Nashville Trip Report February 2024

[Mr_Happy]

I visited Nashville for the first time for an extended weekend last February during President’s day weekend. It was my first time in Tennessee. Here’s a report of some of the places I dined at.

I arrived on a cold and rainy Friday evening. It was quite cold in Nashville in February, with puffy jacket temperatures, and I was a bit unprepared for the winter weather. I should have checked the forecasts more closely!

Broadway was quite lively on a Friday night.

Prince’s Hot Chicken

For dinner I made my way to the Prince’s Hot Chicken downtown location to try my first Nashville hot chicken in Nashville. Prince’s - whose now-closed original location opened in back 1945 - apparently invented Nashville hot chicken. The Prince’s downtown is a stall in the large Assembly Food Hall just off bustling Broadway street.

There’s a plaque with the spicy story of how hot chicken was allegedly invented.

Prince’s Hot Chicken stall.

I wanted to try a leg quarter but this location only has chicken tenders that I think are white meat, wings, and sandwiches made with white meat. I ordered the three whole chicken wings - mild (I’m a wimp), and added a side of ‘Get it Girl’ greens, which come with a cornbread muffin. Along with the chicken wings came a piece of plain white bread underneath and a few pickles slices.

The chicken wings were large and very good. the skin was crispy but not super crunchy. Even mild level was a little sweat inducing for me. The pickles were nice to cut through the heat, and the piece of white bread served as a sponge for delicious chicken fat and spice coating off of the wings. The greens on the side were quite good as well, tender and with a well seasoned pot liquor. There were some pieces of smoked turkey in there too. The cornbread muffin was fine. It was sweeter than what I expected from a Southern corn bread.

[Mr_Happy]

Martin’s Bar-B-Que Joint

For lunch the next day I went to Martin’s Bar-B-Que Joint in Downtown Nashville, which is near the Country Music Hall of Fame. Martin’s is a chain of BBQ restaurants, originally from Nolensville south of Nashville, and specializes in whole hog BBQ. The location in Downtown Nashville is large and sprawling, with two floors, a live music stage upstairs, and areas for darts, shuffleboard, and table tennis. Upstairs was a bit smoky as their BBQ pits are up there. I ate at one of the several bars in the restaurant - there is full service at the bar.

Menus

Easy Bloody Mary ($10)
Pickers Vodka, Zing Zang, Dixie Rib Rub
I started with a BBQ rib spiced Bloody Mary.

I figured since they are known for whole hog BBQ that I should try the pulled pork. I ordered the Pulled Pork Shoulder BBQ Tray ($17.99). The pulled pork was very good - tender, smoky, a little fatty, and porky. It came with a little cup of sauce which was smoky, vinegary, and a little sweet. For sides - it comes with two - I had a cornbread hoecake and the green beans. The hoe cake was delicious, kind of like a savory cornbread pancake with crunchy lacy bits outside. The cake had a bit of that fermented sourdough taste. I believe these are also called Johnny cakes. The green beans were good. They were in a nice tasting broth with some smoked turkey.

More Pics

The enclosed top floor.

Stage.

Wood.

[Mr_Happy]

Audrey

For dinner on Saturday I went to Audrey in East Nashville. Audrey is a restaurant from chef Sean Brock (e.g. of PBS’s “The Mind of a Chef” season 2 fame) focusing on Appalachian cuisine.

The restaurant looks like a large house. It also houses June - a more experimental restaurant also from chef Brock - on the second floor.

There’s an open kitchen.

Here are the menus. In addition to the a la carte menu, Audrey also offers “The Feast,” which is a menu of their classic dishes served family style for $75pp. This is what I ended up ordering.

Apparently I also had a cocktail, but forgot to write anything about it.

Skillet of Cherokee White Eagle Cornbread
Sour Corn Butter & Cracklins
There was some cornbread made of blue corn to start. I also added Seared Foie Gras (+$30) which was served with the cornbread. It was very good, and savory. There was also some corn flavored butter with crispy cracklins to spread on the bread. The foie was simply seared.

Blue cornbread!

Killed Lettuces and Onions
Radish, Sorghum Vinegar, Tableside Hot Country Ham Fat
The lettuce had a clear sauce / vinaigrette that was made with ham fat. This was very good. The sauce was a rich (it’s ham fat!) umami packed dressing. The lettuce was also quite nice.

Southern Kimchi
Various pickled vegetables.

Shaved Lady Edison Country Ham
Heirloom Popcorn, Bee Pollen, Sour Berries
This was ham with dried blackberries I believe, and popcorn. It was like American prosciutto, very finely shaved.

Leather Britches
Ossabaw Bacon, Preserved Vegetables
Leather britches is a dish of string beans preserved by drying, which is an Appalachian technique (thanks Google). It came with what was described as “Southern kimchi,” which tasted like Korean kimchi.

