Music City Bowl Visitors

Nashville Restaurants and Food
Music City Bowl Visitors

Welcome to Nashville, we hope you enjoy your stay. If you need a quick list of downtown restaurants that rise above the usual tourist spots, just go to the right side of the screen and scroll down. You'll find a "downtown" listing. If you have a car and are willing to travel you'll find map links via urban spoon at the bottom of each post.

Holiday Wishes

Here's hoping that you have experienced fantastic holiday eating and that you have a new year full of Nashville food adventures. Merry Christmas and happy holidays of all sorts!

Katie and Eric

Silly Goose is reopening Tuesday

Greetings from Boston...we have heard from several readers that Silly Goose is back open and they are confirming that on their Facebook page. They will be open for business Tuesday for normal hours. Fantastic news. Let's show them some love with some extra business. Eric.

Silly Goose is Back Open and Coopers on Porter RIP

Greetings from Boston...we have heard from several readers that Silly Goose is back open and they are confirming that on their Facebook page. They will be open for business Tuesday for normal hours. Fantastic news. Let's show them some love with some extra business. Eric.

Well, the Meat Eater is in Beantown visiting family for the holidays, leaving the Veggie Eater to tend to the funny farm in

Stonehouse Q

Nashville Restaurants and Food
Stonehouse Q
333 54th Avenue North
Nashville
615-385-7800
www.stonehouseq.com

Update 1/13: this restaurant has closed.

Nothing beats a satisfying meal. It might sound like a simple statement, but there are plenty of elements that go into a truly satisfying meal. You need a solid entrée, flavorful sides, friendly service and a comfortable dining room. The new

Kay Bob’s

Nashville Restaurants and Food
Kay Bob’s
1602 21st Avenue South
Nashville
615-321-4567
http://www.kaybobs.us/

The humble sandwich has been elevated in recent years and it’s a trend that we applaud. Choice ingredients, house-made sauces and breads and creative combinations can make a big difference. Kay Bob’s is hitting the sandwich market with a restaurant just across the street from Vanderbilt

Fleet Street

Nashville Restaurants and Food
Fleet Street
Printers Alley Downtown
Nashville
615-200-0782
www.fleetstreetpub.com

Downtown Nashville needs more places like Fleet Street. It’s a comfortable and stylish subterranean bar that serves creative and well-executed food that goes well beyond pub grub. It’s a decidedly local take on the downtown bar scene and that’s appreciated. While we love the tourists

Las Fiestas

Nashville Restaurants and Food
Las Fiestas
1557 North Gallatin Pike
Madison
615-800-6373

It’s no secret that the best Mexican food is found at the mom and pop joints around town. The restaurants that cater to Hispanics tend to take more care in the food and offer more variety. There is value to some of the Americanized places though, and if done right there’s no reason you can’t get a decent

Top 3 for Fall 2011

Nashville Restaurants and Food
Top 3 for Fall 2011

While chain restaurants and upscale joints are opening up left and right it was a little slow for new, affordable, independent restaurants this fall. That promises to change quickly with the opening of several promising spots recently including Stonehouse Q, Fleet Street, Sloco and hopefully soon the Pharmacy. Here are our picks for the Top 3

First hits: Fleet Street, Sloco and Kay Bob’s

Nashville Restaurants and Food
First hits: Fleet Street, Sloco and Kay Bob’s

It’s a good weekend when we get to sample three new restaurants, all well-anticipated, and we have good first impressions across the board. Remember- these are first visits only, we’ll go back in a few weeks to see how they are doing for a full review of each.

We had our first look at the new Fleet Street Pub in

Fat Juicy Taco

Nashville Restaurants and Food
Fat Juicy Taco
793 Main Street
Hendersonville
615-824-0444
www.fatjuicytaco.com

Okay, how could I not check out a place called Fat Juicy Taco? The Hendersonville joint is primarily take-out, although they do have seating for seven or eight along a counter at the window. The gracious staff certainly makes it a nice place to enjoy your meal. Owner Jesse Schofner

Korea House

Nashville Restaurants and Food
Korea House
6410 Charlotte Pike
Nashville
615-352-2790
Facebook Page

We spend much of our time on this blog scouting out the new restaurants in Nashville. Every now and then we try and add some joints that have been turning out great food for years. This week we add Korea House to that list, an addition that has been a long-time coming.

