Starring Holly!

She's the pointer puppy wearing the green handkerchief! Look for glimpses of Ann and Katie (who is wearing a yellow sweater) when Holly is playfully fighting with another dog.

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Viener Fest Offers So Much More Than a Meal

Buying meals in America long ago became more about a quick drive-thru than a leisurely sit-down experience. That’s a shame, too, because the stimulating and refreshing experience of sharing food and drink with family and friends away from worldly cares provides so much more than mere nourishment. In the right circumstances – or more to the point in the right restaurant – it can even be a saving grace.

The wind storms on January 30 hit home literally for my family when a large tree in our backyard was lifted from its roots and fell, totaling our two vehicles as well as doing minor damage to our house while bringing down power and cable lines. One of our cats, Otis, was even missing for eight days afterward.

All that came the day after my wife’s 50th birthday. It understandably made the situation more depressing since she couldn’t really savor the occasion as much that week as she (and Katie and I) would have liked. And it was with this calamity firmly in mind that we went to Viener Fest for the first time just two days later.

The new restaurant is located at 117 28th Ave. North near Centennial Park. It has a crisp, clean modern feel as you walk in, big enough to be comfortable but small enough to be intimate. And with the friendly staff overseen by General Manager (it would be accurate to call him “Gentleman Manager” as well) Jeffrey Ellis the establishment certainly feels like the next best thing to home.

We fortunately went on the first night that alcohol was available at Viener Fest thanks to their just-approved license. While Katie drank her Sprite Ann and I shared a lovely and very affordable bottle of fruity 2011 Mezzacorona Pinot Grigio ($19) made from grapes grown in the Dolomite mountains of Northern Italy that came from Wine Enthusiast Magazine's 2010 European Winery of the Year.

Since German-Austrian cuisine is the emphasis at Viener Fest I decided to also have an Erdinger Pikantus Wiekenbock ($7). It’s a strong wheat lager that went down quite smoothly with the food brought at just the right pace to our table by our kindly server, Nashville actor Andrew Derminio.

For vorspeisen (appetizers) we chose the Sausage Sampler ($7.95). It included a delectable array of three mouthwatering sausages accompanied by house-made mustard that Ellis says Viener Fest may sell separately in the near future. I certainly hope so – its sweet and savory taste was the perfect complement to the sausages, and it would go well with a host of other foods.

Ann and I had the Weiner Schnitzel ($10.95) for our main course, though with variations – hers was made with eggplant while I opted for veal (one of the people sitting near us had the Holstein Schnitzel [$13.95] with a lemon/caper sauce and fried egg as pictured above, which certainly looked like a great choice as well). Both were well-prepared and quite tasty. And among the side dishes we thoroughly enjoyed their tender Braised Red Cabbage (in a perfectly balanced balsamic/brown sugar reduction), their wonderfully tangy Sauerkraut and some melt-in-your-mouth Spaetzle, which are egg noodles that are served plain or as I had them with spinach.

Viener Fest provides menu items for those who might want something else, and our 13-year-old daughter happily sunk her teeth into a Fried Bologna Sandwich ($6.95) that features a good-sized slab of meat between two slices of sourdough bun with American cheese and mustard. She enjoyed the accompanying French fries as well.

Last, but certainly not least, was dessert. I chose their version of the Sacher Torte ($5.25) while Katie and Ann tucked into Viener Fest’s Apfelstrudel ($4.95). I have tasted the bittersweet-chocolate torte at its home in Vienna’s Hotel Sacher, and theirs instantly took me back to that sublime memory – the apricot jam filling alone is a shot of joy. And our other finishing selection featured a delectable flaky pastry, apples, rum-macerated raisins and a smooth caramel sauce that made it all go down so sweetly.

While we obviously enjoyed all we ate and drank it’s the atmosphere fostered by Ellis and his team that really made the experience so positive. At Viener Fest you’re treated like family from the moment you walk in until you depart. It meant so much to my family during an otherwise difficult week. Hopefully you’ll go there in happier times, but no matter what’s happening elsewhere when you enter Viener Fest expect to forget your cares. It's truly a place where one can savor family and friends while enjoying excellent food and drink prepared and served by convivial professionals.

