Where should visitors to Nashville go before & after a Predators game?

Here is the scoop of some of my favorites
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Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville (Broadway and 3rd Avenue)
Paradise Park Trailer Resort (Broadway and 4th Avenue)
Diane’s Sweet Shoppe (Broadway and 3rd Avenue)
The Sports Grille (Broadway and 5th Avenue)
Jack’s Barbeque (Broadway and 4th Avenue)
Rippy’s Barbeque (Broadway and 5th Avenue)
The Spaghetti Factory (2nd Avenue)
Demos Steakhouse (Commerce and 3rd Avenue)

If you’re looking for BBQ, you have Jack’s/Rippy’s to choose from. Rippy’s is more like a bar atmosphere. Jack’s is a walk-up/get-your-food/sit-down-and-eat atmosphere

Paradise Park has some AMAZING burgers/sandwiches, PLUS if you are in Predators gear you get a free draft Bud Light

The Sports Grille is right across from Bridgestone Arena and is the former Eddie George restaurant. Good food, but a little overpriced, yet close to the arena

Demos, Spaghetti Factory, and Margaritaville are most optimal restaurant choices for price and quality of food, that is if you want to be in a restaurant-type of eatery

Finally, Diana’s is the jack of all trades. Good sandwiches/soups, MONSTER hot chocolates for like $3, and a huge candy store selection inside for your goodies that you can buy and put in your pockets to sneak into games after you are done

Hope this helps!

Rippy’s atmosphere+sausage and cheese plate + newcastle brown ale= a little slice of heaven a stone’s throw from the front door of Bridgestone

Yeah hawk fans…..stay away from the chains…..go to the Nashville scene.

Dueling pianos, enough said.

that is very high priced, so they can spend all their money there :)

Playing against Nashville is big time in Chicago. Weber owns them and they know it. I love it.

If you’re making a weekend out of the trip, there’s plenty of places outside of downtown.

For beer, the flying saucer is good but I recommend either 12th South taproom or the Village Pub in East Nashville though you might get heckled at the pub.

For cocktails, definitely make and effort to go to the Patterson House or the Holland House. Holland House has a good food menu as well. Patterson House was created by the same people who put together the Violet Hour in Chicago. Both places feature traditional cocktails.

For food, I’d highly recommend CIty House in Germantown for a nice sit-down meal. (They also have pretty good drinks.) My favorite place in Nashville is Gabby’s Burger’s and Fries. You’re only chance to eat there will be Friday night and Saturday Afternoon. They are mainly just a lunch joint. For a “gourmet” burger, Burger Up on 12th South is also good.

Awesome breakfast! Always busy for a reason.

Dirk – I went over to the SamFels thread about their trip that you posted and noticed that there isn’t a link back to this thread. Since so many people are taking time to make wonderful suggestions here for the Hawks fans, I thought I’d let you know. I didn’t want to join their site to comment. (I did notice one Hawks fan posted in this thread).

As for myself, being a creature of habit, I can’t add anything new to what has been said above. I can second the recommendations for Jack’s Barbecue, Demos Steakhouse, and Pancake Pantry for a meal.

I’m coming down with my wife and son (1 year old… I know I’m crazy) on Friday.

Few questions… I’m staying at Drury inn airport (was 4th best on trip advisor) is this area okay? Safe? (I don’t know much about Nashville) Other one I may switch to is Holiday inn opryland airport.

Also what’s the deal with parking near arena, I saw some alert posted.

What site seeing things do you rec to do and is there stuff near arena we can do? Park for day and walk around?

Food & drink

Restaurants like Jimmy Buffet’s/Spaghetti Factory/Morton’s are easy to get to since they are downtown where the arena is but not really what I would recommend to a visitor, especially from a city like Chicago where similar restaurants abound (Morton’s was even founded in Chicago).

Go for some southern food/home cooking/barbecue. I second Puckett’s and Jack’s as places to eat that are within walking distance of the arena. Flying Saucer does have a large beer selection but if you can venture farther from the arena definitely check out Yazoo as has been mentioned often (though if you are sticking to downtown you’ll find Yazoo on tap at many places, including the Flying Saucer).

A few food options out of the downtown area are B&C’s BBQ on Franklin/8th avenue (get the brisket), Sylvan Park Restaurant (cheap southern food), Monell’s (family style southern food).

It’s hard for a pancake restaurant to do pancakes poorly, they aren’t a high skill food. You’ll have a good breakfast at Pancake Pantry but it’s not worth waiting in line for and it’s a tough area of town for parking, I would not go out of my way to go there. Puckett’s and Sylvan Park will do you well for breakfast or really any sort of diner type restaurant such as Athen’s Family Restaurant. If you insist on heading to Pancake Pantry, arrive and realize your folly when the line is way too long, head down the street to Fido for breakfast: good food and locally roasted coffee.

Parking

There are plenty of lots close to the arena if you drive along Demonbreun St which is behind the arena will see these various lots, starting at around $5 at the lot between 10th & 9th to 15 or 20 for the church lot between 7th & 6th that is right across from Bridgestone. If you look closely you will even find some free street parking along some of the side streets there.

You can park at the downtown library parking garage for games for $4 and at the LP field lot for free and walk across the pedestrian bridge across the river or take a shuttle for $3.

This web site has maps on where the parking garages are, schedule for the LP field parking/shuttles. Note if you go downtown earlier in the day you won’t find those lower parking rates, those are specific game parking rates: http://parkitdowntown.com/

Site seeing

Stuff to see/do is mainly music and history related and some art museums, plenty enough for a weekend trip though, here are the more standard/well known places.

Downtown: The honky tonks are all along Broadway across from the arena and are a common tourist destination. You’ll always find live music in a number of these (Tootsie’s, Layla’s, Robert’s Western World, etc). The Country Music Hall of Fame and Frist museum are within walking distance as well if those interest you. The Ryman has tours too.

Centennial Park: The Parthenon is a full-size replica of the Partheon in Athens and an art museum. Hog Heaven barbecue is right by Centennial Park too.

Bicentennial Park : Tennessee history.

The Hermitage : Andrew Jackson’s home.

Music Row : Really, not that much to actually see but some people are interested enough to just drive through and take a look.