My new leather chairs, and off to Nashville
Monday, Jan 23, 2012 31 Comments I went to Alt Summit last week in Salt Lake which was pretty awesome. I'll spare you all the 'i met so many incredible people' and 'hung out with people who i have been following for years', and 'spent quality time with blog pioneers' - just trust me that that is all true and it was 100% worth it. HIGHLY recommended. And the Grand America hotel was great. Thanks HGTV for asking me to go, oh and thank you HGTV and Sherwyn Williams for bringing me to Nashville this week. Ridiculously fun.
But for now, i'll show you the chairs (yes! A PAIR!!) that i scored on sunday whilst shopping at the Green Ant in Salt Lake. They are the perfect color of worn caramel leather. They are made of rosewood, they are incredibly comfortable and while they weren't a steal ($950 for both, plus shipping to LA) they are exactly what i've been looking for and would be around $2500 for the pair in Los Angeles.
Beautiful safari style leather straps, and the joinery is perfect. Morgan bought the sofa that matched that you can see in the background. Ultimately the week was so fun, and while i do want to post about it and give shout outs to all my new friends, i'm on a plane to Nashville for the week for some HGTV events and i only have 1/2 hour of free internet before i get kicked off, so this post will have to do.
Bring on the Nashville suggestions. I've never been here (but you know i love me some South) and Brian came with me this time (YEAH!!!) so we have our nights to scoot our bootie. But to where shall we scoot it? Think old school - there are good restaurants and good food in LA, we want the SOUTH.
Reader Comments (31)
For the best southern food and lots of local culture try Loveless Cafe. Its about 30 minutes south west of downtown. The biscuits are fabulous and so is just about everything else. http://www.lovelesscafe.com/
It is by far my favorite restaurant there.
Hey Emily - I have traveled to Nashville several times in the past few years and I have always found this blog to be helpful: http://365nashville.com. Also - love the scene at the Hutton Hotel bar and the lobby is pretty cool to check out too. I think you might like the design. Hard for me as a Southerner to give you the really Southern places to hit - the city is steeped in some awesome charm. Enjoy!!!
Welcome to Nashville!!! I hope you like our city—I’ve been here since 2000 and I’m proud to call it home. I’m sure you’ll find everyone to be very friendly and welcoming. Below are some of my suggestions for what’s “Nashville”—there are lots of other options of course, but I tried to pick things that you wouldn’t be able to find elsewhere.
Food:
--Monell’s. This is traditional “Nashville” fare-- Classic Southern meat and three served family style.
--If you can drive a little out of the city, I like the food at the Loveless café even better. They have world famous biscuits.
--Nashville isn’t as famous a bbq town as Memphis, but like everywhere in the South, the bbq is great. I like Rippy’s downtown; there’s also Hog Heaven by Centennial Park.
--If you’re up for an adventure, Nashville is also the home of Hot Chicken. It is burn-your-face hot, but it’s a tradition. Bolton’s and Prince’s are probably the most famous.
Music:
--The Ryman is the most famous historic venue in town—the Grand Ole Opry is there this Friday and Saturday, which is about as Nashville as you can get.
--Live music at the Station Inn—I’ve heard it’s worth it to try and see The Time Jumpers but they won’t be there until next Monday. More bluegrass than country as a rule.
--Definitely hit up the honky-tonks on Broadway one night. The music will be awesome at all the bars, but local favorites/classics are Tootsies, The Stage, and Roberts.
Local neighborhoods:
Small stretches of shops/restaurants/local flavor:
--Hillsboro Village. Home to the Pancake Pantry for breakfast.
--12South. The 12South taproom is the best beer bar in town and they have a great sandwich selection for lunch.
--East Nashville/5 Points.
--Franklin. If you have a car Franklin is about 30 mins south of Nashville and is a small town square with lots of history.
