Tennessee has two distinct food identities and they sit 200 miles apart. Nashville's defining dining tradition is the meat-and-three diner — a protein and three sides from a steam table — embodied by the Loveless Cafe on the Natchez Trace. Memphis owns spicy fried chicken and the dry-county whiskey country of Lynchburg.
The 3 spots below cover the state's strongest food and drink experiences.
Jump to: Nashville Dining · Memphis Fried Chicken · Tennessee Whiskey & Moonshine · Planning Notes
Nashville Dining
Loveless Cafe Must-see
Davidson County · Nashville
A roadside cafe on the Natchez Trace Parkway, operating since 1951 and famous for scratch biscuits made in-house all day from a recipe that has not changed. The menu is meat-and-three Southern: fried chicken, country ham, biscuits with housemade preserves, and seasonal sides. Lines are common on weekend mornings.
Located 20 minutes southwest of downtown Nashville at the entrance to the Natchez Trace. The drive through rolling Tennessee farmland on the Trace approach makes a fitting prelude to the meal.
Memphis Fried Chicken
Gus's World Famous Fried Chicken (Memphis) Must-see
Shelby County · Memphis
The original Gus's is a small, weathered building in Mason, Tennessee, but the Memphis location on Front Street is the most visited. The chicken is spicy fried — not hot chicken in the Nashville sense, but a cayenne-forward batter with a thin, lacquered crust that shatters. Routinely listed among the best fried chicken in the country.
Waits run 30–45 minutes on weekends. Order a full half-chicken or mixed pieces. The sides are minimal and secondary to the bird.
Tennessee Whiskey & Moonshine
Jack Daniel's Distillery Must-see
Moore County · Lynchburg
The oldest registered distillery in the US, operating continuously in Lynchburg since 1866 and producing the world's best-selling American whiskey. The town of Lynchburg sits in Moore County — a dry county — meaning Jack Daniel's is the only place in the county where alcohol can be purchased. The Lincoln County Process, where whiskey is filtered through 10 feet of sugar maple charcoal before aging, is visible on the tour.
Tours run daily; the full distillery tour is 90 minutes. Lynchburg is 75 miles south of Nashville — a straightforward day trip.
Planning Notes
Memphis vs. Nashville food trips: Memphis and Nashville are 200 miles apart — don't try to hit both food scenes in one day. Memphis is worth an overnight for Gus's and Beale Street in a single evening and morning. Nashville's food scene works as a series of lunch stops over 2 days. The Loveless Cafe works best as a Saturday morning anchor 12 miles from downtown.
Plan your visit: Explore city guides for every destination in this article: Nashville, Memphis.
