While change rapidly takes place around them, there are still pillars of our culture tying us to our roots. These restaurants stand as metaphorical rocks. Nashville still clings to those roots of sports, a binding force, like glue for a city undergoing transformation. There are also a few Tennessee Titans appearances - in a flag on the wall proclaiming “Titan Up!” and a decal on the hat of one of the food servers. But on this day, that man was most certainly winning. Nashville country artist Gabe Lee talks about how “Ol’ Smokey is losing again” in one of his great songs, and they often have over the past few years. Sports symbols are all over the episode, starting with a man walking out of Arnold’s with a big Vols “T” on a bright orange shirt. This is an SEC Football blog at its heart. Watching the episode, I can’t help but notice that this is a sports town. When you come to Arnold’s, you’re going to find a big helping of meat and three dang good sides that will take you back to old Nashville right here in 2021. I don’t think either of them has met a stranger, and it sounds like Jack was the same way. He started it along with his wife Rose, who still helps run the place today beside her affable son Khalil Arnold. It’s been standing since 1982, started by a man who lived between country boy and city-slicker named Jack Arnold. Like Silver Sands, Arnold’s is a community icon. While Silver Sands stays steady to the north, Arnold’s Country Kitchen faces the winds of change head-on in Pie Town south of Downtown Nashville. Many in this position are in luck if they wander into Silver Sands because a guardian angel runs the kitchen. It’s a song about being down on yourself, down on your luck, and going to God. Watching Sophia work and talk about her kitchen and the love she has for her people reminds me of “ The Giver,” a song by another Nashville native, singer/songwriter Nathan Colberg. And all who walk in feel that love that comes from Sophia - old and young, rich and poor, white and black. Even through a TV screen, it feels like the walls are wrapping you in a warm embrace just like when you walk in the door to your family home. Sophia Vaughn runs Silver Sands Café, a rock in the community for three generations. The sand I’m talking about is silver, and it’s just northeast of Downtown Nashville. Some sand is sturdy as a rock, even in the midst of profound shifts. Now, while the tides of change may be taking old favorites like the beloved Pie Wagon meat and three with every wave of newcomers that strike shore, not all sand is shifting. And, the internet tells me, it’s typically topped off with a piece of cornbread and a generous cup of fine southern sweet tea. Next, you pick three sides that are going to stick to your bones: mac n’ cheese, collard greens, green beans, black-eyed peas, creamed corn, etc. When you walk in, you get a choice of the meat being served that day, be it chicken, ham, meatloaf, catfish, hamburger steak, etc. This is real, mama’s-been-up-since-3 am-cooking food with a heaping side of love. It’s a restaurant with a cafeteria vibe, but don’t mistake it for your dingy high school cafeteria or for its cardboard food. Now, if you aren’t from Nashville, you may wonder what the hell a “meat and three” is. But before that, it was soul food and country cookin’ at the meat and threes. Now, the city is known for Nashville Hot Chicken - which, admittedly, I absolutely love. The famous meat and three’s that were once a Nashville staple are disappearing at an alarming rate. Hang in there, folks.Īs glossy 20+ story buildings pop up all over the city, the food scene is also undergoing an evolution. And aside from seeing everyone’s faces and smiles, it’s also great to see lines out the door and packed cafeterias at the restaurants we’ll get to in just a moment. You won’t find a mask in sight in this episode, a refreshing reminder that we’ll get back there soon. We were all on the titanic headed for a big viral iceberg, blissfully unaware of the calamity that lay ahead. Quick aside: it’s striking to watch an episode that first aired in the fall of 2018.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |