Persian Food in Nashville - House of Kabob

For many years I had an Iranian girlfriend who lived close by who introduced me to the wonderful Persian food.  Oh my goodness!

She moved years ago and outside of a rare meal while traveling, I have been without the distinctive flavors of Persia.  (Whole Foods did a class but it didn't turn out so good...)

Recently I was poking around on Yelp looking for different ethnic restaurants in Nashville.  To my surprise, "Persian/Iranian" was a category with 'House of Kabob' the listing!  Well alrighty then!  Better yet... it was a very short drive from where the Lawn and Garden Show was being held.

We stepped into the restaurant with our noses tingling with the scent of exotic (and familiar) spices.  

After we seated ourselves, our waiter appeared with the menus and this little appetizer.

I have to admit... greed jumped on our heads.  (It didn't help that we were really hungry too).

Himself ordered the appetizer Sample Plate.  It had hummus (bottom right), kashk (grilled eggplant spread) (bottom left), musto-moosir (a yogurt dip similar to tzatziki) (top left), taboli (parsley salad) (top right), 2 flafel, and 2 dolmeh (stuffed grape leaves).

Everything was excellent.  Best flafel and dolmeh I've had in Nashville.  And the kashk was perfect.

Shrimp Sultani

A skewer of seasoned shrimp, a skewer of kubideh (ground beef), with yellow rice and a chopped veggie salad.

I had Lamb Sultani.

A lamb skewer and a kubideh skewer (Nazzi... it was almost as good as yours).  Mine came with white rice.  The little pile of saffron rice makes it look like an egg.  LOL

And oh-my-goodness!  They had tahdig!!!!  I haven't had tahdig since you moved Naz!

For those who don't know, tahdig is crunchy (but not hard) brown rice that is formed along the edge of the pan as rice is prepared the Persian way. 

It is sooooooo good!

It was a wonderful meal.  I have a new favorite restaurant.

After our meal, I picked up a take-away menu as we left.  Driving to our next stop (a tile shop), I read to Himself the desserts.  We were both kicking ourselves for not thinking of them when I said, "We can go back when we are done."

Oh yes.

Back we went.  Our waiter looked puzzled to see us again until I said "We forgot dessert."  We both laughed.

We each got a bowl of Persian ice cream.  Himself had Turkish Coffee ice cream and I had Rose Water ice cream.  We shared a piece of 'milk cake'.

Yep... we have a new favorite restaurant!

Spring is in the Air! Nashville Lawn & Garden Show

Our harbinger of Spring is the annual Lawn & Garden Show in Nashville.  Although sometimes it doesn't seem so 'spring'... like last year when it snowed 4 inches the day before the show opened.

This year was perfect.  Temperatures in the low 60s, a gentle breeze, and the trees are starting to bloom.

My favorite thing at the show this year was this pavilion.  Isn't it just an overload of cuteness?

I bet I could make one of these!

The framing is simple.  I have the windows.  And there are plenty of places I could pick up some old tin roofing.

Hmmmmmm...

The fireplace is wonderful too.  That would be a bit harder to pull off though.

This type of roof would be easy to do.

There were MANY lovely water features.

Who would have thought to use a cypress bucket?

I like the way they used the rocks.

Oh yes!  Wouldn't this be perfect on a patio?

I really like the drilled boulder fountains.

A nice small waterfall.

And a larger waterfall.

There was even a pond!

This was a very interesting display.  A tiny fountain makes a stream through a cut stone.  How unique!

These stone fire pits are so neat.  I like the balls set in this one.

Wouldn't this be a cozy sitting area?

Other displays were definitely full of whimsy.

Recycled EVERYTHING.

A Hobbit home.  I think it was constructed from a piece of large culvert pipe.

And a giant fairy garden.  There were about eight different fairy houses in the area.

I always find some DIY projects to do...

This would be so easy to make.

So would this bench.

I'd like to learn to make these.

There was so much eye-candy to see.

A small Zen garden.

Lovely.

Beautiful color on these tulips.

Cute but I'd be afraid of the hive being knocked off that bench.

Nice landscaping.

Great outdoor fireplace.

And finally, a lovely idea for a bird bath.

So... are you ready for Spring?

Travel Trinket: A North Dakota Painting

Not all of our travel trinkets are actually 'trinkets'.  We love to find beautiful art to bring home with us.  This piece is from Burlington, North Dakota.  We were visiting a winery there and the gift shop offered locally crafted items.

Didn't she do an amazing job with the glass and the reflections! 

"Donna Watts   2002"

I would love to see more of her work.

Linked at:

https://nihongojapango.wordpress.com/2016/03/04/a-family-treasure-my-treasured-family-trinkets-and-memories-40/  

The Petroglyphs of Missouri

On a recent trip to Missouri Himself and I made a little road trip to see the petroglyphs at Washington State Park.  Situated along the Big River, it was one of my favorite places in my childhood.

It's most incredible feature is one most people don't realize.

You don't have to go to the US Southwest to see Native American rock carvings.

They are protected by this canopy.  However they are not as clear as they were 40 years ago.  (Goodness!  Has it really been that long ago?)

Each grouping has an excellent interpretive sign, so I will let those tell the story...

One feature I've always found interesting has nothing said about it.  It is this channel/groove cut into the stone before you reach the petroglyph site.  It is definitely not natural.  I've seen a similar groove at an ancient site in Minnesota.  

The petroglyphs are well worth a visit if you find yourself in mid-Eastern Missouri.