Editor’s Note: When Beyondish first wandered down Nashville way in search of delicious food, great music and hot chicken, we were ever-so lucky to stumble upon Dr. Brad Blankenship – a raconteur and man about town, and his wife Lulu Burns-Keller, a tastemaker and photographer – whom together share an archive of local knowledge and an appetite to match. We could not be more thrilled to hand off this column to them.
…on Friday, 22 September, Lu and I will kick off our weekend HUGE with a Hootenanny at one of the most famous honky-tonks in Nashville, Robert’s Western World, featuring one of the most stratospherically energetic rockabilly bands ever, Hillbilly Casino. Supernovas covet their energy!
On Saturday, I think a Barron’s Benedict at Nashville Jam Company will help us recover, so we can kick off Oktoberfest at Assembly Food Hall at noon. After copious amounts of German beer, we’ll probably take an afternoon respite at Cumberland Park to experience Nashville’s 15th annual Dragon Boat Festival against local water pollution. When fifty million people from 67 countries have been participating in a tradition for the last 230 years how could we refuse? However, if we happen to NOT be in an aquatic mood, Cheekwood has a hands-on Bonsai class which hopefully will float our boat.
By now it should be dinner time in downtown Nashville, and choosing a spot is harder than ignoring a faith healer on Easter. We both agree that the Smokehouse Trio at Countrypolitan is our answer. Brisket, ribs and pulled pork with three sides should give us the strength to finish our day with lies and bar talk at one of our favorite speakeasies, Snitch in Printers Ally. Then rest, rinse, and repeat.
Enter Sunday, the day of rest, so we only plan one activity: the Pilgrimage Music and Cultural Festival in Franklin, surrounded of course by mind-numbingly excellent food and drink. To get in the correct festival headspace, we plan Celtic music, a Guinness, and bangers and mash at McCreary’s Irish pub, and then on to the festival where awesome musicians like Zach Brown, Nathan Rateliff and Tommy Prine will regale us for eight hours with heavenly notes suspended in devilish rhythms, leaving our souls washed clean and ready for another week of love and conquest in the Music City – the fullness of life personified.
AUTHOR
Brad Blankenship is a retired integrative medicine doctor who has resided in Nashville for over 50 years. He, along with his wife Lulu Burns-Keller travel the US in search of new flavors. Together, they write, photograph and review for Beyondish in the Nashville area and beyond.
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