Here’s a little known fact about me: I lived in Nashville for two years from age five to seven. When I rattle off the list of cities I’ve lived in, that’s one that usually gets left out. Probably because I was so young and I don’t remember much about it. My family lived in Franklin and my memories revolve around our black and white cat Oreo and her two litters of kittens, our swing set in the backyard where I used to play with my next door neighbor Will, the Back Porch Ballets I performed for the neighbors, and seeing snow for the first time.
Shayne & her sister Kristy in Nashville, circa 1988.
I also remember sensory details, like the taste of the drop of honey inside the white and yellow honeysuckles, the sticky texture and unusual sweet, pungent smell of the tiny bunches of flowers I used to pick, watching the blooms of purple morning glories twist shut after sunset, catching lightening bugs in jars and butterflies in nets, and the way the humid Southern air felt and smelled at dusk. It’s where I reluctantly learned to ride my bike without training wheels and lost my first tooth. We lived in a yellow condo and my dad drove a black Cadillac Oldsmobile with a CB radio, and we’d say, “Breaker, breaker, this is the Shadow. What’s your 20?” Maybe I remember more about Nashville than I originally thought.
Nashville Today
Shayne, Lisa, & Krista in Nashville, circa 2012.
I returned to Nashville recently for the first time since my childhood to visit my best friends Lisa and Krista. The main point of the trip was a reunion (Lisa had recently moved there and Krista flew in from Pittsburgh), but we were also excited to explore Nashville’s country music scene, Southern cooking, and, of course, dress the part, while having some good old fashioned fun.
Fashion
With Nashville home to the country music and songwriting industry, I was curious to see how the people of Nashville interpreted modern day country style. Was everyone going to look like Keith Urban and Billy Ray Cyrus? Would they be sporting short, choppy hairstyles, carefully manicured facial hair, and man jewelry, like a leather cuff or a chunky silver necklace, to go with their blue jeans, cowboy boots, and belt buckles? We definitely spotted some of these modern day country gentlemen, and Lisa informed us that cowboy boots really are ubiquitous, noting that all the Vanderbilt girls wear them with everything from flirty dresses to skinny jeans with oversized t-shirts.
Lisa, Shayne, & Krista in their Stetsons.
This was all just too exciting, so we headed Downtown to Broadway, a street lined with country music bars, restaurants, and plenty of shops selling cowboy boots and hats. We ambled into Big Time Boots and decided to try some on for fun. The salesgirls were helpful in finding the right fit, and once we slipped our boots on, something happened. We all lit up with giddy excitement. The boots make you feel rugged, tough, and sexy. They change the way you walk. We looked at each other and made a pact, we either all buy a pair or none of us do. So, of course, we all opted to buy a pair. Lisa’s are tall with dark brown leather and classic stitching, Krista’s are tall and black with stitching, and mine are short, light brown, and solid–all Stetsons, which are handmade, all leather, and constructed with lemonwood pegs and brass nails. They’re the real deal and they’re not exactly cheap. Fortunately for us, the salesgirl sealed the deal with both a group and local’s discount. We walked onto Broadway in our boots feeling like real cowgirls.
Music
We headed to The Stage, a country bar with live acts around the clock. The atmosphere gets more raucous as the night wears on. We ordered beers and staked out a hightop table to enjoy the entertainment. I never used to like country music or even understood its appeal–until recently. I’ve become a big fan of artists, like Blake Shelton, Miranda Lambert, and Carrie Underwood, and I love the songwriting, even when it’s a little ridiculous. We did some bar hopping to other music spots, including Tootsie’s, and managed to do a little boot scootin’ and two stepping while we were at it.
The crowd outside the Bluebird Cafe.
