kid Friendly
"THE BEST SN A CK BA R IN THE U S" NEW SUMMER MENU FEATURING OUR FAMOUS CHICAGO DOGS, GROWN-UP ICE CREAM FLOATS, AND LEGENDARY PIMENTO CHEESE
100+ Craft Beer List • Cocktails • Outdoor Gardens• DOG & KID FRIENDLY • BEER GARDEN • WEEKLY LIVE MUSIC
Located in Award-Winning Hampstead Community
334.260.9110
tippingpointhampstead.com
The Mercer
The Murray B
The Helena
The Frey
3 BEDROOM 2.5 BATH 1,915 sq.ft conditioned approx
3 OR 4 BEDROOM 2.5 BATH 2,100 sq.ft conditioned approx
4 BEDROOM 2.5 BATH 2,381 sq.ft conditioned approx 533 sq.ft conditioned approx
$238,500
$287,900
3 BEDROOM 2 BATH 1,768 sq.ft conditioned approx 518 sq.ft porch / garage approx
$278,900
$309,900
The Murray A
The Adele
The Cumbria
The Maggie
3 BEDROOM 2.5 BATH 2,185 sq.ft conditioned approx 533 sq.ft porch / garage approx
4 BEDROOM 2.5 BATH 2,268 sq.ft conditioned approx 735 sq.ft porch / garage approx
2 BEDROOM 2.5 BATH 2,034 sq.ft conditioned approx
4 BEDROOM 3 BATH 2,372 sq.ft conditioned approx
$309,900
$299,900
$279,900
$309,900
Town building, design, & construction are an evolving process. The Hampstead master plan, features, floor plans, & pricing may change without notice due to a variety of considerations. Any illustrations are artist’s depictions only & may differ from completed improvements. This is not an offer to sell real estate property. Information is correct but not warranted. Void where prohibited by law. Equal Housing Opportunity. © 2 0 13
AlBUM REVIEW
Words BRIAN CARROLL
Metal is finally, at long last, absolutely beautiful. Sweet, triumphant, and poignant, armed with some of the most elegantly-conceived chord progressions in recent memory, San Francisco five-piece Deafhaven had grown weary of all the macho posturing and darkness pervading Satan’s one-time genre of choice and focused their energy to make, in their own words, a “lush and rock-driven, even pop-driven” record. This statement of intent, while seemingly nonchalant as a descriptor, must have been a risky choice to make given the baggage of the metal genre, and on the record it shows. Song after song, the band barrels, skyrockets, and catches fire over and over again with a go-for-broke and uniquely brave creative spirit, one that will positively transfix and captivate new listeners. The record is an astounding success, and the band’s gambling experimentation has been handsomely rewarded in the press. At the time of this writing, Sunbather is the best release of the year according to the legion of critics on review aggregate site Metacritic.com, and the fifty seventh bestreviewed album EVER RELEASED, sitting pretty between classic albums from Tom Waits and Woody Guthrie. Actual people like it too, as the disc consistently receives well-deserved perfect review scores from curious music lovers just tuning in. Like them, I hadn’t heard of this band before Sunbather started making waves on the internet, and while curious, I only knew that the album was supposed to be filed under black metal that fuzzy, quiet lo-fi sub-genre intimately followed by the coolest of the cool. So, it was somewhat a relief to learn that, no, this is not black metal, heavy metal, or barely metal of any sort. Nay, Sunbather is a gorgeous post-rock beast, in the vein of too-easily forgotten bands from recent memory like Godspeed You Black Emperor! and Explosions in the Sky, energized for maximum beauty like the prettier, uptempo songs from a Dan Deacon electronic record like Bromst. Stripped of the trappings of routine metal sound (and accompanying imagery), Deafhaven newly depicts metal as a fantastical creature: the last feathered, giant, navy blue polar bear, its great arms and claws striding the arctic tundra at high speed before naturally taking flight and disappearing into the night sky among the Northern Lights. Awash with the sort of singular notes played at a rapid-fire rate popularized on Radiohead’s OK Computer and Dick Dale’s version of “Miserlou” that opens Pulp Fiction, the disc makes a constant effort to release itself, to find peace through burnout,
and to express in music the brutal, noisy poetry of the human experience and the modern reality of its possible extinction. Holdout sounds from the “old days” of metal include screaming vocals on nearly every track, but they’ve been thankfully buried in the mix and reduced to nothing more than a reedy whisper, a stylistic norm in black metal. Also hanging on for dear life in this complex hybrid of rock styles are the doublebass pedaled, tumbling drum rhythms of your average heavy metal band, but these, too, take a quiet back seat to melody and serve the best purpose possible, which is to propel the sound constantly forward at a blistering clip. A couple of ideas lifted directly – bluntly – from the aforementioned GYBE and Explosions in the Sky will distract or comfort the seasoned post-rock listener depending on their tolerance and forgiveness of outright theft, but the disc has enough less obvious “borrowing” - like brief interludes of extremely subtle hip-hop-based, dark