TIME VISITED: July 2017 BUSY ? Somewhat, big city feel
WEATHER: HOT AS HELL REASON FOR VISIT: Helping a friend move
WHERE TO STAY: AIRBNB EXPENSIVE?: $$
Although I don’t think 3 days in Nashville is near long enough, it is definitely better than nothing! I had the opportunity to enjoy the city for a few days while also moving a best friend up to Michigan! We didn’t get the chance to do much more than eat and pack, but a post about some good food in Nashville is enough to make you want to visit! There are about 5 million more restaurants I wanted to enjoy during my stay but I only had time for a few. Please comment your favorites and why !
Always double check restaurants hours before you head there! And even call as well, some times they aren’t always up to date or they are constantly changing.
This three day itinerary is structured a bit different than the others. Mainly because it is just food suggestions and a few activities !
MAS TACOS
OH MY GOD. This place. The decor. The workers. The horchata. The food. THE EVERYTHING. Such a little gem in Nashville. My friend Chelsea said this is one of the few places, that she has tried and loved everything the menu has to offer. I was so damn excited I forgot to take a picture of the food, but we ordered; horchata, elote, and the tilapia, fried avocado and tilapia tacos. ALL INCREDIBLE. Such a cool mid century, eclectic decor. Makes it even better when all the employees are so happy and excited you are here to try their food. If you have the right amount of people do yourself a favor and order one of everything, I promise it will not disappoint. Chels managed to snap a picture of me after I devoured our elite !
https://www.facebook.com/mastacos/
SLIM AND HUSKY’S
Oh wow where do I begin. This is one of those places where yes, the food is so good it will keep you coming back, but the story really makes you fall in love with it.
I pulled this from their mission statement on their website:
“Our aim is to bring a fun atmosphere to the neighborhood pizza scene. The tractor in our company logo represents our locally sourced ingredients and locally brewed beer. It also signifies the redevelopment of historic North Nashville, something our three founders take great pride in as Nashville natives. Slim & Husky’s first location at 911 Buchanan St. was chosen as an effort to assist in the rebuilding of that special area.”
This is three people doing what they love. Rebuilding their neighborhood, bringing amazing food there and providing employment for their residents.
When you first walk in you are not only greeted with that incredible smell of pizza, but also a kind employee asking if it is your first time in. If so they explain to you the process. They will first ask if you will be ordering a Slim (10″, $10 pizza) or a Husky (16″, $14 pizza) these pizzas are thin crust and DELICIOUS. They will then hand you your appropriate wooden coin, that either states you ordered Slim or Husky size. Then they point to the menu, allowing you to choose one of their handcrafted pizzas or you can build your own. You will then hand your coin to the next employee down the line and they start assembling your pizza! I hate to relate it to Subway, but I think this is the best way to get the idea. You are on one side and a cheerful Slim and Husky employee is on the other side asking you what toppings you would like.
If you thought it couldn’t get any better here it goes, you can add as many extra toppings as you want with no extra charge. Yup, it may seem too good to be true but IT IS REAL. Extra bacon, pepperoni and cheese? No problem. No charge.
After if you weren’t sold already, they take it to the next level. Most pizza joints offer you marinara or ranch but Slim and Husky’s has 5 sauces to choose from. Spinach Basil Pesto, Pineapple Chipotle BBQ, Balsamic Molasses, Jalapeño Cilantro Ranch and Stoneground Peach Mustard. Of course I had to try them all. My favorites where the Jalapeño Cilantro Ranch and the Stoneground Peach Mustard, but I enjoyed them all.
TWO TEN JACK
Who doesn’t love a good ramen, am I right? Well Two Ten Jack definitely knows how to make one. Not only will you fall in love with their ramen, but you will take way too long trying to figure out what to order because there are so many amazing options .
I was feeling seaweed salad and some pork belly but I absolutely stole some bites of Chelsea’s Tonkotsu which consisted of; pork broth, chashu, menma, kikurage, burnt garlic oil and soft egg. Yup I am right with you, what the hell is kikurage? Well if you must know it is a Japanese mushroom. But who cares (unless you have a mushroom allergy of course) JUST ORDER THE TONKOTSU.
Here is a video of me enjoying the pork belly.
http://twotenjack.com/nashville/
And now to the most important meal ICE CREAM.
