So I was just in Nashville this past weekend. GF and I booked airfare months ago because of a cheap rate, were confused a few weeks ago when we went to book accommodations as to why hotels were so ******* expensive, and centrally located Airbnbs were nonexistent. As it turns out, the CMA Festival was happening, which we were very concerned about, but ultimately was not really an issue.
I rented a car, and I'm happy I did, but you could easily get around just using Uber/Lyft. We did all of our daytime activities with the car, and then when we were ready to go out for dinner and evening drinks and stuff, would get a ride to wherever we were going to be that night. Seemed to work out well for us.
Anyway, I can speak on the following things, some of which came as recommendations from this thread, others from other sources:
Southern Grist - Best brewery in the area by a mile. Both locations are nice. We stayed in East Nashville, so I went to that location first, but the West Nashville location has more taps, space, and food. So if you can only visit one, I guess West is the way to go. But there wasn't much variation in offerings.
Bearded Iris - I sadly only got to stop in here very quickly, but I really enjoyed what I had. Great space, lovely outdoor area. I wanted to try and go back before we left, but it didn't work out that way. There stuff seems to be on around town though.
Yazoo - I liked a few of the funkier options, and the pils was refreshing on a very humid day, but everything else was kind of... meh. I probably wouldn't go back if I visited town again, but I'm still glad I went.
Smith & Lentz - Another quick stop. Only tried the kolsch and mosaic pale ale, but I liked what I had. Nice space, close to a few other bars and cool spots, so you can get a car over and hit a few places.
Corsair Distillery - Very fun tour, tasted some really great stuff. I recall enjoying Triple Smoke many years ago, but haven't checked in on Corsair really since, and they seem to be doing to very interesting things. They make beer now too, which I didn't really love.
Attaboy - Awesome cocktails, very cool space. Another spot I would have liked to spend a little more time with, and would absolutely put it at the top of my list on a return visit.
Rosemary - I ended up going here twice, and both times the cocktails were pretty damn good. It's a very nice space, but the second time I went it was a little more of a younger/rowdier crowd (and I'm old af, so that isn't my thing). However, on that second visit, they were serving bao buns out of a van in the backyard area, so I can confirm that the ruben bun is tasty as heck.
Dino's - I didn't realize what this place was until I walked in. From the outside, it looks like some little side of the road ******** diner. Once you get inside, you realize that it technically is that, but they serve pretty good local beers (plus cheap PBR, etc.), and really well made fast food with some pretty delicious options (2:00AM animal fries hit the spot for sure). I learned later on that apparently this place was a favorite of Anthony Bourdain's, so how appropriate that I would wander in there randomly after a night of drinking, and have a few PBRs out back at a picnic table, engaging in silly conversation with some very cool random strangers, on the day he died.
The Patterson House - Was only planning to have a single cocktail here, but the first was so good I just asked the bartender to make me whatever he wanted for a second. Wasn't disappointed. I love the Violet Hour in Chicago, so I was excited for TPH. It has a very different vibe, but was still great. Allegedly there are strict house rules at TPH about phone usage, attire, and approaching women, but it didn't feel stifling or anything. Laid back, great staff, classy, but not stuffy space.
The Pharmacy - Stopped in quickly because of numerous recommendations from friends that attended the Crafter Brewer's Conference and split a burger with the GF. Burger was pretty good, but came with this weird hot potato salad thing on the side that burned my mouth a little. It wasn't listed as being hot on the menu, otherwise I would not have ordered. Decent beer selection. The outdoor area looked nice, but was packed af, on a very hot day, so I wanted no part of that.
Flying Saucer Draught Emporium - I don't remember where I got this rec from, but this is a great stop if you want to try a few local beers but have very little time in which to do so. A **** load of taps, and a huge, comfortable space.
Husk - Glad I made this reservation well in advance. We spent out last evening in town here, and the food was ******* exquisite. Oysters, beef tartare, pork prime rib, all very much on point. Cocktails were well made, and diverse. Service was outstanding.
Biscuit Love - Worth the surprisingly reasonable wait. The food was delicious, and although the line looked long as hell, we ended up only waiting like 20 minutes. They had plenty of ice water and umbrellas available for people waiting in line too, which was nice. These breweries expecting shitlords to line up for candy water could learn a thing or two about hospitality from these guys. I had fried chicken, biscuits, gravy, and a side of this sweet/spicy bacon. The bacon was fine, though not essential, but the biscuits and gravy were ******* bonkers. The GF had just biscuits and gravy with a little side kale salad. Even the kale was delicious.
The Nashville Biscuit House - More of a traditional diner feel. Actually a longer wait than Biscuit Love, and while significantly cheaper, almost as good as BL. The biscuits were better at TNBH, but the gravy was waaaaaay better at BL. I had a country fried steak that was pretty damn tasty.
Fort Louise - Decent little brunch spot. Kind of pricey, but the passion fruit tea mimosa was pretty tasty.
Hattie B's - I ate hot chicken there twice, and I very much enjoyed it both times. Not much else to say. **** was delicious.
Barista Parlor - It was too ******* hot out all weekend to drink anything but cold brew, but Barista Parlor has a few locations that all seemed to be near other things we were doing, they were all lovely, and the cold brew was very tasty. My GF tried some of the non-basic-assed cold brew options. Vietnamese cold brew w/ condensed milk and lemongrass was tasty. There was some bourbon vanilla espresso thing she had that was good too.
Sump - We made a quick stop at Sump, and while I preferred Barista Parlor's regular ass cold brew, they had some kind of special Arnold Palmer cold brew thing (half coffee, half lemonade) that was ******* GOOD. I was skeptical, but the barista insisted it was delicious so we got one, and **** me, I want that **** every morning for the rest of the summer.
Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams - Really good blackberry cobbler ice cream in a freshly made waffle cone. Really hit the spot on a hot day.
****** Tonk bars, generally - The bars along Broadway, though choked with dumb, shithoused festival attendees, were a lot of fun. On a less crowded weekend, I definitely would have spent a lot more time barhopping in that area, drinking cheap, cold PBR, and listening to some surprisingly decent bands.
I also visited the Johnny Cash museum, and what I understand to be the bastardized version of Hatch Show Print, which was cool.
I think thats everything I did. I guess I got lucky in that there wasn't anything I didn't like, but I guess I only had time for the highlights. Overall, I had a lot of fun, and would definitely visit again, though not during the CMA Festival.
