Nashville – A taste of the south

I have been frequenting Nashville for work since February, and while it has the upside that I am on a per diem, allowing me to dine at places usually out of my budget, the downside is that I don’t get to see the mid-day, tourist Nashville. This week, my sisters and their friend came to Nashville for a concert, so we hit the iconic spots. My sisters and I grew up in Minnesota, so we’re more used to hearing “eh?” rather than “y’all,” more used to hot dish than hot chicken. So what might be a southern staple was a new experience for my sisters, and I was glad to be along for the ride.

Loveless Café – About 30 min outside the city, this southern shack features all the quintessential cuisine of Music City. Between the four of us, we sampled many of the archetype delicacies: Meatloaf, BBQ pork, collard greens, beans, mac and cheese, fried catfish, fried chicken, fried okra (notice a pattern?) and biscuits with jam. Loveless is known for their biscuits, fluffy, warm, small enough that you don’t feel guilty about eating more than one, especially if its smeared with one of the three jams that they come with. As my sister put it, they were “unreal.”

The Row – Nothing like live music and moonshine. Serving a similar variety of southern favorites with bar food mixed in, The Row is just off Vanderbilt campus. The beef pot roast, a star item on their menu, fell apart in your mouth. Sweeter than I expected, it had a lusciously dark broth. The mac and cheese had firmer noodles than Loveless and was cheesier, rather than creamier. Topped with bacon I preferred The Row’s, but the biscuits at Loveless are famous for a reason.

Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream – Check out their website. Its full of pictures of the handmade processes they go through for each flavor. Its food porn at its finest. When we went there, true to my style, we sampled almost every flavor they had. I settled on the sweet biscuits and peach jam, sweet corn and blackberry, and the saison with sunflower seeds. Each flavor was both novel and complex. Creamy, yet allowed the flavors of the component parts to blend, the ice cream highlighting the mix-ins.

Arnold’s Country Kitchen – This cafeteria style restaurant is squat, flat, small, and has two James Beard awards on their wall. The menu is limited and rotates daily. The ordering process feels more like a New York Deli than a Tennessee kitchen, bordering on rushed. With trays and Styrofoam cups of tea, we sat down to roast beef, country fried steak, collard greens, and the best fried green tomatoes I’ve ever had (pictured). The coating was slightly sweet, flavored with Italian spices. Each batch is made to order, so be careful not to scald your mouth. The permanent line, sometimes out the door, is evidence enough of the authenticity and quality of the food.

Hattie B’s Hot Chicken – Tenders are the name of the game here. Go in for a platter and pick up some sides. An iced tea wouldn’t hurt either; it is hot chicken after all. The meat, especially the white meat of the tenders, is juicy, fresh, and cooked to order, so it is, as the name implies, hot. I like to taste my food, so I limited myself to the “hot,” heat level but the masochists among us can go up to “burn notice.”

I’m aware that there are many other Nashville staples that are not listed here: Pancake Pantry, Midtown Café, the Farmer’s Market, just to name a few. What I can say with confidence is that Music City has a vibrant and classic food scene that keeps me coming back.