There may be no nostalgia so fierce as the feelings people have for the restaurants of their youth. Maybe you still get misty-eyed (or -mouthed) at the mention of a three-way bowl of Varallo's chili at the old Ninth & Church location. Then again, maybe you rejoice over the city's growing shift toward farm-to-table fare and other encouraging developments. (Or maybe you're still dining happily after a quarter-century at neighborhood favorites such as Swett's, International Market and The Mad Platter, which have watched food trends come and go.)
For comparison's sake, we offer a list of 1989-era Nashville specialties that are no longer available, followed by a list of recent dishes and delicacies you couldn't have gotten then. Special thanks to the Scene's Stevan Steinhart, who's had a front table watching the progress of our restaurant scene for going on three decades.
THEN
Beef tenders, Major Wallaby's
A Rivergate-area watering hole from the fern-bar era that was '80s Nashville, noted for its odd safari motif — the beef tenders came as part of a platter called the "Elephant Gun" — and its giant fish-stocked aquarium above the bar.
Bialys, Nashville Bagel Company
Before Bruegger's, before Bagel Face, there was this West End bagel joint that also manufactured the bagel's Eastern European cousin, the bialy — a round little yeast roll indented in the middle and filled with oily chopped onion.
Biscuits and gravy, Mack's Country Kitchen
The Division Street location most recently housed Ken's Sushi, but years earlier it was a dirt-cheap all-night hangout loved by Vandy students and club-goers exiting Cantrell's down the street.
Chicken Cordon Bleu, The World's End
The specialty at Church Street's pioneering gay bar — a dish remembered less for its deli-ham-and-processed-cheese ingredients than for the associated good times.
Cluck Berry's Chicken B. Good, Heartthrob Café
Remember the ill-fated Fountain Square development in MetroCenter? This '50s-themed diner was one of its hubs, and a harbinger of other gimmicky restaurants that would follow (and fail). Want that "Bobby Rye-deli" to go?
Coconut shrimp, Rainbow Key
Actually, there's a rumor that the recipe from this long-gone Polynesian hangout in Lion's Head Village survives today at Blue Moon Waterfront Grille on the Cumberland — but not the tiki-hut decor, alas.
Conch fritters, Panama Red's
Come for the hush-puppy-like mollusk nuggets at this Caribbean hangout at 19th & Broadway — leaving aside where in Nashville one would obtain reasonably fresh conch — but stay for the dozen fish tanks.
Crawfish and pine-nut pizza, Multi Bob
Some of the first wood-oven pizzas in Nashville, at an oddball nightspot where Boscos stands today in Hillsboro Village, decorated back then with a vague Church of the Sub-Genius motif. Whaa? The '80s, remember.
Deep-dish pizza, Obie's Flying Tomato
Short-lived J.D.'s Double-Stuf Crust (where Ted's Montana Grill is today on West End) was vastly better, but back in the day Vandy students lived for days off one of these 3-inch-thick monsters.
The Famous French Dip au Jus, Houston's
A generation still calls Bricktop's on West End by its old name, and probably still orders this sandwich as well as the chicken tenders and honey-mustard dressing.
Grilled cheese, Moon Drugs
After-school fare for legions of West Nashville kids in the shadow of the Belle Meade Theater marquee. Best downed with a chocolate soda.
The Paquettes
Normandy duck pâté, Third Coast Cafe
If you're tracing the family tree of contemporary Nashville restaurants, here's the acorn — where restaurateur Randy Rayburn (F. Scott's, Sunset Grill, Midtown Cafe, etc., etc.) meets chef Deb Paquette (Cakewalk Cafe, Zola, Etch, etc., etc.).
Oysters Laurell, Laurell's 2nd Avenue Raw Bar
One of Nashville's limited seafood options, this two-level NOLA-style oyster bar and gumbo haven was an immediate hit on Second Avenue in the days the downtown tourist district was struggling.
Pan-seared duck breast, Arthur's
Considered the tippy top of Nashville dining in the 1980s — alongside its four-star rival, Julian's on West End, and Mario's — Jamie Camara and Walter Thrailkill's establishment moved from Belle Meade Plaza to Abbott Martin Road to its longtime home in Union Station, where it dwelled long into the 2000s.
Pasta Ya-Ya, Faison's
If you weren't here in the 1980s, you don't know the impact fun-loving restaurateur Jody Faison had on the city's staid dining scene with 12th & Porter, the Iguana and (sing the FM 100 jingle with us) "F-A-I-S-O-N (apostrophe) S, Fai-son's!" — and this spicy pasta dish built his empire.
