Vegan Nashville: 48 hours in Music City

It was an amazing price. But there was just one hitch – we’d only get two days in Music City.

We decided to grab the opportunity. It would be both David & my first time visiting Nashville. If we loved it, we could always hop on a plane another time (or make the 8 hour drive).

Spoilers: We had a great time and can’t wait to go back!

In this post:

David and I make a charcuterie board for dinner at least once a week.

So I was very excited to read on Bianca’s blog, Vegan Crunk, about the vegan charcuterie boards on offer at The Fox Bar & Cocktail Club.

It moved the Fox Bar way up my list of places to hit in Nashville.

(It’s not a vegan restaurant, though. And they also serve non-vegan charcuterie boards.)

At the Fox Bar, they use Be-hive seitan for their vegan meats, and the cheeses are Miyoko’s. They also serve house-made vegan pimento cheese.

We ordered seitan pastrami, pepperoni, chorizo, and pineapple jalapeño brat.

For the cheeses, we went with smoked farmhouse and sun-dried tomato & garlic.

They filled out the rest of the board with jam, mustard, cornichons, grapes, nuts, and toasted baguette slices.

(Not pictured here: two more helpings of bread to finish off everything on the platter.)

Everything was really lovely. I especially enjoyed the pepperoni and smoked farmhouse cheese.

Of course, since it’s a cocktail bar, a fancy drink was in order. David and I both had the Truth Serum.

The server gave a detailed explanation as to how it’s made.

There are two different kinds of gin. One is “washed” with olive oil by freezing the gin with olive oil, and then removing the oil from the gin.

The drink is finished with a dab of balsamic vinegar. And then I watched the bartender use a medicinal vial to add a couple drops of lemon balm.

This is some serious artisanal cocktail business.

I could see why it was called Truth Serum, because this was definitely a sipping drink.

It was very boozy, and I couldn’t have more than one. But the flavors of lemon, olive oil, and backdrop of balsamic vinegar lightened it.

For someone who veers towards savory over sweet drinks, this was a winner.

There are 5 locations of Five Daughters Bakery in Nashville, and two offshoots in Florida.

We went to Five Daughters, because they have vegan donuts.

They have three vegan flavors that change monthly, in addition to selling non-vegan donuts.

By the time we got there, it was nearing closing time. So they only had one vegan flavor left – purist, which is a basic glazed.

Because it was late in the day, the donuts weren’t as fresh as I’m sure they would have been in the morning.

However, after a few seconds in the microwave at breakfast the next morning, they regained their bounce.

David called dibs on dinner on our last night in Nashville. And his vote was 312 Pizza Company.

It’s a non-vegan restaurant that has a separate vegan menu.

They have all kinds of plant-based options like potato skins, soft baked pretzels, a veggie Chicago dog, and even a vegan reuben.

You know I was seriously considering a vegan reuben. But it felt like I should have the pizza at a pizza place.

We started with beer battered mushrooms.

When the generous pile of lightly coated mushrooms arrived, there was enough for a table of 4 to 6. The mushrooms were served with chipotle aioli for dipping.

The thin batter reminded me of a tempura. It was there, but didn’t draw a lot of focus.

For the main attraction, we got a 16 inch pie.

On one half, vegan pepperoni & pineapple. On the other, seitan sausage, olives, and mushrooms.

They have Daiya on the menu, but we opted to go cheeseless.

The thin crust was very crisp and cracker-like. They were really generous with the toppings.

There was enough pizza that we still had half to take on the plane with us the next day.

When we got home, I added some Miyoko’s mozzarella from the refrigerator, and popped it into the oven.

They also have Chicago-style deep dish. Although, it takes about 45 minutes to make.

It looked incredible, though, and I’d like to try it next time.

I love visiting grocery stores while on vacation – especially natural grocery stores & specialty markets.

It’s a great place to get some local produce & buy their locally-made products.

So we went to both locations of the Turnip Truck.

The larger location is in East Nashville. And it wasn’t too far from where we were staying.

The other smaller location is in the Gulch, which is a nice place to walk around.

(From there, you can also get a ride to the 12 South neighborhood, where there is a lot more shopping.)

