The Nashville Food Scene

I've only made a few visits to Nashville in recent years that have allowed me to extend my reach beyond the Gaylord Opryland.  If you've been to any of the Gaylord facilities, they're a bit of a world unto themselves. You can spend weeks there never actually breathing air from the outside. 

They seem to be a little bit of Sin City in Dallas, DC and Nashville (there may be more but I've not been there).  But when I have had the chance to step out and breath some of the great Tennessee air and try some of their restaurants, I've been really pleased with the food scene here in Nashville.

My first experience was with a little Italian restaurant that delivered a fantastic meal, allowed me to bring in my own bottles of wine and to reconnect with a dear family friend who I hadn't seen in ages. Nothing fancy about it, just top flight food in a really inviting setting. 

Obviously my friend knows the best places to head and on another trip introduced me to Cantina Laredo.  Now I know what you're going to say: it's a chain so what makes it a unique find in Nashville?  Perhaps it's not just limited to Nashville but if you're looking for upscale Mexican, Cantina Laredo can't be beat. 

It's more than just the food.  They make this really fantastic guacamole table side with their secret spice mix.  I asked the server what he put in, but he told me he'd have to kill me if he told me but some of the spices were on the table.

I took that to mean that there was some salt and pepper but from the taste probably included a little cayenne with a hint of something else I can't quite get my tongue around.

I also had the the Fiesta de la Parrilla which included shrimp, quail, chicken, carnitas and beef on the fajitas -- a very generous helping to be sure.  You heard right. Quail in the fajitas. The classic Mojito included a generous helping of rum and a bit of sugar cane to stir the drink.  If you go home hungry you're either a teenage boy or you have a tapeworm.

The following night it was the Sunset Grill over by Vanderbilt University which was a surprising delight. You can't have a southern dinner without a side order of fried green tomatoes. Growing up I never was a huge fan of this little fruit but over the years I've developed a love of the tomato.

Now I can't say I didn't like stuff with tomatoes in it like pasta sauce, salsa or the ever popular ketchup. But as a stand alone item, it was not something I would pick. It's certainly different today as I now have eight tomato plants in my small little garden that are about to deliver their goodness to the table. But green tomatoes have a slightly different taste than their red cousins -- a delightful taste when lightly breaded and fried.

The Sunset Grill does a fabulous job with these.  They also had a delightful play on the traditional lox and bagel as a grilled flat bread.  A wonderful way to start.  What was even better was getting to know some new friends better over a wonderful meal.  The meal ended with a delightful, warm mixed berry cobbler.

Have to say that most of the meal centered around the duck that was ordered by a companion and the incredulous reaction by one of the other diners. All in all it made for a great night.  More so, I'm really interested in exploring more unique restaurants in Nashville and discovering a few more gems.