Wife and I planning a music and food trip to Nashville. I have been there several times for work but never got to experience the city on a more relaxed basis. We are choosing between the following hotels:
Hermitage
Conrad
Four Seasons
And the following restaurants:
Meals:
Jean-Georges Restaurant Nashville | Drusie And Darr (thehermitagehotel.com)
Any experiences or suggestions appreciated.
Bookmarking because we hope to get there in March!
We ate at Husk in Charleston and it was fabulous!
So did we and loved it. Great bourbon menu. We are thinking of saving it as a brunch spot given we had been there for dinner but that limits the bourbon consumption😀
Me too for Husk in Charleston. Excellent southern food with flare. Terrific service, and the waitstaff was extremely helpful with menu choices.
I’ve eaten at Husk in Nashville but didn’t love it. I prefer Butcher and Bee and Margot.
The Hermitage is a classic, but the new Four Seasons is over the top nice. Both are good, haven’t been to the Conrad.
We had dinner last summer at Drusie & Darr, which we enjoyed but left feeling a little underwhelmed given the elegant Hermitage dining room space. 5th & Taylor is casual, good but nothing special. Etch is excellent, a little noisy some nights, but amazing food from a veteran restauranteur. She has a sister restaurant in Green Hills named Etc. I haven’t been to Husk in years, but it’s a favorite in Nashville, as is Lockeland Table. I’d give the nod between the two to Lockeland Table. I’m not familiar with the other two. Cafe Margot is a favorite of ours as well. You’ll also get away from the tourists a little over in East Nashville.
Will check out Margot. Thanks for the heads up.
Wife is leaning towards the Hermitage as a local experience. I have stayed at the Four Seasons for work and it felt like a Four Seasons.
If you have a car, you might consider visiting Belle Meade
https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g55229-d108042-r269326784-Belle_Meade_Historic_Site_Winery-Nashville_Davidson_County_Tennessee.html
A good book pairing with this would be “Horse” (Geraldine Brooks) - it was a CC book club read last year.
Kids went to college in Nashville and one planted roots here, so I moved to Nashville in summer of '22 after retiring. Rarely go downtown and haven’t eaten at any of the restaurants mentioned, but D & SIL have eaten at several. I have heard them say Lockeland Table is one of their favorites. I have eaten at the Hermitage twice (once before a show at TPAC which is just across the street), both meals delicious. Also have enjoyed The Palm when D was still in college with some sorority friends and their moms - long ago!
One of my favorite things that I’ve ever done here is the Country Music Hall of Fame tour of Studio B. It’s an add-on and you have to take a short bus ride from CMHOF to get there, but it is worth the effort. Tours conducted by Belmont students and the one I took gave me chills with stories of Elvis, Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, etc. You can play the piano that Elvis used to record some of his hits.
The Frist is a wonderful art space. With no permanent collection, things are changing all the time there and there are some interesting exhibits scheduled for this year. It’s in the Downtown area.
Last spring I asked D to take me on the Underground Donut Tour for my birthday. 5 delicious stops for doughnuts and lots of Nashville trivia as you walk the Downton area without the rowdy bridesmaid crowds that you would get in the same area at night. Some things I was aware of, but not all.
I read Horse last year and toured Bellemeade Plantation years ago and agree that makes an interesting connection. I live fairly near Bellemeade and was driving past last week thinking I would like to go again sometime this year.
If you are readers, consider a stop at Parnassus Books in Green Hills. Partly owned by Ann Patchett, they put on lots of author events and many are free. Have been to one for an author friend where Ann was in attendance and went to her book launch for Tom Lake last summer at a local high school. Adore her!
Hope you have a wonderful time on your trip!
If you are a music lover I highly recommend
Thank you both, we will incorporate some of your suggestions into the trip. I just attached a postit with Donut Tour in big letters to our notes!
If you decide to go back to Belle Meade, think about this tour. It was our first visit (while in town for a wedding), and we took the basic tour. But I think seeing the horse training plantation through the eyes of the slaves there would be interesting.
We were in Nashville in December. Ate at a new restaurant Sinatra Bar& Lounge. Throwback to the 60’s dinner club scene. Food was excellent and loved the intimacy of the experience and the piano bar. They also have a fantastic drink menu. Highly recommend. Also, if you want to go to “speakeasy” make a reservation at Pushing Daisies.
Second person to mention Pushing Daisies as a good walk in spot. Thank you!!
Make a reservation. I made one on Open table. When we arrived there was a line down the block.
Great heads up. Thanks again and will do.
I forgot to mention Pancake Pantry in Hillsboro Village as an iconic breakfast/brunch spot. Another place with long lines some days, but delicious food.
I’m assuming that Jean-Georges/Drusie and Darr is an offshoot restaurant of Jean-Georges Vongerichten. I’ve had dinner at Jean-Georges in NYC and it was superb. Pre-Covid, I tagged along to a conference that my H attended in Las Vegas and we made a reservation for dinner at Jean-Georges Steakhouse at the Aria Hotel. it was not at all in the same league as the NYC restaurant. I would really check the reviews of the Nashville restaurant. Clearly, a steak house isn’t a French restaurant, but even as a steak house, we weren’t impressed with the LV outpost.
If you go there, when the waitstaff recommends adding their homemade whipped cream to your pancake, just do it!