The small West Side

Hieu Giang

Nashville Restaurants and Food
Hieu Giang
5821 Charlotte Pike
Nashville
615-352-7552

You gotta love the restaurant business. One moment you have a truly memorable restaurant name and in the next moment it’s been switched, and in this case for something less controversial. We speak here of the short-lived Ifuku. Owner Nicole Tran came up with the unforgettable name after taking over the former

Benchmark

Nashville Restaurants and Food
Benchmark
117 2nd Avenue North
Nashville
615-748-9006
www.benchmarknashville.com

When it comes to new downtown eateries, we’re always hoping for the best. Tourist land doesn’t have to mean mediocre food. However, it often does. There are a few Broadway and Second Avenue joints that rise above the rest. They’re in the definite minority. So when Mulligan’s closed we

Cori’s Dog House

Nashville Restaurants and Food
Cori’s Dog House
106 29th Avenue North
Nashville
615-329-9444
www.corisdoghouse.com

The bun or the wiener? The toppings or the dog? It’s easy to get into a fight with hot dog fanatics. Dog fans have their priorities and often those preferences collide. And then there are the many different styles: Chicago, Sonoran, Coney, Chili; it seems like everyone has a

Midweek: Frugal Barbecue

Nashville Restaurants and Food
Midweek: Frugal Barbecue

Most folks think of booze when you say Frugal MacDoogal. You can now add barbecue to that name, at least for festivals and such. The well-known Nashville liquor store has been making barbecue on the road lately, winning the People’s Choice award at the recent Nashville Barbecue Festival. They set up shop at Oktoberfest/Germantown Street

Moore’s Famous Fried Chicken

Nashville Restaurants and Food
Moore’s Famous Fried Chicken
115 Walton Ferry Road
Hendersonville
615-265-8670

This well-worn strip mall in Hendersonville has produced so many restaurants it’s hard to count. Most have come and gone in a flash. Lately though, two contenders have taken over and they seem to have staying power: Sax Deli and Moore’s Famous Fried Chicken. Both give reason for

Midweek: Stone House Q and Lucy’s Hummus

Nashville Restaurants and Food
Midweek: Stone House Q and Lucy’s Hummus

October rolled in unseasonably cool, making hot coffee a popular item at the West Nashville Farmers’ Market in Richland Park on Saturday. A few vendors were apparently taken off-guard and shivered in short sleeves. You could say they were doing brisk business. There is still plenty of produce to be had for the season

Five Points Pizza

Nashville Restaurants and Food
Five Points Pizza
1012 Woodland Street
Nashville
615-915-4174
www.fivepointspizza.com

We’re not saying anything new here for folks in the Five Points neighborhood. They’re already well acquainted with Five Points Pizza and the joint has only been open for a month. Why the popularity? It’s a combination of quality food and a relaxed atmosphere. It’s also a

Midweek: Willie Mae’s Barbecue

Nashville Restaurants and Food
Midweek: Willie Mae’s Barbecue

Take a left hand turn off the Southern courthouse square and find the smoky joint decorated inside with bluegrass posters and country album covers. Sound like classic Dixie? It is and yet it’s all new at Willie Mae’s Barbecue in Springfield. Joe Tuten and Gail Norman have outfitted the joint in fine barbecue fashion. It’s smoky inside

Riverview

Nashville Restaurants and Food
Riverview
110 Old River Road
Ashland City
615-792-7358
Website

We’ll be up front with you from the get go- we moved this review way up in our schedule. The reason is simple: this deck has one of the better Cumberland River views in the Nashville area and, given the time of year, to fully enjoy it you’re going to have to visit soon. The May Floods of 2010 left many

Midweek: Farmers' Market for Dinner

Nashville Restaurants and Food
Midweek: Farmers' Market for Dinner

You can’t beat the fun of strolling through the Nashville Farmers’ Market and figuring out dinner based on what catches your eye. This weekend it was a newcomer that inspired our Mexican night. Our first stop is usually to peruse the table vendors set up in the Market House. FireSpice is a relative newcomer. It’s run by Nelson

