Fried chicken livers in the New South
After years of scanning “best of” lists in every food magazine ever published, and never seeing Music City mentioned, Nashville is now the darling of New Southern cuisine, according to Bon Appetit. About damned time, is all I’ve got to say.
Andrew Knowlton, who is some kind of editor for the magazine, made a trip to Nashville to see his friend, Dan Auerbach, singer-guitarist for the Grammy-winning band the Black Keys (which I’ve actually never heard of but that’s o.k.) and I must say they hit all the right places. They spent a lot of time at City House, which is just so delicious it ought to be illegal. They hit Capitol Grille, also high on my list. They took a trip to Nolensville to eat at Martin’s BBQ, which has previously been immortalized on this blog. They took the obligatory trip to Prince’s Hot Chicken to get their heads blown off and, AND, they had fried chicken livers at Arnold’s.
There is a lot of fancy food in Nashville but when you can appreciate the fried chicken livers served in a cinder-block building with cracked linoleum floors and silverware so old its warped, then you’ve impressed me.
The article is great (check out the cool Hatch Show Print) and there’s a fun video attached (although every traffic shot in the video looks as though they just kept circling downtown over and over again).
The chicken livers. I am devoted to them. I like Arnold’s, but my husband makes the best. Simple. Cornmeal, salt, pepper, chicken livers. Shake all of that up in a brown paper sack. Get a cast-iron skillet full of vegetable oil screamingly hot and drop the livers in. Stand back. The pan will sputter. Cook until golden brown. Eat with ketchup.
I am devoted to you….but can only enjoy these every now and again…sigh.
Hey, now. I see the food photos you post every day. You’re either running 10 miles every day or you have a great metabolism.
…at the risk of another kale incident….I will respond–cloaked in a hearty I FORKING LOVE YOUR BLOG–but livers, fried of not, I can’t go there.
And yes, I’m from the South where even a fried cigarette butt might be palatable. Fried chicken livers.
I know it’s my loss. My dad loved the things.
I was never force-fed liver as a child so I think that’s why I love it so much.
I do love Nashville and miss it a lot. We lived in Knoxville but my husband was pres. of Tn bankers’ Trust Div.He had meetings in Nashville and I went along for the ride. I took all the Grey Line bus tours and got to know the city that way. I served chicken livers at my son’s engagement party. I told the caterer to triple the recipe but they still ran out. Lord,lord, those were the days !
Love, love, love you for serving chicken livers at an engagement party. You are a true Southern belle!