I was in Nashville this past weekend with friends for a little vacation. This summer, roomie and I made a list of all the places we wanted to visit in our lifetime. Nashville was on it. I assumed I would visit for a race or something but when our friend Maggie mentioned she was going for fun two weeks ago we decided to book a last minute flight and tag along.
Based on our research, I was nervous I was going to have literally no option but to eat fried chicken at some of the places my travel companions wanted to visit. Prince’s Chicken was our first stop and the WORST experience. The menu literally was just fried chicken. That was it. Sides included cole slaw, mac and cheese, fries and pickles. I knew we were going somewhere afterwards for a beer and I knew they would have more options. Little did I know it takes an hour and 15 minutes to fry a piece of chicken! Do not go to this place whatever you do, despite the food network and travel recommendations. Hatty B’s next to our hotel was 1 million times better. This place is 20 minutes outside the city in a terrible area. About to flip out after learning our numbers were skipped for a half hour, I saw a peanut M&M machine. I put in my quarter, turned the knob and out came ONE SINGLE PEANUT M&M. I had some pickles while my guests ate their Hot Chicken. Ninety minutes later, we were on our way to 12 South Tap Room.
We didn’t realize it, but our second stop was in a hipster area of Nashville, THANK GOD. They had quinoa tabbouli, brussels sprouts and grilled veggies which I put together for a $10 vegetarian lunch. Everything was delicious. I tried a fun beer which I can’t remember the name but basically drunk after it since I was so hungry. One of my favorite things to do when I travel is to check out other local coffee shops. I spotted the frothy monkey on the way to 12th Street and requested we stop.
I have never seen so many Bachelorette parties out and about. We left Tootsies and visited a bunch of the other Broadway bars. All were a good time, but I liked the music at Tootsies the best. There are so many bars very close together and all of them are packed! It was crazy to me. We waited in a few lines that moved really quick and never paid a cover. People were so friendly as well and drinks were fairly easy to get.
Saturday morning, I wanted to go to Barry’s Bootcamp in Nashville but woke up with a cold and minor hangover. I was not a happy camper. Instead, roomie and I went for a 30 minute run to the Parthenon and back. It was snowing out but the snow never stuck to the ground. The Parthenon in Nashville is a full size replica of the one in Greece. It was pretty cool. We didn’t go inside but were glad we got to see it up close. Afterward we headed to Brunch at The Southern Steak and Oyster.
There was a band playing in the entry way! It was a bright and crisp atmosphere. I ordered a salad with romaine, hearts of palm, artichokes, roasted beets, pepitas, goat cheese, grilled chicken and balsamic herb vinaigrette. It was delicious. I also ordered a Bloody Mary and coffee to hopefully kill the hangover and cold.
Sarah it looks like you had so much fun! Nashville is definitely on my list of places to visit, I have heard so many good things about it 🙂
I really want to go the nashville someday too! been to tennesse but never made it up to nashville.
When you are down here in Miami if you have a chance to go into Ft. Lauderdale at all there is a great local resturant/bar you should check out. It is called Tap42 and its just out side of the downtown area. They have alot of local brewed beers and they have an awesome brunch on the weekends with alot of options you would enjoy.
http://www.tap42.com/
Sounds like a great time! I got to stay at Gaylord Opry a few years ago and WOW that place is amazing! As for food, I can’t remember where we ate! I do remember the bar scene though, fun times!
I LOVE YOUR OUTFIT! SO cute!! What brand is your leopard print sweater/blazer? Adorable!
The sweater is from Old Navy. I love a good deal.
Nashville is my heart!! We have a ton of healthy options, by the way. You just have to get away from the touristy stuff, although I do think it’s something everyone should experience 😉 next time, be sure to hit up Loveless cafe (not healthy, but the best southern food you’ll ever have), Wild Cow (vegan, amazing), Silly Goose (local, organic, veg/vegan options), and Jeni’s ice cream (the best ice cream you’ll ever have). I hope you come visit again!