Sequatchie Cove Bloody Butcher Grits
Bay Scallop, A’ndouilla, Sour Corn, Cured Egg Yolk
One has a choice of main dishes. The other option was Audrey’s Chicken & Dumplings. This was delicious, with creamy sweet grits, sweet scallops, and lots of umami from the cured egg yolk

Grilled Carrots
Mustard Greens, Bee Pollen, Habanada
This came with the grits. There were some very sweet grilled carrots, topped with pickled carrots, and mustard greens in a “chimichurri” on the bottom that had some bite, I think from the Habanada pepper.

Warm Benne & Citrus Cake
Brown Butter & Bavarian Crème
I’m not sure if the description above that I got from the menu is accurate, maybe they hadn’t updated the menu yet that night. Anyway, dessert was a paw paw pie with makrut lime meringue. I’m not sure if if I’ve had paw paw, a custardy fruit from the eastern US, before. The pie was very good. It was a little on the sweet side with a lot of makrut lime flavor in the meringue topping.

This was a delicious dinner with very friendly service, and also pretty reasonably priced.

[Mr_Happy]

Monell’s

Monell’s was recommended to me by my server at Audrey. I had lunch here on Sunday. It’s a restaurant in the Germantown neighborhood that opened in 1995. Meals are served family style on big tables, and you share your meal with strangers.

Outside - the building that the restaurant is in is a Victorian house, built in 1905.

Inside, and one of the dining tables.

The rules. Pass to your left. Yes, there’s a rule of no cell phones at the table. I only took my phone out briefly to take pictures, and put it away afterwards I promise It was basically just a camera!

The day’s menu.

After a short wait, our table group was assembled and led into the dining room. There were pitchers of sweet tea and fruit tea to drink. Then the food started coming!

Cornbread. There’s also a bowl of country gravy on the left.

Cucumber Salad.

Biscuit, with gravy. Great!

A platter of skillet fried chicken. Also great!

Drumstick closeup.

BBQ pulled pork that was very tender.

Mac and cheese.

Green beans.

Grilled Cajun catfish.

Mashed potatoes.

Corn pudding.

Meatloaf.

Green peas.

My plate at one point.

After everyone has had their fill, dessert was served. This was a slice of pecan pie.

This was a really unique and enjoyable social dining experience, and I definitely recommend it if you are in Nashville. The food was good, hearty, and plentiful - you will not leave hungry here. It was what I imagine it would be like eating Sunday lunch at a friend’s mom’s house in the South. Southern home cooking to a tee. The fried chicken and the biscuits were especially memorable. Most of our table was visiting Nashville from other locales, and we talked about the food that we had in front of us and also a bit about other restaurants in Nashville.

[Harters (John Hartley - a culinary patriot, cooking and eating in northwest England)]

We were last in Nashville in 2016 (second visit). I don’t recall any of the places you’ve mentioned as being on the radar back then so it’s made for an interesting read. Thanks.

[linguafood (Natascha)]

I love dining family style with total strangers! What a fab trip report!

[TheLibrarian28]

Wow! Everything looks great. Thanks for your report.

[GretchenS]

You ate well, as you usually do. Thanks for the report!

[benne (Bee)]

@Mr_Happy I loved experiencing this through your words + photos–thank you!
What’s the (candied?) orb next to the paw paw pie with makrut lime meringue?

[Saregama]

Everything looks delicious, but most especially the family style meal!

[Harters (John Hartley - a culinary patriot, cooking and eating in northwest England)]

@linguafood

I love dining family style with total strangers!

It’s not a “thing” in the UK so I’ve only experienced it a couple of times on trips to the States. Neither were great experiences.

Firstly, a place in Savannah. We all sit down and, as you might expect, conversation starts with the question “where’s everyone from”. So, unsurprisingly, I say we’re from the UK. And the guy next to us spends the next few minutes quizzing us about what it’s like to live in the Yukon.

Second, a place in Amish country in PA. There’s us and just another couple. This was the last table to fill up and no-one else came in to join us. We find it very embarrassing. The guy has a serious speech disability. It is all but impossible to understand what he’s saying. His wife does her best with offers of “Frank just asked…” but it was an awful experience.

[Mr_Happy]

@benne

@Mr_Happy I loved experiencing this through your words + photos–thank you!
What’s the (candied?) orb next to the paw paw pie with makrut lime meringue?

Thanks! I didn’t write down what that was unfortunately!

[Mr_Happy]

Swett’s Restaurant

For dinner on Sunday I went to Swett’s Restaurant, a meat and three restaurant that I walked to following a visit to the Nashville Parthenon. Swett’s opened back in 1954 and is in an intersection with several other Swett’s establishments - a market and a gas station.

First a pic of the Parthenon. Now that I’ve been here, no need to go check out the one in Athens right?

Swett’s

You go through a line and pick out what you want cafeteria style.

At Swett’s I had a fried pork chop, with a loaded baked potato casserole, turnip greens, and fried cornbread.

