Heavens

We are staying at the Renaissance Hotel on Commerce Street. Sounds like it is in the downtown area?

Are there any good eats walking distance from the hotel? I am partial to BBQ. Will have two teens with me. Any breakfast places will be helpful too.

atlswan

Jack's Barbecue on Broadway has good pork BBQ. Just look for the neon pig sign. Rippy's is supposed to be the place for ribs, also on Broadway (I think).

Can't help you with breakfast downtown, but the Pancake Pantry in Hillsboro Village is worth the five-minute or so drive. Loveless Cafe is also good but is a bit of a drive out of town.

KatieL

I work about three blocks from the Ren. Hotel. It is downtown, one street over from Broadway. There are quite a few good restaurants around. If you look around, beware of anything in the West End area. They have good restaurants, but they are not within walking distance, even though they may claim to be downtown.

I second the Jack's BBQ on Broadway, but I would recommend the beef brisket. They have a great sampler platter, which is good if you can’t decide. Their smoked sausage is great too!

If you want a nice meal that’s a little pricey, the Melting Pot on 2nd Ave. is a great fondue experience. Their website has a menu, I believe. Also, the Capitol Grille in the Hermitage Hotel is great. These are both expensive.

For more casual dining, there is a great Mexican restaurant on 2nd and Commerce called El Rey. It’s great food, inexpensive, fast, and the service is wonderful. Stay away from the Hard Rock unless you don’t like having a conversation while you eat. It’s more fun to walk through than to try to enjoy a dinner. If you are into country music, there are many small bars with live music on Broadway. You don’t have to be of age to eat their during the day, but I’m not sure about night. Global Café on Broadway is a new café with some good salads and sandwiches.

The best pizza downtown by far is at Casa Bona on Broadway! Try my favorite, the Modo Mio with mushrooms and pepperoni! Mmmmm.

I could go on! Let me know if you need suggestions outside of the downtown area, or if you like specific types of food.

Heavens

How about Corky's BBQ. That is a chain, right? I think we at there in Memphis.

We are at a convention, so not too many meals out. Breakfast will be out b/c I don't want to spend money on room service.

Any other interests in the area we should know about? Is the area safe? If the girls wanted to go out and walk to a place to eat, would that be OK?

Any cool bars (not for the girls) in walking distance to hotel?

We are so looking forward to this trip. I love the south. And Tenn.

atlswan

KatieL has given you some very good advice. Especially the part about the Hard Rock Cafe.

One place people may tell you to go to is Demo's, a long-time Nashville restaurant. Personally, I think it is very overrated. They are very affordable but the steak I had there was not very good.

Corky's is indeed good BBQ but they don't have a downtown Nashville location. The only one I know of is a good 30 miles east of Nashville off I-24. Not worth going that far.

You asked if it was safe for the ladies to walk around downtown to find a restaurant. If they stick to the main streets around your hotel and aren't out past 1 a.m., they should have no problem. Definitely no problem during the day. Printer's Alley has a lot of bars that are popular with tourists.

The times I've been downtown at night, tourists always seem to be out. Naturally, you want to be aware of your surroundings as you would in any city at night but I think they'd be fine.

The main hot spots downtown seem to be the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Ryman Auditorium (former home of the Grand Ole Opry) and the White Horse Saloon. I hear they have line dancing lessons at the White Horse. I've only been to the Ryman but it is a unique place that is worth a visit. A lot of history was made there and they still have concerts.

Just walking down Broadway is an experience itself.

starrsville

Demo's is the favorite of a local friend of mine. We tried to eat there before a concert but the wait was too long. We ended up at BB King's and were amazed at how good our dinners were. Also enjoyed listening to the unsigned and recently signed talent.

BigJim

It's not in Downtown, but Mo's has the biggest and the best burgers!

KatieL

I agree with just about everything said so far. The downtown area is pretty safe. Will you be here on a weekend or weekdays? There isn't too much to do at night during the weekdays, but weekends are much better.

I am not a fan of Demos', but it seems that many people are. Too much sodium for my taste.

For breakfast, I would suggest walking about a block up from your hotel to church street. The Main Library has a great cafe which opens at 7:00 AM for breakfast. They serve Provence bread and pastries, coffee, etc. It's not a pancake and eggs type of breakfast, but it's close, convenient and good.

I'm sure the girls will have a great time walking around during the day. There are plenty of little restaurants and shops on Broadway and 2nd Ave that should keep them busy. If they want a tour of a great little CPA firm downtown, send them my way!

iceeu2

Hey, KatieL, is Satsuma's Tea Room still downtown. I had lunch there a zillion years ago and it was great. I can still remember the community tables and what I had to eat. Chicken pot pie was one of the things..and I had fresh pineapple with poppy seed dressing.

I agree that Broadway is fun to walk and shop and stare.

Heavens

My map from the Marriott web site shows a Corky's on 100 Franklin Street. Is that one still there?

Thanks Katie for the offer. I'll ask the girls. They are 17 and 18 and not sure they are numbers inclined. My daughter says she "hates" math, my sone loves it. Go figure.

How about shopping or any other points of interest in the area? Museums? I don't mind taking a taxi for a good reason. We aren't renting a car, so probably have to stay clost to downtown.

Thanks for all of your help.

atlswan

Heavens, just to be sure I went to the Corky's Web site. The only Nashville locations are out in Brentwood (a 20-minute or more drive) and at Opry Mills (didn't know it was there!), which is a good 15 minutes from downtown.

The Frist Museum of Art is on Broadway and is a top-notch museum. It is located next to the Union Station Hotel. Union Station actually has a pretty cool bar down below called the Flying Saucer that offers over 200 kinds of beers. They have trivia on Tuesday nights. My husband used to go when we lived there.

I'm not up to date on the shopping options downtown. KatieL may have the scoop on that.

Heavens

Looks to me like not much shopping downtown. Might have to go to the Oprey Mall? Is that just a taxi away???

BigJim

As far as shopping, there isn't much in Downtown. There are a few souvenir shops, but that's it. The Downtown area isn't that big and is really just 1 street of shops and restaurants. Everything else is closed at night on the other surrounding streets.
If you want to do more shopping, go to the Opry Mall, which is only a few minutes away. It's just like most malls.

SharonG

Iceeu@: Unfortunately Satsuma closed a few years ago.

There are some nice places to eat over by Vanderbilt in the 21st ave area. I love Midtown Cafe on 19th and Sunset Grill which is off 21st. not far from Pancake Pantry. But you'll need a car to get to these places.

KatieL

There is a Corky’s on Franklin, but it’s not close to downtown. Really, I’d stick with Jack’s for BBQ.

The Frist is great, and has a nice little café. The Flying Saucer is fun too. They are both within walking distance of your hotel, as is the Country Music Hall of Fame.

The comments regarding downtown shopping are accurate. There are plenty of touristy, country places, but not serious shopping. Opry Mills is a lot of fun, and has an IMAX theater and Jillian’s (bowling, pool, games, etc.) It’s has all of the typical mall stores, except it does not have any department stores. It would be worth taking a taxi there. With all of the current construction, it will take about 15 - 20 minutes to get there during the day, longer during rush hour (4 PM – 6 PM). Opry Mills is also right next door to the Opryland Hotel. If you park close to the hotel (in the Mall parking lot) you can walk over to the hotel after shopping and enjoy the indoor gardens, waterfalls, etc. It really is a relaxing place to walk around.