Nashville is a city well known for its music – but it’s also filled with some of the best examples of American cuisine, from breakfasts that are loved by Taylor Swift, to the superb Tennessee BBQ scene and some of the most impressive burgers you’ll ever have the pleasure of putting your lips around. Here now are our five favourite places the locals told us to try – and we think should be a part of everyone’s itinerary to the capital of Country Music!
Fido
Address: 1812 21st Ave S, Nashville, TN 37212
Website: http://www.bongojava.com/fido-cafe/
Located in the Hillsboro West End, Fido has been described as one of Taylor Swift’s favourite places to eat in Nashville. And she’s certainly onto a good thing here. With an all day breakfast, lunch and dinner menu, you can understand why the locals line up in their droves for it (and do expect to line up to order – though the food comes quickly!). We went for breakfast and it was near perfection, with amazing coffee and incredible scrambles.
The Village Scramble ($10) – scrambled eggs, baby spinach, tomatoes, portobello, roasted red onions, feta, hash browns & multigrain toast.
Located right by Vanderbilt University, and surrounded by other great cafes like the Pancake Pantry, which had a massive queue to get in, Fidos used to be a Pet Store, and after you order, instead of numbers for your table, you’re identified by a dog!
The Steak Scramble ($11) – marinated flank steak, scrambled eggs, roasted red onions, spinach, jack and cheddar cheese, hash browns & sourdough toast.
Acme Feed & Seed
Address: 101 Broadway, Nashville, TN 37201
Website: http://www.theacmenashville.com/
Located in the heart of Nashville’s nightlife on Broadway, Acme Feed & Seed is a massive multiple floor restaurant, bar and live music venue. With tacos, the “overnight sensation” (an overnight cooked beef brisket sandwich), catfish, chicken fried steak (the “broken spoke”), shrimp and grits and more, it’s a celebration of the cuisine of the American South done right. Both dishes we tried were phenomenal – and for those who don’t know, a Chicken Fried Steak is just as it sounds. A steak, fried like a chicken. Couldn’t recommend it enough.
The Broken Spoke ($12) – chicken fried steak & milk gravy with hand-cut fries, sliced tomatoes & slaw – with a side of Mac & Cheese ($3) because this is America and of course I’m going to do that.
The Heaven-Lee Ribs ($14) – half rack of ribs with with mac n’ cheese, collard greens & slaw. $22 for a full rack.
Edley’s Bar-B-Que
Address: 908 Main Street, Nashville, TN 37206 (Also located in 12South)
Website: http://www.edleysbbq.com/
We were told Edley’s was all about the lunch tacos – and they weren’t wrong.
These brisket tacos were perfect. Just perfect.
The Pharmacy Burger Parlor and Beer Garden
Address: 731 Mcferrin Ave, Nashville, TN 37206
Website: http://www.thepharmacynashville.com/
If you’re looking for incredible burgers, then look no further than The Pharmacy. It’s not just something we recommend – just about every local told us the same thing. Located on the East Side of Nashville, the burgers are under $10 and are a perfect example of divine American gluttony. There are mountainous amounts of burgers to choose from, each equally mountainous in size – with a mountain of fries (Sweet Potato in this instance) sitting alongside it.
The Stroganoff Burger ($8.5) – mushroom stroganoff bechamel, sour cream, caramelized onion and swiss cheese. Oh and pickles. Because of course.
They’re also famous for their sausages, sodas and beer, with a similarly ample selection, though you can tell what our focus was on! And both burgers were insanely filling, messy and delicious. The buns were pretty perfect, too.
The Mission City Burger ($9) – guacamole, pico de gallo, slow-cooked black beans and horchata crema fresca
Martin’s Bar-B-Que Joint
Address: 3108 Belmont Blvd, Nashville, TN 37212
Website: http://www.martinsbbqjoint.com/
If you’re looking for traditional Tennessee BBQ, then Martin’s is definitely the place. It’s all about the BBQ plates here, which start at $10 and include 2 sides. Just make sure to ask for a selection of hot sauces. They’ll come to your table with a full tray of them, and they are pretty amazing. You certainly don’t get that sort of treatment here in Australia!
Below is the mouthwatering pulled pork, served with mac and cheese (are you noticing a theme here? Mac and Cheese is wonderful!) and the Vegetables option – which had bacon running through it – naturally. I think it goes without saying
For more details on Nashville head to the official tourism site: http://www.visitmusiccity.com/
The writer covered his own expenses. All prices free of taxes and gratuity and in US dollars and are correct at the time of printing. Please refer to the respective websites for their latest menus.
