Need Your Help for Nashville

[amcleod]

Hello All! I will be in Nashville for a convention. In August. At Opryland. For 8 days.

I need some good food escapes. Will have access to a car. Give me your top 5 favorite places. Top requirement: delicious food. Other requirements: atmosphere (fun/funky/relaxed), not stuffy, not too far from the bubble (30 minutes tops), Southern accent (we're from DC, technically the South but not really)...

So, if you live in Nashville or go there often, what are your top 5 favorites places? (Don't take price into account.) THANKS EVER SO MUCH!!

[Holly Moore]

Check the southern section of my website. I have a number of Nashville options. Mine are all basic good eating. Others can direct you to more respectable places.

My top five:

1. Barbara's Home Dining - a must go, though it might push the envelope for being 30 or less minutes from Opryland. One of the best meat and threes in the south. The cobblers alone are worth a few extra miles.

2. Judge Bean's Barbecue - for barbecue, especially Texas style brisket

3. Swett's, another meat and three

4. Arnold's, yet another meat and three, but open only for lunch.

5. Loveless Cafe, especially for breakfast. Not as great as it once was, but still worth the trip. It's a southern breakfast institution. Probably closer to 45 minutes from Opryland.

One more, if you're not all that hungry or looking for fast food but good fast food. Bobby's Dairy Dip. Black Angus Burgers and fresh cut, twice cooked fries.

Have fun.

[menton1]

Hello All!  I will be in Nashville for a convention.  In August.  At Opryland.  For 8 days. 

I need some good food escapes.  Will have access to a car.  Give me your top 5 favorite places.  Top requirement:  delicious food.  Other requirements:  atmosphere (fun/funky/relaxed), not stuffy, not too far from the bubble (30 minutes tops), Southern accent (we're from DC, technically the South but not really)...

So, if you live in Nashville or go there often, what are your top 5 favorites places?  (Don't take price into account.)  THANKS EVER SO MUCH!!

←

Almost exactly one year ago, we went down to Nashville for a wedding (at Opryland). We made a terrific restaurant discovery on the other side of town, near Vanderbilt. Actually, Nashville is a very nice town away from Opryland, a real city. The restaurant was called the Bound'ry and everything from the food, the service, and the ambience was wonderful. Here is my report from last year: Egullet Bound'ry Discussion

P.S. Andrew Jackson's home, the Hermitage, is also worth visiting while you are here, about a 20 minute drive from downtown.

[Guilty Gourmand]

Speaking of the Hermitage, how 'bout Chef Sean Brock's Capital Grille in the Hermitage Hotel which is widely acclaimed as Nashville's premiere dining spot.

http://www.thehermitagehotel.com/index.cfm?obj=capGrille

Edited July 21, 2005 by Guilty Gourmand (log)

[KathyP]

My two cents worth. As touristy as it may be, Jack's BBQ on Broadway is good. I love the smell of that place when I walk in. It may not be the best BBQ in Nashville, but it's proximity to Tootsies Orchid Lounge can't be beat. Tootsie's is a must do. Live music from opening to closing. Everyone there works for tips.

[amcleod]

Thanks everyone! I have been to nashville a couple times and agree downtown is lots of fun. The only places I ate while visiting were The Palm (why we went there, I don't know...there certainly has to be a local steak joint) and Jack's BBQ which was good.

Keep those suggestions coming. I do hope to go to The Capitol Grille but am looking for more options. THANKS!

[maggie]

Am I too late to help? I just spent a couple of days in Nashville, and we ate a fantastic cheeseburger at Rotier's on french bread for lunch. The waitresses call you "hon," always a plus. It's across the street from Vanderbilt on West End. Last visit, we went to Fat Mo's, a drive through, for burgers, which were great, but no one called us hon. We just waited in our car until they handed us the food so we could eat it on the my son's front porch. We had really good chicken at Prince's Hot Chicken, where the "mild" is kind of hot and the "medium" hurts. It's in northwest Nashville, but I really don't know how we got there. I was simply the driver. But the best meal was at Cafe Margot in east Nashville. The place is always packed, reservations are a must and her food is spot on. Nothing's on the plate that doesn't belong. It's Mediterranean influenced. bistro-like and delicious. If you've already come back from Nashville, go next time you're there.

Edited August 12, 2005 by maggie (log)