JENI’S
It was a million degrees in mid July so adjusting to this my first day was rough. So naturally I started craving ice cream. Chels asked if I had ever heard of Jeni’s. As soon as I said no, she drove me straight there. And I soon knew why.
Jeni’s has super bright decor inside with employees welcoming you immediately. They let you sample as many ice cream flavors as you want! We were lucky and it happened to be National Ice Cream Day! Not only are the flavors unique and delicious, they also use reusable mini spoons help reduce waste one sample at a time! I couldn’t choose so I did the trio of course.
Goat Cheese with Michigan Cherries. Savannah Buttermint. Brambleberry Crisp.
UNREAL.
And to take it to the next level, the trio is served with a tiny piece of waffle cone.
You can tell this ice cream is made with so much love.
The best part is it is sold in select Meijer’s back in Michigan, so I can have it at home too!
LAS PALETAS
A cooler filled with over 20 flavors of homemade popsicles!? Am I dreaming? Seems hard to imagine a company can survive only selling popsicles. But Las Paletas have mastered the popsicles and are sought out by most Nashville locals and tourists!
MMMMM such a great afternoon snack! This little place sure offers a lot of flavor!
I went for the Pistachio and Chels got the Avocado. Both of them so creamy and delicious. I wish I took a picture. Once again, too much excitement. Their flavors are changing constantly and it’s a great way to escape the Nashville heat for a few minutes!
http://laspaletasnashville.com
Although most of my time was spent enjoying delicious food there are some great and beautiful activities you can enjoy and will only take you about 2 hours if you don’t have a ton of time!
WHERE TO STAY
This trip to Nashville I was fortunate enough to stay with a friend for free but when I came in the past and when I go back I always book an Airbnb. One of my favorite Airbnb’s to this day was here in East Nashville. SO DAMN CUTE. J. Wes is an amazing host and the outdoor shower is major plus!
You can book this Airbnb HERE
RADNOR LAKE STATE PARK
About once a week I would be on the phone with Chelsea and she’d say “Oh I’m at Radnor” It sounded like such a peaceful place, somewhere she could clear her head surrounded by nature. I knew it’d be beautiful, but I literally lost my breathe the first time I saw the lake after walking through the woods. This is such a beautiful protected piece of land. This park is over 1300 Acres and offers plenty of hiking opportunities ( 6 miles to be exact)! There are some nice benches to stop and simply look at the lake or read and write! *For any campers please note this is day use only.
http://tnstateparks.com/parks/about/radnor-lake
JAZZ ON THE CUMBERLAND
If you are in town on a Sunday night between the months of May and October head on down to Jazz On the Cumberland! I think the best way to experience it is to park somewhere downtown and walk there! That way you can get a bit of the city on your way. It will be about a 15-20 minute walk and you get to take the famous Cumberland River Pedestrian Bridge to get there! Especially if you are in Nashville and don’t have time to truly go out on State Street, this way you can at least do some people watching on your way to listen to some Jazz! This concert series starts the 2nd Sunday in May and offers local, regional and national Jazz artists weekly. Not only will you enjoy music, you can either pack yourself a picnic dinner or enjoy one of many food trucks lined up to enjoy the show! One your way back to your car you’ll get a bonus and can enjoy a city view and sunset on the Cumberland River Pedestrian Bridge, and if you are lucky witness an engagement or two! (They are very common on this bridge)
IF YOU DON’T HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO GET TO JAZZ ON THE CUMBERLAND ABSOLUTELY HEAD TO ONE OF MANY VENUES ON STATE STREET OR AROUND NASHVILLE TO SEE SOME LIVE MUSIC! MANY PEOPLE THINK NASHVILLE ONLY OFFERS GREAT COUNTRY MUSIC BUT THEY OFFER THE BEST OF EVER GENRE DOWN THERE!
Here are a few great sites to see what live music is happening when you are visiting .
http://www.visitmusiccity.com/visitors/events/eventscalendar
https://www.nowplayingnashville.com/live-music-tonight/
http://local.nashvillescene.com/tag-family/see-and-do-categories
Now this is obviously a very small amount of restaurants to try and activities to do in Nashville but this should get you started! Enjoy this amazing MUSIC CITY !