Nashville
I've never been to Nashville and I found myself in the city for a conference. Flew on a ridiculously low fare on United and was able to sit in business class on an Embraer plane. Puddle hoppers usually are pretty small and cramped. I actually found myself enjoying the business class seat and I could fit my laptop roller comfortably on either side of the plane. Usually, the plane is one seat on one side and two on the other. I've learnt over the years that sitting on the two seat side is better if you want to actually put something under the chair. On the way to Nashville, I was routed through George Bush International Airport and decided to try Whataburger near my gate. I've seen it around and didn't know why it was so popular. To be fair, I think I'd rather go to McDonad's but maybe it is because this is an airport location. I'd rather eat at In N Out if I was to choose a burger chain in Texas.
Once I landed at Nashville International Airport, I spent time in baggage claim because I needed to be on a videoconference meeting and the area was not heavily trafficked with people. Surprising but I think that most folks who fly into Nashville aren't really checking a lot of luggage. You can tell you're in Nashville by the number of live bands/musicians on every corner including the airport.... At least the music isn't too intrusive. Grabbed an airport shuttle to the hotel and the driver was friendly telling me local spots to hit and how to navigate the city on a low budget.
Checked into the Embassy Suites Nashville at Vanderbilt. Apparently, Nashville gets a lot of tourist traffic as the town was mostly sold out on hotel rooms. I never found cheaper hotel rates than the Embassy Suites and I had booked about 8 months prior. I was pleasantly surprised that the hotel has a shuttle and the shuttle will drive anywhere within 2 miles. Super convenient as I had thought I was going to have to taxi everyday to downtown. The shuttle runs every 30 minutes and it seems to be able to handle the traffic of people coming and going. The valet informed me that all the hotels outsource their valet service to one company. That helpful tidbit allowed me to jump onto other Hilton shuttles when mine didn't show up. The rooms are the typical suite layout. The breakfast in the morning is good (I generally stick with omelets). The evening reception is popular and I like that they give out sangria as well as hard liquor. Usually it is beer and wine. The gym is well sized and has a whirlpool and sauna connected to the workout area. I did not think that it would be hot this week to bring a swimsuit or I would have gone swimming.
In many ways, Nashville reminds me of a smaller Austin. Lots of music, lots of drinking, and lots of good food. Downtown Nashville does seem to be dominated by tourists but still fun. Since I was closer to Vanderbilt, I had a taste of the college scene and the restaurants around here are great. Since I wasn't able to check in right away at the hotel, I walked across the street to Hattie B's. From the shuttle driver I found out that fried chicken is really big here. To that end, I had Nashville "hot" chicken and found the chicken very flavorful at Hattie B's. I also ordered the mac n cheese and banana pudding. The side and dessert were ok but I would go back for the chicken. It is a order first and then sit down kind of restaurant (and most of the other places I've gone has similar style). The wait was about 30 minutes but you can order online for pickup. It might be faster if you are in peak periods.
The conference hotel was at the Omni Nashville Hotel. I grabbed the hotel shuttle and picked up my registration packet. I was still full from my late lunch but when I saw the reception food, I promptly forgot! It isn't often that I find conference food good because hotels usually do a poor job when they have to mass produce foods. The Omni was pretty awesome the entire conference. The only negative thing I had was a vanilla cupcake in one of the break periods. The hotel is attached to the Country Music Hall of Fame (and yes, the catered food there was also very good).
The Music Hall was interesting to go through during a hosted reception. It actually brought back some memories from my childhood as I watched Dukes of Hazzard and Hee Haw as a kid. I don't know much about country music but I did recognize some of the names inside the museum.
Since most of my meals were from the conference and I enjoyed it, I didn't go to too many places in Nashville. I visited the Savannah's Candy Kitchen one evening while waiting for the hotel shuttle in downtown. Typical candy store in my opinion. Pecan turtles seem to be there thing. On a free night, I opted to order a rack of ribs with cole slaw and mac n cheese and a fried pie from Peg Leg Porker. Being in a college town/tourist town, the restaurants seem equip to handle the flow. Since I didn't want to figure out how to get to the restaurant, I saw that they accepted online orders with delivery. For $3, I was sold and received my food within the hour. The ribs were good and spicy. The cole slaw was typical and the mac n cheese was better than Hattie B's. I could have done without the fried pie as it was slightly underdone. Tasty though.
On the last day of the conference, I planned on going by Biscuit Love. Ironically, Alton Brown was in town the first night I was here performing and he posted the best grits on his FB page. So, I decided to go check it out and ordered bonuts, Bill Neal (shrimp and grits), and East Nasty Princess (biscuit/gravy and Nashville Hot Chicken).
I had a free day before heading home. I originally thought I could standby for an earlier flight but it didn't work out. Instead, I went out in the West End area and explored a bit. Vanderbilt University was a 10 minute walk and I headed over to check out the campus. It was quiet for a Sunday but to be expected. There were some students out; mostly the international students eating lunch at the Student Center. Nearby is the Centennial Park and I walked over to Cori's Dog House to have hot dogs. Billed as gourmet, I liked that they were very low key. My meal of one "LA" Hot Dog (Bacon, Grilled Onions, Cheese, and Jalapenos), soda, side of mac n cheese and fries, and a fried twinkie came out around $12. Pretty cheap when you consider what I ordered. Very family oriented, the place was very large and had a number of TVs inside. Except for the mac n cheese which was really a soupy cheese base with some noodles, everything was good. I liked that they used Texas toast as buns. I'm a fan of Texas toast and it compares to DogHaus in LA.
