Garrigan
While it’s always tempting to keep elected chuckleheads accountable in this space, or to weigh in on some public policy issue that will affect us all, sometimes challenging readers themselves—or even our own staff—is plenty worthwhile. Many of you are off to Vail or Palm Beach or New York or similar pleasure-seeking destinations for spring break this week. Others will wile the time away here at home, watching the daffodils bloom, contemplating amending the garden and wondering what kind of projects—not the liquid kind—can be started and finished in a week’s time.
Well, we’ve got one for you.
There are probably a fair number of Nashville Scene readers who, even if they had a gun to their head, wouldn’t be able to tell a masked man where Crieve Hall is. Or The Nations neighborhood. Or Joelton. Or Scottsboro. Or Old Hickory Village. Ten bucks goes to the first latte-sipping laptop user in the 12 South neighborhood who can offer the shortest route to Madison.
Even some of us at this newspaper are stuck in an insular, inside-the-440-loop mentality. One Scene staffer recounted aloud recently about taking an out-of-town friend on a tour of the city—through West End/Richland, Green Hills, Belle Meade, Hillsboro Village—which, the staffer proclaimed, “pretty much covers it.”
Not hardly.
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What makes Nashville such a delightful place to live is the same quality that can make it maddeningly fragmented in almost every way: its diversity. There are 500 square miles to this city, folks. So, if you find yourself stuck in Nashville over spring break, we have some suggestions for mini-vacations right here at home that can be found in a special feature on p. 22 of this issue. But if a guided tour isn’t your thing, jump in the car and discover your city. If nothing else, it will make you understand why your Metro Council is what it is—a bizarre collection of representatives from distinct parts of the city who come in every shape, size, color and socio-economic persuasion.
Some ideas: Hit Nolensville Road and find the gritty culinary backbone of Metro, where the fellows at Instanbul are one of our favorites. Cross the river and take a walk in Shelby Bottoms, where suburban milquetoast walkers and intimidating pit bull owners peacefully co-exist. Steer the car toward TSU and hit Swett’s for lunch. Weather permitting, take the kids to Bicentennial Mall and let them play in the water shooting out of the ground. While you’re in the neighborhood, stop by the old Neuhoff meatpacking plant in Germantown and see what folks who are interested in art and architecture have created out of a cluster of buildings where cows used to be killed with sledgehammers to their heads. Stop by the taproom of Yazoo Brewery in Marathon Village for a tasty, urban experience, or hit the smoky, narrow confines of the Villager Tavern in Hillsboro Village for college nostalgia. Go to Printers Alley and discover the sophisticated Parco Café—and the fact that there’s no longer any printing going on in this tiny strip, reminiscent of New Orleans. Or head to the lake and see the view from Percy Priest. Oh, and don’t be alarmed by the freakishly tanned women hitting the wine coolers a bit too hard.