Nashville Honkey Tonkin'

If you're into live music, Nashville's Entertainment District is the place to be.

Quick Tips:

Our trolley tour guide warned us not to come down in June unless we liked huge crowds. There's some kind of three-week festival that all the big name entertainers come in for. It was packed enough on a Saturday night in January for us!

Best Way To Get Around:

We drove, but on future trips will probably fly, take a shuttle to the hotel, and just walk everywhere.

This is a gorgeous, newer hotel right smack dab in the entertainment district. It has a beautiful 10-story atrium, spacious rooms, two restaurants, heated indoor pool, and exercise room.

The room rate includes a complimentary drink in Eddie George's Sports Bar and a comprehensive breakfast buffet. We got a good rate through this website. Our room was nicely decorated, clean, and big. Outside the door was the beautiful atrium view. Right outside the windows was the new Country Music Hall of Fame and Gaylord Entertainment Center.

A block north of the hotel puts you right on Broadway where the Honkey Tonk Bars are (see separate listing). Walk a few blocks east and you'll be on 2nd Avenue for more clubs, and, of course, more live music (which is EVERYWHERE!).

I shouldn't even tell you about this place because it's crowded enough as it is! A local resident recommended it to us, and we're glad he did!

Although it's considered an Italian restaurant, the owners are Greek. Their speciality is the Club Steak, an unusual, but very tender and tasty steak! The spaghetti has a sweet tomato sauce that we just loved. It is served with a crisp salad and warm, soft garlic rolls. There was no way we could fit in dessert! Service was prompt, especially considering the large crowd. The prices are very reasonable, especially for being right in the middle of the entertainment district.

I sent my steak back to be cooked a little more and they brought me a second serving of spaghetti (not that I needed it!). We will definitely go back!

We stopped in here for our complimentary drink and an appetizer. The atmosphere is large but cozy with all the obligatory sports jerseys/framed photos on the walls. It didn't feel like a typical sports bar to me. Our food was delicious and was served just how we ordered it. Our waitress was very friendly and eager to tell us fun places to visit while we were in town.

We heard from more than one source that this is the authentic barbecue joint, a must-do in Nashville.

We're talking very casual here with absolutely no frills. However, the food is outstanding. A guy took a big foil-covered piece of pork from the oven, removed the bone, and chopped it up for sandwiches. Mmmm, good!! You have your choice of which kind of sauce you want to top it off with. There are side dishes like macaroni and cheese, baked beans, baked apples, green beans, and cole slaw (to name a few).

We tried some of the barbecue at another restaurant on Broadway, and believe me, Jack's is the one to hit!

While you'll find mostly country bands here, there are MANY bars to wander in and out of . . . ALL with live entertainment from 11am to 3am every day of the week. Tootsie's is a well-known venue, but we preferred the more country-rock bands at the Stage on Broadway. We watched a band called "The Chameleons" play a 3+ hour set on Saturday night. The place was rockin'!

During the day, it's easy to get a seat and a drink. At night, especially the weekends, it can get very crowded. Instead of a regular paycheck for their gigs, the bands earn their money by passing around a tip jar.

The bars are great places to watch the cowboys and cowgirls in their short skirts, hats, and boots!

To learn a little more about Nashville outside of the Entertainment District we took a one-hour trolley tour. Although it was a cold and rainy day, we were the only folks on the noon trolley. Our guide was knowledgeable and witty. Some of the places we saw include the Capitol Building, Centennial Park, the Parthenon (yes, the only replica of the original from Greece), and Music Row.

How lucky is this? We call a business associate of my husbands to get restaurant recommendations, and he says he can get us into the Predators game four rows up from the ice!

This was my first NHL experience and it was a good time. The people in Nashville are really supporting their team. The place was filled to the brim with screaming fans.

There were plenty of activities during timeouts and in between periods. A fun thing to do, but not if you're offended by loud noises! The only thing I didn't like was the damn air horn they sounded off a few times.