AM@FM

Nashville Restaurants and Food
AM@FM
Market House
Nashville Farmers’ Market
900 Rosa Parks Blvd.
Nashville
Webpage

AM@FM is more than just another place to have a good meal at the Nashville Farmers’ Market. We think this latest Arnold Myint project has given the Market House a new feel. What’s so different? You sit at the tall counter on comfortable bar chairs and chat with the knowledgeable

Midweek: The Pharmacy and Five Points First Visit

Nashville Restaurants and Food
Midweek: The Pharmacy and Five Points First Visit

The Holland House folks are getting ready to open their newest venture this fall. The "Pharmacy Burger Parlor & Beer Garden" is located just around the corner from Holland House. It’s a stylish renovation with a huge beer garden space. The Anderson Design Group worked on the retro logo (very cool) and describe the

Dusit Thai

Nashville Restaurants and Food
Dusit Thai
5532 Old Hickory Blvd.
Hermitage
615-885-2363
http://www.dusitthaionline.com/

Out with one Thai restaurant and in with another. The good news for folks in Hermitage is that Dusit Thai is a definite upgrade in quality. Owner Chutima Treesri took over the former Royal Thai location and has kept much of the décor. It’s a large, stylish dining space with

Midweek: Benchmark, Five Points, and Arnold Expands

Nashville Restaurants and Food
Midweek: Benchmark, Five Points, and Arnold Expands

The loss of Mulligan’s Pub was considerable on Second Avenue. It was one of the few non-corporate establishments left in the District. While Benchmark, the new bar and restaurant occupying that space, seems a bit corporate on entering, we soon discovered a few unique features and actually pretty good bar food.

Top 3 for Summer 2011

Nashville Restaurants and Food
Top 3 for Summer 2011

It’s been a slow period for new brick and mortar restaurants. The food truck craze is understandable. The mobile stands are less of an investment and less of a risk. Plus if you don’t like the location, you just pick up and move. Hopefully, the more successful food trucks will be able to develop into permanent locations. We do have a few new

Support Independent Restaurants!

Restaurant week starts on Monday...it's a great opportunity to support Nashville independent restaurants. It's promoted by the Nashville Originals, a group of independent restaurant owners. Restaurant week brings special offers at restaurants all over town, many for $20 or $30.You can find a list of participating restaurants on their website: http://www.nashvilleoriginals.com/

When you support

Neighbors

Nashville Restaurants and Food
Neighbors
4425 Murphy Road
Nashville
615-942-5052

Let’s not bury the lead on this one: Neighbors is serving some of the best chicken wings in Nashville. They’re dry rubbed, char-grilled perfection. The smoker is the first thing you notice when you take the back entrance to the new Sylvan Park bar and restaurant. Taking the back way in is a good idea just from a

Midweek: Ifuku and Southern Bred RIP

Nashville Restaurants and Food
Midweek: Ifuku and Southern Bred RIP
One of the great restaurant names in Nashville is no more, and it only lasted a few short weeks. Yes, ladies and gentlemen Ifuku is no longer Ifuku. Owner Nicole Tran came up with the memorable name after taking over the former Pho Yen Hoa location at 5821 Charlotte Pike. While many of us were instantly bemused by the name,

Midweek: Hot Chicken in Hendersonville

Nashville Restaurants and Food
Midweek: Hot Chicken in Hendersonville

For the most part Hot Chicken places in Nashville have that designation as their primary identity. A few places though, keep it on the down low. Scoreboard Bar and Grill in Donelson serves up some mean hot chicken and yet you have to get a look at the menu to notice. Moore’s Famous Chicken in Hendersonville bills itself as a

Midweek: Neighbors and Fiestas

Nashville Restaurants and Food
Midweek: Neighbors and Fiestas

It’s amazing how quickly the new Neighbors bar in Sylvan Park has grown comfortable on the interior. It opened in May and yet the joint feels like it’s been there for years. The staff and owners were having fun and getting ready for a busy night when we visited. They have fired up the hickory smoker out back and are turning out pulled