After lunch, went over to Centennial Park and checked out the Parthenon from the outside. It is a replica of the Greek version and is an art gallery too. I didn't really feel like walking through inside but the whole park was full of people, festivities (there was a bunch of food trucks and music on one side of the park), and dogs (dog park was at the other end).
Afterwards, checked into the Hilton Garden Inn Nashville Airport. There isn't much in the area but the hotel does offer complimentary shuttle service and I still have tons of leftover food from Peg Leg Porker and Biscuit Love.
Once I landed at Nashville International Airport, I spent time in baggage claim because I needed to be on a videoconference meeting and the area was not heavily trafficked with people. Surprising but I think that most folks who fly into Nashville aren't really checking a lot of luggage. You can tell you're in Nashville by the number of live bands/musicians on every corner including the airport.... At least the music isn't too intrusive. Grabbed an airport shuttle to the hotel and the driver was friendly telling me local spots to hit and how to navigate the city on a low budget.
Checked into the Embassy Suites Nashville at Vanderbilt. Apparently, Nashville gets a lot of tourist traffic as the town was mostly sold out on hotel rooms. I never found cheaper hotel rates than the Embassy Suites and I had booked about 8 months prior. I was pleasantly surprised that the hotel has a shuttle and the shuttle will drive anywhere within 2 miles. Super convenient as I had thought I was going to have to taxi everyday to downtown. The shuttle runs every 30 minutes and it seems to be able to handle the traffic of people coming and going. The valet informed me that all the hotels outsource their valet service to one company. That helpful tidbit allowed me to jump onto other Hilton shuttles when mine didn't show up. The rooms are the typical suite layout. The breakfast in the morning is good (I generally stick with omelets). The evening reception is popular and I like that they give out sangria as well as hard liquor. Usually it is beer and wine. The gym is well sized and has a whirlpool and sauna connected to the workout area. I did not think that it would be hot this week to bring a swimsuit or I would have gone swimming.
In many ways, Nashville reminds me of a smaller Austin. Lots of music, lots of drinking, and lots of good food. Downtown Nashville does seem to be dominated by tourists but still fun. Since I was closer to Vanderbilt, I had a taste of the college scene and the restaurants around here are great. Since I wasn't able to check in right away at the hotel, I walked across the street to Hattie B's. From the shuttle driver I found out that fried chicken is really big here. To that end, I had Nashville "hot" chicken and found the chicken very flavorful at Hattie B's. I also ordered the mac n cheese and banana pudding. The side and dessert were ok but I would go back for the chicken. It is a order first and then sit down kind of restaurant (and most of the other places I've gone has similar style). The wait was about 30 minutes but you can order online for pickup. It might be faster if you are in peak periods.
The conference hotel was at the Omni Nashville Hotel. I grabbed the hotel shuttle and picked up my registration packet. I was still full from my late lunch but when I saw the reception food, I promptly forgot! It isn't often that I find conference food good because hotels usually do a poor job when they have to mass produce foods. The Omni was pretty awesome the entire conference. The only negative thing I had was a vanilla cupcake in one of the break periods. The hotel is attached to the Country Music Hall of Fame (and yes, the catered food there was also very good).
The Music Hall was interesting to go through during a hosted reception. It actually brought back some memories from my childhood as I watched Dukes of Hazzard and Hee Haw as a kid. I don't know much about country music but I did recognize some of the names inside the museum.
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| Country Music Hall of Fame display |
On the last day of the conference, I planned on going by Biscuit Love. Ironically, Alton Brown was in town the first night I was here performing and he posted the best grits on his FB page. So, I decided to go check it out and ordered bonuts, Bill Neal (shrimp and grits), and East Nasty Princess (biscuit/gravy and Nashville Hot Chicken).
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| Vanderbilt University Law School |
I had a free day before heading home. I originally thought I could standby for an earlier flight but it didn't work out. Instead, I went out in the West End area and explored a bit. Vanderbilt University was a 10 minute walk and I headed over to check out the campus. It was quiet for a Sunday but to be expected. There were some students out; mostly the international students eating lunch at the Student Center. Nearby is the Centennial Park and I walked over to Cori's Dog House to have hot dogs. Billed as gourmet, I liked that they were very low key. My meal of one "LA" Hot Dog (Bacon, Grilled Onions, Cheese, and Jalapenos), soda, side of mac n cheese and fries, and a fried twinkie came out around $12. Pretty cheap when you consider what I ordered. Very family oriented, the place was very large and had a number of TVs inside. Except for the mac n cheese which was really a soupy cheese base with some noodles, everything was good. I liked that they used Texas toast as buns. I'm a fan of Texas toast and it compares to DogHaus in LA.
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Cori's Dog House from left to right LA Hot Dog, Fries, MacnCheese, Fried Twinkie
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After lunch, went over to Centennial Park and checked out the Parthenon from the outside. It is a replica of the Greek version and is an art gallery too. I didn't really feel like walking through inside but the whole park was full of people, festivities (there was a bunch of food trucks and music on one side of the park), and dogs (dog park was at the other end).
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| People napping in hammocks at Centennial Park |
Afterwards, checked into the Hilton Garden Inn Nashville Airport. There isn't much in the area but the hotel does offer complimentary shuttle service and I still have tons of leftover food from Peg Leg Porker and Biscuit Love.
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