Broadway Brewhouse Downtown, Nashville (TN)

You must have read about the other places Debarshi and I visited during our Nashville trip. I had quite forgotten about this place. Apparently they are famous for their tap beer. Well, we just went there for a quick dinner. So, let’s see what am I enjoying here:

This is their Fried Shrimp Basket for $8.99. It has deep fried breaded shrimp served with fries, hush puppies and tartar sauce. 

We also had a Cajun sampler with Texas toast. The flavors and service were alright. There was nothing extra-ordinary which will make it worth mentioning, except perhaps the beer selection (if you are into that). All in all, my score will be 5 out of 10 and totally your wish if you want to visit this place.

However, if you are in Nashville, don’t forget to visit these places:

• Marché Artisan Foods, Nashville (Tennessee)
• Cafe Monells on Bransford Ave (Nashville)
• Martin’s Barbecue Joint (Nashville)
• M.L.Rose Craft Beer & Burgers, Nashville (TN)
• El Hornito Bakery, Nashville (TN)

El Hornito Bakery, Nashville (TN)

El Hornito Bakery is like a dream come true for the sweet lovers. Believe me if I ever live in Nashville or visit there again, I am definitely going back to this small bakery. The interior and the location may not impress you as a tourist but as I always say, when you are visiting a new city eat like a local. And the locals of Nashville sure love this place. 

I know I haven’t been able to click any decent photos of this place so let me do it justice by sharing some pics from google. 

This place looks like one of my guilty pleasure dreams – shelves full of different varieties of baked goods that too at such a cheap price! We were there for about 15 minutes and it was clear that this is one of the most visited bakeries. People kept coming and going. It was as if everyone except us knew how things work and what all they wanted. Then finally someone from the staff saw us and helped us out.

So, as soon as you walk through the doors, you will see tray and tongs. Just grab one of each and start dumping on the tray whatever you would like to buy. When you are finished shopping, go to the counter and they will check you out.

You will not see any shiny storefront so keep an eye out for this bakery. The staff may not speak or understand English properly but they are so nice and they do try their best to help out. If you love different types of pastries and cakes but feel that the French bakeries charge too much for them then this is the perfect place for you. In fact, I couldn’t believe that I paid only $12.00 for so many breads and pastries. It usually costs us around $4.00 just to buy a simple muffin at a chain bakery. Yes, you can sit and chat and enjoy your cup of coffee while reading a book or working on your laptop at such chain bakeries which you wont be able to do here. But hey! If you are a local or want to experience things like one, this is the place to go. My only regret is, I could have bought some more baked goods which I didn’t. It was mainly due to the price. We have become so accustomed to paying exorbitant amounts for even the simplest of things that when we get something for the correct amount we immediately doubt its quality. Be assured both Debarshi and I are fit and fine after gorging on their breads and muffins. In fact, all the baked goods were very fresh.

If you love sweet breads, then this place is a must go. You can take your kids there and they can have as much sugary treat as they want. There is a very low chance you will get a huge bill. In our case, it is for the best that we are not living in Nashville because this place would have never let me loose any weight. 

Going to Nashville? Try these places as well:

• Marché Artisan Foods
• Cafe Monells on Bransford Ave
• Martin’s Barbecue Joint
• M.L.Rose Craft Beer & Burgers

M.L.Rose Craft Beer & Burgers, Nashville (TN)

Sometimes you eat something ordinary but it instantly feels special. It is funny how we associate certain foods with special memories. This place did the same for me. We ordered Waffle Fries here and I don’t know how but I immediately started talking about Holi and chips. Maybe you are thinking, I have something huge associated with Waffle Fries or maybe something significant happened in my life with waffle fries. Nop! None of those. It’s special alright but so simple. My mom has one of those waffle slicers at home and every year before Holi (the festival of colors) she would boil potatoes and slice them in that waffle slicer. I was still in school back then and every day after coming home, I used to help her to make these chips. We would go on the roof and set a table. Then we would lay sheets on it and place those chips one by one on the sheet. Finally, so that those chips don’t get dirty or eaten by the birds, we would cover it with another sheet of cloth. These two sheets were held in place with some heavy pots and pans. We used to continue this same process for 2-3 days depending on the heat and humidity. Finally, when the chips would dry up completely we would pick them up and transfer to a container. We used to make several batches for the Holi party because everyone loved these homemade chips. These chips are fried right before serving them so my mom used to heat a lot of oil in a big wok and fry several big batches and they would turn into this crispy waffle fry! I used to get so full by just eating these chips. Later when I grew up and went to Delhi for my job, my mom started sending me care packages. And amongst all the things I would always find a pack of homemade waffle chips. Working in a different city was fun, there was a lot to learn. However, there were tough times as well and these chips have helped to cheer me up on many such times.

It is amazing how a simple thing like a waffle fry can flood your mind with all those memories. I started talking with Debarshi about all this and mind you, if you are a patient reader then he is certainly a patient listener. Keep in mind that he listens to everything first hand and without all these edits and cuts which I do while writing an article. 

Hmm..I have totally drifted off the topic. Let me start from the top, so Debarshi and I started the day with some local sight seeing. We strolled around the Nashville downtown, walked on the Pedestrian Bridge then went to the Parthenon in Centennial Park. If you have not seen this beautiful monument, then let me tell you that this is a full-scale replica of the original Parthenon in Athens. The statues are just stunning to look and if you have time you should see the museum as well. 

Photo taken in downtown, Nashville

Photo taken on the Pedestrian Bridge

In front of the Parthenon in Centennial Park

We spent some time exploring the place then got tired. So we thought, let’s go somewhere have a couple of drinks and then go back to the hotel. M.L.Rose is just about 16 minutes drive from there. We were not very hungry so we just ordered some drinks and a plate of Barbecued Brisket with Waffle fries. The plate is listed for $10.29 on their website and it tasted amazing! It had beef brisket topped with a blend of jack cheese, fresh greens, diced tomatoes, tortilla strips and barbecue sauce. It was served with a side of tomato-lime ranch dressing. 

I started talking with the waitress who was very friendly and courteous. She told us that their menu has all the usual courses of Salads, Sandwiches and Desserts and they are mainly famous for their all natural beef patties (in their craft burgers) and over 90 craft beers. Visit their website: https://mlrose.com/craft-beer/ for a complete list of all the beer types served here. For food click here: https://mlrose.com/specials-events/

They also have weekly specials beer and every month they select one burger as the ‘Burger of the Month’. Love Trivia? Definitely M.L.Rose is the place for you.

I came to know that the place stays crowded most of the time but since we went there around 4pm, we got seated right away. The downside, it was way too early to have a dinner so I guess we will have to visit Nashville again sometime soon so that we can have a burger with the special waffle fries. 

Going to Nashville? Try these places as well:

• Marché Artisan Foods, Nashville (Tennessee)
• Cafe Monells on Bransford Ave (Nashville)
• Martin’s Barbecue Joint (Nashville)
• El Hornito Bakery, Nashville (TN)