Nashville - walk or short cab from Opryland hotel

There are a couple of threads that include some BBQ rec's in or near Nashville, and I will do my best to get to those places someday. However, this time my predicament is as follows: I have a 2 hour dinner break during a conference at the Opryland hotel. Upscale food, downscale food, BBQ, Vietnamese, whatever. I'm just looking for good food that I can get to and fro within these constraints. Ideas?

Not sure of the proximity to Opryland Hotel, but I think Genie's Persian Palace might be close. It looks dodgy b/c it's inside an old Captain D's, but I went for the buffet and it was cheap, authentic and very good.

The owner also just happens to be Mohammad "Fat Mo" Karimy of Fat Mo burgers (multiple locations)--another worthwhile food stop if you're hungry for a burger.

I think Mo has another upscale Persian restaurant in the swanky suburb of Nashville where all the country music stars live (the name escapes me), but Genie's is more casual/buffet.

Genie's Persian Palace
1133 Murfreesboro Rd.
Nashville, TN 37217
(615) 366-8988

If you have time to head further out (past Murfreesboro), Miller's Grocery is worth the trek.

Miller's Grocery
7011 Main Street
Christiana, TN 37037
(615) 893-1878

If I remember right, the ONLY thing real close to the Gaylord Hotel is one of those "MILLS" megamalls like in Gurnee which is on the site of the old Opryland USA amusement park.

I can't tell you the proximity of this place to the hotel you're at, maybe you can check, but the last time I was in Nashville, circa 1999, this place was really good. It's a 'meat n three' place that you'll find sometimes in the South, where they prepare several meat entrees, and several vegetable sides and you can pick and choose. They also have an all vegetable plate, they do breakfast and the country ham was very tasty, and if memory serves a great banana pudding for dessert.

Wendall Smith's
407 53rd Ave N
Nashville, TN 37209-3341
Phone: (615) 383-7114

At the time they didn't take cards, so you might want to check and see if they're still cash only.

Ugh, I just stayed down the street from the Opryland last night. There is absolutely north of there except maybe an Applebee's. South of there is Opry Mills (think Gurnee Mills), which has a variety of chain choices, including the Brinker pairing of Chili's and Romano's. It's a long walk, but I suspect that the hotel might have a shuttle.

Wendall Smith's is very good, one of my clients likes to go there for lunch and I was there yesterday. I personally preferred my lunch today at Swett's. But both those places are clear on the other side of Nashville from Opryland.


EDIT: OP, are you going to have a car?? There's a decent burger chain called Backyard Burgers just north of the airport, which is within a 15 minute drive. And there's a Waffle House if you're into that (I like a cheap waffle for dinner sometimes) across the highway from the Gaylord.

Some more information:

Opry Mills

Food - Specialty
Apple Barn Cider Bar & General Store
Auntie Anne's Pretzels
Carvel Ice Cream
Cinnabon
Dairy Queen / Orange Julius
Great American Cookie Co.
Harry and David
Marble Slab Creamery
Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory
Sweets From Heaven
Wetzel's Pretzels

Restaurants (order at the counter)

Burger King
Cajun Grill
Dickey's BBQ
Great Steak & Potato Company
Lotus Express
Ranch 1
Sbarro
Subway

Restaurants (order via wait staff)
Aquarium Restaurant
Chili's Too
Dave & Busters
Johnny Rockets
Rainforest Cafe
Romano's Macaroni Grill
TGI Friday's
Tony Roma's

I would stronly recommend the Apple Barn. They had some excellent bakes apple products that were the highlight of our stop there.

There looks like there are 15 restaurants in the hotel and convention center:

http://www.gaylordhotels.com/gaylordopr ... dining.cfm

My initial reaction was that it looks like a Las Vegas resort.

threadkiller wrote:Wendall Smith's is very good, one of my clients likes to go there for lunch and I was there yesterday. I personally preferred my lunch today at Swett's. But both those places are clear on the other side of Nashville from Opryland.

My grandmother lived down in Nashville for a year or two in the late 90's and unfortunately the only time I visited down there, (she usually came up here) was when she passed. She lived relatively close to Wendall Smith's but I couldn't figure out the geography of the city enough from that visit to help the OP with where it was in regards to their hotel.

I didn't make it to Swett's but I've heard good things about them too.

I stayed there for a conference last year. The restaurants inside the convention center actually aren't that bad - but make reservations NOW because they'll be filled up when you get there.

Most of the reasonably good places in Nashville are not close to the Gaylord. Many larger restaurants will have a van, though, and pick you up and take you back for no charge, it's worth calling them to ask. There are enough people who stay at the Gaylord to make it worth their while.

(when you are there, try not to think about the Star Trek episode "For the World is Hollow and I have Touched the Sky."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_the_Wo ... ed_the_Sky