Nashville was lovely, y’all!
It’s always been one of my favorite places to visit as an adult even though it’s really close to where I currently reside. It seems now that it’s growing so fast there are completely new things every time I return. This time I got to see some completely new-to-me views and places which was really fun!
I went for a quick work trip and spent most of my time there running around at an industry trade show. However, I also had a bunch of great meals and fun moments while I was there. It’s always nice when you can combine business with pleasure on a trip!
By far my favorite meal of the trip was at City House. We were lucky enough to have a connection at the restaurant so our entire group went there for a family style meal on Thursday. We drank cocktails and bottles of wines (as the white wine drinker I literally had my very own bottle). We tried almost everything on the menu since they brought out two of everything for our table to try. My favorites from the meal:
- Octopus, Fregola, Zucchini, Celery, Onion, GMRS, Black Pepper, Lemon
- Belly Ham, Mozzarella, Grana Padano, Oregano, Chilies Pizza
- Calabrian Sausage, Peaches, Hot Onions
- Chuck Steak, Vidalia, Garum, Lemon, Parm
Everything else was incredibly delicious but those were my personal favorites. The octopus definitely topped the list for me – it was crispy and flavorful and… perfect.
Other fun stops included San Antonio Taco Co., Bakersfield Tacos, Rock Bottom, Soulshine Pizza, and Slider House. There were lots of tacos and sliders consumed during this trip.
Of course you can’t go to Nashville without getting some hot chicken, so we stopped by Hattie B’s to try their hot chicken that everyone raves about.
The line was long every time we passed the place and Sunday morning was no different. We got in line shortly after they opened and still had to wait for 30 minutes to get our order in. It’s clearly beloved by everyone in Nashville and everyone that visits!
I ordered the small white chicken and waffles with bacon and cheese grits for a side.
The “medium” heat chicken was perfectly spicy without being overwhelming. Pairing the juicy chicken with a belgian waffle and maple syrup made for a beautiful brunch! Those grits were amazing and I’m not even a fan of gritsgma. You can also see Jason’s pimento mac and cheese in the photo. I tried that as well but it disappointing.
It seemed like my trip was all about eating but really I spent most of my time moving! I wore my Fitbit on most days and ended up getting close to 20,000 steps each day. That’s a lot more activity than my normal work days for sure. It helped that part of our task for the day was to walk around and talk to people. The weather was also lovely so we walked to our hotel over a mile away most days. I also made sure to use the hotel gym for twenty minutes a day to work off some of those awesome meals. It felt like I was constantly moving for 5 days.
Getting several miles of activity in a day was both fun and healthy since we normally spend 8 hours or more glued to computer monitors. I think I might need to find a job where activity is built into my day like it was during this trip!
I also loved being able to visit Franklin, TN, on my way back home. Since Jason had driven up to meet me for the weekend we stopped by my hometown to visit some antique stores. I’ll take any chance I can to visit antique stores and look for furniture (more on this later… I’ve been working on a ton of projects!). I also showed him around the area where I grew up. Despite all the growth and changes in the Nashville metro area, that little area hasn’t changed at all.
I’m home now and already dreaming up my next trip! Thanks for a fun one, Nashville!