Viener Fest Hours:
Monday – Wednesday: 11:00 am - 10:00 pm, Thursday - Saturday: 11:00 am - 12:00 am, Sunday: 11:00 am - 10:00 pm

Attire: Casual

Phone: (615) 730-5085

Website: www.vienerfest.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/VienerFest

*Logo and photos courtesy Viener Fest.

Anthony Bourdain Hits Town in November

From a press release issued today:

CHEF, AUTHOR AND TELEVISION HOST ANTHONY BOURDAIN

TO APPEAR AT THE TENNESSEE PERFORMING ARTS CENTER SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 3

NASHVILLE – With new, uncensored material, Anthony Bourdain travels to Nashville with stories that are sure to make your ears burn.

Chef, author of Kitchen Confidential and Medium Raw, and internationally renowned television host, Anthony Bourdain, will visit the Tennessee Performing Arts Center for one night only, Saturday, November 3, at 8:00 p.m. Bourdain will spend the evening sharing candid, and often hysterical, insights about his life’s work and travels, including an open question and answer session with the audience. The appearance is part of his 11-city tour this fall.

Bourdain, the chef at large at New York’s famed Brasserie Les Halles, is the author of the bestselling Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly, a hilariously blunt and sometimes shocking portrait of life in restaurant kitchens that has been translated into over 28 languages. His book, A Cook’s Tour, published in conjunction with his series on the Food Network, was also a bestseller in the U.S. and the U.K.

A contributing authority for Food Arts Magazine, his work has appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times and Gourmet. He has also been profiled by CBS Sunday Morning and Nightline and has appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman, The Colbert Report, Real Time with Bill Maher, and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Bourdain will also debut a brand new show on CNN in early 2013, expanding the network’s coverage of food and travel.

Tickets range from $15 - $65 and will go on sale Friday, July 27, at 10:00 a.m. CST. Tickets will be available at www.tpac.org, by phone at (615) 782-4040, or by visiting the TPAC Box Office at 505 Deaderick Street in downtown Nashville.

VIP Tickets Available

A limited number of VIP tickets are available. VIP tickets include: premiere seating and an exclusive meet and greet session with Bourdain featuring hors d’oeuvres, a photo opportunity, a limited edition Anthony Bourdain tour poster and a limited edition tour VIP laminate. The meet and greet will be held at The Nashville City Center, featuring a menu by Chef Tandy Wilson of City House Restaurant. Promotional partners Corsair Distillery, Yazoo Brewery and Olive & Sinclair Southern Artisan Chocolates will be providing selections of their specialty spirits, beers and chocolates for all in attendance. Other promotional partners include Nashville Scene and YELP.

Copies of Kitchen Confidential, as well as several other titles from his catalog, will be available for purchase onsite via Parnassus Books.

‘Two Heads’ Memoir: Faith-Strengthened and Sweet

I’ve known Chris Ladd for several years; we met during a gathering of actors represented by the Talent Trek agency, and I’ve had the privilege of serving with him on the Screen Actors Guild Nashville Branch Council and now on the initial SAG-AFTRA Nashville Local Board. From that first encounter through today I’ve known Chris as a fellow “big man” with a very big heart.

He’s just published a short sweet-natured memoir called Two Heads Are Better Than One: A Story of Success in a Life with Christ through LifeWay’s CrossBooks imprint. And just like its author, there’s a mix of humility and humor that begins with the dust jacket and threads throughout the volume – that jacket displays a title that gives credit to the Son of God while also sporting a picture of a beaming Chris with his beloved cocker spaniel Laddie resting his head on Chris’ head.

We all know the street-corner-praying hypocrites that make a big show of their religion for others; we may even come to see that surface sanctimoniousness in ourselves because it’s so easy to say the words and much harder to live them every day. Chris knows that; he’s the first (in person and in his book) to admit his flaws. I can say I’ve crossed paths with very few people that appear to consistently practice what they preach from moment to moment, hour to hour and day to day. Chris, though, is one of those rare individuals.

It would have been so easy and understandable for Chris to have taken a different path; his parents divorced when he was only five and life for him as for others has had plenty of struggles. But in surrendering himself to Christ, Chris found a way to survive the lows and celebrate the highs while understanding our human existence is merely prelude to a larger life: One of the verses he quotes more than once in Two Heads essentially serves as his mantra – “For me to live is Christ, to die is gain.” That passage from Philippians 1:21 puts the life and writing of this faithful servant in its proper context.

