A few weeks ago, with dreary skies looming over Nashville, a friend of mine introduced me to Crema, the newest coffee shop in town. Since it was mid-afternoon, I ordered a cup of decaf, but wound up with a decaf Americano - espresso and hot water. It was hot, bold and black, and by the time I finished it, I wanted more.

Rachel Lehman opened Crema earlier this year, and now that I’ve been back several times, I have to say that she’s always friendly in the mornings. (That’s a rarity in coffee shops.) She proudly follows the traditional Italian standards for preparing the espresso - ground one drink at a time, tamped with 30 lbs of pressure and extracted between 20-30 seconds. She also uses “naked” group heads, which means that the espresso touches less metal and results in a rich, creamy, foamy texture. “I’m a purist, and I believe that if the base of the drink isn’t phenomenal the rest of the drink will not taste good,” she says.

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Dolly Parton’s Dixie Stampede is surely the most unusual dinner experience I’ve ever had. Civil War? Yes. Silverware? Nope. With huge animals and constant audience participation, it’s an awful lot to wrap your head around. Still even someone like me, who is rarely willing to suspend his disbelief, was completely won over eventually. 

When I called the Dixie Stampede offices for dinner reservations, the woman found a good pair of tickets… but they were on the north side. Was that all right? ”I suppose that’s fine,” I said. “I’ve never been there.” She immediately perked up and told me about the plot – deciding who wins the Civil War, with unlimited Pepsi. In that case, OK!

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