* Best Meat-and-Three: Arnold’s Country Kitchen is the granddaddy of Nashville meat-and-threes. People line up outside the 8th Avenue diner every weekday to get their hands on a rotating assortment of country classics including fried chicken, mac and cheese, butter beans, and tomato pie. Nowhere does Southern home-style cooking better.
* Best Laid-Back Fine Dining: Urban Cowboy Public House is quietly serving up some of the city’s least expensive, most inventive “fancy food.” From oysters with ginger and fish sauce to abalone mushroom broth, it’s a can’t-miss spot for anyone serious about food.
* Best Hot Chicken: While I enjoy several of Nashville’s newer hot chicken haunts (Hattie B’s is excellent despite its super-touristy nature), there’s no substitute for Prince’s Hot Chicken. Their salty, spicy, crispy, juicy hot chicken is the standard against which all others are measured; it’s a must for food fanatics.
Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.
