Joey Flipping Pizza

This is Joey flipping pizza dough at one of Smyrna's newest members of the Smyrna Independent Merchants Association (S.I.M.A)

Spirit night in Smyrna

Boys & Girls Clubs of Rutherford County posted this image on their Facebook account and I thought I should share it with you.




Click for larger image, then print and enjoy your chicken sandwich.

Raid in Smyrna.

From the Smyrna police department.

On December 10th, around 6 pm, the Smyrna Police Department Narcotics Division executed a search warrant at the Mi Pueblito restaurant at 409 Smyrna Square in Smyrna. The search warrant was the result of a several months long investigation into illegal narcotics sales from the restaurant.

The restaurant owner, Claudio Castellanos, was the prime suspect in the distribution of cocaine from the restaurant. Narcotics detectives located and seized 3.8 ounces in powder cocaine, over $4000.00 cash and a semi-automatic handgun from the restaurant. Much of the seized cocaine was already pre-packaged into 65 separate, plastic bags for resale/distribution.

The restaurant also was in violation of Tennessee liquor laws since it did not have a permit to sell liquor but did have liquor on the premises. This information was forwarded to the Alcohol Beverage Commission.

There were 3 other employees (2 adults and 1 juvenile) as well as 4 customers in the restaurant when the search warrant was executed. Mr. Castellanos was the only person charged at that time and all others were released once the search warrant was complete. The juvenile was released to parents.

A second search warrant was executed later in the evening upon Mr. Castellanos' home at 613 Zellwood Drive in LaVergne. Narcotics detectives from the Rutherford County Sheriff's Office assisted with this search warrant and more cocaine was located within the home.

Castellanos was charged with Felony Possession of Cocaine within 1000 feet of a School Zone, Unlawful Possession of Drug Paraphernalia and Operating a Business to Sell a Controlled Substance. Other charges against Castellanos are pending.

Rather interesting.

Lil Cakes

A new local blogger has a review up of Lil Cakes.

This bakery is the real deal. Lil Cakes sells all kinds of flavors that sound amazing and they even have tasty whoopie pies – a must if you’re a fan of red velvet cake!!

Drop by and say howdy to Callie.

Best Thing I Ever Ate - Raz'z

Thida Thai

For good Pacific food in Smyrna you would normally think of Omni Hut, but their is a Thai restaurant that is going to give them a run for their money. Thida Thai is a new business that started just last year and is in the process of gaining a growing following. Not only is their food good, but the service and prices follow suit. I've been several times and have not been disappointed once.

Yesterday my wife and I went and she ordered this food item. A fried rice dish served and cooked in a whole fresh pineapple. why is it in a pineapple is beyond me, but the shrimp/chicken/pineapple rice dish was very fruity and she enjoyed it. I had an order of skewered chickens with peanut sauce.

One useful and customer friendly item that stood out the first time I went was the menu. Dishes were listed and each listing fully describes what is in it. No guessing what something has here. Not only that but when they have pictures they include pictures of their own cooking and not some stock photos from a catalog. Often you can see the dish and know all the items in it before you order, a nice consideration for people trying out oddly named dishes.

If you go early for lunch you might find something odd there. The establishment is family run and they are practicing Buddhists. Each morning they take a small amount of food and drink and set it in dishes outside the front of the building for the spirits as part of their belief system. These are brought back in by noon. The time I noticed it they had about six small bowls with sliced bananas and a bowl with a noodle dish, plus a glass with I believe water. The addition of this practice to the growing richness of Smyrna is simply wonderful in my view.

Take some time and eat some real good food. I recommend the Chicken Delight as a good starter dish.

Thida Thai
721 President Place, Smyrna, TN 37167
(615) 220-7573‎ – (615) 220-7574‎

Here is a review site image of the same dish that my wife had from Thida Thai that is more in focus.

M&V's Famous Soul Food Restaurant

A 30 Second Student Commercial on a local restaurant. Pretty well made in my opinion.

Onion Volcano Tokyo Japanese Steak House Smyrna, TN

Thought you might like to look at some of the more 'fun' coooking going on in our town.

Bad News?

update: Confirmed. Sadly we lost one due to the economy

I have not been able to confirm this information, but will find out tomorrow if I can. A little birdy told me that the plans for a Demo's in Smyrna has been put on hold due to construction cost and other issues.

If this is true then I am a bit depressed, as I was happy that a local restaurant that had succeeded would be coming to Smyrna to find the franchise hell that Sam Ridley had become. A lot of people were excited that it would become part of the scene here.

I truly hope that the information I got is wrong.

Chatterbox to stay open

My wife really enjoys this place so she is happy.

The Chatterbox Coffee and Tea Cafe narrowly escaped a temporary closure and is now under new ownership.

Holly Sylvester, the establishment's marketing manager and special events coordinator, said the site, known for its chicken salad and fruit tea, was purchased from Gina Lee and Valorie Vaupel. Lee and Vaupel originally planned to close the eatery June 1 and reopen when the widening of Enon Springs Road West was completed.

