Not Your Ordinary, Everyday Brunch...

Memorial Day weekend brought about an unusual brunching sunday. Most outlaws were out of town, had family in town, or were extremely hungover(me), so from what I hear it was brunch for 2 at Mad Donna's. Word on the street is...the bloody mary bar was not as fabulous as usual, and the food was okay at best. I'm kinda glad I stayed in bed until 2:30.
But then the excitement was raised a couple notches when the brunchers swung by the house to scoop me up. We didn't have eatin' on our minds that afternoon. Oh no, it was all about...Ghetto-fabulous clothing stores on Gallatin Rd. That's right! We hit up 615 Ave and Designer Fashion Hookup. I have to admit that before Sunday I had never been to an urban fashion market. Boy, I didn't know the treasures I was missing! 615 Ave was my fave. Leggings that wrapped around your calves and tied at your ankles, super cute tanks screen printed with tatto-inspired designs, denim skirts, shorts, cute accessories...lots of goodies. My favorites had to be the women's underwear with built-in butt padding, the men's BRIGHT seafoam green loafers, and the marijauna leaf button down shirt. Seriously people, there actually were a few items that I would buy in there, and the rest of the novelties were fabulously entertaining! Designer Fashion Hookup was next. That store is smaller, and not as easily accessible, but the merchandise and general atmosphere are a bit classier. They had great heels, boots, bags, accessories, and the gentleman behind the register was very friendly. Bottom line - don't hate on the Gallatin Rd. urban fashion marts....you might be surprised at what you could find!
Next it was on to Pre to Post Modern on 8th Ave. I have loved this store for a long time. Everytime I vist, I take something with me. Their selection of vintage furniture, clothing, knick-knacks and novelties is top notch. And there is always new stuff to look at. This time I purchased a wierd piece of framed art, and the owner herself, Ms. Karen Hollywood, was there to ring me up and share some entertaining stories.
Next it was pedicures at Venetian Nail Spa in Green Hills. The service was awesome, our feet look fabu, and the price was right!
After all that shopping and pampering, we were hungry. Time for some grub at Carraba's. We had the fried Zuchinni as an appetizer..yum, yum! Our entrees were the Manicotti, Lobster Ravioli, and Spaghetti and Meatballs. Everything was super tasty! Our server "Fabio" was delightful, and the topic of conversation was fashion and events in Nashville.
Pretty damn good Sunday in my book.

First Time's A Harm: Brunch at Rumours in Little 5 Points

Hi there world wide web... I'm busy surfin' and just let me tell you the waves are fine, so just jump on in! There's a group of friends that are testing out brunches across Nashville, and this is our first blog. We dined in East Nashville at Rumours East, most commonly known as a wine bar. The atmosphere is nothing short of delightful--a historic home convienently located near 5 Points. The outside area, which our party of 8 inhabited, was absolutely dreamy. As mentioned, we did have a rather large party, but we called in advance so we would be easier to accommodate. We are a laid-back, easy-to-please bunch consisting of fashion designers, philanthropists, hair designers, real estate agents, servers, and secretaries. The brunch menu was interesting, including both food and drink. Our table particularly enjoyed the blueberry pomegranate mimosas ($9). The food menu consisted of several quiches, omelettes, and paninis, with some other items such as a breakfast pizza. I chose the spinach, ham, and bacon quiche ($10) and a Orangina ($2.50). As a snack for the table, we ordered the white bean hummus and red pepper hummus, served with bread and crackers. I did not try the bread, but the crackers were assorted and delicious. I would reccomend ordering extra bread and crackers along with the generous portion because our server had to make several trips to get up more crackers for the hummus. They were both average, however I feel the red pepper hummus reigned over the white bean. Onto the main course... My omelette was "pretty good." Big on texture, I was not a huge fan of how the ham was diced... it almost reminded me of the little cubes of ham you buy pre-cut for your salad. Our server was sweet, BUT the restaurant has to come up with way of tallying up a tab for larger parties. We recieved an itemized check and we each had to go through and give our cash/cards, along with calculating tax and gratituity. By the time we'd each figured out how much we owed on the check, our collected balance was about $5+ OVER the amount she gave us. We are generous tippers so I feel okay saying this: we all did not need to give an extra $6 on top of the 20% tip. Due to the complexity of seperating the checks, it was more trouble than worth to explain this discrepancy. So, as our (still) chipper party was leaving, the server ran out to us and exclaimed (in front of other customers) "Y'all didn't give me enough money!!" After 10 minutes of explaining, she finally realized her mistake without an apology or thank you. SO. In BRIEF, considering price and mediocrity of the food, I do not think our "math exercise" and humilation was worth the trip. Although I'd rate the company and atmosphere a 10, I still don't think being accused of "not paying enough money" would be worth brunching here again. Maybe wine in the backyard next time...