Nashville
Covering Kentucky And Nearby Cities Since 2000
|
Nashville Covering Kentucky And Nearby Cities Since 2000 |
|
Gatlinburg |
Indianapolis |
St. Louis |
 |
Nashville is Kentucky's city next door. Just 30 minutes down I-75 from the state line, it has long provided Southern and Western Kentucky with their shopping, TV, metropolitan newspaper (The Nashville Banner), and pro football (Tennessee Titans). Nashville is a Southeastern Conference city, so Kentuckians drive down for football and basketball games against archrival Vanderbilt. It's a major medical center so many Kentuckians go there for treatment. And, of course, as seen at left, Nashville is the Country Music Capitol of the World. The Grand Ole Opry lures Kentuckians two or three weekends a year for Opry performances as the visiting stars keep rotating. But you need reservations in advance, since every show sells out. |
The University of Kentucky plays in the Music City Bowl every few years, and opens the season every other year against Western Kentucky University in LP Field, seen at right (the red is WKU fans, the blue UK fans). . Each occasion brings the famous Big Blue Nation horde of 40 - 50,000 fans down for a three day weekend. All of these frequent visitors have learned rhat Nashville has some great restaurants. The city is very conservative in food preferences : it likes Upscale Southern. There are not a lot of ethnic restaurants, nor a lot of trendy contemporary places. The BBQ and the Seafood are only average. But if you're looking for Southern Comfort Food with a few creative twists, you're in the right place. |
|
 |
The most unique restaurant in Nashville is the General Jackson. It's a historic sternwheel steamboat, first built in 1817. Due to ever tightening safety regulations, it's been upgraded several times since, most recently in 1985. This is a big boat, with four full decks. It makes two cruises daily March through November. Each cruise lasts three hours. Their marketing focus is the country music shows which accompany Lunch and Dinner. They're impressive, and the tendency is to dismiss the food as an afterthought. But the food is well above average. We're not impressed by their Appetizers and there's no Soup. But the lunchtime Cobb, Caesar, Roast Vegetable Pasta and Baked Potato Salads are all good. The star of the lunch menu is Beef Tips with Onions and Red and Green Peppers. In the evening, the Salad is a Romaine, Spinach, Tomato, Purple Onion and Carrot Mix, and the leading entree is Broiled Eye Round in a Pepper Corn Cream Sauce. You'll spend some time out on the deck enjoying the views, so at night a sweater or jacket may prove useful; even in Summer it can get cool with the boat moving. Put some thought into your seating location. Make sure you're facing the stage. Avoid the pillars which block some views. And decide if you want a window table. These cruises sell out, so make reservations well in advance. |
| Nashville's best overall restaurant is City House, just north of downtown. It's in a historic building (larger than it appears here) and they specialize in Upscale Southern. For starters, their White Bean Soup (incl. Cracked Wheat, Cabbage and Pecorino Cheese) is one of the best soups in town. Their entrees include Garlic Sausage on Cabbage, Broiled Cornmeal Crusted Catfish, Rainbow Trout With Peanuts, Lemon & Parsley, and Springer Mountain Free Ranging Half Chicken With Celery, Turnips and Parsley. City House offers absolutely the best Wine (almost all Italian), Whiskey & Cocktail array in Nashville and even add some European Beers. Desserts include Coffee Cream Soda Cake, Chocolate Butterscotch Icebox and Almond Ricotto Pound Cake. The Sunday Dinner Menu is a Chef's Choice. You never know what he's going to fix, but you know it'll be memorable. |  |
|
