Loveless Cafe is a Nashville institution that’s seen better days - Review - Nashville - The Infatuation
"Loveless Cafe is a Nashville institution. Tourists make the 30-minute pilgrimage out west to pay their respects to its legendary biscuits and eat them in the same diner where Dolly Parton and Taylor Swift once drew breath. It’s one of those iconic places you have to mark off your travel bingo car—like Times Square or the world’s largest ball of twine—and then never go back. Why? Because the food isn’t particularly good. The biscuits turn into a raw, uncomfortably doughy clump in your mouth and most of the meats seem to be shouldering through a particularly dry season. The grits and hashbrown casserole swoop in to save the day, but so many of the items leave you feeling like John Travolta in Pulp Fiction looking around a room in confusion. photo credit: Loveless Cafe photo credit: Loveless Cafe photo credit: Loveless Cafe photo credit: Loveless Cafe No matter when you show up, there’ll be a wait to get in. Fortunately for you, Loveless has turned the former motel spaces on the property into a gift shop and market where you can kill time and buy a branded mug that says, “Praise the lard and pass the biscuits.” Once you’re seated, the service is quick, efficient, and bubbling over with that infamous Southern hospitality and friendly charm. Unfortunately, one cannot live on Southern hospitality alone. Food Rundown photo credit: Loveless Cafe Biscuits If you like your biscuits small and so doughy that they stick to the roof of your mouth like a hazardous glob of peanut butter, this is your happy place. They come with both strawberry and peach jam, which are delicious but aren’t enough to save the biscuits. Country Ham Loveless does a thinly sliced version of country ham, which doesn’t do the dish any favors. Country ham already leans a bit dry and salty, but slicing it thin just exacerbates the effect, making it almost the consistency of jerky. Cheese Grits The cheese variation is superior to the plain version. And Loveless gets the consistency just right. It’s a thick porridge of cheese and hominy that deserves an upgrade from a cup to a bowl. photo credit: Loveless Cafe Hashbrown Casserole Another gold-star side dish, the hashbrown casserole has a perfectly crispy exterior that gives way to warm and cheesy shredded potatoes. It is the standard for hasbrown casseroles around the south. Pimento Cheese And Fried Green Tomato Biscuit The fried green tomato and pimento cheese here would make any Southerner proud. We’d happily eat them on their own, sans biscuit. Pulled Pork Loveless has its own barbecue pit on the property, but this pulled pork ain’t it. Sure, the portion is huge, but it’s so dry it poses a choking hazard. Also, the barbecue sauce on top looks like a jellied glaze. Hard pass." - Jackie Gutierrez-Jones
