#10 Nashville Open
April 13, 2024
Literally zero Brazilian Jiu Jitsu occurred on this trip.
No one in my Master 4, Purple Belt, Medium-Heavy bracket and no one in the open class.
I showed up made weight, and they handed me a gold medal
This is essentially becoming a travel blog.
One very cool BJJ tidbit…I got a sponsor! Here in the PNW we are fortunate to have quality local bjj tournaments. KYSPromotions organizes a submission only tournament three times a year. My first tournament as a white belt was at Proving Grounds hosted by KYSPromotions. The Proving Grounds tournaments have been around for over 10 years and I’m so grateful to Lamont from KYSPromotions for supporting local BJJ and supporting my BJJ journey!
This was my first trip to Nashville.
The weekend was mid 80’s which was welcome after leaving a rainy 50 degree pacific northwest. There were noticeably more women in Nashville than men…by a lot. Many, many bachelorette parties. Most riding on pedal taverns, blasting Shania Twain, and all wearing the uniform of very short skirts or jean shorts and cowboys boots. Cowboy boots came in three styles: ankle, mid calf, or knee high. This was so consistent it really felt like they all called each other and planned out their outfits. I hope for the sake of the bachelorette parties that men soon figure out this is the place to go if you’re looking for large groups of single young ladies. Broadway felt like a Southern version of the Las Vegas strip. It was packed with people, most of the bars had long lines, and there was a lot of neon. It was cool seeing that even 2pm on a Saturday or noon on a Sunday live bands were playing everywhere. Always great to see live music happening.
The Las Vegas strip of the South overall wasn’t appealing to me, so I spent most of my time in smaller neighborhoods around Nashville. It was delightful exploring these areas, finding cool restaurants and shops.
Key Takeaways
N/A
Current goals
Win a bracket
Score a takedown
Places I visited
Antique Archaeology - My Mom went on this trip with me. It’s the first time she’s traveled in five years and I was excited she wanted to join me. She’s a fan of the TV show American Pickers and suggested we visit their store in Nashville. It was a cool store, lots of buses of tourists stopping at the location, but it never felt overly crowded. What was even cooler was the building it was in, Marathon Village. It’s an old automobile factory that has been converted into retail spaces. It houses several small shops that feature local artisans. It was a really cool space to explore.
Hatch Show Print - We booked the tour of Hatch Show Print, not knowing what it was. It's in the same building as the Country Music Hall of Fame. This was my favorite thing of the weekend. It was super cool to learn the history of this 145 year old letter printing press. You get a chance to use a printing press to make your own mini poster and view all the different musical acts that have had their posters made there. A great mix of hands-on learning, music, and art.
Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum - I’m not a country music fan so this wasn’t very interesting to me. Seeing footage of some very early country stars was cool, learning about ‘cow punk’ and some of the sixties folk rock that they claim was interesting, but I probably won’t do it again. My mom freaked out when she saw the car from Smokey and the Bandit in person, though.
RCA Studio B Tour - There is a 3 ticket package you can get that has the Hatch Show print tour, tickets to the CMHoF, and a tour of the recording studio RCA Studio B. You meet up at the CMHoF and take a quick bus ride to the studio. Our tour guide was awesome. She had a lot of energy, singing and dancing to all the music we heard, and taught me the phrase ‘Don’t yuck someone’s yum.’ Another great music history lesson. Elvis recorded many songs in the studio and it was amazing to hear the list of hits recorded in the space. Some of the original instruments are still there and I was excited to see a vintage flip top ampeg amp, one of my favorite amps my Dad had when I was a kid.
Restaurants I visited
Martin’s BBQ – First place I stopped for food! I visited the 4th ave location. Being a recovering vegetarian of 17 years, means meat is still not a staple in my diet. I lean more on seafood when looking for protein, but when bbq is concerned pulled pork sandwiches are my go-to. I was eager to try Martin’s after several recommendations. I also got some hushpuppies on the side. This was amazing! The bbq sauce here is like nothing I’ve ever had. Spicy, sweet, and a strong vinegar taste that I loved. I couldn’t get enough of it. In the PNW our bbq isn’t great, so it doesn’t take much to wow me. But I couldn’t get over how much I enjoyed the sauce at Martin’s. It was very, very thin. I’m used to a very thick sauce and I was surprised how much I enjoyed the wet, thin sauce and wanted to drench everything in it. My hushpuppies were just ok. The first time I had hushpuppies was in Savannah, Georgia and they were served with honey, ever since I feel like I’ve been trying to chase that taste and continue to be disappointed.
Eldey’s BBQ – I went to the one on 12th avenue. I was in search of banana pudding and was given the recommendation of Hattie B’s. I headed to Hattie B’s and found it was smack dab in the middle of the Las Vegas strip of the south. It had a very long line of miserable looking people baking in the heat. I didn’t even stop the car, seeing that line of girls sweating in their cowboy boots was enough for me to reconsider my plans. I drove over to the Titans stadium, which is huge, so I could park and find a new destination. When searching for good banana pudding Eldey’s came up several times. There was one location just a mile away, but I had seen enough of the downtown area and chose a location further out. I am so glad I did! I drove through residential streets, wondering if I was going to be buying banana pudding from someone’s grandma's house. I finally came upon this adorable little strip of stores and restaurants. Free parking! We went in and banana pudding is listed as a side instead of a dessert. Probably because they know you’re going to want some. I ordered 2 banana puddings and the cashier asked if that’s all I wanted. Yep, just the pudding. He handed them over and said they were on the house. Free parking and free banana pudding! We went back again the next day to actually try the bbq. Good but not nearly as good as Martin’s.
Legendairy – My mom was craving a chocolate shake and I remembered a friend suggested checking out Legendairy. Known for their crazy milkshakes. We were pleasantly surprised that they were open until 11pm each night so we hopped in the car and headed downtown. I was worried it would be packed on a Saturday night at 8pm, but nope, we waited in line,just long enough to pick out our milkshakes. I got the Birthday Shake: Cake Batter ice cream, vanilla icing rim, rainbow sprinkles, whipped cream, a full ass cupcake, and they brought it out with a birthday candle which they lit for me. My mom had the Death by Chocolate: Chocolate ice cream, chocolate icing rim, chocolate sprinkles, chocolate whipped cream, chocolate chips, and a large fudge brownie. They were great. We opted for the smaller 8 oz milkshakes. It was only $1 more to go up to 16 oz, but neither of us wanted to be tempted to each more. Definitely worth the stop.
Nectar Urban Cantina– A quick search found this place one exit away from where we were staying. We got there and it was a cute converted house, near the highway that was packed, but with not too long of a wait. Perfect. There was outdoor and indoor seating. We only waited about 10 minutes for our seats. I started with a prickly gum-drop. A delicious non-alcoholic drink with Prickly pear puree, pineapple juice, lime juice, pinch of tajin, and sprite. They didn’t provide free chips and salsa so we ordered some along with some guacamole. The salsa was terrible. Absolutely awful. Tasted like straight tomato paste. The guac was great though. We sent the salsa back because it really wasn’t edible, maybe it’s a style of salsa people like? No idea. I ordered a shrimp taco and baja fish taco. My mom had a shrimp bowl. The shrimp in both our dishes was amazing. Super tasty and a little different than the shrimp I usually get. It said they were gulf shrimp, whatever they were they were great. The service was excellent and as long as you avoid the salsa the food is excellent as well.
Upcoming tournaments:
April 27: Chicago Open
May 18: Baton Rouge Open
July 20: Virginia Open
July 25: Orlando Open
Aug 29: Master Worlds
