Tennessee
Nashville mixes honky tonk energy with serious food, from hot chicken shacks to meat-and-three diners. A few days downtown and in East Nashville covers the essentials.
Honky Tonks & Live Music
| Name | Info | Details |
|---|
| Robert's Western World | must-do · live music | A Music City institution on lower Broadway that started as a western wear shop. Order the Recession Special, a fried bologna sandwich with chips, a MoonPie, and a PBR, while a rockabilly band plays. |
| Tootsie's Orchid Lounge | historic · $ | Open since 1960 and once the backstage hangout for Opry stars like Willie Nelson. Three floors of live music run most of the day, with old-school photos covering every wall. |
| Layla's Honky-Tonk | local favorite | Smaller than the big Broadway rooms but packed with attitude, dim red lighting, and vintage license plates on the ceiling. A good pick when the main strip feels too touristy. |
| Grand Ole Opry | must-do · book ahead | The longest-running radio broadcast in the world, with multiple shows a week in a historic venue. Even non-country fans tend to leave impressed by the variety of acts on one bill. |
Food
| Name | Info | Details |
|---|
| Hattie B's Hot Chicken | $$ · hot chicken | A polished, popular take on Nashville hot chicken with a heat scale that goes from mild to dangerously hot. Expect a line, especially at the Midtown location. |
| Prince's Hot Chicken Shack | $ · the original | Credited with inventing hot chicken back in 1945 and still run by the same family. Grittier and spicier than the newer copycats, worth seeking out for the real history. |
| Arnold's Country Kitchen | $ · meat-and-three | A cafeteria-style Southern classic where you pick one meat and three sides, think fried chicken, mac and cheese, and turnip greens. Get there early, it closes when the food runs out. |
| Martin's Bar-B-Que Joint | $$ · barbecue | Whole hog barbecue smoked low and slow, served with classic Southern sides on a picnic table. A solid, unfussy counterpoint to all the hot chicken. |
| Loveless Café | $$ · biscuits | A country cottage just outside town famous for scratch-made biscuits and preserves, plus fried chicken and country ham. Worth the short drive, especially for breakfast. |