Campione’s Taste of Chicago

Nashville Restaurants and Food
Campione’s Taste of Chicago
179 Hancock Street
Gallatin
615-206-6965
www.campionestasteofchicago.blogspot.com

Every great city has a signature sandwich: The Philly Cheesesteak, the New York Reuben and the Louisville Hot Brown are just a few famous examples. The Chicago Italian Beef sandwich dates back to the 1930’s. The originator, albeit with a little controversy, is considered by many to be Al’s Number One Italian Beef in the Loop. The key to the Italian Beef is nicely seasoned roast beef, often cooked in a broth with garlic and oregano. The Italian roll is important as well: it needs to be chewy and also hold up to the next step. You can order the sandwich dipped or dry. The dip refers to a good soaking of the Italian roll in au jus. It makes the roast beef almost melt into the bread. The next option is hot or sweet, which refers to the peppers you want on the beef.

It’s one of those creations that just begs to make a mess out of your shirt. Many Chicagoans eat them standing up for just that reason. It’s a tradition many Chicagoans would fight to protect, so serving Italian Beef in Gallatin, Tennessee may seem like a stretch. Campione’s does the tradition proud and the result is one of the best sandwiches in the area. Just please forgive them for the fact that they call it a “samich” on the menu.

Campione’s is tucked in a little shopping mall across the street from Gallatin High School. The sleek, cool red interior doesn’t seem like a Chicago joint but once you bite into the sandwich you might as well be standing at a counter elbow to elbow with construction workers and traders. Good beef, proper seasoning and careful cooking are evident. You should be able to eat well seasoned Italian Beef without a bun or anything else, just like good southern pork barbecue. In fact Campione’s sells their Italian beef by the pound. That’s a good idea because I doubt these sandwiches would make it home in one piece: they absolutely ooze with juice. It’s messy, artery-clogging and every bit a Chicago masterpiece. Of course I had to take it a step further and order the combo, another Chicago tradition which combines the beef with Italian sausage. I kinda felt like I was living out that Saturday Night Live skit where George Wendt and Chris Farley have heart attacks while eating one of these. The Italian sausage is spicy enough to stand up to the Italian beef. The result is one of the better sandwiches in the area.

One controversial aspect of the Italian Beef tradition is cheese. I ordered my combo with mozzarella. Some traditionalists see this as sacrilege. I have to say it worked for me. Campione’s has been open for a little less than a year and the owners clearly care about customer satisfaction. They popped into the dining room to see how I was doing. She wanted to make sure it lived up to Chicago tradition, and while I’m no expert, I told her it tasted plenty authentic to me.

They Chicago theme continues with all sorts of dogs and sausages. The Wrigley Dog comes buried in chili, onion and cheddar. Brats, Italian and Polish sausage round out the sandwich menu. They also have a pasta of the day, soups and chili. Fries are the only real side. I’m not usually a fan of crinkle cut fries but these seem to work. They’re super crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside.

There are a couple of places in south Nashville that have Italian Beef. It’s nice to have something north of town. Of course now it will be calling to me every day at work. Oh well, keep those defibrillator paddles charged.

Nashville Farmers’ Market Update

Nashville Restaurants and Food
Nashville Farmers’ Market Update
900 Rosa L. Parks Blvd
Nashville

http://nashvillefarmersmarket.org/

The blue tarp is gone, new restaurants are dishing up business and the spring seems to be back in the step at the Nashville Farmers’ Market. It’s taken long enough. Let us not dwell and instead focus on the positive developments. The main dining area is done and in a stylish and functional form. Swagruha Indian cuisine, B and C Market BBQ, Nooley’s Cajun, Swett’s meat and three, and Chicago Style Gyro’s seem to be doing well. New joints include Nashville Coffee and Company, Farmers’ Market Deli and a new Mexican place called El Burrito that isn’t open quite yet. Fleur de Lis New Orleans Sno Balls is also new in the last couple of months. While we haven’t sampled yet we understand they are basically snow cones on steroids and in many different flavors.

