S&B Tour 2011: Nashville

On December 7, five weeks and six states after our book party, we packed a squeaky suitcase with ladles and books and flew to Nashville. We were sorry to leave the Subaru behind – it didn’t feel quite right traveling without a full complement of Crock-Pots stuffed into the back seat – but the break from endless miles of interstate was direly needed. Trust me. Plus, I was charmed to discover that, upon descending the stairs to the tarmac from a crummy United Express commuter flight, it is still possible, in the right frame of mind, to feel like Ingrid Bergman.

With the time we saved, we got to go shopping at Katy K, have lunch at Arnold‘s and pick up some Christmas presents at Hatch Show Print. And then, we made tracks for Yazoo Brewing Company.

Before we got to Nashville, we weren’t sure what we’d find. Our local organizer, Meg Giuffrida (up there), just kept saying not to worry — everything would be fiiiiine. And, well, what do you know — it was.

Meg, the executive chef at the Martha O’Bryan Center – an education-oriented nonprofit that was the beneficiary of this Soup & Bread – had lined up a half-dozen cooks, baked a preposterous amount of foccacia, and whipped up some banana cake to boot. And some macaroons. And some whoopie pies. Best of all, we walked into the tap room to find an array of Crock-Pots and vintage tablecloths that could’ve come straight from our stash. This gig came with backline!

It was “growler night” at Yazoo, so as we set up a steady parade of bearded beer guys (and gals, minus beards), empty jugs in hand, trickled through the door. Once we were up and running, that trickle swelled to a stream. I was stationed over at the merch table, far from the soup action, but I sampled almost every one, from a light spinach-coconut-curry soup by Nashville Scene writer Nicki Wood to an unctuous white bean-and-pancetta soup from Caffe Nonna chef Dan Maggipinto. I also chatted a bit with a pair of kids selling soap and lotion made as part of a skills-development enterprise program at the O’Bryan Center and, thankfully, sold a lot of books. What really stands out, though, are the winning personalities of everyone at Yazoo — especially bartenders Brian and Brandi Soda (above). Yep, they’re married – and yep, she took his name. Wouldn’t you? Thanks to both for the help, for the beers, and for just being so darn cute.

All in all, it was a triumph — and Sheila and I didn’t do jack. The event raised a cool $880.50 (don’t forget the .50) for the O’Bryan Center and was such a hit that Yazoo has invited Meg to do it again next month … and the month after that and the month after that. Take this with the promise of events in Madison, Milwaukee, New York, and elsewhere, and I think we can officially say we’ve gone national.

The next day, Sheila flew home but I stuck around to make a trip to Parnassus Books. Opened barely a month ago, to great fanfare, by author and famous Nashvillian Ann Patchett and her business partner Karen Hayes, Parnassus is currently Music City’s ONLY independent bookstore. I was excited to check it out — but imagine my surprise when Meg and I walked in to find a stack of Soup & Bread books by the register, the top one already purchased and flagged with a Post-It note requesting a signed copy. My lands. I may have felt like a movie star on the tarmac the day before, but this was even better.

Thanks Nashville!