We arrived about 7:30pm, checked into the Airbnb and split a bottle of Malbec before heading to Dino’s for a late dinner. It’s small inside, generally crowded and there’s usually a line to order at the bar. Shifting around for the crowd is a jig you should be ready to dance. This is also a destination spot in Nashville so prepare yourself for seeing all manner of locals, celebs and tourists.
Dino’s Bar Menu
Dino’s Bar
Dino’s Cheeseburger
Damn Sandwich
Fried Chicken Sandwich
Joe’s (Med) Hot Chicken Sandwich
Fries (Animal Style)
Pitcher of PBR
Let’s get one thing straight – this is bar food made for eating after 9pm and after having had a few drinks.
Dino’s Cheeseburger was underwhelming at best. The Damn Sandwich is a bacon, egg and cheese with “special sauce” which I will describe as being a bit savorier than thousand island dressing. The Fried Chicken Sandwiches was my favorite – juicy, tender, served with honey mustard and pickles. Let me preface Joe’s (Med) Hot Chicken Sandwich review with this: I’m not a hot chicken fan. It’s served open-faced with those delicious pickles and tartar sauce on the side. It’s a bit dry for my taste, and of course, too spicy. Spicy fans at the table said it was very good. The Animal Style Fries – OH MY! These guys were definitely the surprise winner of the meal. Animal Style = Velveeta, grilled onions and special sauce. The onions seemed more steamed than grilled, IMO, but whatever, they were FREAKIN delicious.
We made the PBR-fueled decision to take a $5 Lyft to Pearl Diver, about a mile up Gallatin Ave from Dino’s.
Pearl Diver Menu
Bird’s Nest (Description on the menu: Dark Rums, Raspberry, Egg White, Orange Blossoms, Fresh Lemon)
We were sat right away in a roomy, light green booth next to a port hole window. The spacious bar is dark and there was a kitschy, Nazi-dinosaur film projected on the wall. We decided that the vibe was if Bikini Bottom were a real-life bar. It was incredibly endearing somehow.
I can’t say what my friends had to drink or what possessed me to order a rum cocktail after having wine and beer… But it was definitely worth the surprise I got when the drink arrived.
Bird’s Nest at Pearl Diver
I do know why I ordered it: Egg White. I assumed this would be a creamy, shaken drink served in a coupe glass.
What arrived: a tall, iced drink, a full sprig of fresh rosemary, a raspberry and an egg filled with a rum floater. DID. NOT. DISAPPOINT.
FRIDAY
Shaking off the alcohols of the night before, we spent the morning in our Airbnb, before brunch at Liberty Common. An airy, open space with a punch of color coming from the baby blue booths.
Liberty Common Menu
Bahn Oui & Cheese Grits at Liberty Common
Cinnamon Roll
Hot Chicken and Waffles
Hot Chicken Biscuit
Bahn Oui
Cheese Grits
Fries
Mimosas
The cinnamon roll was a magical starter served with a fresh vanilla cream on top.
Feeling adventurous, I opted for the Bahn Oui (country pate, pickled carrot and tomato, cucumber, mayo d’Espelette on a baguette). It was adequately delicious and hefty hangover food.
However, the quiet winner of the table were the fries. Skinny, and lightly seasoned.
After brunch, we digested with a drive down Belle Meade Blvd to see how Nashville’s elite live. My crew took turns reading fun facts out of our Nashville edition of Wildsam Field Guides.
We headed to Pinewood Social next. The main part of the building is a massive room with the bar in the middle filled with cheery daytime drinkers. On vintage-looking sofas scattered around the perimeter are folks tapping away on their laptops with coffees. The back houses a vintage bowling alley.
Pinewood Social Menu
Starting Pistol
Starting Pistol (toki japanese whisky, demerara rum, passionfruit, ginger)
Pork Rinds (chili dust, alabama white sauce)
Fried Broccoli (lemon zest, sunflower aioli)
The candied ginger on the rim was an exciting invitation to this complex cocktail.
After Pinewood we spent several hours recovering before dinner at Rolf & Daughters.
A busy restaurant, Rolf and Daughters is professional and on point. We started with a round of cocktails before ordering wine and moving down the menu. Highlights: the recommended pastured chicken is all it’s hailed and more. The stracciatella on the toast is unreal. The green salad, loaded with cheese is a genuine surprise. The two pastas were incredible.
Post dinner, we went to Camp, a new cocktail bar right next to Dino’s. The theme is based on National Parks and you order your cocktail accordingly.
Camp Menu
Acadia +caviar at Camp
Acadia (+caviar)
Yosemite
American Samoa
The Acadia was a martini base served with a terrarium (yes, terrarium) of accoutrements. It was quite an experience, but at $15 a pop (some of which is donated to the parks themselves), it was a one and done kind of place.
And yes, we went back to Dino’s to try the fish sandwich and Joe’s Style Fries this time. They were both great.
SATURDAY
Saturday morning we jogged down to Shelby Park and accidentally joined a half marathon.
Then we headed out of town for brunch at Party Fowl Donelson (the LFC supporters bar).
Party Fowl Menu
Half Bird Hot Chicken
Hot Chicken Benedict
Lacquered Lollipops
$2 Mimosas
Again, this is bar food, but if I had a do-over, I’d keep the Benedict and skip the Lollipops.
OFF TO THE MATCH WE GO
We Pre-Gamed at Robert’s Western World on Broadway.
Robert’s Western World Menu
Fried Bologna Sandwich
Jumbo All-Beef Corn Dog
Moon Pie
Wavy Fries
Corona (virus be damned)
Even if it takes over 30 minutes, get yourself a Fried Bologna Sandwich and a Corn Dog.