I totally agree but I was with 2 people that were not going to eat at a vegan restaurant, they wanted old fashioned southern comfort food. We wanted to try loveless but it was kinda far from everything! And I WANTED to go to Jeni’s ice cream but we did not have time. I did see Wild Cow and Silly Goose and wanted to go really bad. It’s hard traveling with a group to make everyone happy. I will be back from sure!
Yeah I totally understand! It still looked like you had a lot of fun, so that’s all that matters!
So glad you enjoyed Nashville (for the most part!) I miss it so much since I’m in college now. Looks like you hit up a lot of the cool spots in town! Frothy Monkey is amazing. You should try Burger Up next time you’re in town! It’s not the healthiest spot, but the burgers are delish.
So glad you had fun in Nashville! I live just south of there in one of the suburbs and I really recommend you run Country Music! It has the best crowd support of any race I have run and it takes you through some of the best parts of Nashville.
Oh, and Olive and Sinclair is one of my favorite chocolates!
Is that the R&R 1/2 marathon?
Yes, it is put on by R&R. They are calling it the St. Jude Country Music Marathon now.
Nashville looks like such a blast! I have always wanted to go there.
THE PARTHENON, not the Colosseum! Haha. The spots that another reader suggested are good also, especially Jeni’s!
LOL. I thought the colosseum was in Rome and got confused hah. Now why didn’t the other Nashville peeps correct me? hahaha. I loved Nashville so much.
This is a perfectly timed post! I am heading to Nashville this weekend for my birthday. I have never been and won’t get into town until 8:00 pm Friday and we are leaving Sunday. What do you recommend? Are there places to eat close to the bars on Broadway? Were the lines into the bars tolerable? Sorry for all of the questions but I am so excited for TN and with limited time don’t want to make rookie mistakes!
I’d got to the Merchant or The Southern for dinner on Broadway and then just go to the different bars on Broadway, especially Tootsies. The stage wasn’t bad either. They are all great to be honest and depend on who is playing. The lines were fine! Really not bad at all. Have so much fun!
I love Nashville haven’t been in about 14 yrs but a fun place for sure. You seemed pretty excited about the stevia I personally try to stay away from artificial sweeteners because the body will still respond the same way and store as belly fat. If I do have something sweetened with artificial sweetener it has to be right before or following a intense workout. Your going to LOVE Miami so, so much fun you’ll have to go Salsa dancing and the Cuban food is to die!
I do avoid artificial sweeteners but I use Stevia. I feel that in moderation it’s fine and until a study proves me otherwise I enjoy using it to satisfy my sweet tooth 🙂
The next time you visit Nashville, let me know! I’ll be happy to share a few other fun places to check out as well as yummy food and beverage spots. I LOVE Nashville…hope to relocate there soon! Glad you had a great time….sorry we missed each other…too funny that we happened to be there at the same time!! xo MB
Nashville is one of my all-time favorite cities!! (And that’s saying a lot since I live in NYC.;) I went to Tavern when I was there in Nov. for brunch and it was so good…the kale salad is delicious! Looks like you had a great trip.
I am going to Nashville in two weeks and have already told people that I need to go to the Frothy Monkey. It also has a great review on a vegetarian food finding site for nashville.
I was wondering, what fitness level should you be at to go to a Barry’s Bootcamp? I want a fun experience, but I also want a good workout. It sounds intense, but a damn good workout. What were some of the other classes you had researched or heard that were good? I would love to hear back from you 🙂
You will LOVE Nashville. The two vegetarian places people recommended I visit should be on your list of places to visit! I didn’t make it because my friends were more into the fried chicken lol. You should try Barry’s if you don’t have it at your home city. It was really fun in LA. I would recommend that you be able to run at least 3 miles. While you never run more than 10 minutes at a time, collectively, you will run 3 miles pretty much. Like Spin, go at your own pace. Choose your own weights and if the treadmill speed they recommend is too high, just go slower. Barry’s was the only place I actually wanted to try and checked out. I would suggest, reaching out to the other people that gave healthy suggestions in this post. They had some great ones for restaurants.