For anyone visiting the South, it is crucial that you try southern barbeque. Joe and Christine agreed with this statement, so on Saturday we went to Jim and Nick's Bar-B-Q. Jim and Nick are a father-son duo that began their restaurant 25 years ago. They have a passion for barbeque and pride themselves on doing it the right way. They do more than barbeque right - everything on the menu is homemade and delicious. They have multiple locations in the South, and thankfully one is in Nashville.
The greatness starts immediately at Jim and Nick's as guests are treated to complimentary cheese biscuits. These biscuits are incredible! In addition to this starter, the four of us shared a basket of onion rings. These were hot, fresh, and hand battered. They were also delicious! For our meals, Brandon ordered a pulled pork sandwich with sides of mashed potatoes, I ordered a burger topped with cheese, bacon, and barbeque sauce with a side of homemade macaroni and cheese (which was amazing), and Brandon and I split an order of fries. We wanted to try a bit of everything because it all sounded so good! And we were not disappointed! We'll definitely go back to this place.
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| Jenn, Stephanie, and Christine at MAFIAoZA's |
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| The Scarface at MAFIAoZA's |
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| The Brass Knuckles is super spicy but so good! |
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| The Irate Italian for black olive lovers! |
On Sunday we wanted to show Joe and Christine an Italian restaurant near campus that Brandon and I love. We invited Jenn and Kevin to accompany the four of us for this trip too. The six of us went to dinner at MAFIAoZA's, an authentic Italian restaurant that boasts about their stone-oven pizzas. MAFIAoZA's is an entertaining experience - from the decor to the menu, guests are sure to enjoy themselves. The menu options are cleverly named to reference Italian movies, actors, and stereotypes. The six of us split three pizzas: The Irate Italian (garlic, black olives, and fresh mozzarella), the Brass Knuckles (wing sauce, chicken, bleu cheese crumbles, and a special cheese blend), and the Scarface (capicola ham, salami, pepperoni and italian sausage). We also received a special surprise when we learned the chefs accidentally made the smaller sizes, so we got those AND our large pizzas which served as leftovers.
Joe and Christine left Monday morning, but before they began their trip back to Ohio, it was important for them to try the renowned Pancake Pantry. Jenn and Kevin accompanied us again for this special treat. It was a first for all of us and we each enjoyed our breakfast immensely.
The Pancake Pantry has been around since 1961. The original restaurant owner desired to open a restaurant that offered a relaxing, down-to-earth environment and a menu full of surprising combinations. This owner then passed the business on to his son, making this a truly, down home, family affair. The menu is fascinating, so I'm posting the link for you to check it our for yourself: http://www.thepancakepantry.com/images/Pancake_Pantry_menu.pdf
Kevin ordered the Caribbean pancakes. These are sprinkled with coconut, pecans, powdered sugar, and a sliced banana. Jenn ordered wild blueberry pancakes, Christine ordered the sugar and spice pancakes, Brandon ordered the old-fashioned pancakes, and Joe and I both ordered the french toast. Everything was incredible and we left very full and happy guests.
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| The Caribbean pancakes. |
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| Christine with her sugar and spice pancakes. |
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| My delicious french toast (notice the slab of butter). |
We ate so much good food this past weekend. Even better, we were able to do so with great company. I hope Joe and Christine enjoyed their stay in Nashville. I'm sure one lesson they learned is that the South does food and does it well. And so that concludes this special edition of A Taste of Nashville. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as we enjoyed eating it!
My favorite spot of all the eateries was MAFIAoZAs. It was great, and even though the Brass Knuckles was a little to spicy for my palate, I enjoyed the other pizzas tremendously. Good write up, Steph!
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