Tomato Art Fest

Okay so maybe it's not quite La Tomitina, but Tomato Art Fest in East Nashville is my favorite little party in the city. Yep, I'm still a homer for my 'hood despite stolen lawn mowers and muggings.

Check out the work of Shelia B., a featured artist at the festival. Meanwhile, here's a poster from the old-fashioned letterpressers Hatch Show Print.

My friend Jaime won the Bloody Mary competition. She wouldn't divulge her recipe (and I totally don't blame her), but I suspect lime, cilantro and cucumber were involved?

She could have also won the cutest-thing-ever-in-an-apron-contest had there been one.

The 3 Crow Bar also served Bloody Mary's and clearly went all out on their sign.

Barman and guitar picker Jacob Jones made the 3 Crow version as follows:

Ice
About 1/2 a glass of vodka (no joke)
About 1/2 a glass of mix
Scoop of horseradish
Sprinkle of Tabasco
Dash of pepper

Not bad. And I don't really like Bloody Mary's.

Manning the booth.

In my personal celebration of the tomato, I made some bruschetta at home.

It’s a simple version, but here goes…
6 to 8 tomatoes, roughly chopped
about a tablespoon of olive oil
a couple healthy splashes of balsamic vinegar
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
a handful or so of chopped fresh basil
salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients. Let stand or chill for an hour or so to marry flavors.

I served it over slices of Bohemian Three Seed bread from Twin Forks Farm in Primm Springs. The Sancerre went well with acidity of the tomatoes.

Dinner music: A couple of (many) fine East Nashville representatives...K.S. Rhoads and Jacob Jones.