mystery that would sound at home on a Flying Lotus record – that these parts come off less like rip-offs and more like an earnest, transparent attempt to continue the themes and tricks laid out by those bands. By the end of the album, you might find yourself a little worn out, as its consistently high-energy epics occasionally hover around and over ten minutes in length, but luckily the band includes frequent rest stops in the form of pretty piano segments, field recordings, and plenty of atmospheric production to keep things from coagulating into a terribly formulaic, samey affair. Highly recommended for post-rock lovers, but perhaps too commercial for strict black metal enthusiasts, Sunbather sounds immediately classic. If you think you might like your rock and roll speedy, dreamy, triumphant, cathartic, over-the top, and serious, you’ll find this is a lovely monster of a record. The sound Deafheaven has crafted here has been confidently chiseled from a familiar stone, so you may only need one listen to “get it,” but by all means, it is well worth that listen and more.
Willie Breeding on the Breeding’s New Album Words CAROLINE ROSEN The Breedings are longtime friends of MADE and are currently touring in support of their new album, Fayette. We caught up with Willie Breeding to hear his thoughts on the new album, touring, and more. MADE: So Willie, what inspired the new album? W.B.: I think just having a collection of songs we knew were ready. We had spent years recording an album we weren’t very happy with, so to get back to having songs we liked and recording in a more stripped down way was very appealing. We just wanted to make something that felt good that wasn’t over-thought, and I think we did just that! MADE: Do you have a favorite song from the new album to perform? W.B.: I would say, “Clays Ferry Bridge” if it’s an acoustic set, and “No Matter Where” with the band. Erin would answer “Take From Me”, “Two Drinks” or “Make You Wait”. I guess we really like performing this record live! MADE: What made writing the songs on your second album different from writing your songs on the first? W.B.: On our first album, I was writing a couple songs specifically for Erin to have louder, more aggressive songs to sing. Kind of show off her range. This new album is more of a collection of our favorite songs we had. Truthfully, most of the songs from both albums were written in similar time frames, as I’m always writing. MADE: Did any songs get left on the cutting room floor? How did you decide what to include and what to leave off? W.B.: Yes, a bunch! We made a list of 11-12 songs and went from there. I think only one got recorded that didn’t make the album. But it just wasn’t ready, and was horrifically underwhelming. Sometimes you don’t know till you record it!
MADE: What’s your favorite venue so far on the tour for your new album? W.B.: The Brooklyn Bowl and The Ridgefield Playhouse in CT. Both very different, both very awesome. MADE: What is the best thing about touring? Seeing people engaged with your music? Visiting new places? Some combination thereof? W.B.: Definitely a combination of all of those things. I really love traveling, so that’s great, seeing new cities and eating different food. We got to go to Camden, Maine for a night on this tour and that was definitely a highlight. The downside was that I was in Maine and didn’t see a moose. I feel cheated and will have to return soon for further investigation. At the end of the day, though, it’s really about getting to play shows and getting the music out there. That’s what is most important and that is what feels the best, when it happens. MADE: Where in the South will you be playing if people wanted to catch up with you? W.B.: All over! Lot’s of southern shows coming up. Kentucky, Georgia, Alabama....new shows are added all the time. Just check the tour page at www.thebreedingsmusic.com. The Breedings will be back in Montgomery on September 12, check out our website and promotional materials around town for more info. In the meantime, you can purchase the album on iTunes or in the Breedings web store at http:// thebreedingsmusic.com/. SEPTEMBER 2013 • MADEPAPER.COM
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Where to Eat, Drink, Sleep, Jam & Caffeinate (Without Setting Foot on the Strip) Words TIFFANY BELL
Where To Go:
It’s no secret Nashville is having a (long overdue) moment. One of the South’s former best-kept secrets is now getting due credit for its seemingly endless supply of raw talent, creativity, music and flavors - not the Nashvegas honky tonks and tourist shops lining the downtown strip that come to mind. Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing like a good night at Robert’s. But Nashville has more to celebrate beyond Broadway – you know it, we know it, and so do the insanely talented folks behind this month’s first ever Music City Eats: Food, Wine & Spirits Festival. Heading there? Here is a list of places to Eat, Drink, Jam, Sleep and Caffeinate (or any combination of your liking.)