I had to wait a bit for a fried pork chop. It was very good and also large, and freshly fried. The loaded baked potato casserole was also good - very rich with cheese and cream or sour cream mixed with sliced potatoes. The turnip greens were very good as well. They were tender and sweet with a slightly floral note and not much bitterness. The fried cornbread was a bit like a hoe cake, maybe not fermented. It wasn’t sweet. It was good, but not as good as the hoe cake I had from Martin’s earlier.

---

After Swett’s I went to a Clint Black show at the historic Ryman Auditorium, the legendary venue and former church that once hosted the Grand Ole Opry. I’m not a big country music aficionado but Mr. Black sure put on a good show. He played the entirety of his debut album Killin’ Time - it was the 35th anniversary of its release.

[linguafood (Natascha)]

There are a few places in Berlin — most notably our favorite fried chicken place where you sit at picnic tables on benches and share a table if your party doesn’t take over the whole table. You’re not obligated to interact with whomever is joining… it depends. I wouldn’t want to dine like that every time I go out, but it has its place.

[Saregama]

@Mr_Happy

I had to wait a bit for a fried pork chop. It was very good and also large, and freshly fried

That pork chop looks

[Harters (John Hartley - a culinary patriot, cooking and eating in northwest England)]

@Mr_Happy

I’m not a big country music aficionado but Mr. Black sure put on a good show.

I have his Greatest Hits CD. And, yes, I’m a big country music fan which is what led me to my two visits to the city.

Did you get to go to the Opry?

[Mr_Happy]

@Harters

Did you get to go to the Opry?

Yes, I did visit the current (1974 - present) Grand Ole Opry House. I didn’t see a show there but I did do the backstage tour, which was worth taking and interesting, especially the tidbits about Opry members and the tour of the dressing rooms. It would probably have been even more interesting if I was an Opry listener / fan though.

[Mr_Happy]

Hattie B’s Hot Chicken

After the Clint Black show I walked over to the Lower Broadway location of Hattie B’s Hot Chicken for a late snack. It’s right next to the Assembly Food Hall where I tried Prince’s hot chicken the other night, so if one wanted to compare between the two they are fairly close to each other.

It was pretty busy late Sunday night on a long weekend.

I had a Small Dark, which is a leg and thigh quarter. I think I got it mild (again - I am a wimp), with sides of Southern Greens and Pimento Mac & Cheese. The sides were ok - the greens could have been a bit more tender, and the mac and cheese didn’t have much bite in the pasta. The chicken was very good though, with crispy skin and juicy dark meat. There were some pickles and a slice of white bread on the bottom like at Prince’s to soak up the juices and spices and oil.

Based on this small sample I give a slight edge to Prince’s for their chicken - I liked their skin frying better. It’s not a completely apples to apples comparison though as the Prince’s I went to only had wings as a bone-in option, and no chicken legs. Prince’s also had better greens.

[Mr_Happy]

Peg Leg Porker

For lunch the next day I went to Peg Leg Porker in the Gulch neighborhood for some BBQ.

Outside.

Inside. There’s a window to order from, and you can also order from the bartender if sitting at the bar.

Menus

To drink, a Pork & Stormy ($14.50). This was like a Dark & Stormy with ginger beer and lime but with Peg Leg Porker whiskey instead of rum - they have a house distilled Tennessee Whiskey.

To eat, a half rack platter of their Dry Ribs ($18.95). It comes with two sides. I had the potato salad, which was cool and creamy and nice with the spice of the ribs, and the smoked green beans, which were fine. The ribs were tender and delicious, with a very nice dry spice rub that was sweet and spicy with not a huge amount of heat.

[Mr_Happy]

City House

After a visit to the Grand Ole Opry after lunch, I went to City House in Germantown for dinner at the bar.

Menus, with an extensive wine list.

Tennessee Scrapple, Cabbage, Green Onion, Parsley, Orange Sorghum Dressing ($18)
To start, I had the “Tennessee Scrapple,” which was like a fried carnitas rectangle with a nicely crisped top and bottom, and was delicious. There was a salad of cabbage, scallion, and parsley underneath that was lightly dressed with a sorghum vinaigrette, which was good for some crunch and also to cut through the richness of the scrapple.

Pizza with Belly Ham, Mozzarella, Oregano, Parm, Chilies ($27)
City House has a prominent wood burning oven for pizzas and such, and I also had a pizza topped with mozzarella and belly ham, which was a bit like bacon. This was just a fantastic pizza. It had the texture of a Neapolitan pie, with no tomato sauce. I added an egg and dipped some of the outside pieces into the yolk.

Tennessee Waltz Cake ($10)
Chocolate Espresso Praline
Bourbon Coffee Caramel
For dessert I had the Tennessee waltz cake, which was a slice of a very nice and moist multi-layered cake with caramel sauce and some crunchy praline bits.

This was a delicious dinner with great pizza.