Franklin on Foot is now Franklin on Food!

We had our first food tour today in downtown Franklin and it was a success, if I do say so myself. Four visitors from Michigan (and one local) sure thought so. But don't take my word for it. How 'bout I let the pictures tell the story!

First stop: Chapman's II for Southern Hospitality Salad with grilled shrimp, edamame, watermelon, mandarin oranges and a hoisin vinaigrette dressing. Corncake madeleine. Gwen added a fruit cup with poppy seed dressing as a surprise.

Next stop Papa Boudreaux's for gumbo. Yumbo is all I can say! Guy, the chef, told us about the super secret recipe he developed. Kristie, who was born in New Orleans and just moved to Franklin, said it's better than anything she's had there. That's high praise!

 Next to Franklin Mercantile with host Graeme--like Guy a Louisiana native. Those Louisiana boys know how to cook! The Merc serves soup, salad and sandwiches so sampled Southern specialties pimiento cheese and chicken salad with fruit tea.

55 South is next on the menu with chargrilled oysters and garlic bread. Sam is our main man there and is always entertaining.

Puckett's! Of course. Our not-to-be-missed restaurant on 4th Avenue (and Nashville, and soon in Columbia, and another one on Main Street).  Pork barbecue slider with cole slaw and fried green tomatoes. Does it get any more Southern than that?

Actually it turns out fried green tomatoes aren't originally Southern at all. But since the famous book by the same name, they've been adopted by Southern restaurants. Max makes sure everything comes out just right--and it always does! 

Dessert! Chess pie from Merridee's. The best! Our happy visitors went home with full bellies and happy memories of our wonderful Franklin restaurants!

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The best way to understand a place

If you really want to get to know a place, walk it. Sure, you could drive around with a guidebook and a map. Or you could hop on a tour bus where the driver doubles as the tour guide. Maybe even a big red double-decker bus with a fresh air observation deck. Or you could fly over in a commercial jetliner at 33,000 ft. You just don't get that much out of it. 

Trevi Fountain, 2010

My most memorable experience visiting an unfamiliar city was Rome, 1976. I was attending a junior year abroad program in Florence. Art History Professor Gunther Stamm announced a field trip to Rome, and directed us to meet at the train station at 6 a.m. When 6 a.m. arrived, I was the only one there...well, besides Gunther. So Gunther and I went to Rome, just for the day.
 
We walked the entire city, from the train station to St. Peter's, to the Colesseum and Roman forum, and the Pantheon and Trevi Fountain, Piazza Veneto and the Spanish Steps. It was my first time to see the Sistine Chapel, and it was before the ceiling was cleaned. We descended into the Forum, and stood on the spot that Brutus stabbed Caesar, checked out the poured concrete at the Pantheon, and ascended the Spanish Steps. All the while my tour guide/professor Gunther gave me a semester's worth of education in one very long day.

I didn't go back to Rome until 2010. But it all felt familiar. Because of that one very long day back in 1976. By the end, yeah, my dogs were barking. But there was plenty of time to rest on the train ride back to Florence.You gotta walk.