- EAT HUSK (Neighborhood: Rutledge Hill) James Beard award-winner Sean Brock opened his Charleston staple in Nashville’s up-and-coming Rutledge Hill neighborhood earlier this year. Look for a 1880s home with a wrap around porch, swings and carriage house (now for events) still in tact. Inside, Chef Brock shares Charleston favorites and Nashville’s flavors by way of area farmers, in-house pickling, charcuterie and heirloom anything he can get his hands on. THE PHARMACY BURGER PARLOR & BEER GARDEN (Neighborhood: East Nashville) Venture to this local favorite and choose your “feel good” concoction of choice - delicious burgers, housemade wurst, local pints, old-school milkshakes, ice-cream sodas, phosphates and the like. Pull up a seat at The Pharmacy’s throwback parlor or outside in the biergarten while you wait (clearly no longer East Nashville’s little secret.) THE SOUTHERN (Neighborhood: SoBro) I’m pretty sure this place is the love child of New Orleans and Nashville (and a quite popular one, at that.) The Southern stays on a wait, but it’s worth planning ahead for chef Matt Farley’s southern dishes served up in a relaxed Big Easyinspired space. Go hungry – wood-fire grilled steaks, chicken & waffles and a shuck-to-order Oyster Bar await. ROLF AND DAUGHTERS (Neighborhood: Germantown) It’s the real deal. Rolf and Daughters earned the #3 spot in Bon Appetit’s “10 Best New Restaurants of 2013” for chef Philip Krajeck’s successful marriage of Italian & Mediterranean flavors with Southern ingredients. Call for reservations or mingle at the Communal Table over snacks meant to share, pastas to die for and a slew of seasonal plates in the 100-year-old Werthan Factory building. ROSEPEPPER (Neighborhood: East Nashville) This funky East Nashville restaurant has been a happening locals’ spot long before it was the neighborhood to be in. Come for bold Mexican, stay for the bold margaritas (voted best in Nashville year after year by locals.) Bypass
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the crowded main bar and enjoy a drink on the patio while you wait. CATBIRD SEAT (Neighborhood: Midtown) Recently named Food & Wine’s Best New Chef All-Stars, Chefs Erik Anderson and Josh Habiger personally hand plates to all 32 guests from behind the U-shaped counter. Reservations absolutely have to be made in advance – up to 30 days prior. While you won’t have a clue what the meal will consist of until you’re sittin’ pretty in the Catbird Seat, it’s worth rolling the dice. CITY HOUSE (Neighborhood: Germantown) No stranger to “best of” lists from Food & Wine, James Beard and Gwenyth Paltrow (for better or worse), City House is a foodie favorite tucked away in a Germantown studio. Popcorn here comes hot chicken seasoned and the pizza comes topped with goodness like padron peppers, corn, ricotta and grana padano. We won’t discriminate – the cocktails, pasta and housemade meats are equally loved. MAS TACOS (Neighborhood: East Nashville) Don’t let the sketchy exterior fool you – this is THE place for tacos (and horchata, and tortilla soup.) Stick with the line (it moves fast), bring cash – hell, even BYOB– and take your pick from their $3 taco menu with choices like fried avocado, fresh fish and quinoa + sweet potato. And don’t forget that tortilla soup. THE GRILLED CHEESERIE Named “Best Food Truck” in the Nashville Scene and The Tennessean, The Grilled Cheeserie truck has a loyal following (and line) wherever it goes. I DREAM OF WEENIE (Neighborhood: East Nashville) The one and only VW bus turned hot dog stand in Nashville. This food bus stays planted in East Nashville’s Five Points serving up creative charcoal-grilled weenies (all-beef, turkey and tofu) on fresh, locally-baked buns. Bring a blanket and picnic on the lawn. BURGER UP (Neighborhood: 12South) Thoughtful consuming is the name of the game at Burger Up, and it seems they thought of everyone – from lamb-loving carnivores to that gluten-free girlfriend of yours. They thought of everything, too – from the hip 12South address with floor to ceiling windows and farm-style family seating, to a repurposed-wood bar and surprisingly impressive drink list. Bonus: Las Paletas gourmet popsicle shop is next door. WATERMARK (Neighborhood: The Gulch) Featured in every national food magazine, Watermark and chef Bob Waggoner are known for some of the best seafood, beef & game in the area. Its location in The Gulch (rising neighborhood for singles in the city), floor-to-ceiling windows and rooftop bar (holy Happy Hour) all make for great views of the downtown skyline.
