When Bob Dylan released the album Nashville Skyline back in 1969, I’ll bet his idea of the city involved far fewer construction cranes than the Nashville I now call home. With an unprecedented amount of commercial development of late, and more than 80 new transplants packing up and heading to the Music City each day, we locals have been trying to maintain our good Southern manners—welcoming those who bring new ideas, new songs, and new restaurant concepts, while holding steady to the Nashville we remember, the storied city that, thankfully, still exists beneath its shiny glass-and-rhinestone surface.When I first came to Nashville more than a decade ago, the opening of a new chain restaurant was enough to warrant a piece in the local newspaper. But, in the week during which I type this, Anthony Bourdain has paid our city a visit, Food Network star Maneet Chauhan has announced an expansion, and Chef John Besh has planted his own Nashville flag. My, how we’ve grown—not just in size but in a collective heart that’s protective of our past, excited for our future, and eager to show off the parts of the city we love best—the ones that go far deeper than our cowboy boot image lets on.So, with all this action, how do I even begin to pick a list of 10 essential Nashville food experiences, when there are scores of places and things to recommend? The answer, I think, is to pull together a mix of old and new, narrowing it down to the places that best represent the energy of this city, the kind of energy that drew me to this place all those years ago—the kind that might’ve drawn Mr. Dylan all those years ago.
Most “what to eat in Nashville” (or what to eat anywhere) lists are kinda hit or miss. Don’t know if it’s food reviewers buying into hype machines, or the fact that they’re dining on the company dime instead of their own, or just that tastes can be pretty bad.
I haven’t eaten everywhere on this list, but where I have eaten I can vouch for being worth a recommendation, so I’m eager to try the rest.
