Music City’s burgeoning tech scene is tapping into the Tennessean capital’s creative energy with outposts for such brands as Lyft, Postmates, Warby Parker, and Amazon, which is opening a 1 million-square-foot operations center complete with 5,000 jobs. “Silicon Honky Tonk,” anyone?
Cafe Roze chef Julia Jaksic named her East Nashville eatery after the Croatian word for “pink,” a color that dominates the sunny space. Grab a bar seat and order a cardamom-rose latte and a country ham toast—a slab of sourdough heaped with soft-scrambled eggs, paper-thin Benton’s ham, and snowdrifts of parmesan.
Cross the Cumberland River and head to the Tennessee State Museum, which moved into its new $160 million digs last fall. The collection, which covers 13,000 years of area history, features such objects as Andrew Jackson’s inauguration hat and a spangly Dolly Parton outfit and guitar.
Hot chicken is a staple here, but Martin’s Bar-B-Que Joint makes the case that Nashville is an unsung BBQ town, too. Pitmaster Pat Martin got his start in nearby Nolensville, but his downtown location is a 13,000-square-foot ode to hickory-smoked, Western Tennessee–style whole hog.
Let’s face it: You’re going to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. Once you’re there, don’t skip Hatch Show Print, which moved into the same building in 2013. America’s oldest letterpress print shop, which turns 140 this year, has churned out bold concert posters for everyone from Elvis Presley to Kacey Musgraves. Try pressing your own on one of the store’s guided tours.
Stroll over to historic Printers Alley to freshen up in your room at the new Bobby Hotel. Stop to greet the staff—in particular, the hotel’s mascot, Sasha the rescue dog—and check out lyricist Bernie Taupin’s mixed-media artworks in the lobby before heading up to the rooftop lounge, which offers seating in a 1956 Scenicruiser tour bus.
Dinner is at Bastion, former Catbird Seat chef Josh Habiger’s 24-seat spot, which is hidden, speakeasy-style, in a cocktail bar/nacho joint in the Wedgewood-Houston warehouse district. Go for the “Let’s Try Everything” tasting menu option, offering a flurry of small plates with deceptively simple names, such as Raw Lamb + Sunflower, Mackerel + Barley, and Apple + Foie Gras.
Back on the east side, duck into a different sort of speakeasy, the Southern outpost of NYC cocktail den Attaboy. There’s no menu, so your server will ask you a series of questions, and then, in the words of Grand Ole Opry member Carrie Underwood, let Jesus—or whoever’s behind the bar—take the wheel to craft you a perfectly bespoke drink.