Simply Thai

Nashville Restaurants and Food Simply Thai
3418 Old Hickory Blvd.
Old Hickory
615-847-7776
Facebook page

Somchay Litchana is a busy man. One minute he’s working the kitchen and the next he’s out in the dining room checking on customers. He pays great attention to detail and that translates to the food. What doesn’t translate very well is the name of the restaurant. We still giggle when looking

The Wild Hare

Nashville Restaurants and Food
The Wild Hare
316 White Bridge Road
Nashville
615-818-0219
www.thewildharenashville.com

The West side has needed this for some time now: The Wild Hare combines an eclectic, affordable menu with a comfortable, family-friendly dining room. The informal attitude is well-balanced with sharp cooking skills. All of that adds up to one of the better recent Nashville

Midweek: Goodness Gracious, Kenny's, Amish Daytrip and Fido for Dinner

Nashville Restaurants and Food
Midweek: Goodness Gracious, Kenny's, Amish Daytrip and Fido for Dinner

We did the staycation thing this year and found it quite enjoyable. We don’t usually talk about our vacations; however all of these tips are things you can do yourself in a daytrip or in the case of our first mention, about any time you want.

We’ve done the Fido breakfast for years. They

Weekend: Green Asia, Butter Cake and Arnold’s Latest

Nashville Restaurants and Food
Weekend: Green Asia, Butter Cake and Arnold’s Latest

The Nashville Farmers’ Market is feeling like a hopping place again. Most of the work from flood repair is done, including a new demonstration kitchen, and several new spots have opened recently. We had a first look at them this week.

AM@FM is Arnold Myint’s latest enterprise. It’s basically an outpost of his

Midweek: Smiley’s and I Dream

Nashville Restaurants and Food
Midweek: Smiley’s and I Dream

What happens when a Gospel minister and musician brings grandpapa’s corn bread recipe to East Nashville? Check out the new Gallatin Pike restaurant, Smiley’s Soulful Kitchen, and find out. That fried corn bread has a bit of sweet thanks to some sprinkled sugar and is perhaps some of the most addictive of its type in town. Also be sure

Taqueria Vallarta

Nashville Restaurants and Food
Taqueria Vallarta
4730 Old Hickory Blvd.
Old Hickory
615-902-9660

A sign in the open kitchen proclaims “Welcome to the Mexican Waffle House” and it’s just one indication that the owners and staff at Taqueria Vallarta have a good time. It’s a long-time family joint serving authentic taqueria fare, a fact well-known to folks in the Old Hickory area.

The dining room

Midweek: Downtown Seafood and Printer's Alley Pub

Nashville Restaurants and Food
Midweek: Downtown Seafood and Printer's Alley Pub

The loss of Gulf Pride Seafood from the Nashville Farmers Market a few years back just about killed us. The quality of product and the sheer variety of seafood made many a farmers market trip worthwhile. Now seafood is back at the downtown Farmers Market in the form of the Louisiana Seafood Company. Chris Moran and

Midweek: Joey's House of Pizza Moving, Farmers Market Shade

Joey's House of Pizza is often cited as one of the best pizza joints in the Nashville area, especially for East Coast-style pie. Now they're reporting on their facebook page that they are closing the Brentwood location and moving to 897 Elm Hill Pike in South Nashville, near I-24 and Murfreesboro Road. It's formerly the home of Elvy's Deli and not that far from Boswell's Harley Davidson. The

Top 3 for Spring 2011

Nashville Restaurants and Food
Top 3 for Spring 2011

Spring was a slow period for restaurant growth in Nashville. The good news is that there seems to be less places closing down and there are a couple of interesting spots that have just opened. We have one standout full-service restaurant and a couple of excellent sandwich joints to talk about for this Spring Top 3 list.

1. Shish Kabob

The

We've gone mobile

We've just added mobile service to the blog. If you go to this web page from a mobile device you'll automatically get the mobile version. It's a stripped down version with primarily the stories and comments. If you want to use the archive from a mobile device you can click on the "web version" link at the bottom of the page. As always, thanks for reading.