MARCHÉ (Neighborhood: East Nashville) More European than East Nashville, this café and market couldn’t be any cozier. Natural light for days, farm tables, espresso bar, fresh baked goods and local groceries add to the Marché experience. Did we mention the food? Go for brunch and opt to meet new friends at one of the community tables. Locals also love Marché’s sister restaurant, Margot Café & Bar, serving French & Italian cuisine around the corner in Five Points. BISCUIT LOVE TRUCK Need we say more? Build your own biscuit (Olive & Sinclair Chocolate Gravy anyone?) or go for one of the favorites with Nashville’s famed hot chicken, honey, housemade pickles and mustard. LOCKELAND TABLE (Neighborhood: East Nashville) Chef Hal M. Holden-Bache and crew snagged Lockeland Table a James Beard Award nomination for Best New Restaurant this year. We fell in love with this “neighborhood” gem as soon as we stepped in the door (think just enough space, warm lighting and the perfect mix of textures), but we’ll be coming back again and again for the food. Start with the hot coal roasted heirloom carrot & beet salad and work your way to Nashville’s own Olive & Sinclair cookie skillet. PRINCE’S HOT CHICKEN SHACK (Neighborhood: Sylvan Park) Widely rumored to be THE best hot chicken in all of the land, Prince’s is not for the faint of heart. Bring cash, say hello to the security guard while you wait in line and put your game face on for freshly fried and seriously spicy chicken. Open until 4 a.m. on the weekends for all your emergency fried chicken needs… NOSHVILLE (Location: Midtown) Noshville is a Nashville institution worth checking out – especially for the hungry and hung-over. This place prides itself on being the city’s best New York style delicatessen (voted just that by locals every year since 1996). Ask for the pickles.
- CAFFEINATE BARISTA PARLOR (Neighborhood: East Nashville) This “more than just” coffee shop oozes East Nashville-ness – hip interiors (and crowd), rolling garage doors, top-notch coffees, fine-crafted chocolates and made-from-scratch eats. And then there’s THE sign. Barista Parlor’s giant marqueelettered sign is custom made by Sideshow Sign Co., a Nashville-based company making the city more interesting one sign at a time. BONGO JAVA (Neighborhood: Belmont, Hillsboro Village, East Nashville) Bongo Java is the city’s oldest coffeehouse, serving 100% organic grinds in its laid-back shop across from Belmont University for 20 years now. Just about everything on the
menu is organic, local, or both - from Nashville-born Bagel Face bagels to Olive & Sinclair chocolates. Not far from the Bongo mother ship near Vanderbilt lives sister-shop, Fido, serving coffee and chef-driven menus in a former pet shop. Really. If you find yourself across the river in East Nashville (all signs point to yes), check out their Five Points location, Bongo East. CREMA (Neighborhood: Rutledge Hill) This self-named Coffee Brewtique is a favorite among serious coffee lovers and foodies. Crema is passionate about their small-batch, hand-crafted coffee and espresso, even admitting to be the most welcoming bunch of coffee snobs you’ll ever meet. Tucked just far enough away from the heart of Downtown near Husk in historic Rutledge Hill.
- IMBIBE -
- SLEEP HUTTON HOTEL (Neighborhood: Midtown) Boutique four-star hotel on West End with views of Downtown Nashville. Opened in 2009, everything here is new and contemporary. The rooms are fairly small, but then again there are way too many places to visit to sleep the day away… THE HERMITAGE HOTEL (Neighborhood: Downtown) Opened in 1910, the historic Hermitage Hotel is old-school glam at its best with a AAA Five Diamond rating to prove it (picture gilded ceilings, grand lobby…you know the kind.) If you’re a fan of the Hermitage you’re in good company – evidently this grand dame of downtown has a long list of famous guests, from U.S. presidents all the way to ol’ Randy Travis.
THE PATTERSON HOUSE (Neighborhood: Midtown) Hidden gem located above Catbird Seat (see EAT) known for one thing – damn good cocktails. Nevermind the wait – once you’re comfortably seated inside the dark, roaring 20s-inspired bar with an old-school or new-fangled cocktail (or two) in hand, you’ll forget all about it. Sip slowly (optional), stay late and maybe even hand over a little creative control to that nattily clad mixologist.
