Nashville's response to the Scene’s annual Burger Week, Taco Week and Hot Chicken Week celebrations of Nashville restaurants continues to be amazing, so our events and marketing department figured they should go ahead and add another. (This way we can have a whole month's worth of weeks.) To that end, the Nashville Scene is presenting Pizza Week Sept. 8 through 14 at restaurants all over town.
Similar to the other Scene-presented special events, a collection of Nashville restaurants (including some where you might not normally expect to find pizza) are going to offer $12 deals on creative pies. Gather your tasting squad and plan your attack — maybe employing a combination of dine-in, carryout and Uber Eats delivery so you can sample as many pizzas as possible. That way you can help select the winners in three categories: Best Traditional Pizza, Most Creative Pizza and Best Overall Pizza. Many participants are also offering vegetarian options.
You can cast your votes between Monday, Sept. 8, at 10 a.m. and Monday, Sept. 15, at 10 a.m. by visiting the official Nashville Scene Pizza Week website. As always, we ask that you tip on what these pizzas would cost if they weren’t discounted for this special week. Figure that these should be at least $20 pies, and maybe buy a drink or two at each stop to help pad the bill a little bit. There may be longer waits than usual, and some spots may run out of specialty pizzas. Roll with the punches and remember you’ve got a whole week to accomplish your goals!
Of course, “the phone eats first” — so take pics and share them on social media, tagging @nashpizzaweek and @nashvillescene. Be sure to follow @nashpizzaweek on Instagram for the most up-to-date info.
One thing I really enjoy about these special weeks is that even I can discover new restaurants that I haven’t had a chance to visit yet. I’m looking forward to checking out Cafe Between, the coffee shop in the lobby of the new Caption by Hyatt, to try out their Meat & Three Pizza. I mean, it is just a pepperoni with mushrooms, peppers and onions, but that does qualify as one meat and three veggies. Dukos at 811 Dickerson Pike is a relatively new pizzeria I’ve heard some buzz about, and their Oxtail sounds even closer to authentic meat-and-three/soul food. Think braised oxtail with red sauce, two cheeses and crispy collards. They’re planning to add zing and zang with some Mike’s Hot Honey drizzle and lemon zest.
I haven’t made it to Härth Bar & Grill inside the Hilton Nashville Green Hills yet, but reading about their Khachapuri Pizza might encourage me to fight mall traffic. They’re promising a pie covered in fresh mozzarella and whipped feta with layers of Benton's country ham prosciutto, then topped with a baked egg yolk, soft herbs and olive oil and sea salt. Count me in!
Lucky's Tavern Pizza
If you’re a fan (like I am) of hyphens and thin-crust rectangular-cut “tavern-style” pizzas, there will be a battle of pub pies between three competitors — Lucky’s 3 Star Bar, Dicey’s Pizza and Taproom and Roy’s Tavern. Lucky’s is coming out swinging with a pizza topped with red sauce, Romano cheese, pepperoni and hot giardiniera, while Dicey’s fights back with spicy Italian sausage, giardiniera, mozz and parm. Roy’s counters with another classic combo of Italian sausage, tavern-style red sauce and hot giardiniera finished with Parmesan cheese. It should be a delicious skirmish!
Among more traditional pizza options, consider old favorites like Pizza Perfect, NY Pie, Mellow Mushroom, Boombozz and Il Forno. And to be clear, while these may be popular longtime pizzerias, they’re still creating innovative new recipes just for this week.
Taco Bamba
For something way out there, you have to appreciate Taco Bamba's contribution, the Papi Juan Quesadilla stuffed with sausage, pepperoni, peppers, onions, mozzarella, salsa roja and red chile ranch. Is it a pizza? No, it is not. Is it even a calzone? Closer, but still no. Is it a quesadilla with pizza ingredients inside a tortilla? Yeah, that’s what it is. I still want to try it.
So stock up on cheap Chianti and make plans to binge on pizza all week long!
