We all love to eat, and the weekend brings out the best in us. There’s finally time to get off campus and have some REAL food. Whether you have a visitor coming to town and you need to optimize your food choices, or you just want to have A Weekend, I’ve got you covered.
1. Friday Night – Happy Hour and Dinner
Photo courtesy of @nashville_eats on Instagram
Downtown has such a great scene on a Friday night. Classes and work are done, and its time to take advantage of happy hour. Make your way downtown and hit Acme Feed and Seed for your first drink, live music and some good nibbles like french fries with green peppercorn aioli or little bitty hot chicken bites with celery, carrots and ranch. When taking a break from your bar hop for dinner, I would recommend having a late meal at Bakersfield, an upscale Mexican Restaurant that is open until 2am. It also features an extensive tequila list so you don’t have to stop your night! For dessert, go to Mike’s Ice Cream, which is right on Broadway. With dozens of flavors to chose from and open until 11pm, it will satisfy your drunk cravings.
2. Saturday – Brunch
Photo by Rachel Labarre
After an extensive night of eating before, you probably won’t be having an early breakfast. Therefore, I recommend going to an easy going brunch at The Row, which is in between Vanderbilt’s campus and Downtown. It’s location calls for a long walk from Centennial Park to the Pedestrian Bridge before or after eating. Its menu is a combination of stuff-your-face southern cuisine and healthy options, but no matter what, you can’t leave Nashville brunch without biscuits. It also has a Bloody Mary bar and delicious mimosas if you can fight through the hangover.
3. Saturday – Dinner
Photo by Emily Green
After a long post-brunch walk and nap, you’ll be ready to hit the scene again. I would recommend going outside of downtown to either the Gulch or East Nashville for dinner, to get a new scene. The Gulch has an extensive list of restaurants, including the M Street series, with a great variety of food. Moto is an Italian restaurant with modern twists, such as the tagliatelle with ricotta cheese and bolognese featured above. East Nashville is a little farther, but such an up and coming area and great for big foodies. To check out an extensive list, refer to this article.
4. Sunday – Brunch
Photo courtesy of @nomcitybetch on Instagram
Sunday is the day for shopping as well as eating. Check out The Proper Bagel near Belmont or Frothy Monkey near 12th Avenue South. Neither of those places take reservations so you can go at your leisure (just be aware of possible long lines). After exploring those areas, walk through cute residential Nashville over to 21st Avenue South in Hillsboro, which has a few new stores and a new location of Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream. Not only is the location new, but Jeni’s has new flavors, like Black and White Cookies, Savannah Buttermint and Candied Ginger. No matter what, though, you’re bound spend the rest of your Sunday in a food coma!