Midweek Odds and Ends: Hare, Chicken and Man

Nashville Restaurants and Food
Hare, Chicken and Man

The Nashville Scene Bites blog is reporting on the opening of the new Wild Hare restaurant in West Nashville. The menu is focused on locally grown and an eclectic mixture of styles. Early eaters Chris Chamberlain from the Scene and Lesley from Lesley Eats report that it will be an informal and fun atmosphere. It sounds like a winning

Brewsters

Nashville Restaurants and Food
Brewsters
271 Gleaves Street
Madison
615-420-6130

Making beer is easy. Making good beer is another matter entirely. The first timer can brew up a batch of beer on day one and be drinking it a few weeks later. Serious home brewers can spend years perfecting a simple brown ale. It would seem that when opening a brew pub you would want to have done your

Midweek odds and ends: El Morro

Nashville Restaurants and Food
Midweek odds and ends: El Morro

Myatt Drive in Madison is the home to a new Cuban restaurant and from appearances the Martin family is making a serious go of this enterprise. While the location is a bit out of the way right now (half-way down Myatt Drive from Rivergate) it will soon be just down the street from a police crime lab and other Metro offices, so perhaps

The Melrose

Nashville Restaurants and Food
The Melrose
2535 Franklin Pike
Nashville
615-712-8160
http://www.themelrose.net/

The Saturday afternoon bar crowd is a good judge of a popular place. If it’s getting crowded at 3pm that’s an indication that they stay busy most of the time they’re open. The Melrose is a bar and restaurant that clearly meets that mark. While we’ve visited a number of times in recent

Fish N Grits, Weenie Opening and Los Gordos Closing

Nashville Restaurants and Food
Fish N Grits, Weenie Opening and Los Gordos Closing

It’s tough keeping up with the restaurant world. Places open and close in the blink of an eye. So, please fasten your seatbelts…

People have been watching folks prepare a restaurant called Fish and Grits at 8th and Division. They opened up late last week and we visited Saturday night to take a look. The menu is a

The Dog of Nashville

Nashville Restaurants and Food
The Dog of Nashville
2127 Belcourt Avenue
Nashville
615-292-2204
http://www.thedogofnashville.com/

Let’s go straight to the instant replay. Walk-up and the patio is jumping: A birthday party of little girls is happily munching away, college kids brave the daylight in sunglasses and a guy dressed in khakis and a blazer sits next to his well-coiffed wife. Inside, the

Naoko’s, Karla’s, Clear Creek Smokehouse and 3 Crow

Nashville Restaurants and Food
Naoko’s, Karla’s, Clear Creek Smokehouse and 3 Crow

Farmers Markets have become a location for folks to set up shop to sell all sorts of prepared food- sandwiches, soups and desserts. Often it’s an opportunity for caterers to reach or a larger audience or aspiring restaurateurs to start-up a new concept. We had excellent snacking on Saturday at the West Nashville

Top of the Hill, Derby Party Middle Eastern and Coopers for Mother’s Day

Nashville Restaurants and Food
Top of the Hill, Derby Party Middle Eastern and Coopers for Mother’s Day

Pizza equal parts crispy and chewy, straight from a wood fired oven. House made salad dressings. And this can be found…now wait for it…in Joelton? Yeah, that was kinda our reaction as well. It’s a pretty cool development for the Joelton dining scene. We’ve been watching work on the location

Sax Deli

Nashville Restaurants and Food
Sax Deli
260 West Main Street
Hendersonville
615-265-8778
www.saxdeli.com

Update 7/12: Sax Deli has moved down the street to the City Square shopping center on West Main Street. They tell us they have much more room now, which they have needed for some time.

Restaurant simplicity: attention to every ingredient and attention to every customer. If you stay focused

A Flood Recovery Party

Many Nashville and Tennessee residents marked the anniversary of the May flood with an event this week. We can't think of a better way to celebrate recovery than visiting the newly rehabbed house of friends and then settling in with a Yazoo beer and some great food. Doug and Jennifer invited us to their flood recovery party in Old Hickory and it turned out to be one heck of a food and drink day.

