The hubby and I are going to be taking a long weekend in Nashville at the end of February. This is my first time in the city and the spouse hasn’t been for a few years. We are open to any recommendations on where to eat, what to see, do etc. We haven’t booked a hotel as of yet but we are thinking downtown, as the hubby remembers hotels there are within walking distance of a lot of things to do, but even that is up for debate.
We are driving down from Indy on a Friday and staying to Monday, so we will have easy access to a car.
We are looking for everything from the best local live music, down-home cooking, to extravagant not to be missed meals. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!
A bunch of new places. You can do a search and see other Nashville threads too.
I haven’t be to http://etchrestaurant.com yet but I have heard good things. The chef is a Nashville legend and has cooked some of the best meals I have had in Nashville.
Blue Bird Cafe is an iconic music stop. Varies by night.
I have yet to go to Catbird Seat…candidly, I stopped trying and friends that have gone have varying opinions. There are a host of new places in Nashville worth trying and most are within a ten minute drive if you stay downtown. In addition to City House and Etch, others worth looking into are Lockland Table and Silo. I would also recommend a new place in Franklin called Cork & Cow, but that would be a good 30 minutes from downtown. I would add that most wine lists in town have a lot to be desired…fortunately most are BYOB, but worth calling first to inquire as to corkage. We tried a relatively new place in East Nashville last weekend called Silly Goose that was really good and charges no corkage. It is right next to a Jeni’s Ice Cream that is a must. For breakfast, take the 30 minute drive from downtown to the Loveless Cafe.
On music, certainly Bluebird Cafe is worth looking into, but suggest buying tickets in advance. If you want to walk around downtown then a good hotel option is the Hilton Suites especially if you can get a good rate. Avoid the Sheraton and Doubletree as they are both in need a good updating. The Renaissance is not a bad option. If you don’t mind driving 2-3 minutes to downtown, look into the Hutton Hotel.
You may also want to see if the Nashville Predators will be playing any home games while you are here. Exciting team to watch and the games are a lot of fun.
They move the location around year to year. I have not been, but know folks that have gone and have heard good things. More of a big party than a “wine event”…though it is very popular and will sell out. Note that while wine is a big part of it, you are not going to find any of the favorites from the WB board in the room so set your expectations accordingly.
Between the drive & the tour it would take an entire morning or afternoon but I enjoyed the trip south to Lynchburg to visit the Jack Daniels distillery. I need to plan another trip to Nashville myself as it’s been over 5 years & I really enjoyed the city.
Same feedback I got, and gathered from reading about it. Far from a wine event from the geek perspective, which is not always a bad thing
As far as Jack Daniel’s, I am no longer a fan. It used to be a wonderful, authentic (at least feeling) tour with some great history but awhile back they remodeled and made it like Disneyland, with a heavy emphasis on selling. Far more uptight and scripted. But George Dickel is not far and they are now giving tours. But I have not visited so can’t speak to it.
There is always The Hermitage if you like history.
the video at the bottom is a must watch. You won’t regret it. There is arguably better Hot Chicken in the city but there is only 1 Prince’s. But be prepared to wait for your chicken. And it is a bit stressful the first time you go and there and figure out what you are supposed to do.
400 Degrees destroys Prince’s in my opinion…and if you are staying downtown 400 Degrees is very close. Just heard of another place called Hot Stuff that apparently may be even better.
I would agree. Just sayin, there is nothing like actually visiting Prince’s.
I forgot that 400 Degrees has a place downtown now. But their hours still suck!!! Hence I never really eat there. But I do love the temps of the chicken. I tell people 400 degrees is the hottest. Guess what the other options are? No one ever gets it right.
Kayne made top ten steakhouses in U.S. by Gayot last week. Glad to see them getting some recognition. If anyone decides to go ask for Tara. She is their best server.
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