Frank and I hit the open road yesterday for our trip to New Orleans. It seems like we were just on a road trip (because actually, we in fact were) but we are off again. We had planned our pre-Christmas New York trip before we knew that Michigan would be playing in the Sugar Bowl and going to the Sugar Bowl is a must. Frank has not missed a Michigan football game (home, away or bowl) since he went to the Illinois game in 1999. So far he's been to 155 straight games and counting. 
After setting off from Ann Arbor in the the morning we hit Cincinnati midday so of course we had to stop at Skyline Chili for lunch. Founded in 1949 in Cincinnati, Skyline Chili is a restaurant chain that has branched out in the surrounding areas. Their chili is known as "Cincinnati-style Chili" and is famous for being served over spaghetti or hot dogs. I got a 3-way chili (spaghetti covered with chili and topped with a huge mound of cheddar cheese) while Frank got two cheese coneys (hot dogs topped with mustard, chili, diced onions and cheddar cheese). We sat at the counter and had fun watching the staff prepare food while we enjoyed our meal. Their meal prep area consisted of a long galley of vats filled with ingredients (hot dogs, chili, spaghetti, cheese) and the staff very efficiently walked up and down along it prepping ways and coneys.
While driving through Kentucky we saw a sign for the Jim Beam distillery so we decided to check it out. It wasn't part of our plan but it was an interesting stop. The last tour of the day had already started but we joined the crowd and were in time to see their stillhouse exhibit, featuring an authentic 1800's copper still, and Warehouse D. Built in the late nineteen thirties after the end of Prohibition, Warehouse D is Jim Beam's oldest rackhouse and ages 20,000 barrels of bourbon at a time. It was interesting to learn how they store different types of bourbon in different locations in the warehouse and how the American oak barrels are made and then charred on the inside to give flavor to the bourbon. The most fascinating thing that I learned about was that the trees surrounding the distillery are all a deep black color, almost like they were caught in a wildfire, due to a black fungus. The fungus is found in areas where fermentation product is aged in oak barrels (some of the bourbon is lost through evaporation and the airborne ethanol stimulates fungal germination) and is happily harmless to the trees. You learn new things every day!
As we crossed into Tennessee we were greeted with a beautiful sunset. The sky was an absolutely gorgeous shade of brilliant red fading into deep purple.
After checking into our Nashville hotel (packed with Mississippi State fans for their bowl game) we headed out to ChaChah for dinner. We started with a cheese and charcuterie plate which was delicious and had a different accompanyment for each meat and cheese. I particularly liked the onion jam and mustard with the serrano ham and the spicy cranberry chutney that was served with one of the cheeses. For dinner we ordered a selection of small plates: warm brussel sprouts, roasted beet salad, ginger crab cakes and lamb meatballs. Everything was delicious but I especially loved the spiciness of the brussel sprouts with the thai chili.
Our first day on the road was on the long side (eight and a half hours of driving) but we had a fun day and luckily tomorrow's drive should be much shorter. Happy travels!
If you are interested, check out the rest of our road trip to New Orleans here: Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5, Day 6, Day 7
Tuesday, January 3, 2012 at 7:32AM | Posted by 
