Last weekend we took advantage of our Southwest Airlines companion pass to visit our friend Leah in Nashville.
Saturday
We arrived Saturday morning and were impressed by Nashville’s arrivals area– they have 10 minute pull-through waiting spaces (with electornic timers) right next to the terminal for picking people up. Very civilized! We hopped in to Leah’s car and drove over to Marche in East Nashville for Saturday brunch. The restaurant was very busy so we had to wait about 20 minutes, but the croissant french toast certainly made up for the inconvenience!
Stuffed full of breakfast goodness we headed south to Cheekwood Gardens. The weather was beautiful and the tulips were putting on quite a show.
From Cheekwood we drove through the rolling residential areas around Franklin to Leah’s house. Having seen many of the renovations on her website it was nice to receive a personal tour of the current renovations, both inside and out. Later that afternoon we walked down to the small, but bustling, Franklin downtown. Leandra couldn’t resist the allure of several shops but the damage was minimal– some moonflower seeds and a few potential Christmas presents.
By this point we had walked several miles in all so we retired to Leah’s backyard for a well-earned local beer — Yazoo Brewing Company’s Sue, a deliciously-smoked stout.
That evening we tried J.Alexanders for dinner. Though we usually skip corporate restaurants, J.Alexanders came highly recommended, so we called ahead for seating and ended up waiting about 20 minutes. We were rather entertained by the various high school prom kids whilst waiting :) Our orders came out surprisingly fast, to the point where we weren’t sure it could be ours, but each entree was exactly right and excellent to boot. Hats off to that kitchen, they were definitely firing on all cylinders.
Sunday
Unlike Saturday’s blue skies, we woke to an overcast morning. Leah wanted us to try The Loveless Cafe and knowing the wait times thought it best to get there before 9:30a. We were lucky to have about a 30 minute wait, so we bided our time browsing the attached stores.
Since this is also a BBQ place I was looking forward to the ham, but I was underwhelmed with the flavor and texture of the thick cut. Thankfully, the biscuits were proper Southern style, buttery and warm, and the cheesy hashbrown casserole was awesome.
From here we headed to Edwin Warner Park for some light hiking through the spring woods. Lots of wildflowers were in bloom including Virginia bluebells, trilliums and violets.
Plus a snake!
Having clearly earned it, we later visited Sweet CeCe’s Frozen Yogurt in Franklin, where I mixed thin mint and chocolate milk frozen yogurt with peanut m&ms and malt balls for a delicious lunch :)
We had to be at the airport around 7p, so we headed back to East Nashville for an early dinner at The Pharmacy, a burger place. You definitely can’t go wrong with a place that serves tater tots as a side… and their burgers were excellent. Once again, service was very quick, so we had a bit of time to stop at Bar 308 for a pre-departure drink. It was fairly quiet while we were there, but I can see how the place could be very crowded on a Friday or Saturday night. They have a fairly extensive cocktail menu, so Leandra tried a vodka and ginger drink she wished were a little sweeter while I opted for a vodka and citrus on the 2-for-1 happy hour menu.
All-in-all, a great overnight trip courtesy of our Southwest pass and Leah’s hospitality- thanks again!