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Nashville is the promised land for country music fans
East Nashville
Once considered one of the roughest areas in town, East Nashville underwent a cleanup recently when artists and musicians started to open shops and renovate old Victorian homes. Off the tourist grid, it has a small-town vibe and is as walkable as Hillsboro Village. Depending on your mood, grab a locally brewed Yazoo beer at Red Door Saloon (1010 Forrest Ave.; 615/226-7660, thereddoorsaloon.com) or a freshly roasted Dancing Goats coffee at Bongo Java (107 S. 11th St.; 615/777-3287, bongojava.com). For gifts to either take home or enjoy in Nashville, visit Alegria (307 N. 16th St.; 615/227-8566, alegriagifts.com), which carries handcrafted leather goods, and Woodland Wine Merchant (1001 Woodland St.; 615/228-3311, woodlandwinemerchant.com), which sells well-priced, small-production vino. The best of the eastside B&Bs (no hotels yet) is Top O’ Woodland (1603 Woodland St.; from $160/night; 888/228-3868, topofwoodland.com), a turreted manse that has an expansive master bedroom (with a fireplace) and a cottage set in its garden.
Chef Margot McCormack helped jump-start the area when she converted an old gas station into the cozy Margot Café & Bar (1017 Woodland St.; entrées from $17; 615/227-4668, margotcafe.com) in 2001. “I knew that being ‘across the river’ afforded me the freedom from a certain prescribed formula,” she says. With its Provençal-inspired seasonal menus and well-edited wine list, it quickly became a destination. Around the corner, McCormack’s second restaurant, Marché Artisan Foods (1000 Main St.; entrées from $8; 615/262-1111, marcheartisanfoods.com), is a popular weekend brunch spot with a decadent French toast made from croissants. Wine bar Rumours East (1112 Woodland St.; entrées from $10; 615/262-5346, rumourswinebar.com/east) has a back garden that’s magical in the summer. For live music and upscale pub fare, check out Family Wash (formerly a self-service laundry) (2038 Greenwood Ave.; entrées from $9; 615/226-6070, familywash.com) for addictive hummus and stellar shepherd’s pie.
When Meg McFadyen opened her Art & Invention Gallery (1106 Woodland St.; 615/226-2070, artandinvention.com) in East Nashville seven years ago, “people thought I was a little crazy,” she says. Now her welcoming gallery is a hub of community activity. Plowhaus (808 Broadway, 2nd floor; plowhaus.org), an inventive artists’ cooperative, also features local—as in East Nashville—artists in shows with cheeky names like Value Menu and Festivus. Spend time in East Nashville, and you’ll notice there’s a feeling of playful competition with the more established west side of town. But no matter which bank you prefer, one thing is clear: The creative surge is transforming both sides of the river.
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