On this lunch visit we opted for a favorite, Jamaicaway restaurant. The jerk chicken was piled high and while tasty, I did kick myself for going mild instead of spicy. The beef ribs and ox tails looked particularly good this day. The Johnny cakes have to be some of the best in Nashville: a delicate fry leaves them cake like, not greasy, and generally delicious. The dirty rice and pineapple sweet potatoes are excellent sides and provide a good pairing with the chicken. There is so much to choose from for the vegetarian that they actually spooned out little bits for the Veggie Eater to taste. It’s almost enough to get the Meat Eater to switch sides for the day.

Veggie Eater: I had one of the citrus chickeny flavors du jour; appeared to be wheat gluten based and had a bit of a curry taste to it. I sampled all veggie items for that day and decided this one best fit the bill, though any of the others would have made me perfectly as happy. I have heard the Jamaicaway folks tell meat eaters, “you won’t even realize it’s vegetarian” when touting their veggie items and they are absolutely right. Half of the menu is veggie entrees (there were at least 8 this visit) and all side items are veggie friendly. I had hoped to take some home for left over lunch the next day, but it was so good, I figured, “What the hell” and plowed through an ample plate. Best thing is, all of it is pretty darn good for you, so even in excess, you don’t feel all that guilty. Great space, great mix of folks, customers and staff alike.

Meat Eater: We’d still like to see more specialty stores and vendors at the Farmers' Market, especially baked goods, cheese etc. We look forward to seeing Geraldine’s Pies on Saturdays, picking up a loaf of sourdough from the Schrock Family Bakery and spicy Italian sausage from Barbour Farm. It all works perfectly with ripe locally grown tomatoes and freshly picked squash. The Farmers' Market is one of the great things about Nashville and we hope to see them keep growing.

Zavos

Nashville Restaurants and Food
Zavos
1115 Porter Rd

Nashville

615-258-4637

Take an old bar, paint it red and throw up some funky bistro lighting and what do you have? A Greek restaurant? Sure, and a really good Greek restaurant at that. It’s rare to find a dining experience where every bite, start to finish, is excellent. Zavos in East Nashville lives up to the hype.

They didn’t do much to convert the old tavern into a restaurant, and that’s part of the charm. The food is the focus at Zavos and everything, from the friendly and efficient wait staff, to the small plate offerings, is designed to show off the cuisine. That’s great for diners, who can sample a number of plates ranging from $5 to $8.

We considered Spanakopita to start and then switched to Tiropita to shake things up a bit. The filo dough is nicely flaky and just a little sweet (perhaps nutmeg or cinnamon?). Egg and cheese meld with the filo for a very good starter. On to the Mediterranean Platter: Tzaziki, eggplant salad, red pepper salsa, hummus and feta. The plate arrives and immediately the pita bread slices grab our attention. They’re grilled in what seems to be butter for a sinful and exceptional taste. The rest of the sampler is quite good: savory eggplant, tangy Tzaziki and silky hummus. The flavors are solid, and carefully balanced: quality ingredients rule the day.

Kafteres does make a statement in the heat department. The grilled banana peppers are fairly spicy, lightly grilled and filled with rich feta cheese. It’s a nice compliment to the rest of the plates. And we do keep the plates coming. Horiatika salad showcases ripe tomato slices, cucumbers, olives and shallots in an olive oil dressing chock full of herbs. The veggies are virtually drowning in the dressing and that’s okay because they work well together. The only issues are the oil drips that will inevitably find their way to your shirt. It’s well worth it.

Zavos has an entrée of the day. This evening the special was Greek Spaghetti, which the server explained has more meat and oregano than an Italian version. The entrée runs $13 for the whole order or $7 for a half order. The attention to pricing and variety is really nice to see at Zavos. It makes it possible to have a very good meal with a reasonable bill. Other small plate options include Beefteaki and Souflaki.

Veggie Eater: This is a true gem for the East Nashville area; thankfully we live 15 miles away, so weight gain is not imminent. Gay folks, family folks, young hip folks all congregate here. I was expecting Greek diner, not funky bar. But I digress…the food is really what’s cool. All ingredients were clearly fresh and the dishes prepared to order. I loved the heat in the Kafteres. The Tiropita is cousin to Spanakopita; egg and cheese enveloped in filo; a hearty treat for your tummy. The salad was exceptionally fresh; really ripe tomatoes and cucumbers happily dressed in olive oil and vinegar. I don’t even like cukes, but these were great. Meat eater talked me into the baklava. Perhaps I’m spoiled because I used to have an 80 year old Greek woman bring me a baking sheet of the confection regularly. She always prided herself on using only honey; not a sugar water syrup. This seemed to be the sugar syrup variety and was very dense; very little flakiness and more fruity than the homemade version Florence used to make me. Let’s just split the difference and state it was not the same; still good, but not the phenomenal version I remember of yore.