Through that context Chris tells us about his life in the same easy-going style that I’ve heard him use when speaking to others. Sometimes what he talks about is tough to relate, like his mother’s battle with cancer, and sometimes it’s funny, like his anecdote about not being the only actor on set of TV’s Barnaby Jones who really wanted to call the gentlemanly Buddy Ebsen “Jed” after his famous character on the long-running comedy The Beverly Hillbillies.

Chris has worked in many fields besides acting; he’s produced records and spun them as a disc jockey; he’s been a salesman and an ambulance driver. His various professional walks have brought him into contact with many people, and some of them figure prominently in his story: Doris “Cousin Tuny” Freeman, a West Tennessee television personality that Chris first met when he appeared on her show as a child, has gone on to be “like a second mom to me” and provides the book’s foreword; now-deceased country music singer/comedians Jim and Jon Hager, Grand Ole Opry member Billy Walker and soulful singer Dobie Gray; and country music living legends like Jim Ed Brown and Jan Howard.

Those well-known folks aren’t mentioned in a self-serving “name-dropping” fashion; they’re noted with affection and respect by a man who’s long been a true friend to them and so many others. There are also loving tributes to the four-legged companions Chris has had over the years; from Shane and Lad to Buddy and Laddie, each has found place in his spacious heart. I’ve often thought one could tell a great deal about someone from the way they treated animals and children; between his care for dogs and such endeavors as his work for cerebral palsy, his shining character is readily revealed.

Chris also examines the destructive force of greed, the health care morass and the need for honesty in his memoir. His thoughts about each mirror the man who writes them – straightforward and grounded in a true desire for peace and harmony with God and His creation.

It’s been a blessing to read the words of this kind and gentle soul just as it’s been a blessing to know him personally. Get a copy of Two Heads Are Better Than One and I think you’ll quickly find all I’ve written about this force for good is true.

Chris Ladd’s book is available now from several sellers; Amazon.com offers it in various formats, including hardback, paperback and Kindle (click here for the paperback version).

SAG-AFTRA Is Born!

YES! From the press release:

SAG, AFTRA Members Approve Merger to Form SAG-AFTRA
March 30, 2012

LOS ANGELES (March 30, 2012) — The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists and Screen Actors Guild are pleased to announce that members of both organizations have overwhelmingly voted to approve a merger, creating a new entity, SAG-AFTRA. SAG members voted 82 percent in favor of the merger. AFTRA members favored the merger with 86 percent, exceeding the 60 percent threshold needed for both unions' membership for passage.

The merger is effective immediately, and brings under a single union banner more than 150,000 actors, announcers, broadcasters journalists, dancers, DJs, news writers, news editors, program hosts, puppeteers, recording artists, singers, stunt performers, voiceover artists and other media professionals. Their work can be seen and heard in theaters, on television and radio, sound recordings, the Internet, games, mobile devices and home video.

"With this historic vote, members of both unions have affirmed one of the most basic principles of unionism: Together we are stronger," said SAG-AFTRA National Co-President Ken Howard. "This merger, the result of months – really years – of planning, brings together the best elements of both unions and positions us well to thrive in the changing 21st-century media landscape."

"The merger of these two unions is a huge victory for our members, and it is a monumental achievement for the labor movement," said SAG-AFTRA National Co-President Roberta Reardon. "As this vote today proves, great and transformative things are possible when working Americans stand together and shape their collective destiny through their union. I applaud every member who voted, and invite all members, locally and nationally, to join with us in building a successor union worthy of AFTRA and SAG."

In July 2010, Reardon and Howard, as presidents of AFTRA and SAG respectively, created the Presidents' Forum for One Union to facilitate focused and informed discussions between leaders of the two unions and their members to establish a common vision for a single, new national union.

The forum included a nationwide Listening Tour, in which Howard and Reardon traveled to cities across the country to connect with members and solicit their feedback for a possible merger. They received an overwhelmingly positive response.

In June 2011, elected member leaders from both unions formed the Group for One Union — known as G1 — which subsequently created workgroups to focus on key areas such as governance, collective bargaining and operations for the proposed new union. In late January, the National Boards of AFTRA and SAG overwhelmingly voted to send the merger package to members for ratification.

The following are results for both unions:

SAG:

105,368 number of ballots mailed.

81.9 percent yes votes

53 percent returned

AFTRA:

65,744 number of ballots mailed.

