Visting Nashville

[canucklehead]

Howdy from Canada!

I have a friend visiting Nashville this weekend for three days. What are some good restaraunt recommendations that are decently priced. We have alot of ethnic restaurants up here in Vancouver so I think that she would like to get a dose of good Southern cooking in fairly civilized surroundings.

There are some health concerns - so ideally she would like to keep it on the healthy side. It seems like the there is a really excellent food culture in the Southeast - so any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

[bleachboy]

I'm going to completely ignore the "healthy" aspect you mentioned. If she wants to experience Southern specialties, it's going to be unhealthy. There are a few good sushi restaurants in Nashville if she wants to stay low-fat/low-cal.

Assuming she doesn't...

Start with breakfast one day at The Loveless Cafe. It's traditional Southern breakfast fare (country ham, biscuits, gravy) done almost as good as at my house. Plus it has a hokey redneck yokel ambience all tourists enjoy.

Skip Rotier's. It's in the press a lot and even won Gourmet's "Top 10 road food burgers" but the food is mediocre. One can only assume that reviewers are swooning over the gritty ambience and don't notice that the food is nothing short of generic. It's a grimy place where you'll be served by some grizzled old man with lots of "Southern character". Skip it. Instead, head over to Elliston Place Soda Shop, just a few blocks away. The tourists don't usually go there, and the "streak o' lean" (very fatty bacon) and the mashed potatoes and dairy drinks are rockin'. Plus, there's a (usually non-functional) mini-jukebox at every table. VERY Music City, and great for lunch.

For dinner, try something more gourmet. Go to The Capitol Grille. Chef Sean Brock does really interesting things (a la Ferran Adria) but also does a lot of stuff with Southern influences. Ask for the chef, talk to him, and likely he'll do something uniquely Southern for you. He made a kick ass shrimp 'n' grits for me one night by request, and his tasting menus (again, by request) are mind-blowing).

Your friend, of course, is gonna have to go to a meat 'n' three. Swett's is the best known, but again, I don't think their food is all it's cracked up to be. I much prefer Monell's. Call ahead and make sure you go when there's fried chicken. Try the corn pudding.

Again, none of this stuff is remotely healthy. But them's the breaks.

If you like, you can PM me and have your friend call. Either I or my wife and I would be happy to take her out some night.

[canucklehead]

Don

Thanks for the awesome list. I will forward this to my friend. She is visiting family - so I am sure she will okay (natural Canadian shyness here). But your invitation is most appreciated and I will let her know that she can contact you.

Many thanks.

[wcmckinney]

How's Martha's at the Plantation? The webiste looks good. I am going to Nashville tomorrow and may piggy back on some of these suggestions.

PS. good places to go get a drink?

[Holly Moore]

I have been visiting Nashville on a regular basis of late and have added a number of low end places to my website - see The South at HollyEats.Com

Alas Bleachboy and I don't agree on much. But he's a native so certainly has a more vast perspective than my one or few visits to the places I prefer.

As I posted elsewhere in this forum I was very disappointed with the Loveless Cafe under its new ownership. I also prefer Rotiers to Elliston Place, but prefer Brown's Diner to both. My favorite burger comes from either Fat Mo's or Bobbie's Dairy Dip. And I prefer Swett's to my one, recent experience at Monell's. But to qualify that I arrived relatively late, had a whole table to myself, and found most of the side dishes to be warm at best. If everything was piping hot I'd rate Monell's as at least equal to Swett's if not better.

[tanabutler]

Though I haven't eaten there (because I haven't been to Nashville in ten years), a client of mine owns the Germantown Café, which is featured in the pages of Bon Appetit this month as being noteworthy in Nashville. I'd go there in a heartbeat, as well as to the Capitol Grille. I think Chef Sean Brock is doing some very exciting stuff, even if Nashville locals are not tuned in yet to the "small plate" thing. He is a graduate of Johnson Wales, where Chef David Kinch went. Good recommendation, in my book.

[chefseanbrock]

i think that midtown cafe does a great job, they have a new chef..............he can cook

[Holly Moore]

I'm staying in downtown Nashville tomorrow (Tuesday) night, a half block off Broadway so I can catch some bluegrass and drink some beer.

What's good to eat downtown?

[chefseanbrock]

i would love to show you around......i work at the hermitage hotel, we are walking distance from broadway and I would love to hear some bluegrass, if you like i can take you to the station inn, it is the best place to see bluegrass and ru san's is right beside it.......just a thought