Thread: Nashville food

There is much to see in and around Nashville. The Parthenon, the Hermitage, the farmer's market etc. And some distilleries outside town. Certainly, seeing The Gaylord Opryland convention center is well worth seeing. Bring money. Parking, including tax, will cost you just shy of $20, even for just a few minutes. Tomorrow, we'll visit the Cheekwood Botanical Gardens.

However, you should do your eating prior to arrival. It seems food is just not high on the locals' list. BBQ is ok, not particularly good. My Q is better, as is just about any Q place in NC. Amongst other places, we ate at Hog Heaven, reputed to be the best in Nashville. Sad. OK, not good or great. We have had remarkably bad Chinese food, bar snacks, and meals at highly rated restaurants.

We've given up. Won't be putting out big bucks for any more meals here. Will eat simply, possibly at -GASP!- national chains, until we leave Saturday.

Anybody KNOW of any good food here? Sorry to be so negative, but I've never visited a city with such poor offerings. Even the highly rated stuff isn't particularly good. Of course, I'm from New Orleans, but I have lived in many places on the Navy plan- and I've never found such poor pickings.

San Antonio Taco Company on 21st!! (Make sure you get the chips & queso and enjoy the patio.)

For BBQ, try Jack's downtown. Jim & Nick's is good, too.

Try Loveless Cafe. Home cooking restaurant that's very popular. And you might see some celebrities. It's southeast of town on Hwy 100.

Nashville Scene does a "Best Of" every year. Here's 2008:
Nashville - Best of Nashville - Nashville Food

Thank you. We almost ate at Loveless, but it didn't work out.

Any thoughts on the Aquarium restaurant? Is the food good, or is it just a gimmick?

I've eaten at the Aquarium once. Honestly, I wasn't that impressed with the food and didn't think it's worth the money (much like Rainforest Cafe in the same mall).

I'm not sure if you're trying to keep near downtown, but if you take a 15 minute drive south of town to the Franklin/Brentwood area, there's some good places to eat down there. That's more of the "celebrity" side of town so you'll see more upscale stuff there.

I've not tried all of these but here are some places that get rave reviews around my office:

- 1808 Hutton Grille (fine) near downtown.
- Mad Platter or Germantown Cafe (fine) in Germantown (obviously...)
- Sunset Grille
- Cafe Margot in east Nashville
- Rumors, Las Paletas, and Mafiozas in 12 South area
- Maggianos on West End
- Fido, Boscos, Jacksons, and Provence all in Hillsboro Village
- Sambuca in the Gulch (a couple of other nice places in the Gulch)
- La Paz
- South Street (pretty good BBQ) or The Boundary near Vanderbilt.

Some are fine dining, others are more geared toward breakfast/brunch.

Anyway, hope you find some that you like.