Nashville's Rebirth Starts with the Stomach

Kim Severson follows the hipsters and food trucks to East Nashville to document a "down-on-its-luck side of town being brought to life one great plate of food at a time."

1 minute read

June 21, 2012, 6:00 AM PDT

By Jonathan Nettler @nettsj


Nashville's resurgence resonates with Atlanta's and Charleston's before it, as "one of several midsize cities whose food sensibilities (and hipster quotient) are growing as people leave the dog-eat-dog cities on the coasts in search of more affordable, pleasant places to live and eat," writes Severson.

For a town long known for its musical culture, Severson tells the story of Nashville's recent rise through its food culture, and its "two totem foods: a meat-and-three lunch and an order of hot chicken," which "are a distillation of Tennessee's agrarian roots and Nashville's working class."

In Severson's culinary travels across the city, she witnesses the development of, "a different Nashville food scene, where the ethos of community, culinary adventure and democratized kitchen culture are uniting to define a new kind of Southern cooking that doesn't forgo its roots, but allows chefs to transcend them. As one chef told me, 'You don't have to cook pork if you don't want to.'"

Monday, June 18, 2012 in The New York Times

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Use Code 25for25 at checkout for 25% off an annual plan!

Redlining map of Oakland and Berkeley.

Rethinking Redlining

For decades we have blamed 100-year-old maps for the patterns of spatial racial inequity that persist in American cities today. An esteemed researcher says: we’ve got it all wrong.

May 15, 2025 - Alan Mallach

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

May 14, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Front of Walmart store with sign.

Walmart Announces Nationwide EV Charging Network

The company plans to install electric car chargers at most of its stores by 2030.

May 7, 2025 - Inc.

Public Market sign over Pike Place Market in Seattle, Washington with pop-up booths on street.

Seattle’s Pike Place Market Leans Into Pedestrian Infrastructure

After decades of debate, the market is testing a car ban in one of its busiest areas and adding walking links to the surrounding neighborhood.

May 15 - Cascade PBS

Yellow and silver light rain train in downtown Long Beach, California.

The World’s Longest Light Rail Line is in… Los Angeles?

In a city not known for its public transit, the 48.5-mile A Line is the longest of its kind on the planet.

May 15 - Secret Los Angeles

Man reaching for young girl sliding down playground slide.

Quantifying Social Infrastructure

New developments have clear rules for ensuring surrounding roads, water, and sewers can handle new users. Why not do the same for community amenities?

May 15 - Happy Cities