At the Turnip Truck, I purchased some local seitan, smoked tofu, and white barbecue sauce, which tastes vaguely like creamy Italian dressing.

Here are some more Nashville vegan & veg-friendly restaurants we didn’t get to visit, but look forward to visiting next time:

• The Be-hive
• Avo (Rumor has it their kale salad is top notch!)
• Graze (I’ve heard their brunch on the weekends is terrific!)
• Sunflower Cafe
• Vege-licious
• Jeni’s Ice Cream (They have a few vegan flavors)

Nashville is an amazing food town. But you’re going to need something to do between breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Haha!

Luckily, there’s no shortage of options.

Here are some of the things we did while we were in Music City.

Our airplane pilot kept referring to Music City as Nash Vegas. When you get to Broadway, it’s easy to see why.

With music pouring onto the streets and people in partying spirits (even in the middle of the day on a Wednesday), the comparison is apt.

Many of the bars on Broadway have rooftop patios, where you can get a bird’s eye view of the action below. From Acme Feed & Seed you can see both the river and busy street.

The top of Blake Shelton’s Ole Red also had a nice vibe, especially on the rooftop.

I didn’t eat at either place, but they both have vegan options. At Ole Red they are clearly marked on the menu.

There’s no cover to get inside the honky tonks on Broadway. So you can go into bar after bar listening to music until you find a band that suits you.

Even within one bar, like Tootsie’s, there are multiple floors with a different band on every one of them.

From Broadway (and many other places across Nashville), you can also see the city’s tallest building, the AT&T Tower.

But almost no one calls it that. It’s known colloquially as the Batman Building.

One look and you’ll know why!

Although, the architects of the building said the resemblance was an accident.

When they were preparing small models for the project, they didn’t even notice the building’s likeness to that masked comic book hero.

Walking distance to Broadway is the Nashville Arcade.

The feeling of the place takes you to Italy instead of Nashville. That makes sense, because it was modeled after a mall in Milan, Italy when it was built in 1903.

This two-level glass covered mall looks like a block-long hallway.

We popped into the Peanut Shop, which has been in business since 1927. I sampled some of their boiled peanuts – regular and Cajun. (Regular was my favorite!)

You may remember my first time sampling boiled peanuts while exploring vegan Asheville, North Carolina. It’s an ongoing quest!

Hatch Show Print is located in the same building as the Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum.

They’re one of the oldest letterpress poster print shops in the country. They have been in business since 1879.

They are best known for their posters of early Grand Ole Opry stars.

You can take a tour to see how the prints are made. Or you can simply browse their shop to purchase a print of your own, as I did.

While we were driving past the Tennessee State Museum, our driver recommended it to us. He said it’s popular on school trips, and it’s free!

Neither David nor I have a huge interest in country music. So spending about $50 as a couple to go to the Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum wouldn’t make a lot of sense.

But at the Tennessee State Museum, you still get to see some music history highlights by some of the more well known players in country music history.

Plus, it was plenty hot while we were in Nashville. So it was a great place to escape into the cool for a bit, while still taking in some local culture & history.

We saw a couple of Dolly Parton’s costumes and banjo, one of Johnny Cash’s black suits, and Minnie Pearl’s hat with tag still attached, of course.

Easily the most moving & depressing part of the museum was the section on slavery in Tennessee.

I’d never gone to a state museum in the south. So seeing what slave quarters looked like, various shackles, and first person accounts was truly sobering.

There’s a pathway outside of the Tennessee State Museum directing you to the Nashville Farmer’s Market.

It’s open all year ’round, every day of the week. It’s busiest on the weekends.

We were there on a Wednesday afternoon. And it was pretty quiet in terms of fresh fruits, vegetables, and local sellers. Although, we did get some fresh peaches.

There’s also a section of the farmer’s market that’s basically a food court.

We grabbed some sassafras & strawberry lemonade at Farm City Coffee, which was refreshing without being overly sweet.

More Nashville area attractions:

• Grand Ole Opry
• Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum
• Ryman Auditorium & Museum
• Frist Center for the Visual Arts
• The Parthenon
• Third Man Records, founded by musician Jack White (We visited their other location while checking out the vegan Detroit scene!)
• Antique Archaeology Nashville (from American Pickers fame)
• McKay’s Books
• Parnassus Books