Fernweh, An Ache for Distant Places

East Nashville is a world of its own.

Forget about the honky tonks and the country music superstar wannabes and the bachelorette parties staggering around on Broadway, that’s all somewhere else.

East Nashville encompasses the very essence of vintage nostalgia with vintage stores, vintage clothing, vintage signs, and vintage architecture.

In between all the vintage shops you will find coffee houses, themed bars, galleries, and a Satanic-themed boutique right next door to a vegan cafe with the best Seitan I have ever eaten. It has everything we could ever want.

The heart of East Nashville sits along a three-mile stretch of Gallatin Avenue from the Inglewood community at its northern border down to Five Points just south of it.

East Nashville includes all or parts of East End, Lockeland Springs, Maxwell, and Edgefield neighbourhoods as well.

Dolly Parton fans will squeal with glee over the murals we found of her, and you absolutely have to visit the Graduate Hotel  in Midtown with its Dolly-themed rooftop bar, pool, and brunch club called White Limozeen.

Some of my other favourite murals were found outside of Music City Vintage, Delgado Guitars, and on random corners.

Vintage! Vintage! Vintage! 

Dashwood Vintage & Flora was the first shop we visited up, and ultimately my favourite one. It was more of a museum with carefully curated room displays and light fixtures. They have so much more than clothing!

They have a killer book section with a row of nooks like this.

In the same complex, check out Smack Vintage and recaffeinate at Nashville Coffees.

Next door, Wicked Ollie’s Vintage is a massive place that also presents like more of a museum than a regular store.

They have flashy costumes worn by famous country stars on display and a variety of items that you can pick to put together something similar of your own.

The best part is that they have a whole ass bus inside the store, and not just any bus, but Ernest Tubb’s tour bus!

You can go inside the bus and see it almost exactly how it was left.

Some of the old recording equipment, record players, and 8-track decks are still there.

As you walk the length, check out the wooden panels on both sides where Tubb and the boys carved their initials.

It must have been a blast riding around in this thing.

The Troubadour is a live music venue, all in the same shopping center. We really struck gold on our first stop!

Garage Sale Vintage was the next big score for us.

It is a vintage shop, record shop, clothing shop, home goods and decor shop, and dive bar, all in one.

Their logo is “Come for the Vintage (Stay for the Margaritas)” and they have a menu of infused tequilas and vodkas.

The pickle vodka caught my eye, and the bartender mixed up a pickle-olive martini for me, and some other concoction for my friend. ‘

Garage Sale is located inside a complex called Highland Yards along with Flora & Fauna Coffee, Otaku Ramen, Kisser Japanese, and a rad spa. Southern Grist Brewing is just across the street.

High Class Hillbilly is owned by singer Nikki Lane. They have the cutest clothes, but as with most true vintage stores, everything was either an XS, S, or maybe a Medium. I am six feet tall and rather curvy, so I usually just end up browsing and weeping through the clothing sections.

Music City Vintage, Black Shag Vintage, and Hip Zipper were all great finds, too.

I was so torn about this sweater; it fit me, but does that mean I should buy it? I love foxes, but do I want to wear their dead faces? No, and no, to be real.

We really loved East Nashville Antiques & Vintage.

I regret not grabbing this denim jacket. I know of at least a dozen people who would cherish it forever.

Coffee, Restaurants, and Drinks!

East Nashville has several coffee shops like Retrograde, Slow Hand Coffee & Bake Shop, Brightside Bakehouse, Sip Café for Coffee, and Elegy.

Elegy Coffee serves a mean cup, and they also have this gorgeous mural on the side of their building.

Five Daughters Bakery are one of the great pioneers of the Cronut; giant, heavy doughnuts made of buttery, flaky croissant layers that are filled with cream cheese. When I first visited about seven or eight years ago, I had never even heard of a Cronut.

Chamomile vanilla, maple bacon, chocolate cream cheese, and rocky road were our picks. Despite the decadence, their products are organic, non-GMO, and locally sourced.

Donut Distillery has a cool concept; select your own flight of cocktails, whiskey, coffee, or juice, and pair each drink with a mini donut.

You can choose from twelve different mini donuts for endless combinations. They have a menu of suggested pairings, or you can make your own, and you can buy everything a la carte if you just want one tiny treat. Or two.

They have daily specials too, so there will always be something new to try each time you visit.

We shared some sort of caramelized banana bread treat/shot combo and three mini donuts; the whiskey glazed, peanut butter & chocolate, and a Dreamsicle minis between the three of us. One nibble of each thing was perfectly satisfying.

Check their schedule for pop up events and vintage sales. We were thrilled to be in town for this one.

Look out for their awesome East Nashville mural on the drive-through side of the building while you are there.

Nomzilla was one of my friend’s recommendations. She hyped it up for weeks before we went, and this place did not disappoint.