Goodbye Chicken Shack

Today is the last day for you to go and get some of the best and hottest chicken in Smyrna. The Chicken shack is closing today and Smyrna will lose a quality establishment.

Harelipfrog and I dropped by and had plates of chicken, hush puppies, fries, and baked beans. One of the items that stand out when you get your food is how hot it all is. Food cooked right then while you wait. Quality places like this are rare in this industrial food landscape that Smyrna has become.

So if you have a bit of time today hurry over there and fill up on real food. The Chicken Shack is at 37 S. Lowry St next to the dry cleaners.

New shop in town

Smyrna will soon have a new donut do-nut doughnutz round tasty circles shop in town.

The calorie count is about to go up in Smyrna.

Diane Fischer and Lamthoun "Pat" Pathana are opening Rolling Dough Donuts, Coffee and Deli May 5 in the new Almaville Plaza on Almaville Road.

Fischer said the shop will feature 40 varieties of doughnuts, which will be freshly baked every day. Boyds coffee will also be served.

Well I sure wish any new business a lot of good luck. I'll be dropping by to check them out.

This will be a rather interesting shop as they will sell more then just pastries.

Rolling Dough will feature a bit of an Asian flair as egg rolls and fried rice will also be on the menu. Pathana is Asian.

This sounds like an interesting place.

Sullivan's Sports Bar

The UT game was only available on pay-per-view this weekend and while I love the Vols, the thought of paying for the cable box plus an additional thirty plus bucks to watch the game at home, alone didn't sound that exciting to me. (Though I'm sure had I purchased the game, I'd have become immediately very popular among my UT friends). And even though I had several opportunities to purchase tickets at a good price to go, I wasn't able to go due to other commitments this weekend and not wanting to call my best friend the day of the game and impose upon he and his family's hospitality.

So, instead of purchase the game at home or going to God's House (Neyland Stadium), I decided to catch the game at a sports bar.

And wouldn't you know it? One has just opened up in Smyrna!

The new sports bar is called Sullivan's and it's off Sam Ridley. I don't know the exact road name, but it's the same shopping center as the new steak-house and the Sir Pizza. (It's right behind the Bob Parks building on Sam Ridley).

I stopped in Saturday afternoon and was informed yes, the game would be on. When I first walked in, I was impressed by Sullivan's. They have a good number of HD flat-panel TVs evenly distributed throught the bar. From where I sat Saturday evening, I could have at least two in my line of sight at all times, which in a sports-bar is a good thing. They also had a couple of pool tables and some dart boards. But I wasn't there to play games, I was there to watch the UT game.

Now, when I arrived, the game was supposed to start in about two minutes, but there were some issues with the feed. At one point, the manager told me that the game wouldn't be seen due to a paperwork snaffu on DirectTV's part and gave us the opportunity to go elsewhere. At this point, a few of the UT fans left, though I stayed. Why you ask? Well, I'd already ordered by burger and had a frosty adult beverage. I stayed, figuring I'd eat my food, watch the other games and then either go home and listen to the game on the radio or find somewhere else to hang out after half-time.

But I will give the management credit--they didn't let stop them. They were able to get the game about the start of the second quarter--or as I call it, when UT stopped playing around and got serious about playing some football. As a UT fan, I appreciate the extra mile the staff and management went to to get the game as promised. Definite points in the favor of Sullivans.

That said, getting my food took forever. Which at the time it seemed like a bad thing, but in the end was good. It kept me there long enough so that I could see the game. So, a negative turned into a positive.

The bar got progressively more crowded as the night went along. It's 21 and up only, so smoking is permited. My food was good, the service was nice and the prices were very reasonable. I noticed they have a ladies' night on Tuesday, karoke at various times during the week and the NFL Sunday Ticket package on Sundays.

So, if you're looking for a place to hang out and see your favorite team out of market, this might be somewhere to consider. I know if I don't get tickets to the game in two weeks, I'll be there again to watch the Vols.

Cedar Restaurant Review

I had the opportunity to lunch at "Cedars" restaurant (it has a bigger name like Cedars Italian and Mediterranean Cafe but not exactly sure) this past Tuesday and was "wow'ed"!!!

I had the Chicken Parmesan sandwich with fries and my friend had the manicotti. The chicken was very tender and juicy, the bread was soft, and the fries were perfect. My friend's manicotti must have been excellent because she finished every single bite at least five minutes before I did. It was more expensive than what you'd get at a fast food, but very comparable to a dine-in type restaurant.

We ate only from the Italian side of the menu, but I've heard from Ivy that the Mediterranean choices are quite good. I know I'm no taste connoisseur and my review isn't detailed, but I do know good food when I taste it and that food is GREAT!

Located where Dan Good BBQ briefly operated, it is very convenient to people on the Sam Ridley Parkway corridor (turn where you would to go to the Bob Parks Realty office, then go right at the first intersection - it's on the left next to State Farm).

Hope you like it!