(This is a reprint of a defunct article from eHow)
Nashville calls itself the home of country music and the Grand Ole Opry, but even the historic Ryman Auditorium shares its legendary status with some of the city’s ghostly tales and spirits. After a day of fine dining and sightseeing, Nashville sightseeing can serve up some spine-tingling fun after dark for those adventurous souls chasing things that go bump in the night.
Haunted Walking Tours
- Stroll through downtown Nashville with a historically-garbed guide from Nashville Ghost Tours, stopping at haunted sites such as the Ryman, the Tennessee State Capitol, and Printers’ Alley. This half-mile, 90-minute tour runs every night of the week from March to November and holds the distinction of being Nashville’s original ghost-tour company. Rain or shine, the ghost hunting is on. If you still crave a little ghostly adventure, Nashville Ghosts also runs a walking tour of historic downtown haunts starting in the evening of March through October.
Deadly Transportation
- For something a little different, or if your feet ache too much after a day of walking around the Music City, consider cruising through downtown Nashville in style in a customized hearse. Nashville Ghost Tours offers this alternative to the walking tour, including tales of the infamous “Murder on Music Row,” as well as visits to Nashville’s oldest cemetery and Union Station.
Brews, Booze, and Boos
- If you prefer to enjoy some adult time when doing some Nashville sightseeing, the Haunted Tavern Tours mix ghostly spirits and liquid spirits for double the fun. Enjoy a cocktail or brew at haunted taverns such as Mulligan’s Pub while hearing ghostly tales, but pay attention to the trivia quiz and prizes at the end. For the $15 admission as of publication, those over 21 years old enjoy two hours of booze and boos.
Bell Witch
- For those who don’t mind a little driving and really want a good scare, approximately 45 minutes north of downtown Nashville in Adams lies the notorious Bell Witch farm and cave, inspiring many stories and a movie based on historical events involving the haunting of the Bell family. Legend has it the witch was a neighbor of John Bell who cursed the family and tormented their daughter for years with her evil spells. Take a candlelight tour through the caves and the replica of the family cabin, if you dare. As of publication, tours cost $25 to $50 depending on options, including an optional visit to the American Indian burial grounds at night.
(This is from 2013 from the defunct A Table for One blog)
What’s better than those Mississippi restaurants that serve up comfort food made from fresh produce and home-style cooking? One that also sells the produce, quirky gifts and a little liquid sunshine with a smile.
Now, I appreciate those fancy Mississippi restaurants as much as the next gal, and the kind of gourmet food where you aren’t really sure what it is, but you know it’s supposed to impress you. But I also enjoy a slice of down-home cooking served up with friendly service, and The Tomato Place in Vicksburg, Mississippi, has garnered quite a reputation for both in these parts.
Random Dining in Mississippi
I ventured in the first time on a lark, after I had done some shopping at the local Big Blue Generic Warehouse of Goods down the street to check out the place. First of all, watch for it closely as it’s literally just an extra-wide shoulder of the highway and you can easily drive on by. Second, you may not have much parking space, as this cafe stays pretty busy all day.
But if you find it and park your booty there, you’re greeted with brightly-colored buildings and very casual outdoor seating area. There might be some homemade pork rinds cooking outside, smoking up a bit. One building is cooks only, but the other is a produce stand and a wall of freezers full of delicious and nutritious smoothies to go.
Or stay, if you choose.
What’s Inside This Tomato
Inside you’ll find sauces (try the Mississippi Fever made with real tomatoes and fresh hot peppers) and containers of rice or beans for sale, but also hats, gifts, and local-themed odds and ends, like the wonderful book I discovered there, “Eat, Drink, Delta,” full of lovely photos and stories from Delta restaurants and kitchens.
And of course, the cafe.
You know they gotta have fried green tomatoes, but also some other expected classics like fresh-squeezed lemonade, po’ boys, fried catfish, and burgers, but prepare yourself for plenty of surprises, like the meatball plate: Three large meatballs on a bed of stone-ground cheese grits, with tomatoes, and your choice of squash or green beans. Or maybe get a southern-style BLT, as in BL and FGT (Fried Green Tomatoes) in case your arteries aren’t quite clogged enough.
But all that matters is dying with a smile on your face, right?
A decidedly non-southern popular meal is the Jamaican Burger plate, with fried yams and jerk sauce. And check out this list of available side items: fried okra, mac and cheese, cheese grits, fried yams, and baked beans, just to name a few.
I had the Tomato Place Pie plate, and it sounds sort of lasagna-like or even a little pizza-like, but much milder on the spice, and shouldn’t kick up the ol’ reflux. As I had the misfortune of coming on a Sunday evening after the huge rush of the day, I had to go with okra instead of green beans. And the salad was marinated cucumbers and cherry tomatoes, and… why, I believe they threw some watermelon in there.
I have to tell you, I’m not a big raw tomato or cucumber person, but that was a very good salad, and refreshing sitting outside in the heat. Personally, I think I’d kick up the spice just a bit on that tomato pie, but it was tasty, and with all the food I had, I took a healthy portion home.
My Inner Chef
Perhaps I’ve watched one too many episodes of “Chopped,” but I “transformed” those leftovers into a nice breakfast hash the next morning, and that was mighty tasty. Alex Guarnaschelli would have been so proud. Or Geoffrey Zakarian, who I have personally dubbed, “The Silver Fox.”
I’m a lonely woman, okay. I use cable TV to window-shop hot guys.
Anyway, the fried green tomatoes here are very lightly breaded with mostly cornmeal breading, and btw, if you want to make your own, this is one place you can find green tomatoes for sale. If they haven’t used them all themselves. But this appetizer here is light with a zesty remoulade sauce making it a nice start to any meal.
They have a nice little indoor dining area, but plenty of outdoor seating if you can take the heat. Check out lots of photos below, and make a little trip south of Vicksburg on Highway 61 for some casual, comfort cuisine.
I have driven past this crazy roadside stop about a million times without stopping and decided it was high time to check it out. When you pull in the driveway it rings a bell and the proprietor followed me in to open up the shop and bathroom. She warned me about the mannequin in the bathroom, which is probably a good thing because yes, it probably would have spooked me. Actually it did anyway — I asked her if she was familiar with the movie “Tourist Trap,” which she was.
That 1979 movie featured Chuck Connors as a nut who has this tourist stop full of mannequins that have a nasty habit of moving by themselves and a car load of teenagers start ending up dead. It sounds silly, but it has some really creepy moments. And as I started thinking about the fact this lady knew the film and some of the decor was reminiscent of it, I started hoping she wasn’t a serial killer.
Anyway, I shot these on the monochrome setting so I could see the results in black and white, and using a red “filter.” The red filter darkens the sky and increases contrast, but also increases noise, so even though it’s ISO 200, noise reduction in Photoshop was generously applied. The monochrome filter can be removed in your RAW processing software so you aren’t giving up the color option if you change your mind later. Which I rarely do when it comes to black and white.
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