You can’t beat the live music on Broadway, but be prepared for wall-to-wall ATLUTD fans, bachelorette parties, wack jobs and fratty boys packed in on game day. The stadium is a short hike across the pedestrian bridge from here.
Nashville SC fans were tailgating at full strength and it was great to see their bright yellow scarves already proudly displayed around most of their necks.
View from the supporters section at Nissan Stadium (I’m sitting in the orange circle in the middle on the right side)
Even if every second fan was from Atlanta, I felt the team did a good job soccer-fying the inside of Nissan Stadium, covering up a lot of the Titans signage with NSC ones. I could tell a lot of the fans weren’t crazy about the ATL fans standing the whole time – but it was in the 30’s so sitting wouldn’t have been ideal anyway.
The team band, Judah & the Lion, was an interesting choice for entertainment… but hey, the golden spike felt weird at first too, right? I will say that the team anthem, Never Give Up On You, has grown on me quite a bit since Saturday.
In the end, we won the game 2-1 (another strange mirror, per my preview post, to our first-ever MLS match up against Red Bulls in 2017), but we lost Josef for most, if not all, of the season to a devastating ACL tear, and Escobar left the match early to injury as well.
SUNDAY
Last but not least, we said goodbye to Music City with a brunch at Hathorne. Playing off the old church vibe, half the seating is in pews and a sign over the bar reads “Joyful Hour.”
Hawthorn Menu
French 75
Crispy Goat Cheese
Fried Chicken a la Schnitzel
Hathorne Breakfast Hash (spicy!)
House Corned-Beef Hash
Brunch Donuts
All delicious, but the Schnitzel is not to be missed.
We were so saddened to hear the news of the devastating tornados that hit Nashville just a day after we left.
Please consider finding a way help. Nashville, we’ll never give up on you.
I have to admit that traveling to Nashville SC for their inaugural MLS match is making me emotional — and not just because it will also be Footie Food’s inaugural food tour.
It wasn’t that long ago that the Red Bulls came to the A and welcomed Atlanta United to the league. I remember the feeling, the electricity of being so excited for the long-anticipated Five Stripes’ first game and also the anxiety of not knowing what the hell to expect.
Let me set the 2017 scene: We were playing at Bobby Dodd stadium — as our house wasn’t ready yet (another thing we will have in common with Nashville fans). I bought a random parking pass so I could enjoy some pre-match tailgating with my friends. It just so happened to be the same lot, just south of the stadium, where the New York Red Bulls fans were also congregating.
I felt a bit off sharing a space with them. And SO.MANY. of them had traveled down for the game. And they were rowdy. The drums, the music, the dancing around in a massive huddle and then an eruption of beer spewing from the crowd. I couldn’t believe it.
But something amazing happened.
Every time a Red Bulls fan passed by, they would stop, shake my hand and say “welcome to the league.”
(hold for a moment, I’m getting choked up here.)
I will never forget their genuinely positive attitudes towards us, the opponents, on that first, special day for Atlanta.
And now, it’s our turn to give Nashville that same welcome to the MLS.
Soccer is unifying. Nearly every meaningful connection I have is from this sport: my friends, my partner, even my current job stemmed from a soccer relationship.
Food also brings people together. Which is why I think this mashup of food and footie will work so well. I hope you enjoy it…
What’s on the Nashville Menu
Dino’s Bar
East Nashville’s oldest dive bar
Known for Dino’s Cheeseburger, Damn Sandwich, Monster Fries, and Joe’s Hot Chicken Sandwich
Four stars on Yelp
Liberty Common
“Best Brunch”
Live Jazz
Combo of French style and Southern traditions
Bobby Hotel Rooftop
On Printers Alley in Downtown Nashville
Going for cocktails and the view — expecting a PCM rooftop vibe
Rolf and Daughters
Located in Nashville’s Germantown
Run by James Beard Award-nominated chef Philip Krajeck
Known for small plates, pastas and pastured chicken with preserved garlic and garlic confit
Redheaded Stranger
East Nashville taco shop
One Yelp reviewer says “damn delicious food with interesting combinations”
Party Fowl (Donelson)
4 Locations around Nashville
Known for Half Bird Hot Chicken and sugary, often frozen cocktails
Liverpool Nashville’s official pub – YNWA
American Legion 82
Keeping Honky Tonk culture alive (steel guitar!)
Trendiest non-traditional venue in town
Mandatory guest log at the front door, optional donation
Are we missing anything? Where are you going? Tell us in the comments.
Bless your hearts, see ya out there and Five Stripes Don’t Stop!
When I travel, like most people, I use it as an excuse to eat delicious foods. And as a soccer fan, I noticed a gap in the internet food scene: where should you eat when you’re traveling to an away match?
Thus, Footie Food was born.
What can you expect?
Lots of food recs
Miscellaneous wine or martini-fueled rants
My experiences as an Atlanta United ticket holder and generally new MLS fan
Unsolicited pictures of my dog
Solicited pictures of my dog
General hilarity
What do you need to do?
Hit that Follow widget on the bottom right to get new post alerts
After brunch, we digested with a drive down Belle Meade Blvd to see how Nashville’s elite live. My crew took turns reading fun facts out of our Nashville edition of Wildsam Field Guides.
Saturday morning we jogged down to Shelby Park and accidentally joined a half marathon.
Let me set the 2017 scene: We were playing at Bobby Dodd stadium — as our house wasn’t ready yet (another thing we will have in common with Nashville fans). I bought a random parking pass so I could enjoy some pre-match tailgating with my friends. It just so happened to be the same lot, just south of the stadium, where the New York Red Bulls fans were also congregating.
And now, it’s our turn to give Nashville that same welcome to the MLS.
Footie Food 