A few weeks ago, I got a box in the mail. When I opened it, I thought, “Steve Soderholm really gets me.” We hadn’t met yet, but Steve, founder and co-owner of Ranger Station, had his PR team send some media members the Anti-Pumpkin Candle Club Candle ($45). It’s Ranger Station’s answer to the ubiquitousness of PSL everything in October. I jumped on the phone with Steve to get the story.
He wanted to make a scent — available in both a candle and a car cologne — that smells like actual autumn: fallen leaves and pine needles, not nutmeg and cloves. The fact that the candle has sold out several times assures me that I’m not alone in trying to avoid all things fake pumpkin and allspice. The candle is back in stock, and Ranger Station is one of a small group of locally owned businesses still on 12 South, so it’s worth a saunter over to sniff what they’ve got in the works.
I’m not out to yuck anyone’s yum. If you like all things pumpkin spice, I hope you enjoy your favorite time of the year. Here are some seasonally appropriate treat ideas that might appeal, whether you love PSL or loathe it.
This summer, I pulled together a guide to 44 local places to eat ice cream for the Nashville Scene. (I know! Journalism is often hard, but sometimes it isn't.) While researching, I became a fan of Cone•cept, the soft serve spot in Eastwood Village. They recently introduced a soft serve PSL flavor. It’s made with coffee flavor and annatto extract, and co-owner Jeffrey Bak says it’s less sweet than a typical PSL, so I’m going to give it a go. Because their petite ice cream serving is just $2, it's easy to try something new.
This is where you shop if you really want to impress the folks you’re having over for dinner. They’ve got themed tablescapes and home décor — yes, lots of pumpkins, but also seasonal looks that don’t involve the orange squash. I particularly like these fanciful foxes, which remind me of the ones I see frolicking around Inglewood.
The idea behind the Tennessee Whiskey Trail’s Cork to Fork program is to show off our state’s whiskey culture through seasonal dining, working with restaurants that are incorporating local spirits into their dishes. For fall, Scout’s Pub in Franklin is adding Leiper’s Fork Bourbon into its bourbon sugar crème brûlée. The Restaurant at Nelson’s Green Brier uses its own Tennessee Whiskey in a French onion-inspired gratinée, which I am going to try as soon as the temps dip below 60 degrees.
Another place I fell in love with this summer is this Hillsboro Village hotel, which has the best ice cream sandwich I’ve ever eaten. They know that not everyone wants to drive out to Eagleville to pick the perfect pumpkin, so they asked S.E. Daugherty & Sons to bring a pumpkin patch to the neighborhood. Head over to buy pumpkins, have lunch, happy hour, or dinner (order the ice cream sandwich), and then head home to carve jack-o’-lanterns. Proceeds from pumpkin sales go directly back to the farm.
