The first time Gastro Gabe and I hooked up—totally just referring to the first time we actually got together … wow, same innuendos there too. How ‘bout this, the first time we saw each other since high school was in Nashville. I’ll spare you the details of how we got there—because it’s National Buttermilk Biscuit Day and this post really is about biscuits—and skip ahead to the part where we ate biscuits … just stay with me peeps, it gets good and you have got to read about our waitress, Virginia!
So a few miles down a deadend road, well-off music row and downtown, is a cute little cottage that’s flashy neon sign has been welcoming guests from all over the world to venture inside for what can only be called authentic Southern cooking, and yes, people really do come from all over the world for the food. I mean hey, their culinary team was even invited to New York to serve a Valentine’s dinner at the James Beard House. But, while The Loveless Cafe is known world-wide for its Southern cooking and mouthwatering, cannot-eat-just-one biscuits, it isn’t exactly the kind of place I would normally go as I steer clear of most fried foods and I don’t eat any kind of animal protein … BUT I was there with my favorite man and the occasional piece of fried chicken is one of his “flexible” parts of following a flexitarian lifestyle. Oh, and let’s just say he loves biscuits, with or without gravy (and no, that was not a sexual reference you heathen).
They make close to 10,000 biscuits each day!
But, what’s a girl like me to do when presented with a menu loaded with Southern staples like country-fried steak, meatloaf, country ham, creamed corn, dumplings, ribs and yea, fried chicken—among a gazillion other things. I have to admit, I was a little nervous … I mean what was I going to eat? Most of the plates I saw being cradled by the insanely happy waitresses didn’t look like anything I ate. But, wouldn’t you know it, they have slow-cooked green beans, turnip greens with pot liquor, fried okra and of course, fried green tomatoes and I was in HEAVEN. Literally. The food really is THAT good.
“For over 65 years, we’ve been getting up early at the Loveless Cafe to make classic Southern food entirely from scratch. Our cooks arrive at 3:00 am every day, and it’s worth it when we overhear someone say we’ve got the best food and service in Nashville.” ~The Loveless Cafe
As for the history of this quait eatery, Lon and Annie Loveless started serving homemade Southern dishes to travelers on Highway 100 in 1951. Eventually, they converted their home to the restaurant and built a small motel onsite … the rest, as they say, is history. Now about our waitress, Virginia … towards the end of our meal Gastro Gabe excused himself to the restroom and Virgina strolled on over, asked me where we were from and I started to tell her our story … and within seconds she’d pulled up a chair and was all wide-eyed, smiling broadly, listening to me like a child. She was so fully engrossed in my every word that it almost made me teary. It was so marvelously genuine. And right before Gastro Gabe returned, she reached for my arm, leaned in and said, “You are one of the happiest people I have ever seen.” And it struck me, because I was genuinely happy.
When we left she gave me her email and asked me to let her know how “our story” continued. And when I told my favorite man what had transpired, he just looked at me, smiled, kissed my cheek and said, “Make sure you invite her to our wedding.” How sweet is that? Unfortunately, I lost Virginia’s contact info and honestly, I’m not even sure if her name is Virginia, but the name kinda suits her. Learn more about The Loveless Cafe online and if you’re ever in Nashville, you have to go and say hi to Virginia for me. Oh, and get her address too so I can send her that invite ; )
I love your buttery biscuits the most 😉
To learn more about the “Almost Vegan, Plan-Based Diet and Lifestyle Boot Camp,” we’ve launched, download the media kit as a PDF or open the “About” page from the menu and select “Media Kit” to view it in its entirety. Questions? Press@ShaunaNosler.com | Press@Gastro-Licious.com
My Flexitarian Kitchen 
Great post 😁
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