Nashville help

I'll second the Ernest Tubb Record Store which is a good time waster. I love Tootsies - especially during the day when they are some solid acts onstage and it's nowhere near as crowded as it gets later on. I've had some good nights at Legends On The Corner - a couple of doors up from Tootsies - too.

I've strolled around the Vandy campus too, which is cool.

 

Gotta show my hometown some love:

1. To get a taste of the Old South, plan to spend 2 hours at Belle Meade Mansion, home to more Thoroughbred champions than any other farm. It's about 10 minutes from the West End/Vandy hotel corridor.

2. Also worth taking a ride out to Franklin; visit The Carter House for a look at how the War Between the States ( ) affected the average Joe....

3. For a relaxing beer and some good crabs, hit South Street (the bar).

4. The Country Music Hall of Fame is really well done -- and this is from a non-country fan.

 

I don't know about Printer's Alley either. It seemed really sketchy when I was there.

 

Two words. Pancake. House.

And get there early.

 

Thanks so much for all your suggestions! Keep 'em comin'!

It looks like the winning hotel is the Best Western Downtown/Convention Center at 711 Union Street. It's supposedly three blocks from the Ryman, and five from the Country Music Hall of Fame. Five miles from the zoo, eight from the Grand Ol' Opry.

Free breakfast, free wireless Internet, everything except a pool.

Anybody going to be in Nashville Aug. 6 and 7? PM me!

 

Hit dinner one night at Demos for anything; Market Street Brew Pub for Cajun Chicken Fettucine and just barhop around Second from Printer's Alley to Music City Mix Factory (or start at the other end)...

 

I'll eighth Demos. Damn, that's good stuff.

If you wanna see a fugly campus, go down I-24 to Murfreesboro (half-hour shot) and walk around Middle Tennessee State.

While you're on lower Broadway, check out Hatch Show Print. They've been making amazing posters since the late 1800s. They did all of the old Opry posters and for like $50, you can take home a print that was printed from the original wood-cut blocks carved at the turn of the century.

The staff's great, too. Really nice and low-tech. I have four posters framed and hanging in my house to remind me of home.

And if you want good vinegar-based cue, Whitt's. There's one in the airport terminal. Get a sandwich before you board and get a dry-ice airplane pack so you can enjoy it after you get home. There's also several of them in the area, too.

 

Always in the minority on this Nashville barbeque debate, but I loved some Bar-B-Cutie out on Nolensville Road. Felt like shit after I ate it, but it was good going down. Hey Paper Doll, if you're into dive bars, check out the Springwater adjacent to Centennial Park. Either that or the Villager in Hillsboro Village. Decent enough jukeboxes at both places as well as cheap swill. Dave Cloud's an underground Nashville legend and if you're lucky, or just drunk enough to appreciate his music, maybe you can see him play at the SW. The flying saucer, about a block from the Tennessean, has a gazillion beers on tap and some unbelievable-looking waitresses. Nice outfits too.
Broadway Brewhouse is fun and Mojo Grill attached has some damn fine Cajun food. Real close to Vandy. If you're there, check out the Red Door down the street, I think on Division. Not proud of this, but I got tossed out of there once after arguing with a bouncer. Out of character, really, but after about six Red Bull and Vodkas, it made perfect sense at the time. Good people, though. They didn't ban me when I went back a few weeks later. Damn, I miss Nashville. I'd probably be in rehab if I were still there.

Hope you have fun.

 

I'll give this one more shot, and bump it back up...

Anyone going to be in Nashville on Aug. 6-7? I booked a full Tuesday of bus tours, but I'd appreciate the personal touch -- or just somebody to share a couple o' drinks.

I'm about to Mapquest everything, so hopefully I won't get too horrifically lost. Thanks for all the suggestions!

 

I'll second Hatch Show Prints. I have some friends who are in a low rent band who have their show prints made there. They told me they get 100 for $100 (which seems ridiculously cheap), and they're all brilliant works of pop art which I collect. They're printed on thick cardboard stock and ink screened. I even saw some prints on the walls from shows that I've been to. It's kinda like a free musical history museum.