While the bars on Broadway cater to more of a wild party scene, the other option for good country music is to head to a listening room, the most famous being the Bluebird Cafe near the Green Hills Mall. We tried our best to get tickets. It’s an intimate theater-in-the-round setup with two nightly shows, and tickets go on sale online a week ahead of time. They sell out fast and there’s a standby line every night. Lisa and I both got online at 8am when the tickets for the show we wanted to see went on sale, and by 8:03am it was sold out. We even attempted the standby line, but to no avail.
Scott Simontacchi & Friends performing at The Station Inn.
Fortunately, Lisa had a backup plan and we headed to The Station Inn, a similar concept to the Bluebird, just not quite so legendary and with more of a bluegrass leaning. It’s located in a trendy part of town known as The Gulch, filled with new condos and cute places to eat, drink, and shop suited for young professionals. That evening, we heard Scott Simontacchi & Friends perform bluegrass, while we drank pitchers of local Yazoo beer, snacked on nachos, popcorn, and a hotdog, and proceeded to laugh all night long.
Cocktailing
We planned a night out for some sophisticated imbibing, and headed to The Patterson House, a speakeasy style bar with a focus on Prohibition Era mixology. As you enter the house, located in the Belmont/Vanderbilt neighborhood, a hostess greets you before you can venture beyond the heavy, green velvet curtains and into the plush, dimly lit bar area. Choose from one of the many cocktails on the menu, organized by spirit, or talk with your mixologist to create a completely original cocktail that suits your taste. They also serve a menu of playful small plates, like truffle deviled eggs, tater tots with horseradish and dill creme fraiche, and an Elvis panini made with peanut butter, bananas, and bacon.
Cocktails at The Patterson House.
Next, we made our way to East Nashville  to no. 308, an establishment that takes its cocktails just as seriously, but with an entirely different attitude. The women behind the bar have sleeves of tattoos, piercings, and sport flimsy white tank tops without bras underneath. The vibe is a little less country and a little more rock n roll. My eyes lit up when I saw The Smokey Robinson on the menu, a cocktail made with tequila, scotch, celery, honey, basil, and smoked salt. They’ve also got a menu of bites organized by price point, ranging from veggie chips with sriracha honey aioli to mushroom risotto with grilled shrimp and parmesan.
Food
Of course, a visit to the South isn’t complete without sampling some down home Southern cooking. The Loveless Cafe is a famous spot known for its hot buttered biscuits and its country ham, along with all the Southern fixin’s, like fried chicken, barbecue, and veggie platters. The place is so popular, it’s not unusual to wait up to three hours for a table on Sunday for breakfast. There’s an old-timey neon sign out front, rocking chairs, and a country store to pass the time in.
Shayne, loveless at the Loveless Cafe.
Another landmark dining experience is at Jack’s Bar-B-Que on Broadway. It’s a no frills restaurant serving up a variety of bar-b-que sandwiches and plates. You order at the counter and dress up your meal with an abundance of bar-b-que sauces to choose from. I opted for a smoked chicken sandwich with mac ‘n cheese and cole slaw. They’ve got everything from Texas beef brisket to St. Louis style ribs, and of course Tennessee pork shoulder.
For a more genteel dining experience, we also tried The Cottage Cafe for lunch and Ellendale’s for brunch. The Cottage Cafe is also home to Crumb de la Crumb, an in demand bakery and cake shop as seen on The Food Network. We enjoyed freshly baked crab cakes over a mixed greens salad, she crab soup, and their vanilla bean lemonade. The decor is bright and eclectic with floral table cloths, white wooden chairs, and bunches of fresh wild flowers everywhere. Ellendale’s is located in a sprawling, multi-room mansion and serves a Sunday brunch buffet with everything imaginable. There’s often live music in the evenings and a pianist during the day.
The Wanderlust Chameleon exhibiting early signs of free-spiritedness in Nashville at age seven.
While I may have run away from the Southern roots that I inevitably have (both my parents were born in the south and I went to high school and college in Georgia), in recent years, I’ve taken a liking to country music, food, and other bits of nostalgia, and Nashville was a perfect place to experience them all with my two best friends.