Chago’s Cantina

Nashville Restaurants and Food
Chago’s Cantina
2015 Belmont Blvd.
Nashville
615-386-0106
www.facebook.com/pages/Chagos-Cantina

The Belmont restaurant row is packed with establishments, shoulder to shoulder, in the short stretch on Belmont Blvd. On a sunny weekend it’s a fine venue for strollers, joggers and dining al fresco. Chago’s Cantina is a good fit for the neighborhood. And while the menu

Drifters Update, New Arnold and Food Trucks

Nashville Restaurants and Food
Drifters Update, New Arnold and Food Trucks

We appreciate it when readers give us a heads up about a changed or revamped menu at a restaurant we have reviewed. Restaurants develop over time and sometimes those developments deserve a second look on our part. Thus we did the East Nashville Five Points bar hop last weekend and made a visit to Drifters. The reader

El Tapatio 1 and 2

Nashville Restaurants and Food
El Tapatio 1
4801 Nolensville Rd.
Nashville
615-835-4419

El Tapatio 2
Nashville
3611 Nolensville Rd.
615-445-7781

There’s a bazillion taquerias on Nolensville Road in Nashville and they seem to change monthly. The joint you loved for the melty al pastor tortas could have new management, or it could be a used car lot. A new spot offering up awesome pambazo could

Midweek Odds and Ends: Goose Expansion, Closings and Barbecue

Nashville Restaurants and Food
Midweek Odds and Ends: Goose Expansion, Closings and Barbecue

The Silly Goose in East Nashville is expanding. The couscous inspired sandwich joint has been a big hit and they need more room. They tell us they're taking over a space next to the restaurant and hope to have the expansion work done by June. If you haven't been there yet you should check it out. Silly

Los Gordos- First Look

Nashville Restaurants and Food
Los Gordos- First Look

Sunday lunch turned into a bit of an adventure when the place we had intended to visit decided not to open on time. We took a drive, looking for a new joint to try. We were almost to the end of the Nolensville strip when Los Gordos appeared. It’s across the street from the La Hacienda Market in the building that used to house the Flatrock

Top 3 (and one bonus) for winter 2010-2011

Nashville Restaurants and Food
Top 3 (and one bonus) for winter 2010-2011

A cold, snowy winter is yielding to a lovely spring. We take a moment to spotlight the best new restaurants, which warmed us up during the winter of 2010-2011. It’s been a good season for food in Nashville. Oh, and we have one addendum that we couldn’t leave out…

1.   Cooper’s on Porter

A deft hand in the kitchen and a

Midweek Odds and Ends

Nashville Restaurants and Food
Midweek Odds and Ends

Brewsters is officially open in Madison. We had our fist look this weekend. The soon to be brew pub is serving lunch and dinner, but the beer is still a couple of weeks away. Our server said the primary issue seems to be permits and such. It’s an airy space with lofted ceilings and plenty of windows. It may be familiar to folks on that side of

Shish Kabob

Nashville Restaurants and Food
Shish Kabob
4651 Nolensville Road
Nashville
615-833-1113
www.theshishkabob.com

The humble falafel gets a major makeover at the new Persian restaurant Shish Kabob and it’s a long time coming. The crunchy chickpea favorite often comes in ball form and seems, quite frankly, stuck in a rut at many Nashville kabob joints and gyro stands. The Shish Kabob version is flat,

Thai Star

Nashville Restaurants and Food
Thai Star
563 East Thompson Lane
Nashville
615-823-3701

It’s a move down Thompson Lane for Thai Star owner Keo Douangtavanh and family. The old location was tucked away from traffic and this new one is hard to miss on the Thompson Lane strip. A bold red sign announces the spot. Clearly road frontage is a priority.

