Mad, now is it Donna or Hatter?!
Ok, I have started venturing out in my "hood" for a while, going "Beyond the Edge" which I found to be a kewl place....so kewl in fact that I wrote "has the whole world gone gay while I was asleep" as a blog entry detailing that visit. I have been back once and it is a kewl place, but naturally any visit's experiences is made by the people one runs into.
There has been a lesbian bar in the "hood" for quite some time, called "Lipstick Lounge". It is not exactly my fav spot because, quite frankly, there is a scarity of men in the joint...especially ELIGIBLE men.
But now there is a restaurent called Mad Donna's. It is comprised of a restaurant and a bar, the bar being upstairs. I have eaten there 3 times, and visited the bar several times, thus far the bar just isnt that big a deal, but the food is good.
Not your average southern cooking place, they have things like mashed pototoes with horseradish in them, pan fryed steak, and chicken. All are a bit "european" to my way of thinking but quite good even for this southern belle's preference for "good old country cooking" meaning fried chicken and fried pototoes topped off with fried whatever else is in the kitchen..LOL
But I find Mad Donna's very entertaining for me when I am in the people watching mood. It's placement on a side street in East Nashville close to the gentrified section, but not solidly inside it lends itself to "odd couples" and groupings of people. The clientele is mixed racially, certainly, as east Nashville is a diverse neighborhood. So basically you can expect to see just about anybody...or any combination of bodies iminagable. In addition, there are the antics of the waiter staff.
The waiter staff runs around the relatively small area of the restaurant at full tilt. It is rare to see a member of the staff saunder or in any way move slowly, unless they are on break or it is very slow in the restauarnt. I got a kick out of the quick movements and near misses of collusions as these people ran throught the place at full tilt...I somehow was reminded of the antics of the Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderful. When I shared this observation with my server, she said "that is why it is called Mad Donna's" joining right in with me in the humour.
If you are ever in Nashville, and are not looking for a quiet place to dine, bur rather a fun one, and can find this small eatery, check it out.
