Yeast Nashville

Don't worry, I've had bread pudding since last April, just a lot of other stuff as well has been happening. You know, life. Yeast Nashville does the HELL out of yeast products, but I'll stick to cream cheese kolaches and sausage/cheese kolaches at Yeast (both 4 fork worthy), and never get the bread pudding again. The white frosting gives it the sweetness that is absent in the custard. It's white, thick and non-melting, and really more appropriate for a cheap cinnamon roll. The bread is good and the texture was ok, but the lack of flavor even with the apples and berries plus weird icing made for real disappointment.

805 Woodland St #300, Nashville, TN 37206
(615) 678-4592

Abbey Road Pub and Lucky Oyster, Virginia Beach, VA

I tasted the best and worst in Virginia Beach.  The best was at Abbey Road Pub.  Texture and flavor were top notch.  It comes with a bourbon sauce and premium vanilla ice cream, but it can truly stand alone.  I am giving it a 4 fork, though I would rate it a 3.5 only because it's so darned sweet.  It has baked in brown sugar on top.  It was so good my non-bread pudding lover friend liked it (I let her have a spoonful) so much that we went back another day and got 2 orders, because I didn't want to share again!

Maybe worst is too dramatic, but look at this to-go portion from Lucky Oyster and what would you think?  This is unappetizing and I really don't like the sliced bread version.  Thankfully, Lucky Oyster is famous for seafood, not desserts.  Ick!  I admit the apples were good and it didn't have raisins, but it looked so afterthought undressed, I couldn't eat it.  It came with two sauces and ice cream.  I suppose when it's cloaked, it's better.

I am not telling you anything more about Lucky Oyster.  For Abbey Road Pub:
Price: $4.99 (a bargain)
Raisins: No
Sauce: Bourbon
Ice cream: Premium vanilla
Visited: February 2012

Riff's Food Truck, Nashville, TN

This will be a mixed review, starts low and ends high. I know this picture on the left looks like fried chicken with a piece of white bread but it's bread pudding. It was supposed to be chocolate, a debut at the Celebration of Culture, and it was a disaster. I had to tell the truck manager and learned was that there are two BP construction techniques: 1) laying slices of bread and putting seasonings in the middle, and 2) tearing pieces of bread and mixing the seasonings (my preference). Both are soaked. Well, this one wasn't soaked enough because when I put my fork in, I turned over a piece of white bread. Gross! I decided against getting my money back because the other dessert was so good I asked for another instead. The dumpling in the banana leaf was a tastebud happiness consolation prize.

I tried again today at Food Truck Tuesday at the Second Harvest Food Bank. Before I dug in, I had the dreamy shrimp and grits, which could forego those tiny bland (veined) shrimp and just have the sausage and oh my gosh so sweet caramelized onions. My friend is right, calling it sausage and grits wouldn't have the same draw, but I digress.

Today's BP version was a BP with salted caramel sauce. It was just right in its approach and all the flavors were fully integrated, with some herb on top that gave it nice interest. Again, maybe it's my palate, but I didn't taste saltiness in the sauce though I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I'm glad I gave them another chance and also glad that the manager welcomed my constructive criticism.

Price: $3
Raisins: No
Sauce: Salted caramel
Ice cream: No
Visited: October 2011 in the parking lot of Second Harvest

http://www.facebook.com/riffstruck

Lou Mitchell's, Chicago, IL

I ordered this to go because I love every, every thing I have ever had at Lou Mitchell's. Until this. It may have been wheat, and it was so dry and full of raisins and maybe even nuts, that it tasted healthy.

Price: ?
Raisins: Yes
Sauce: No - it could have helped
Ice cream: No - it could have helped
Visited: June 2011

John's Place, Roscoe Village, Chicago

John's Place rates a 4 for brunch and a solid 3 for dinner, but my goodness, the chocolate bread pudding hurt my feelings. I went for my birthday and thought it fate that I hadn't pegged John's for BP before we ended up there. We lost a reservation at Coobah, so here we were. Well, no matter that the double chocolate BP was dry and tasteless, with big ole cubes of bread on top - a no-no for me, I will still go back, but just make a different choice.

Price: 5
Raisins: No
Sauce: Don't remember but it wouldn't have mattered
Ice cream: No
Visited: November 2010

http://www.johnsplace.com/
773/244-6430
2132 W. Roscoe, Chicago, IL 60618