86.18 percent of yes votes

51.7 percent returned

About SAG-AFTRA

SAG-AFTRA represents more than 150,000 represents actors, announcers, broadcasters journalists, dancers, DJs, news writers, news editors, program hosts, puppeteers, recording artists, singers, stunt performers, voiceover artists and other media professionals. SAG-AFTRA members are the faces and voices that entertain and inform America and the world. With national offices in Los Angeles and New York, and local offices nationwide, SAG-AFTRA members work together to secure the strongest protections for media artists into the 21st century and beyond. Visit SAG-AFTRA online at SAGAFTRA.org.

Nashville Opera Gets $350,000 Grant

From a press release:

Nashville Opera completes prestigious Kresge Challenge Grant

Company received a $350,000 award after satisfying the conditions set forth by the Kresge Foundation

• Nashville Opera to retire the debt on the award-winning Noah Liff Opera Center
• Strong financial support for Nashville Opera’s Raise Your Glasses Capital Campaign throughout the community
• Company able to meet funding and timetable goal during historically sluggish economy

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (December 20, 2011) - Nashville Opera announced the company had satisfied all of the conditions established by the Kresge Foundation in their 2008 Challenge Grant and were awarded $350,000 this past week. Kresge offered to provide the grant if Nashville Opera was able to raise a total of $11 million for its Raise Your Glasses capital campaign by September 30, 2011. Established in 2007, the Raise Your Glasses Campaign was created to underwrite two key initiatives: construction of the new Noah Liff Opera Center in Sylvan Heights and the establishment of the Fund for Artistic Excellence. Reaching the funding benchmark established by the Kresge Foundation, combined with receiving the award, will allow Nashville Opera to retire the remaining debt on the construction of the Noah Liff Opera Center by January 31, 2012.

“Nashville Opera is grateful for the outpouring of support from the corporate sector, philanthropists and community leaders, and our Board of Directors,” said Carol Penterman, Nashville Opera CEO. “Satisfying the rigorous conditions set forth by the Kresge Foundation in their $350,000 Challenge Grant allows the Noah Liff Opera Center to not only become a self-sustaining asset, but will also provide the company with greater financial security.”

“The recent economic downturn has proven to be particularly difficult for arts organizations across the nation,” says Andy Valentine, Chairman of the Nashville Opera Board of Directors. “Indeed, several renowned and well-established companies have been forced to drastically reduce their seasons, or in some cases, cease operations. It is particularly gratifying that Nashville Opera was able meet the strict Kresge Challenge Grant criteria with such broad support throughout the entire community in spite of the devastating floods and the current economic downswing. I am proud of the efforts of my fellow board members and the staff of Nashville Opera in meeting this important goal.”

The 26,000 square foot Noah Liff Opera Center opened in 2008 to serve as Nashville Opera’s executive offices and rehearsal facility. Designed by architect Earl Swensson and his company, ESa, the Urban Land Institute presented its 2009 Excellence in Development Award to the Center citing the building’s innovative design, harmony with the existing neighborhood, and its role as a catalyst for conscientious re-development within the surrounding community. Nashville Opera has utilized the capabilities of the building to capture additional revenues through rentals for private parties and corporate meetings. The Noah Liff Opera Center became a profit center for the organization within the first two years of operation.

The Kresge Foundation is a $3.5 billion private foundation that supports communities in the United States and around the world by strengthening the nonprofit organizations that serve them. Nashville Opera had to demonstrate sound financial management, community enrichment, and a commitment to creating the highest quality productions to even be considered for the grant.

The foundation was established by Sebastian Spering Kresge in 1924 “for the promotion of human progress.” With an initial gift of $1.6 million, he launched what would become one of the nation’s largest philanthropic organizations. Over the years, the Kresge Foundation has helped build the nation’s nonprofit infrastructure – libraries, community centers, schools, hospitals, art museums, food banks and countless other facilities.

Nashville Opera, Tennessee’s largest professional opera company, is dedicated to creating legendary productions and programs. Among the most successful regional companies in the nation, Nashville Opera has presented three different world premiere operas since its inception in 1981. Main stage performances are presented at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center, and play to over 17,000 people annually. Nashville Opera’s extensive education and outreach touring program reaches an additional 25,000 students in 18 counties in Middle Tennessee.