If you're traveling through Tennessee, you have to make time to stop in Nashville and not just for the music. From downtown Nashville all the way out to the edges of the metro area, Music City has some great restaurants. Lucky for us, Guy Fieri made it a point to take Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives Nashville-way and introduced us to good people and some of the best places to eat.
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So, hop in the Flavortown convertible, and let's take a look at all the places Food Network's Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives have visited in Nashville, Tennessee.
The Grilled Cheeserie
Grilled cheese food trucks really are the best thing ever. For the pinnacle of comfort food, Guy tried the Pimento Mac & Chee, with housemade pimento cheese, cheddar, macaroni, tomato slice and bacon bits on country white bread. You might have to wait in line, but these grilled cheeses are worth it.
Caffe Nonna
For rustic Italian meal in Nashville, Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives found that there's no better place than Caffe Nonna. The dish you have to order is the Lasagna Nonna, an eight-layer lasagna filled with butternut squash, spinach, ricotta and sauteed Swiss chard, and packed with two sauces and lots of cheese.
Phat Bites
You might think of Triple D as being all about the giant sandwiches and fried foods, but Phat Bites in Donelson impressed Guy with their Long Life Salad (kale, black-eyed peas, Christmas lima beans, black beans, split lentils, red quinoa, pecans, dried cranberries, gold raisins, plums, mangoes and a citrus vinaigrette). They also serve a brunch that offers everything from waffles to breakfast tacos.
Mas Tacos Por Favor
Have you ever eaten at a food Winnebago? Mas Tacos por Favor serves scratch-made Mexican cuisine like tamales, quinoa tacos and pozole verde soup out of a 1974 Winnebago. Guy loved it and we've definitely added it to our list of places to stop.
55 South
When you go to Nashville, you have to get Nashville Hot Chicken. A great place to get this hometown favorite is actually just outside the city in Franklin, but that's not all 55 South is known for. They serve up specialties from New Orleans (jambalaya) to Memphis (fried catfish), also known as everything you might find on Interstate 55 South. Guy especially loved the char-grilled oysters topped with garlic-lemon butter and Parmesan.
Jamaicaway
Ackee and salt-fish is the Jamaican national dish and Nashville's Jamaicaway did it proud for Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. Guy also liked the fried chicken with mango chutney sauce and coconut drops for dessert.
Center Point Pit Barbecue
At Center Point Pit Barbecue in Hendersonville, they give their pork a four-day brine and a six-hour smoke. And then, the pork is sprinkled with sugar and torched, resulting in a delicious "ham brittle." We're bbq fans and you had us at ham brittle.
Cafe Rakka
At Cafe Rakka, Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives found where Nashville-based country music legends like to eat. According to Guy, it's a "Nashville-Mediterranean-Indian experience in Music City." Try the Lamb Korma or the falafel or the Chicken Tikka Mosala (honestly, everything on the menu looks amazing).
Martin's Bar-B-Que Joint
At Martin's Bar-B-Que Joint in Nolensville, "whole hog" is where it's at. A 200-lb hog gets a signature blend of spices and then is cooked over hickory wood for 24 hours. Guy called the pork "beyond juicy and moist and flavorful."
Arnold's Country Kitchen
Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives visited Arnold's Country Kitchen in Nashville for their James Beard award-winning "Meat & 3" (entree and three vegetables). Guy chose the chicken dumplings and "super tasty" turnip greens. We're betting there's not one bad thing on this cafeteria-style menu (though we might walk past everything else for a shot at the Spicy Chocolate Pie).
Athens Family Restaurant
Guy discovered excellent Greek food at Athens Family Restaurant, where you can find bacon lamb burgers, Greek suzukakia meatballs, and spanakopita. Guy was a fan of the kotopita, a tasty chicken turnover Guy said was his kind of breakfast.
We should note that some of the places featured on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives in Nashville have closed, including Italian eatery Savarino's Cucina and Bro's Cajun Cuisine (which served crawfish and Cajun-style pork chops).