Potato knishes, The Stage Deli
Unlike the "d" in "Django," the "k" is not silent — and neither was this boisterous Hillsboro Village hangout where K-Bobs is today, which served up a Southern approximation of the doughy potato cakes ... in a down-home basket, no less.
Steak 'n' biscuits, Ireland's
Thick squares of steak on puck-sized biscuits — a liquor sop of epic proportions from perhaps the only fern bar Nashvillians miss (other than Houston's).
Steak Diane for two, The Brass Rail
Printer's Alley was by this time no longer the legendary carouse-a-thon of its 1960s and '70s heyday, but The Brass Rail held onto its Mad Men screw-the-expense-account vibe longer than most.
Steamed vegetables with tamari butter, Laughing Man
One of the places (like Slice of Life) where vegetarians went to commiserate in a town dominated by steakhouses, meat-and-threes and heavy down-home cooking.
Stewed tomatoes, Hap Townes Restaurant
If you want to make native Nashvillians weep, remind them of this beloved meat-and-three, which spent most of the century in cramped quarters where Gabby's is today, serving everyone from Reggie Jackson to Johnny Cash — and if you really want 'em to turn on the waterworks, mention these candy-sweet 'maters.
Sweet potato fried pie, Mayo's Fried Pies and Mahalia Jackson's Chicken
A variant still operates on Jefferson Street — and the peach and apple pies are awesome — but E.W. Mayo's stupefyingly good half-moon sweet-potato pies ended with the closing of his Buchanan Street location, a treasure the city scarcely commemorated until it was gone.
Texas venison chip, Chef Sigi's
If you wanted Tennessean society columnist Catherine Darnell to take note of you — and in those days, many did — you made a pass through the room of this early chef-driven dining room. "The menu changed daily, the chandelier was huge," Steinhart recalls, "and Sigi ran out of money in a flash."
Tofu salad, Sunshine Grocery
Before Whole Foods consumed Wild Oats, this lively, jam-packed health-food store on Belmont Boulevard smelling of sunflower seeds and soy sauce was as green as Nashville got during the Bush I administration.
Turkey Divan, Daisy's
Proto-celebrity chef Miss Daisy King arrived at least two decades too early for the Food Network — but if she'd come along 20 years later bearing Southern Sunday-supper standards like this, she'd have been as famous as Paula Deen.
Veal Marsala, Ciraco's
Across from Vanderbilt, in the space that now houses Mellow Mushroom: a taste of Brooklyn Italian, courtesy of Mickey Ciraco, in a city whose growing population of relocated Noo Yawkers hungered for it desperately.
White bean soup, Vandyland/Candyland
The taste of Old Nashville, condensed to a bouillon cube — and maybe with a chocolate malt and one of those BLTs that fed the city through both World Wars, back in the days when high-schooler John Seigenthaler might have been your soda jerk.
NOW
Potato chips, Margot
If you're wondering why a basic snack like this made the list, you haven't had this heavenly house-made incarnation: delicately fried and served with a snappy aioli.
Chicken liver pâté with smoked peach preserves, Lockeland Table
Chicken liver pâté with smoked peach preserves, Lockeland Table
A glorious bit of complexity, this is the rare dish that hits many senses at once — sweet fruit, a dash of salt and deep umami from the pâté, crunchy texture from the toast that it's spread upon.
Buffalo beans and greens, The Wild Cow
Pinto beans, kale, garlic, carrots and tofu may sound like pedestrian vegetarian fare, but when the folks at this East Nashville veggie palace throw on some homemade ranch and hot sauce, it's a bowlful of awesome.
Choo Choo Roll, Samurai Sushi
Sushi options abound these days, but even now not many are as counterintuitive as the Choo Choo, which arrives with a skin of sliced strawberries and a pine-nut garnish.
Belly ham pizza, City House
There's a lot to love at Tandy Wilson's Germantown eatery, but this slice of heaven — house-made belly ham, mozzarella, Grana Padano, oregano, chilies — is his signature dish for a reason.
Pupusa revueltas, Las Americas
The pan-fried Salvadoran specialty — revueltas being the variant stuffed with beans and ground pork — remains one of the most satisfying meals in Nashville for the money.
Polish Boy, Jams Market and Deli
This divinely indulgent concoction — kielbasa, cole slaw, french fries and barbecue sauce on a hoagie roll — brings a taste of Cleveland (Ohio, not Tennessee) to Joe Murphy's Dickerson Road market.
Frank Dileo sandwich, Savarino's
Like the man for whom the sandwich is named — a departed music-biz legend who managed Michael Jackson and played Tuddy Cicero, the mob goon who whacked Joe Pesci in Goodfellas — this sandwich of Italian sausage and garlicky broccoli rabe is larger than the life.
Turkey and avocado sandwich, Mitchell Delicatessen
Turkey and avocado sandwich, Mitchell Delicatessen
Sliced bread had already been invented by 1989, as had sliced turkey, but there wasn't a fresh, perfectly balanced sandwich like this — with just the right amount of Benton's bacon tucked in — available anywhere yet.
Jackfruit sliders, The Stone Fox
The concepts "vegetarian" and "barbecue" don't always jibe, but these tasty pulled-pork-style sandwiches — served up in one of Nashville's friendliest neighborhood rooms — deliver on both counts.
Chicago style dog, Hot Diggity Dog
Chicago-style dog, Hot Diggity Dog
City-specific foods are only worth importing if they're done right, and Hot Diggity hits every note on their Chicago, from the all-beef Vienna dog to the tangy-hot sport peppers.
Grimey's Burger, Gabby's Burgers and Fries
Gabby's tribute to the record bins and friendly staff of the city's most famous record store — hello, crisp bacon and zippy barbecue sauce — is a sloppy, delicious burger worthy of the place it's named for.
Chivito, Tango Grill
It's the national dish of Uruguay, featuring a marinated steak on crusty French bread topped with sauteed onions, mushrooms, peppers, mayo, bacon, a fried egg and chimichurri sauce — and it's as fabulous as it sounds.
Quinoa taco, Mas Tacos Por Favor
Nashville's most successful food-truck-turned-brick-and-mortar-joint serves up plenty of good stuff, but their vegetarian supergrain taco is one of their — and the city's — best.
Garganelli Verde with pork ragout, Rolf and Daughters
This superb bowl of house-made pasta, topped with a concentrated and wonderfully flavorful heritage pork ragout, is the star of a terrific menu at Philip Krajek's culinary hotspot in the old Werthan factory building in Germantown.
Lobster and black truffle omelet, Pinewood Social
If you need a major pick-me-up after a rough weekend night, here's one of the most decadent brunch options you'll find, courtesy of chef Josh Habiger.
Awaze tibs, Gojo
Ahmed and Shemsi Maregn's charming Thompson Lane restaurant serves fresh, delicious Ethiopian cuisine, and the awaze tibs, cubes of beef simmered in a spicy sauce, are a highlight.
Bamieh, House of Kabob
There are skewers aplenty at the Persian restaurant House of Kabob on Thompson Lane, but we love hearty, home-cooking options like the bamieh — a rich stew with chunks of lamb in a tangy tomato gravy studded with okra.
Sayadeya, Epice
At Maher Fawaz's upscale Lebanese bistro in 12South, one of several must-try dishes is the sayadeya — the spiced fish fillet served with caramelized onions and vermicelli rice is excellent.
Mazeman, Otaku South at POP
Our current fave at the new full-time home for Sarah Gavigan's Otaku South ramen venture is the delectable tantan mazeman, a soupless noodle dish with spicy sesame sauce, scallion and picked ramps.
Pad Phet, King Market
Spicy, a little sweet, and infused with fresh flavor thanks to a mixed-in sprig of fresh green peppercorns, this Thai-style stir-fry is one of the best items on a menu brimming with goodness.
Dolsot bibimbap, Korea House
With a glaze of sesame oil to crisp the rice just so, Korea House's stone-bowl bibimbap delivers a payload of flavor thanks to the array of vegetables, seasoned beef and, of course, fiery-sweet gochujang-based sauce.
Churasco, Guantanamera
Alfonso Nieto's Nolensville Road restaurant features Cuban food as well as cuisine from Central and South America, and among the many great options is the hugely satisfying churrasco: Steak with chimichurri sauce — what's not to like?
Dosa, Woodlands
Twenty-five years ago, say "dosa" to someone and she might think you want to square dance, but today you can get the sublime crepe-like buckwheat disks at Woodlands with a variety of fillings — spiced potato, onion, cashew, paneer — and there's pretty much no way to go wrong.
Dim sum, Lucky Bamboo
The owners of Chinatown in Green Hills took over this Charlotte Road restaurant and reopened in November, much to the delight of local fans of Chinese food. The real treat, served on Saturdays and Sundays, is the dim sum — assorted dumplings, buns and other treats you can choose from carts that servers roll around the restaurant.
