Q: What happens when you let four girls loose on the town?
A: A late night of hilarious adventures, of course!
Have I mentioned how much I love living downtown? Mandi came over to my place and we decided to walk to dinner to meet Britt and Steph, who is visiting from California. We had dinner reservations at Merchant's which is located among the downtown strip of Honky Tonk Bars and Boot Shops.
I've been visiting Nashville for the past year and never had been to any of those places. To be honest, I didn't really know what it was and was convinced that it was in a completely different part of town. Think Vegas of the South and you will know why this city is affectionately called Nashvegas.
The Mandies set out on our fifteen minute walk to dinner. It was a great way for me to see the area I now call home, and put things into perspective. I am constantly getting lost on one way streets but manage to find my way eventually.
We made it to Merchant's and had a bit of time before our reservation and friends arrived so we sat at the bar for a drink and browsed the dinner menu. The restaurant has a lot of history. The bartenders uniforms are adorably handsome and match the old style cocktail list. I opted for a Hendricks Martini muddled with cucumber which reminded me of many nights at Houston's after work. Mandi had a Dark & Stormy.
When the girls arrived we were seated by a window which had a view of Broadway and all the madness going on outside. We immediately ordered the Duck Fat Tots. Served with Chipotle Aioli, Ketchup, and Bernaise in an iron skillet, it was a mountain of crispy piping hot potato bites from heaven. Everything cooked in duck fat is better.
For my entree I had the Soup & Sammy which was a wonderful Tomato Bisque with a Fancy Grilled Cheese with Bacon. It came with potato chips and all of it was even better when dipped in the soup.
After dinner our first stop was The Stage. A cover band was playing. There were bodies wall to wall. Mandi told me that's where scenes from the movie Country Strong were filmed. We had an adult beverage and got to gettin' on our Honky Tonk journey.
Next up was Whiskey Bent. The music was a bit better. Again it was another cover band playing Country and Rock music. The drinks were great and we all started having more fun because we weren't feeling like sardines in a can.
We headed across the street to Honky Tonk which unknowingly was our last stop. Three floors of fun, it has balconies so you can see out into the night. It looks a bit like a New Orleans bar. I was almost expecting beads to be tossed down to us as we walked in.
On the second floor a band which we later found out is called Gunnar and the Grizzly Boys was playing. By far it was the best band we had seen in all of the Honky Tonks. The Mandies are both music snobs but we were taken by the stage presence and talent of these guys. They played some covers an some of their own songs. The crowd enjoyed them and so did we. We got to chatting with the bassist after the show and discovered they are from Michigan. I really hope they come back to Nashville soon! They are tons of fun!
My first adventure at the Honky Tonks was a success! I love my friends here and now I know why so many people come to Nashville to visit and never leave. This city is incredibly diverse and always fun!
