On March 29, the prestigious James Beard Foundation came to Nashville to announce the finalists for this year’s Restaurant and Chef Awards. With five Music City denizens among the semifinalist lineup — and an array of celebrated restaurants now on offer in our city — Nashville made perfect sense as a setting for the event, which precedes June 5’s gala awards ceremony in Chicago.Â
Even just a decade ago, that would’ve been damn near close to unthinkable. Nashville? A national dining hub? With five local restaurants or chefs on the Beard Awards long list? Ultimately, just one local candidate was selected to move on to the finals: Bastion’s Josh Habiger, who’s been up for consideration a handful of times and whose creativity is well deserving of national recognition. But nevertheless, Nashville has a food scene worth celebrating, and that’s what we’re doing this week, both with our annual Iron Fork event on Thursday, April 6, and with our annual Food & Drink Issue.Â
In these pages, you’ll find our survey of some of Nashville’s best and brightest chefs and restaurateurs (including several of this year’s Iron Fork competitors). We also dive into the city’s booming brewery scene and update you on 16 of our favorite bites in town. Pull up a chair and dig in. Â
—D. PATRICK RODGERS, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
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