How We Spent A Long Weekend In Music City
We spent Labor Day weekend hanging out in Nashville. While the weather was a touch warmer than we would have preferred, we had a really good time! The last time I was in Nashville was a school choir trip in high school, and Shelby hadn’t been since she was two years old, so it was almost like it was her first time. We ate some really good food, saw some great musicians, and took in all that the city has to offer.
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We flew in on a Saturday morning and headed straight for Biscuit Love. This place was highly recommended and there was quite a long line outside just to get in. Usually the sign of a good place! We waited in line for about an hour. Remember we were born and raised in the south, so good southern food is not something we are a stranger to. But we both agreed the biscuits were just ok. A bit disappointing for a place that has biscuit in the name. Don’t sleep on the cheese grits though- those were amazing!
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After brunch, we walked around The Gulch area for a bit, popping in to a few shops along the way, finally landing at Barista Parlor for coffees. The barista recommended the espresso and tonic and it was excellent if you like a drink that is a little more unique than your usual latte.
From there we made our way downtown to our hotel, but upon checking in were informed about a bit of a snafu with our booking. It’s kind of a long story, and we explained more in our travel vlog, but suffice it to say we were pretty annoyed. Due to the fact it was Labor Day weekend (already a busy time), a big college football game that was in town, and the fact that a lot of people from the coasts were coming inland to escape an incoming hurricane, we had to drive 45 minutes away to the closest hotel with availability for the night. At least we are always up for an adventure!
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The next day, we headed back to Nashville to explore the 12 south area. This area was super cute and we enjoyed walking around. It reminded us a lot of Austin or even parts of Waco. Our first stop was Five Daughters Bakery were we were greeted with, you guessed it, another line. In fact this whole trip can pretty much be summed up with waiting in a lot of long lines outside in the heat while trying to avoid getting sunburned, haha. We made it through the line and ordered a blueberry lavender layered donut to share. It was delicious! Then we walked up and down the street popping in to stores like Draper James, White’s Mercantile, and Madewell before grabbing some ice cream at Jeni’s.
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That afternoon we visited the Country Music Hall of Fame where we accidentally stumbled upon a mini Trisha Yearwood concert. She was there to promote her new album. We saw her live in concert a few years ago with Garth Brooks, and she’s one of the greats! The museum was fun to walk through, but our favorite part was the Kacey Musgraves special exhibit where they had a lot of her fashion from over the years.
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We had dinner at Pinewood Social that night which would be a really fun place to go with a large group. There is a pool outside and a bowling lane inside, lots of seating areas inside along with a bar, coffee shop, and a select amount of tables for a seated meal. I would recommend you make a reservation here. I really wanted to order the fried broccoli to share (it looked amazing!) but Shelby hates broccoli and it was too much for me on my own so we compromised and ordered the loaded tator totes instead. For our main course Shelby got the avocado toast (and claimed it was the best she’s ever had!) while I ordered the grain bowl.
After dinner we headed over to Broadway in search of a fun bar to listen to some live music. We ended up at Tin Roof because the band was playing one of our favorite Garth Brooks songs when we walked by. And while the band was good, that was the last country song we heard them play for the rest of the hour we were there which we found a bit disappointing. The drinks were not that great either. We decided to call it a night and try again somewhere new the next day.
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The next morning we drove over to East Nashville and went to Cafe Roze for breakfast. It was packed but we snagged the last two seats at the bar. They had a cold brew and tonic type beverage on the menu I ordered. This might be my new beverage of choice! I ordered the egg bowl and Shelby got the grilled chicken sandwich. The french fries that came with her sandwich were AMAZING! You must order them.
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When we were driving to breakfast we passed by a place called Donut Distillery. It sounded intriguing, so while at breakfast we looked it up, and decided we had to try it! So we went for a second breakfast, lol. They do mini donuts in a whole bunch of delicious flavors and were made fresh to order so are handed to you nice and hot. Our favorite flavors were the whiskey and the s’mores.
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That afternoon we toured both the Grand Ole Opry and the Ryman Auditorium. It was so fun to get a backstage tour and to get to walk on the stages where so many great musicians have played over the years.
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For dinner we headed to Nada for some excellent Mexican food. This was probably our favorite meal of the trip. If you like spicy things, highly recommend you order the La Bomb-a margarita, the habanero salsa, and the loaded queso. We each ordered an assortment of tacos, and the side of sweet chili glazed potatoes to share. Still dreaming about those potatoes. I need to figure out how to recreate them!
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After dinner we headed back downtown and went to Alley Taps in search of some good whiskey and some good live music. This place was WAY more our vibe then the bars on Broadway. We spent a fun couple of hours listening to many great singer/songwriters.
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Our last morning in Nashville we went to Stay Golden in East Nashville for breakfast. This place was so cute! Perfect for meeting friends or even bringing your laptop and getting a bit of work done. I ordered the “coffee and a bite” which was a mug of filter coffee and a breakfast taco for $5. Such a good deal!
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After breakfast we headed to our last stop in Nashville before we had to fly back to NYC. Lemon Laine is a really great natural beauty and wellness store where you can create your own custom and personalized face oil. You guys know we love our skincare, so this shop was pretty much our heaven. You start by filling out a form with your skincare concerns and goals so that your specialist can get to know you a little. Then your oil is formulated right in front of you filled with personalized ingredients based on your preferences. We both love our custom oils! This would be a really fun activity to do with a group of friends for a birthday or bachelorette party.
Even though the first part of our long weekend didn’t exactly go to plan, and the city was hot and crowded, we had a really fun time! There is so much to do in Nashville it’s impossible to be bored. Have you been to Nashville? What are some of your favorite things to do?
-Ash
P.S. You can read all of our travel diaries here.