We started with some lime and garlic edamame.

Then we had the crispy roasted Brussels sprouts with gochujang and bonito flakes.

For entrees, we shared the hot tofu in Nomzilla’s special “Nomferno” seasoning  with a side of kimchi.

We shared some of the Bao buns also. One set was bulgogi, and the other was Nashville hot chicken. So delicious.

Eastside Banh Mi is next door to Nomzilla, and we ordered dinner there one night.

They have Impossible Xiu Mai meatball and tofu varieties, which I think are even better than real pork. The chili crisp tofu comes with roasted eggplant slices. We DEVOURED these sandwiches.

I would probably do something shady in exchange for their creamy fried shallot vegan mayo recipe. It has some magic, mystery ingredient I can not place. They put entire bundles of cilantro on these babies, too, and the roasted sweet potatoes are divine.

Bee Hive was another restaurant we loved. We even went back to get sandwiches for the road.

Bee Hive is a 100% vegan deli. Everything on the menu is vegan, no exceptions, so you do not have to double check or ask just to be sure. It’s all vegan, all the time.

I could absolutely be 100% vegan myself if we had a Bee Hive near our home. My pick was the Nashville Hot “Chicken” Seitan, but I had it with tofu also. My friends got some of these and a Philly Cheese “Steak” sandwich, and we passed them around taking bites and making gleeful noises.

Later in our room that night, the whole drive home, and even days afterward, we continue scheming to go back and get more.

We picked up some decadent vegan chocolate cupcakes to celebrate my birthday too.

Next door to Bee Hive is Hail!

Hail is one of my favourite stores in the Mainstrasse Village in Covington, Kentucky and I was thrilled to visit this location for the first time. It is much smaller and has more taxidermized items than the Covington store, so it hits like an oddities museum.

Seriously though, Hail Satan and Hail Seitan (sandwiches). Right next to each other. Anyone else appreciate this as much as I do?

Nashville Biscuit House was our breakfast pick. The building looks old and kinda crumbly, enough that we did not realize it was open until we drove by a few times, but do not let that deter you. It is pretty cute inside, simple and cozy, and packed with regulars.

We ordered every carb on the menu including hashbrowns, tater tots, biscuits, gravy, rye toast, and a pancakes. We were awfully proud of ourselves, though more than half of it went home with us.

Next time we plan to visit Pearl Diver, Loveless Cafe, Soy Cubano, and East Side Pho.

Urban Cowboy was the place I most had my heart set on. This gorgeous, restored home is a B&B by reservation, and a public house open to anyone.

Each room has been converted into rustic conversation nooks, curated with fun artifacts of Western and Southern American culture.

The owner has another business in Nashville called the Dive Motel, a combination dive bar, motel, and swim club. They have another business in the Catskills and one opening in Denver soon, but these ventures are far, far from a corporate chain.

Outside is a large garden patio that evolves into a biergarden, a wood-fired pizza tavern, and a swanky cocktail bar as you make your way through each section.

It is a fun place to people watch, especially when cute bikers ride by in matching attire.

Chopper was a place we just happened by with no foreknowledge, and thankfully so.

First of all, Chopper is a ROBOT TIKI THEMED COCKTAIL BAR!  A giant golden robot mounted to the ceiling looks out over guests as they await their smouldering, spicy, fruit-filled cocktails.

I had a classic Paloma with tequila, grapefruit, and cayenne.

My friends had a couple other cocktails that I can not remember the names of, but they were delicious. They were served on fire. Cinnamon was everywhere. It was perfect.

I really like the set up of the booth seating and backlighting, each with a tiki robot cameo.

Even the bathroom walls were adorable.

We were too full to eat anything else, but I have to give props to the Maiz de la Vida food truck onsite. Everything smelled and looked amazing. We took a few minutes to take it all in before moving on for more vintage shopping.

The Cobra and the East Room are two divey music venues that have been around for seemingly forever, yet I have not taken interior photos of while inside. Check out the murals though!

3 Crow Bar was always a dive favourite, but they sadly have closed. Other places to check out in the area are the Inglewood Lounge, Rosemary & Beauty Queen, Eastside Bowl, and Butcher & Bee. I will write more about them soon.

Tailgate Brewery is a fun place for craft brews and pizza. They have several locations in or near Nashville, and I love their wild splashy murals.

East Side Bowl is one of the most fun live entertainment places out of anywhere we have traveled. Their food is way above the bar for bowling alley food and they have a fully-stocked bar.

This vintage bowling alley has three separate venues inside and often hosts three completely different genres of music on the same night, interspersed between loads of side rooms for pool and pinball and other games.

East Nashville hosts a few of its own festivals each year like the Tomato Art Festival and the East Nash Beer Fest.

Drop me a line if you have any recommendations for future trips.

In the area for a while? Follow me to Nashville’s trendy 12 South district!

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