And a quick plug for our local brewery, Yazoo. The tap room is open Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings. Great local beer and everyone is super friendly! It’s in the Gulch neighborhood near downtown, with other nice restaurants and shops—it’s a fun part of town.
I hope you enjoy your time here!!
Breakfast: Pancake Pantry
Lunch: Burger Up, Rotier's, Calypso, Kalamata's
Drinks: Tavern, Patterson House
Dinner: City House, Mama Mia's
Late Night: Paradise Park
Tootsie's or Robert's for live music on Broadway.
Aww so glad you liked Salt Lake! Thats where I call home! And I love the green ant too, I love to browse there but sadly not at a point yet where I can afford anything in there.
As a Nashville resident myself I became soooo excited when I read you were coming to town! You will definitely love it here!
As for places you should try and make it to here are just a few:
Food:
- Pancake Pantry: The line typically takes about 40 minutes or so but the breakfast is definitely worth the wait!
- Hog Heaven: This place has some amazing white barbeque sauce. From the outside it looks like a little shack but it is adjacent to the Parthenon so it is always great for a picnic lunch.
- Athens: Now I know this is not southern food...but it is some of the best greek you can get anywhere! It was features on the show Diners Drive Ins and Dives.
- Pucketts: This restaurant is down in Franklin, TN (about a 25 minute drive) but it has some great southern food! It is set in an old grocery store. I would recommend getting the cobbler if they have any left! Plus nearby are some pretty cool shops to go browsing in.
Entertainment:
- The Ryman: The Ryman is definitely the best place to go. Even if you do not go see a show you can always take a tour of the building.
- The Station Inn: Great small venue. I have been to several improptu sessions here and the people you meet will definitely be the best part of the evening.
- The Nashville Flea Market: The Nashville flea market is coming to town this weekend at the fair grounds. You can always find some amazing deals on great stuff.
Hope you enjoy your trip!
This isn't a food recommendation, but as a lover of design you MUST go to the Hatch Show Print shop downtown. It is such a cool place!
You always find the best stuff! I've never been to Nashville, but definitely coming back to this post if I ever do to check out all these great suggestions from your readers. Have fun.
Pancake Pantry, Loveless Cafe, and I love Merridees downtown Franklin for lunch. I also love downtown Franklin for antiquing!!! Very walkable, but bring a coat and umbrella, it's been crazy weather round here.
Fat Mo's has great burgers.
Hit Broadway at night (any night of the week) and stop into Roberts for authentic country music band and order a Cheeseburger! (Hint: go up the stairs and sit by the ledge - noone is ever up there & you can eat in peace and still get a good view of the band!)
The Station Inn is awesome for Bluegrass. Go there!!
For food, definitely pancake pantry and princes chicken. Station inn is a must for music. And try to make it over to central park to see our full scale replica of the Parthenon!
Oops! I mean centennial park-- I've got NY on the mind!
Oh, Nashville. I'm from Nashville (but now live in DC) and love/miss it everyday. You've got to do the honkey tonks on Broadway. It's cheesy but fun. And I echo the previous recommendations to check out the Hatch Show Print shop and Pancake Pantry. I'll also throw in a plug for Rotier's on Elliston Place near Centennial Park -- great burgers and classic meat and three.
Hi Emily, it was great meeting you! Hope you love your new chairs! Thanks for stopping in
at The Green Ant and THANK YOU for mentioning us here on your site!!!!! Ron
city house! patterson house! burger up!