Meat Eater: I think, Veggie Eater, that the Baklava was a matter of style, not execution. The fruit cake-like, chewy interior was definitely different. Zavos is an enjoyable mash-up of delicious old world flavors and East Nashville funky. We’ll be back soon. The crowd on a recent Thursday evening was growing at 7 p.m. Zavos stays open until 11 p.m. and from what we’ve been told, the best advice is to get there early. My only issue with Zavos is the little bar stool seats that dominate the high top tables. They’re not very comfortable. There are a few normal table-chair combos to choose from. We paid $39 with tax and tip.

Elotes Nayarit

Nashville Restaurants and Food
Elotes Nayarit
313 Gallatin Pike
Madison

Tender corn on the cob, coated in Mexican mayonnaise and crumbly cheese; you get sweet corn and savory topping in every bite. Elote are a Mexican treat that you can find at several places in South Nashville. Elotes Nayarit is a teeny, tiny little taqueria that finally brings some authentic Mexican food to Madison and, needless to say, they pride themselves on their elotes.

We’ve been meaning to eat at Elotes Nayarit for months. It’s easy to miss: just a little concrete building next to El Parasio Super Mercado, just south of Old Hickory Blvd. Look for the bright colors and the hand painted sign declaring elotes. Lunch time on a Saturday finds most of the six tables filled with families. The menu board lists the line-up and it’s pretty simple: elotes, tortas (Mexican sandwiches), quesadillas, sopes (fried maize masa), carne asada tostadas, chicharron (fried pork rinds) and menudo (tripe soup). We start with platanos fritos, which are plantains split down the middle and then lightly fried. Plantains are the cousin of the banana, a little less sweet and with more of a sweet potato texture and flavor. Elotes Nayarit serves them up with crumbled cheese and crema. They offered strawberry jam as well, which could be just the hint of sweetness needed. It’s a good starter.

The elote came out and everything else faded into the background. The corn is perfectly cooked and the topping oozes over it all. We made the mistake of ordering just one and then fighting over it: they are that good. You can also get chili pepper sprinkled over the mayo and queso if you want to shake it up.

The waitress didn’t know any English. She summoned a fellow back from the kitchen who was more than happy to help us. I think she was more worried about it than us. At this point we have enough Spanish to make sure the veggie eater just gets vegetarian stuff and our order turns out as expected. The pastor torta is good, perhaps a little lacking in the dressing department (I’m a sucker for mayo and cheese on my torta).

Many folks were ordering up the carne asada tostados. The meat looked nicely grilled and everyone was polishing off the plate. They serve up a nice variety of salsas at Elotes Nayarit. There’s a slightly creamy hot red sauce and very spicy verde sauce. The pico de gallo seems to have tomatillos, a nice twist.

Elotes Nayarit has several Aguas de Frutas available. These homemade drinks are favorites in Mexico, featuring mashed up fruit pulp and sugar. We went with pineapple and found it fresh, fruity and not too sweet.

Veggie Eater: The menu does not have many veggie friendly items, but it is easy enough to substitute frijoles and queso for the meat items. I had a bean and cheese sope; not very inventive, but satisfying. What really rocks is the elote. Don’t get me wrong, I love corn, but had no idea it could be this fantastic. As meat eater noted above, I pronounced sadness about halfway through the ear of corn that we had opted to share it.

Meat Eater: This is among the most authentic Mexican restaurant food you can find north of Briley. Don’t be put off by the handmade signs and do it yourself exterior. Elotes Nayarit is down home and quite welcoming and those elotes are definitely worth a visit. By the way Nayarit is a state in Mexico on the Pacific west coast. It’s a place known for seafood, so I was a bit surprised to see very little seafood on the menu, just shrimp. Perhaps that will be an area they explore in the future. I’d like to see what they do. Prices range from $2.50 to $3 for most menu items. The carne asada and menudo goes up into the $8 range. We paid $21 with tip due to mucho sampling.