This post is coming for two reasons. The first is that my sister asked for more Nashville related content, which makes sense because she loves to travel, and she has an affinity for the South after living in Louisville for a number of years. Secondly, with my monstrous appetite, I have been on a mission to find all the best places to eat, and especially find the places that do takeout and delivery well as we might be resorting to that quite a bit when Penny arrives.
Now, I’ll preface this by saying that I’ve lived here less than a year so I don’t know all of the hot spots yet. Also, Matt and I really aren’t into doing touristy stuff. We haven’t been to the Ryman yet, or the Country Music Hall of Fame. In contrast we’ve been to most of the parks in the city to take Berlin on nice long strolls. Eventually we’ll get around to the touristy things, but we want to know the other part of this town more, the places where the people who actually live here go. And that sentiment is reflected in my restaurant choices.
So if you’re in Nashville, and hate me too much to call me up and let me invite you over for a roast pork sandwich, these are the places you should check out for yummy fare.
The Family Wash – We’ve taken my mom and dad here before, and it’s one of my favorite neighborhood spots because of the yummy comfort food (think mac n cheese and shepherd’s pie). You can go in any night of the week and hear some fun bluegrassy or rock music and try one of the many great beers that they have on tap. The Wash resides in a neighborhood so you won’t necessarily find lots of night life around it, but that’s what we like. Be sure to chat it up with the waitstaff and bartenders – they are some of the nicest people around. You’ll get a great meal for two including beers and tip for $25 – $30. There is rarely a cover charge, so you’re getting fine music as well, and it’s VERY kid friendly.
For full disclosure, I’ve never had anything other than their mac and cheese because it is THAT good. In fact, I’d imagine this is what I’ll be demanding an hour after giving birth.
The Local Taco – This is probably Matt’s favorite place in town, other than Rosepepper’s where the food isn’t anything spectacular but they apparently make the world’s greatest margaritas. You’ll have to take his word for that since I don’t like margaritas. But back to the Local Taco. We like to hit it after church on Sunday because it’s a quick drive over there, and the food is to die for. Unfortunately you pay for the tacos individually, and you don’t exactly get huge portions, so if you order enough to fill up you can easily spend $10 per person just on tacos. But they are fresh, unique and delicious. Their homemade salsa is to die for, and basically everything tastes of fresh cilantro. They have a lot of imported Mexican beers which is great fun if you’re not preggers.
Bosco’s – This is a place that is called “The Restaurant for Beer Lovers” which is interesting to me since we’ve only been there once when Matt’s folks took us there for brunch, and the brunch was divine. So I can’t vouch for their apparently exquisite beer menu. But their brunch was the best we’ve had yet in the city. We’ve been to a couple other places around here for Sunday brunch (which seems to be popular down here due to the church-goin population), and have honestly been a bit disappointed. But not Bosco’s. We’ll have to go back for dinner sometime to let you know what it’s like eating something other than eggs benedict.
Ok, this is Nashville, though right? So where is my BBQ joint? Well, I have to be honest in that we’re a little bit disappointed with the BBQ fare of all the popular joints in Nashville. We’ve been to a couple places, and we find that the neighborhood dives typically have the best BBQ. Everything seems to have been cooked to death, which is great for the meat but kinda gross for the “vegetable sides.” And yes, they consider mac n cheese to be a vegetable.
Jack’s has been the best BBQ so far, and we’ve only been to their downtown location. They have another location situated away from the hubbub, and I’d venture to guess their food is a bit better there. So if you’re in town, you’ll probably do OK at Jack’s where you can then stroll down Broadway and have your fill of neon lights and country music karaoke.
Overall, the thing that I’ve noticed is that different BBQ sauces seem to be really popular here, and perhaps the best BBQ that you are gonna get is slow smoked in someone’s backyard. I’ve found that I’m making more and more BBQ at home and trying to perfect my technique, so maybe that’s what everyone else is up to. We’ve gotta get over to Memphis at some point to try some REAL BBQ there.
Eastland Cafe – This is my favorite place that’s worth taking a shower for. An ever-changing, very creative menu, good service, and a beautiful outdoor patio that is pup-friendly in the summertime! What more can you ask for? The food never disappoints, and they have a nice wine selection as well. Dinners are around $18-$25 per plate.
There are a handful of places we’ve visited and have been nonplussed by including Noshville, Marche, and Allium. We’d like to try the Pancake Pantry which gets rave reviews, but last time we tried the patrons were such complete jerks in the waiting line, that it left a bad taste in our mouth and we walked away. We have yet to try Loveless Cafe, PM, and Southern Bred which are all high on my priority list.
So that should give you a couple of places to try if you’re ever in our neck of the woods, and maybe a few places to steer clear of.
Any Nashvillians have recommendations of places we ought to try?