It’s a clean, utilitarian dining room with tall

Alice's Rib Shack

Nashville Restaurants and Food
Alice's Rib Shack

God bless Alice’s Restaurant in Gallatin, well actually it’s Alice’s Rib Shack, but I had to work in the movie reference. It doesn’t get any more down home than this: a squeaky storm door opens to a small room with carpeting, eight chairs and a TV. It’s take-out only and the waiting lounge will give you a chance to meet and greet. Alice Humphrey

Holland Burgers

Nashville Restaurants and Food
Holland Burgers

The Tennessean reports that the owners of the Holland House Bar and Refuge are considering opening an all-burger restaurant just down the street from the Holland House, on McFerrin in East Nashville. They have already set up a Twitter feed about the joint, which will apparently be called "Bonnie Blue's Icehouse". Here is how the Twitter page

Welcome Music City Visitors and Oscar Provisions

Nashville Restaurants and Food
Welcome Visitors

We've noticed a trend on the blog. Traffic spikes significantly when big events come to town. So, for those basketball fans and radio folks in town this week- welcome to Music City. If you're staying downtown take a look at the right hand side of the screen. You'll see a label for downtown that will pull up just restaurants within walking distance

Merchants

Nashville Restaurants and Food
Merchants-downstairs
401 Broadway
Nashville
615-254-1892
www.merchantsrestaurant.com

This building at the corner of Fourth and Broadway downtown has seen its share of Nashville history. The former hotel was the occasional crash pad of Hank Williams and Patsy Cline. It’s been a popular restaurant since 1988 and just last year Merchants had a reboot, thanks to Ben

Disco Fries and Mediterranean for Belmont

Nashville Restaurants and Food
Disco Fries and Kalamatas at Belmont

What happens when a bunch of guys from New Jersey open a restaurant in Hendersonville? Disco Fries, that’s what. It’s kind of the poutine of the Garden State. Typically, the Jersey version is dark gravy and mozzarella cheese over steak fries. Nooni’s restaurant serves them up with more of a thin gravy/cheese sauce. It’s still

No. 308

Nashville Restaurants and Food
No. 308
407 Gallatin Avenue
Nashville
615-650-7344
www.bar308.com

It seems like every bar in Nashville is picking a point in history and styling the surroundings and feel of the place to meet a retro vision of that era. Plug No. 308 directly into the late fifties and early sixties: days and nights of beat poets, jazz and the origins of counterculture. No. 308 puts

Grins Vegetarian Cafe

Nashville Restaurants and Food
Grins
2421 Vanderbilt Place
Nashville
615-322-8571
http://www.bongojava.com/grins.php

It’s time to play catch-up with a Nashville vegetarian classic: Grins. We know, we know. What took you so long? We beg forgiveness.

Vegetarian cuisine is often seen as a challenge to compete with the meat world, in both creativity and flavor. While there are many veggie joints

The Turnip Truck Urban Fare in the Gulch

Nashville Restaurants and Food
The Turnip Truck Urban Fare in the Gulch
311 12th Avenue South
Nashville
615-248-2000
www.turniptruck.com

The original Turnip Truck store has been an oasis of select foods and laid back staffing in East Nashville since 2001. The new location in the Gulch neighborhood, just west of downtown, came with much anticipation. While the bigger store offers plenty of room

The Whites Creek Entertainment Strip

Nashville Restaurants and Food
Whites Creek is Hopping

Historic Whites Creek is strumming along quite nicely these days with singer-songwriters, amiable dining rooms and festive surroundings- all on a half-mile strip on Whites Creek Pike. The now defunct Star Café started the trend several years ago. Richard’s took over that location and built a reputation for quality Cajun cuisine, cozy music

Lee’s Philly Cheese Steak

Nashville Restaurants and Food
Lee’s Philly Cheese Steak
2610 Gallatin Pike
Nashville
615-228-8686

Let the debate begin: authentic or not-authentic? I’m going to weigh in with not-authentic and who cares? Lee’s Philly Cheese Steak puts out a damn good sandwich- and one well worthy of greasy, beefy respect.

It all starts with that beef- it needs to be a decent cut and then it needs to be spiced

Valentine’s Day Picks 2011

Nashville Restaurants and Food
Valentine’s Day Picks 2011

Love Nashville style! We offer three ideas this year for Valentine’s Day dining: Creative and precisely executed twists on southern traditions; bold flavors that tingle the tongue and heat up the room; and low light ambiance, small plates for sharing and a glass of wine.

