The New and Improved Taste of Nashville

Posted by Yuqi Bian on Sunday, July 29, 2018 in General Information.

On the weekends, I love to escape the Vandy bubble by exploring various food spots around Nashville. Although I’ve become well acquainted with Uber/Lyft in the past two years, there are also a bunch of good restaurants within walking distance of Vanderbilt, many of which participate in our Taste of Nashville program. Even though the 21 meals/week freshman meal plan is more than enough food to get you well on your way to the Freshman 15 :), Taste of Nashville lets you use your meal money at participating restaurants to introduce a bit of ~spice and variety~ into your dining experience. Takeout Indian food from Sitar has gotten me through many late night study sessions, and half-off sushi at Nama on Mondays and Thursdays is often the first place I think of if I’m looking for something fancy. However, there are also some new additions to the Taste of Nashville list this year that I am super excited for! Once you get to campus in August, don’t hesitate to check out these restaurants!

1. Hopdoddy’s – Located right in Hillsboro Village, which is a 5 min walk from Commons, Hopdoddy’s

   

   was instantly popular among students when it opened this past year. Its burgers are about on par with other well-known burger joints in Nashville, like Burger Up, which makes it a great place to go when you’re craving burgers but looking to avoid that $6 uber ride. They have a wide variety of different burgers, including multiple vegetarian options. However, my personal favorite is their $5 Parmesan truffle fries, which can easily be shared between two people and are to die for. It does get busy here around dinner time, but the line usually isn’t absurd, especially if you go on a weekday night. Catch me spending all my meal money on those fries when I come back to campus in the spring.

2. Biscuit Love – Basically right across the street from Hopdoddy’s is this Nashville classic. There used

   

   to only be one location in the Gulch, but they recently expanded to Hillsboro, which makes their biscuits that much more accessible for us Vandy students! Popular orders include the Princess, which serves hot chicken on top of a large biscuit, and the Lily, which is biscuit french toast with blueberry sauce and mascarpone cheese. This place tends to get quite busy on the weekends, so plan your schedule accordingly and go either early (around 9 AM) or late (around 1 PM) to avoid the long lines. If (when) you go, make sure to order the bonuts (biscuit donuts) that they’re known for. They taste amazing and they’ll make for a great addition to your Snapchat story haha.

3. Nada – During my freshman year, the hot spot for tacos was Satco (San Antonio Taco Co), which is

   

   right by Commons on 21st. However, it seems like ever since its opening, Nada has become the new and slightly more bougee place to get your taco fix. Their tacos are light and use fresh ingredients, which means that your stomach won’t hate you afterwards. On Fridays from 2-5, Nada has a “Pre-Kend” special with discounted appetizers and $2 tacos, which is totally a steal since that is half their normal cost. I also highly recommend their chips and queso – it’s made with gouda cheese (for all you fellow cheese lovers out there) and is probably some of the best restaurant queso I’ve ever had.

I hope this post has given you guys some ideas about what you can do once you get to campus. As always, let me know if you have any questions about food or anything else Vandy related. Happy eating :)