You must work there, suddenly showing up on 4 different threads, including this very old one, with essentially the same post.

The new Pharmacy burger place, next to Holland House, is also open late -- I think until 4am.

Go over to the 1808 Grille at the Hutton Hotel (also on West End -- actually practically next door to the Hotel Indigo) and grab a seat at the bar. Or go over to Holland House in East Nashville, which will require a cab ride but not a long one. Both have great drinks and great food, both are casual.

http://www.1808grille.com/
http://www.hollandhousebarandrefuge.com/

I don't know that I'd call it a huff, exactly. He was asked to pay $10,000 to upgrade the space, and decided that if he had to put in that kind of money he'd rather get his own storefront. At least, that's what he told me at the time. I miss being able to get fresh fish at the market, but I can understand his point of view.

Louisiana Seafood carries shellfish but very little fish. K&S has a decent variety of fish and shellfish. I haven't been to Gulf Pride -- is that the place that used to be in the Farmers' Market? I liked that place.

I understand that there are good restaurants in Louisville.

I'm glad you had a good time. There's no need to leave East Nashville to eat well.

Stay on the East Side. For fine dining, you can try Margot Cafe, which is well-executed French cuisine. For ethnic food, there is Thai Phoo Ket, a very good Thai restaurant with an extensive and creative menu. (Just be aware that their spicing system is conservative: don't order less than a 3 -- out of 5 -- on any dish.) Unless ... have you ever eaten at Monell's? That's a wonderful place to try a lot of delicious Southern food for very little money.

http://www.margotcafe.com/
http://www.thaiphooket.com/
http://monellstn.com/

Demos has really bad food. I would not ordinarily take the trouble to trash someone else's suggestion, but I hate to think of someone getting a gift certificate to a place like that. It would be a waste of your money and your father's evening out. Their Italian food is for people who find Chef Boy-Ar-Dee edgy and their steaks are for people who find Outback elegant.

I think Capitol Grill requires a jacket.

My own picks from TLF's list would be 1808 Grill or Margot, but at this point you just have to look at the menus and see what grabs you. I'm afraid there are no wonderful undiscovered gems in Nashville. Unless they're utterly, utterly undiscovered by anyone.

If none of the listed places grab you, try going in a completely different direction and try Monell's http://www.monellstn.com/ndininginfo.... for very good, family style southern food. It's not upscale, but it is delicious, and lets you try a wide range of local recipes in one meal.

Another excellent restaurant in a hotel in Nashville is the 1808 Grille http://www.1808grille.com/ in the Hutton Hotel at 1808 West End Avenue. It's lighter in atmosphere than Capitol Grille, but would be a cab drive from the Renaissance.

Merchants http://www.merchantsrestaurant.com/me... is a more casual place than either 1808 or CG. It's in a nice old former pharmacy building on Lower Broad (i.e. it's an easy walk for you). It has a bar and less expensive menu downstairs, and white tablecloths and higher prices (but lower than CG) upstairs. The food is properly done there, but if you're looking for culinary artistry instead of a decent meal I'd go elsewhere.

Lucky Bamboo has very good food, probably the best Chinese cooking in Nashville. Their service is remarkably slow, though. And they don't have the cold noodles on the menu.

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Lucky Bamboo
1412 Trotwood Ave Ste 31, Columbia, TN 38401

Agreed on Thai Phooket. I hope they can hang on there; restaurants come and go in that spot all the time.

Monells' might suit you, but it's family style eating. If you want a table to yourselves, try Southern Bred.

http://southernbred.squarespace.com/

I don't know why it isn't on their website, but you can call their catering line (615) 726-4938 and ask them to ship preserves to you.

If you're going to buy them, you might as well order them right from Monell's, since that's the kind you like. They do sell the peach preserves by the jar.

There's Woodlands Restaurant <http://www.woodlandsnashville.com/>, which is South Indian and completely vegetarian; Grins Café <http://www.bongojava.com/grins.php> on the Vanderbilt University campus, which is kosher vegetarian, and the Wild Cow <http://www.thewildcow.com/twc/> which is vegetarian despite its name. I'm not aware of any other strictly vegetarian restaurants here, but most places have vegetarian or vegan options.

I'd say 1808 Grille, if you want good and inventive. <http://www.1808grille.com/> They're open Sunday night until 9:30.

Margot is romantic only if you are upstairs. If you're downstairs, the noise from the bar is too loud.

One of the best restaurants in Nashville, the 1808 Grille <http://www.1808grille.com/> is in the Hutton Hotel on West End Ave. You might want to check that out.

1808 Grille http://www.1808grille.com/ is also first-rate fine dining.

But -- I don't think that City House, 1808, or Miel give you anything you can't get in L.A. Whereas you're not likely to have anything like Monell's there. If you want to eat some southern food, it cooks it spectacularly well, and because it's family-style all-you-can-eat, it will let you sample a wide variety of food at one meal.

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City House
1222 4th Avenue North, Nashville, TN 37208

Of course, none of the kosher sources will carry shrimp. If you don't care about that, you might as well go with the best, which is Russ & Daughters in NYC: http://www.russanddaughters.com/

I would not recommend eating at Rotiers rather than Arnold's. Arnold's serves genuinely delicious meat & 3 type food. Rotier's serves mediocre meals to college kids and people who want to reminisce about when they were college kids.

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Rotier's Restaurant
2413 Elliston Pl, Nashville, TN 37203

That's a chain, though.

I think Merchants downstairs would have a hard time finding a table for a party of 15. I've been at a table with about 8 people, and I think that would be their limit. Upstairs at Merchants is probably not as casual as what you're looking for (they've revamped recently and I haven't been there since, but they are meant to be more sedate upstairs than downstairs). Past Perfect is casual but not party-like. Broadway Brewhouse would probably suit your purposes, but stay away from Rippy's if you care about food at all -- it's pretty wretched there.

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Rippy's
429 Broadway, Nashville, TN 37203

Past Perfect
122 3rd Ave S, Nashville, TN 37201

Oh, thanks, that's good to hear.

Have you been to Merchants upstairs since they changed the menu? How is it?

I don't know why they call it Fish & Co. when almost everything on the menu is shellfish. I'd like a place in Nashville where I could choose from a menu with some variety of fish on it, not just salmon. I miss Deb Paquette more than words can say....

Top 3 meat-and-3s: Arnold's (traditional and delicious), Southern Bred (updated and delicious), Monell's (family style and delicious)

Top 3 places to eat near a nice hotel: stay at the Hutton, a pleasant boutique hotel in midtown, and eat at the 1808 Grill (it's the hotel restaurant, but independently operated and IMO one of the top 5 fine dining experiences in Nashville), Bombay Palace (the best non-vegetarian Indian food in town), Monell's

You'll want to look at the recent thread "In Nashville for 2 Days." Basically, there's nothing much near there, because of the flood in May. Some people recommend Ellendale's, and there's also a Waffle House not too far.

Where are you staying? There may be something on your way there or back.

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Ellendale's Restaurant
2739 Old Elm Hill Pike, Nashville, TN 37214