1. The Capitol Grille

The Capitol Grille has become our go-to

Blind Pig is Done

Blind Pig No. 55 has closed up shop. The 12 South enterprise was lauded for it's attention to creative side dishes and frequently criticized for mediocre, over-priced barbecue selections. Chris at the Scene broke the news this morning and the Blind Pig web site confirms. Fish & Co., the new seafood restaurant by the same ownership group will move from it's current location into the Blind Pig spot.

NY Pie

Nashville Restaurants and Food
NY Pie
6800 Charlotte
Nashville
615-915-1617
www.realnypie.com

Floppy, crispy, foldable- these are essential elements of a real N.Y. style pizza. Oh, and you have to be able to get that pizza by the slice, and the slice should be able to make a modest lunch. NY Pie serves up big, wide, and high quality slices of pie and the style is remarkably authentic N.Y.

Swagruha Expands to Brentwood

One of the spiciest Indian joints in town is expanding with a new location in Brentwood this spring. We're just a few of the many fans of the Southern Indian restaurant Swagruha, currently located in the Nashville Farmer's Market. They confirm that they will be keeping that location and adding a new restaurant in the Target Center at Old Hickory Blvd. near I-65. The owner says they hope to have

Jerusalem, Sportstown, 400 Degrees and Jackalope

Nashville Restaurants and Food
Midweek Odds and Ends

Jerusalem Middle Eastern restaurant in midtown has finally succumbed, after a long, and by many accounts, rather sad fall into disrepair. It is replaced in that location by Sportstown BarBQ Grill. The web site promises that they will be smoking daily and the menu offers the usual sports bar/barbecue joint offerings. The Meat Eater has an

Puckett’s Grocery and Restaurant-Downtown

Nashville Restaurants and Food
Puckett’s Grocery and Restaurant-Downtown
500 Church Street
Nashville
615-770-2772
www.puckettsgrocery.com

Puckett’s seems to be holding onto the grocery shtick for marketing and nostalgia. There is certainly plenty of history with the original grocery store and restaurant in Leiper’s Fork. That location has been around since the 1950’s and expanded rapidly under

Brunch at Cooper’s

Nashville Restaurants and Food
Brunch at Cooper’s

The corned beef hash is bold and popping; grilled up with hash browns, it’s an excellent foundation for scrambled eggs and lemony hollandaise. It’s a good start to a relaxing Sunday brunch visit, which brings positive first impressions of the new bar and restaurant, Cooper’s on Porter. It’s a woody, European pub-y place with a dash of modern

Simplicity at No. 308

Nashville Restaurants and Food
Simplicity at No. 308

Our first look at the new East Nashville bar No. 308 has us thinking of the ultimate retro rec room bar. Owners Alexis Soler and Ben Clemons have decorated in a clean, sleek, and spare 50’s hipster style. The lofty ceiling gives the room a wide-open and airy feel. You’ll need to put in some work getting up on the tractor seat bar stools and

Why? Frequently Asked Questions

Nashville Restaurants and Food
Frequently Asked Questions

From time to time people have questions about the Nashville Restaurants blog. Here are a few answers:

1. You seem to post at 5 a.m., are you insomniacs?

We have had the blog time set for Pacific Time. This has been adjusted. Sadly though, we are often up at 5 a.m., although not usually blogging. We have a funny farm and the animals are

Pepperfire

Nashville Restaurants and Food
Pepperfire
2821 Gallatin Pike
Nashville
615-582-4824
www.pepperfirechicken.com

Jumping into the Nashville hot chicken business takes some guts. Prince’s continues to dominate the hot chicken scene, which forces the newcomers to put a different spin on the Nashville favorite. For those not familiar, hot chicken is spicy fried chicken. The key to Nashville hot

NY Pie!

Nashville Restaurants and Food
NY Pie Lands in West Nashville

Alright, so I’m a bit of a skeptic at times. Lately though, that skepticism has been answered by a resounding slap up to the side of the head. To wit- NY Pie. I opined on these pages about the claims on their website and how I have usually been disappointed by such boasts. Not this time. NY Pie puts out some damn good pizza. The