Nashville cats love to pick and play, but every now and then they put down those guitars and go out to eat in a serious way. Music City is more than a Mecca for musicians, it’s a magnet for great chefs too. Here are a few suggestions about where to dine next time you’re in town:
The Capitol Grille at the Hermitage Hotel does a great job of re-defining southern gourmet cuisine. No secret about how they do it. The foundation is fresh regional ingredients, suffused by a dash of inspiration. In this instance, the farmer who brings you those ingredients is also the restaurant’s executive chef, Tyler Brown.
Bar-B-Cutie is another Nashville tradition. Locals have been lapping it up here since 1950. In a town where folks are flat serious about their meat, this place has been voted Nashville’s best barbecue for three years sunning. The ambience here is family-friendly. A tip: ask for extra napkins.
The Catbird Seat sports a mere 32 seats. But they’re all on the culinary 50-year line, arrayed in a U-shape around the kitchen where acclaimed chefs Josh Habiger and Erik Anderson work their wonders. Foodies know that great cuisine is a participatory event, if only vicariously. Come watch how the pros concoct seasonally-inspired seven-course meals.
The Stock-Yard Restaurant is rightly rated one of the Top 10 statehouses in the country. It’s a no-nonsense, Angus beef, lobster, and fresh seafood sort of affair that’s been here since 1979. Dinner comes replete with a strolling balladeer, the better to set the classic mood for this food.
What renders the restaurant scene so competitive in Nashville is the people who live here. Musicians, artists and entertainment types don’t settle for burgers and fires. They’re accustomed to the sort of food they find in New York and LA. That same culinary ethic plays perfectly out in scores of local restaurants.
Story by Jerry Chandler
(Image: capitolgrillenashville.com)
