Where to eat in Nashville?

[pogophiles]

Thanks kayb, but you info is quite dated. Wild Boar has been gone for years and Chappy's just recently bit the dust. The good spots right now include The Catbird Seat, City House, Capital Grill for food and Patterson House and Holland House for cocktails.

[Crouton]

I'm headed to Nashville on November 3rd to catch the Bourdain show at the TPAC. Some friends of ours have recommended "Margot Cafe". Has anyone tried that?

[pogophiles]

I'm headed to Nashville on November 3rd to catch the Bourdain show at the TPAC. Some friends of ours have recommended "Margot Cafe". Has anyone tried that?

Sorry I didn't see this in time. Yes, Margot is quite good if not exactly cutting edge. Hope you went and enjoyed yourself!

[cyalexa]

Just returned from 6 days in Nashville. Hattie B's Hot Chicken lived up to its hype. Absolutely loved it! I had the mild but will order the medium if I go again. The Merchant was good but not great. The biggest disappointment was the fried green tomatoes. The tomato slices were too thin and the coating was too thick. Sadly, the remaining meals were at chains as I was with people for whom food is not the most important thing about a vacation (can you imagine?). 

[weinoo]

I forgot to mention it, but Significant Eater and I did a road trip to Nashville/Knoxville last summer. Enjoyed some good food, especially at Husk.

 

Nashville Skyline

[cyalexa]

I forgot to mention it, but Significant Eater and I did a road trip to Nashville/Knoxville last summer. Enjoyed some good food, especially at Husk.

 

Nashville Skyline

I also enjoyed Husk when I was there a couple years ago. My Nashville to-try list is pretty long to go to a place a second time, unless it is someone else's choice. I'm gong to be in Nashville again in September and will be sure to check your blog first. I'm hoping to go to Catbird Seat.

 

I forgot to mention Olive & Sinclair Chocolates. The samples were so good I ended up with a case (12 bars) of their artisan stone-ground chocolate bars: 

 

4 cinnamon and chili - these were my favorite

2 coffee bean - haven't tried these yet but the combo is one I generally enjoy

4 salt & pepper buttermilk white - sounds weird but these are great, I don't generally care for white chocolate but these were so unusual and delicious I got a couple for me and a couple for gifts

2 sea salt dark chocolate

Edited July 5, 2015 by cyalexa (log)

[cyalexa]

Another trip to Nashville, another couple restaurants checked off the "to try" list.

 

Woodlands: A vegetarian Indian restaurant. I went for the lunch buffet. The food was generally good but it was crazy busy and the service was bad. The atmosphere was not conducive to pics.

 

Southern Steak and Oyster: The food, service and atmosphere were all great. I started with bluepoint oysters. They were large, fresh-tasting, and icy cold. I accompanied them with a delicious house-made habanero-mango sauce. 

 

Next, fried green tomatoes. Served on a bed of pimento cheese. I used a few drops of house-made ghost pepper hot sauce. I love fried green tomatoes and order them whenever they are on the menu. These were the

best, ever.

 

And, even though I was no longer hungry, I ordered the fish and grits. The fish was grouper and the grits contained sweet pototoes. Perhaps if I was hungry I would have raved about this dish but in my already satiated condition I deemed it merely good. 

 

When I travel, I generally prefer to try to new places but I will most likely return to this place for oysters and especially, fried green tomatoes.

 

 

 

 

[Chris Hennes]

I think I'll go to Loveless Cafe for lunch one day, but I'm looking for another lunch option if anyone has other recommendations. I've been to Arnold's (not my style) and Prince's (awesome), so anyplace else you can suggest would be great.

[kayb]

Can't really speak to lunch, although the Green Fig (out south on Nolensville Pike) is good. But if you have a chance for dinner, do not miss the Catbird Seat.

 

[Chris Hennes]

Dinner is covered -- I've done Catbird before, I'm eating at Husk and Anatolia this time through.

[cyalexa]

Southern Steak and Oyster is open for lunch. If you go (and if you like them), ask for the fried green tomatoes, even if they are not on the lunch menu. Please report any great meals - I am there a couple times per year and have a long list of places to try.

[Chris Hennes]

Just got back from dinner at Husk -- great recommendation. The charcuterie tray was a great starter. I followed it with grilled oysters with marrow butter, then the "southern vegetable" plate. Not everything was perfect, but it was all good, and there were some standouts, like a very spicy brassica braise that was terrific. Finished it with a bourbon from their extensive list. Add it to your Nahville to-try list if you haven't already.