If your husband will tolerate it, the flea market is pretty great! It runs Friday through Sunday at the state fairgrounds. The people-watching is great, too. (http://www.nashvilleexpocenter.org/expo/fleamarket/index.asp)
I don't think the Pancake Pantry is worth waiting in line for (it's just pancakes, y'all!), but lots of people do. I agree that Puckett's is great, and they also have an outpost downtown if you don't want to make the trek to Franklin. I have lived in Nashville my whole life, and I think it's a great weekend getaway. Here are two very recent articles about good eats/shopping:
http://www.bonappetit.com/magazine/2012/02/nashville-with-dan-auerbach
http://www.glamour.com/fashion/blogs/slaves-to-fashion/2012/01/best-of-nashville-travel-racha.html
Also, if you are downtown at all, I highly recommend stopping into the Hermitage Hotel, which is just gorgeous. The restaurant there, the Capitol Grille, is pretty swanky, but I'd forego that for the Oak Bar downstairs. The most important thing is to go into the men's restroom (don't worry, people do it all the time; they're used to it) to see the gorgeous Art Deco tilework and shoeshine stands that have been perfectly preserved. (an image from a quick Google search: http://bettermebetterworld.blogspot.com/2011/05/this-moment-only-mens-bathroom-i.html)
My top picks would be Mas Tacos, City House, Watermark restaurant, Arnold's meat and three, Marche for breakfast/brunch, Margot for Sunday brunch, Crema or Ugly Mugs for coffee. For shopping, I would browse around East Nashville (Wonders on Woodland and the idea hatchery shops, especially), and 12 South (Imogene and Willie) for unique items. For honky-tonkin', go to lower Broadway--my favorite honky tonk is Robert's, but there are lots to choose from down there.
Have a great time! I hope the weather treats you well (I know the Nashvillians will).
I was born and raised here in Nashville! You'll have an awesome time. Downtown Franklin (just south of the city) is adorably charming, has great boutiques and even better antique stores. If you get a chance, they really do have gorgeous stuff. Southern Salvage is also a great place to hit up! And no trip would be complete without a trip to Hatch Show Print for some of the coolest music prints and posters ever.
As for food and bars, some folks above mentioned Loveless, Prince's, and Monell'ss--all great choices. Some others:
Tavern
The Catbird Seat (reservations are hard to get but it is worth it!)
The Patterson House (great bar)
Holland House
Mas Tacos
Jenni's Splendid Ice Cream
Firefly in Green Hills is delicious
Sunset Grill and Pancake Pantry in Hillsboro Village
Robert's Western World and the Stage downtown are two of the hand's down honky tonks in the city
you may want to check out http://www.eat-drink-smile.com/. It's the best food blog I've found for Nashville. Enjoy your stay!
I'm originally from East Tn and residing in Memphis currently (you can come add some much needed style to our master bedroom if you'd like a side trip to Memphis!) Seriously, though... traveling across the state, I don't stop in Nashville nearly as much as I'd like or should as I do have friends and family living there. However, I have to throw in another vote to go check out the Yazoo Brewery. Those guys make frequent visits to beer events in Memphis and are awesome. I've toured their old brewery (with generous pourings of "samples" as you walk through the brewery discussing the different beers). They've since relocated to a larger space and I'm sure its all the better. You should definitely hit them up for a tour.
I know nothing about Nashville, but I DO know that those chairs are gorgeous. The more worn the better. Like a baseball glove.
i want to make sweet love to those chairs....and couch.
SCORE
The Bluebird Cafe is famous for its music-in-the-round set-up. My husband and I went last time we there. Good date night. Here, check this out:
The Bluebird Cafe presents a different type of music experience in Nashville, presenting several artists in an intimate setting with about 20 tables for spectators. While reservations can be made online and early shows have no cover charge, the small setting requires that spectators make their plans well in advance.
"The idea behind Bluebird is uniquely Nashville, and the idea of ‘in the round' is uniquely Bluebird, which makes it a great addition to a bucket list before leaving Nashville," Tarkington said.
Oh my goodness when I heard you were coming to Nashville I got sooooo excited! Are you speaking anywhere? I would love to hear some of your ideas if possible! I absolutely adore your show and your sense of style. It is such a nice turn from the typical HGTV shows...not that the others are bad I still love watching them I just find your show to be a cut above the rest:) Hope you enjoy your trip!
Mmmmm caramel leather, one of my favorites! I have a sofa and a settee in my living room that exact color and I love it. Great find!