East Nashville Block Party Serves Up Fine Food on Paper Plates for a Good Cause

by ASHLEY BRANTLEY

“We met at Noma.”

If you’re ever invited to a block party where half the people cooking can say that of each other, go. Nashvillians respect such a rule, which is why 170 of us showed up to the sold-out event in McFerrin Park on Thursday night to taste “the best food you’ll ever eat on a paper plate.” And boy, did the party deliver. 

the chef from sonoma

It was curious to me that a Nashville block party was being spearheaded by a chef from Sonoma, and ultimately it comes down to a road trip. After his father passed away last year, Lanning decided to drive his dad’s custom barbecue rig from his hometown of Peoria, Ill., back to California.

He knows folks in Nashville, so he scheduled a detour, and he rallied friends from Noma and a few Nashville spots to get together and cook for a good cause while he’s here. (The event benefited McFerrin Park’s Front Porch Ministries, an organization that helps at-risk kids and single moms in the neighborhood.)

the tribute

I’m thrilled to report that Lanning’s pulled-pork slider was simple, and succulent and would make a worthy opponent for any smoked meat in Nashville — a fitting tribute to his father and the rig it was cooked on.