AIRBNB Obviously not unique to Nashville (more like 192 countries & counting) this is the next best thing to shacking on your friend’s couch. Nasvhille has more than 255 listings on the site with everything from downtown condos and studios, to single rooms and entire East Nashville homes.
RUMOURS EAST (Neighborhood: East Nasvhille) Amazing wines are a given at this neighborhood wine bar, or take your pick from seasonal cocktail and craft beer menus. Rumous has a great spot in The Gulch, but we much prefer the vibe at Rumours East for happy hour or post-dinner drinks (think 1900s Victorian House, hand-crafted bar, fire pits, edible garden, endless outdoor seating.) Local cred: voted Best Patio, Best Wine Bar, Best Wine List in Nashville Scene.
Where to Go Insider Scoop from Locals Erin & Willie Breeding of The Breedings
YAZOO BREWING COMPANY (Neighborhood: The Gulch) You may have spotted these guys around Tennessee, Mississippi or North Alabama, but The Gulch is where it all goes down. Known for their Gerst beer, the revival of a Nashville legend before pesky Prohibition, Yazoo gives a brief run down (plus plenty of samples and a pint glass) during Saturday brewery tours. FAT BOTTOM BREWERY (Neighborhood: East Nashville) Naturally, the East side’s first brewery sits in between a rundown liquor store and a hip hot yoga studio. Grab a seat in the beer garden or overlooking the former mattress factory turned brewery while enjoying Ginger, Ruby Red, Black Betty, Bertha or Java Jane. JACKALOPE BREWING COMPANY (Neighborhood: The Gulch) You can find these craft brews in the Jackalope Taproom or on tap at some of our favorite spots around the city. Three year-round brews – Rompo Red Rye Ale, Thunder Ann American Pale Ale and Bearwalker Maple Brown Ale – are local favorites along with one rotating selection each month.
THE HIGH WATT (Cannery Row – 8th Ave. S) Located in the same building as The Mercy Lounge, The High Watt is one of our favorite places to play in Nashville. It’s a slightly smaller version of The Mercy Lounge, with a small bar and open room that is equally wonderful for listening to bands or moshing to a rock group. Do people still do that? Not to our music, I guess....
Favorite Place to Grab a Drink: HOLLAND HOUSE BAR & REFUGE (Neighborhood: East Nashville) It’s close to home, has amazing bourbon cocktails and some of the nicest bartenders in the city! Learn more about Erin & Willie Breeding of The Breedings at thebreedingsmusic.com.
- MUSIC -
Favorite Spots for Local Music: “TWO FOR TUESDAYS” AT THE 5 SPOT (East Nashville) Every Monday night at The 5 Spot is a famous retro dance party with DJs and flashing lights. But every Tuesday night is “Two for Tuesdays”, an opportunity for bands in the area to play short sets to a crowd that attends for exposure to new music and 2-for-1 beers. The place can get crowded, but it’s easy to see the performers from any spot in the room and the red velvet curtain on the stage makes you feel like you’re royalty. CAUSE A SCENE MUSIC Larry Kloess, a local Nashvillian, started Cause a Scene Music to organize house parties and showcase unknown bands. The movement has grown quickly and now they put on several shows a month at various houses and backyards all over the city. The setup is always professional, the sound is good and the audience is kind and attentive. It’s an artist’s dream in the comfort of someone’s home. We played our first show just a couple months ago and can’t wait to do another one! THE MERCY LOUNGE (Cannery Row – 8th Ave. S) This is hands down our favorite place to see a show. There’s something about the cavernous, but cozy, room and the elevated stage that makes a show both intimate and aweinspiring.
WHAT: Music City Eats is the brainchild of Grammy award winning artists (and Nashville residents) Caleb and Nathan Followill of Kings of Leon and a slew of other high-profile movers and shakers. For two days, top chefs, wine, spirit and beer purveyors from across the country will join Nashville’s top culinary heroes to entice your senses with local farm and restaurant tastings and demonstrations, all to the soundtrack of live music. WHEN: September 21 & 22 WHERE: Historic venues & outdoor spaces of downtown Nashville WHY: See “What” above TICKETS: $275 2-Day Pass gives access to Cooking Demos & Panel Discussions, Tastings, Saturday & Sunday Flavors of Nashville, Food & Wine magazine subscription MORE INFO: musiccityeats.com or @musiccityeats
SEPTEMBER 2013 • MADEPAPER.COM
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