The family went to Nashville for my oldest’s 21st. Here are some highlights.
Noelle
We stayed at Noelle, a charming boutique hotel with friendly staff, unique music playing in the lobby, and luxe, art deco furnishings.
The Johnny Cash Museum
I was a bit out of my element this whole trip because I have very little knowledge of country music. But I jumped right in by suggesting a visit to the Johnny Cash Museum. I enjoyed learning about his various influences and seeing the vintage guitars, but what really got me was the exhibit on Cash’s cover of Nine Inch Nails’ “Hurt.” Not being a Cash or Nine Inch Nails devotee, it was the first I’d heard it, and I thought it was quite powerful.
Streetcar
Streetcar is a craft pub and Biergarten. They were out of Barrique’s Pilsner, but I had Hofbrau Original, which was in good shape. We weren’t hungry at the time but ordered the bread, which was excellent, and the Nashville hot chicken wings, which turned out to be the best we had the whole trip (Prince’s was a close second).
After Streetcar, we went next door to a labyrinthine bookstore. We spent nearly an hour there browsing. My wife found me a copy of Noonan’s lager brewing book, and I also bought piano sheet music for a Stravinsky ragtime piece. When I looked at the piece later, at home, I realized I’d never have the skill to play it!
Broadway
The Broadway bars are the most fun early in the day when you can get your choice of table. As it gets later, the crowds get thicker and wilder. After dark, Broadway is to be avoided. The bars at either end of Broadway seem to be less crowded yet have more diverse musical acts. None of the bars charges a cover.
Acme Feed & Seed is known to the locals as a spot for good music, and the three-piece (vox, keyboard, and bass, all outstanding musicians) that was on stage at the time didn’t disappoint. It was the best live music I heard the whole trip. The food and drinks were fine; I had a Bearded Iris Homestyle IPA. After eating, we went to the roof. Although the bar up there was closed, the view is one of the best in the city and where my wife took the cover photo for this post.
Morgan Wallen‘s This Bar was a great place to hear music and play cards. And then we went to another floor to eat lunch, which was not bad. My 21yo had a drink called Ain’t That Some, which I think I can replicate with the following recipe:
- 2 oz. tequila reposado
- ¾ oz. passionfruit syrup
- ¾ oz. lime juice
- ¾ oz. orange juice
But I haven’t tried it yet.
Legends Corner my favorite Broadway spot. It wasn’t crowded, and we immediately found a table in the back. We couldn’t see the band, but we could hear fine, and it wasn’t so loud I needed earplugs. We played two games of euchre, had a drink (another Bearded Iris for me), and enjoyed the music and each other’s company.
Printer’s Alley
Printer’s Alley is an actual alley not far from Broadway and much less frequented. For that reason, I much prefer it.
The sign reads:
THE WORLD FAMOUS PRINTER’S ALLEY
Rich in the heritage of American history, world famous printers alley carries a hundred year tradition of entertainment excellence. Millions of visitors have been entertained here by time honored guests ranging from, W.C. Fields of Vaudeville days, to todays superstars of stage, screen, and television. These cobblestones have been trodden by five U.S. presidents and scores of international diplomats, people from all walks of life … from all over the world come here to enjoy the variety of entertainment offered in Printer’s Alley. History surrounds you here. The walls of these buildings bespeak our age, heritage and serve as constant reminders of our historic entertainment past. We are proud of our heritage and prouder still to offer it to you our patrons.
THANK YOU FOR VISITING, WORLD FAMOUS PRINTER’S ALLEY.
Skull’s Rainbow Room was the first spot we visited and looks to be an excellent place for a steak, but we weren’t hungry for dinner yet and just had cocktails and a charcuterie board.
Fleet Street is an underground English pub. We drank English beers (I had a Fuller’s ESB) and played darts.
On the last night of the trip, we wanted to go somewhere close and chose Alley Taps. We had a beer and enjoyed the music in the laid-back atmosphere.
Speakeasies
A fun thing to do when visiting a city is to seek out hidden bars. Red Phone Booth is a speakeasy accessible only via a phone booth once the correct number (available from the concierge of certain hotels) is dialed. Shortly after squeezing into the booth and dialing the number, the whole wall with the phone started receding away from us, courtesy of the maitre d’, who welcomed us in. It was a full sized restaurant and bar with wood paneling and leather everywhere.
Ellie’s Sidecar and my Zombie were not quite what we were expecting but very good. We only stayed for one drink because it was getting late, and the cigar smoke was getting to us (it’s also a cigar bar). I’d certainly like to return one day and try something else.
Wellness
One of the benefits of staying at Noelle was free access to the excellent QNTM. They have a sauna, towel service, and many other amenities, and more equipment than I’ve ever seen in one place. There were seven (7) power racks.
One morning we all had appointments at Urban Oasis. I’m not a spa guy, but I got a facial and shoulder massage with gua sha, followed by a full body hot stone massage. Both were excellent and very relaxing.
Beer
I didn’t sample many local beers this trip, but one afternoon while the girls were shopping, I took a long walk to Barrique Brewing. Barrique has 500 barrels onsite, a beer engine, and an array of lagers, British beers, and sours. Everything I had was good. The cask ESB was pretty ester forward, and while I like ethyl hexanoate and friends, I’d have liked more malt backbone. The German Pils was outstanding—brilliant clarity, crisp with black-pepper hops but not overly bitter, and with a crackery malt profile. I also had a wild ale aged in sauvignon blanc barrels that was excellent.
I bought two Barrique beers to take home—Wet Hop Strata (one corked bottle) and Mélange Foncé (two cans). I wish I’d bought more as they were both excellent. The Strata, in its unique bottle with branded cork, had a clean hop flavor that didn’t fight the sourness, a solid malt backbone, and a bracing but not-too-harsh finish. Mélange Foncé was akin to a very good Flanders Red although maybe a bit too acetic for a full pour.