[Chris Hennes]

Lunch today at Loveless Cafe...

 

Let me remind you all of my biases here at the outset. I tend to wax rhapsodic about whatever I have eaten most recently. I am a sucker for biscuits. Spicy food automatically gets bonus points. Also, I had not eaten anything prior to this 2pm lunch. 

 

First, let's be clear, Loveless Cafe is not in Nashville by any real measure. It was a 45 minute drive from our hotel. It's also not under original ownership, and was actually acquired by a couple of Nashvillains (I don't know what they call themselves) and more or less turned into a tourist trap. Little shops where the motel used to be, jams and hams for sale, a little over-manufactured kitsch inside the cafe, etc. The sort of place that a true food lover loves to hate on. We get to channel our inner Gordon Ramsey as we tear into the craptacular food at outrageous prices.

 

But they have biscuits! So I went anyway. And honestly, the biscuits were really quite good, as were most of the homemade jams and jellies that accompanied. Let's be honest, though, lots of places have quite good biscuits. Loveless is also known for their country ham and their fried chicken. My wife had the ham and was compelled to share of course - OK, actually a good country ham, not phoned in tourist-trap fare at all. The day's special was the hot chicken, so I had that, dark meat only. 

 

I remind and you again that I tend to get excited about the most recent thing I've eaten....

 

When I die, as the snow globe rolls out of my hands, I may be heard to gasp "the chicken!" It will make a terrible movie because I reveal the spoiler right here: it's the Loveless Cafe fried chicken I am talking about. I have no criticism. There was absolutely nothing to change. It was fried-chicken perfection by every measure I can think of. It's possible that Prince's chicken is its equal, but the Loveless sides, particularly the white bread properly placed under the chicken to soak up all the extra hot oil, were the tie-breaker. The white beans were also terrific, with tons of that country ham mixed in, and the very home style broccoli casserole was very good as well.

 

When next in Nashville, make the trek to Loveless (go at an off-time, I hear there's quite a wait at peak meal times). Enjoy the drive, get the chicken, and remember to wear short sleeves and bring some of those little moist towelettes.

[kayb]

Not being a huge fried chicken fan (yeah, take my Southerner credentials away), I'll grant you Loveless has decent fried chicken. But you MUST eat fried chicken at Gus's in Memphis. 

 

You just must. That's all.

 

[cyalexa]

On 1/3/2016 at 5:58 PM, Chris Hennes said:

Dinner is covered -- I've done Catbird before, I'm eating at Husk and Anatolia this time through.

How was Anatolia? I'm headed south in a few days and picking out restaurants.

[Chris Hennes]

On 9/18/2016 at 3:51 PM, cyalexa said:

How was Anatolia? I'm headed south in a few days and picking out restaurants.

Mediocre. Not worth any kind of commute, but if you are next door you could do worse.

[cyalexa]

On 9/20/2016 at 6:39 PM, Chris Hennes said:

Mediocre. Not worth any kind of commute, but if you are next door you could do worse.

Other suggestions?

[cyalexa]

19 hours ago, cyalexa said:

Other suggestions?

Waiting for my table at Rolf and Daughters 

[Smithy]

On 9/22/2016 at 5:01 PM, cyalexa said:

Waiting for my table at Rolf and Daughters 

I hope you still aren't waiting!  How did you like it?

[cyalexa]

5 hours ago, Smithy said:

I hope you still aren't waiting!  How did you like it?

I am glad I went. I really enjoyed the chicken liver crostada. It was on delicious bread and topped with excellent green tomato jam. The other small plate I had was squid and lentils. It was good but not great. I had a pasta with mushroom entree. It included (scant in number) fresh, pickled, and fermented mushrooms. The pasta and sauce were very good but I thought the funky tartness of the mushrooms clashed with the sauce.

 

Hattie B's hot chicken tonight. Not sure what I'll do for lunch tomorrow. Sunday dinner and Monday all day I'm meeting family in Chattanooga. Back to Nashville Tuesday and will go to The Southern for fried green tomatoes. Heading home Weds am.

[MT-Tarragon]

I'm headed to Nashville in a couple of weeks. Has anyone been to Skull's Rainbow Room since it reopened? The dinner menu on their website looks appealing. Alternatively, is there another good place for sweetbreads?  I'll mostly be in walking distance of the Renaissance hotel downtown.