Mike S.
Yelp
Jack Cawthon was a world-class caterer in an earlier life. But he had the itch to do his beloved Tennessee barbecue full-time, so he decided to roll the dice back in the 1980s/1990s with a place on Trinity Lane across the Cumberland from Downtown, back in the old, old days before pro football, gentrification, and a new tourism and economic boom turned everything about Nashville inside out. Sensing it all to be a Godsend, Cawthon decided to get in on the ground floor with the renaissance on Lower Broadway about 25 or so years back, and it paid (and pays) off handsomely for a man whose drawl is unmistakable, as is his Stetson, bolo tie, and boots (think a retro 1960s-style country artist). His TV/YouTube commercials are a sight for sore eyes, no question about it!
But since the Lower Broad location is basically in the midst of an adult (ahem) playground these days, not everybody can get down there easily, or feels safe in doing so. So Cawthon did the entrepreneurial thing and expanded his mini-chain to three locations, setting up shop west of the Tennessee State Capitol close to the I-40/65 loop that stays congested pretty much all day anyway. Still, he brought his faves with him to a place with more parking and a calmer atmosphere, but still closer to the bulk of the population than the north-of-the-River original.
So this reviewer went on a weeknight and braved the against-the-grain traffic of late rush hour. His tenacity paid off with a pretty good meal--and a few surprises.
First, you have to park in the back due to limited (most of the time, that means no) parking along Charlotte. Cawthon built an entrance that resembles an alleyway, a la Memphis' famed Vergos Rendezvous rib establishment. That same vibe follows you inside to the cutting board/serving line, done in the grand Southern cafeteria fashion. Choose a meat and a couple or so sides (starches and veggies alike in addition to the BBQ standards), get a dessert if you like, choose cornbread (more about that below) or roll, get a cup for the beverage, and it comes to you in all its styrofoam glory. One detour is needed to get soft drinks or iced tea and to choose from among about six sauces. This reviewer always opts for a place's original, since it is usually upon which the restauranteur built his/her establishment in the first place.
Sitting his posterior down with the tray, he went into a pile of pork shoulder, which was on the lean and dry side, somewhat against his preferences. But the tomato-based sauce, held together by vinegar and black pepper, moistened and woke the meat up, saving it from being an ordeal. Not a lot of smoke permeates Middle Tennessee meat, one suspects, and that is fine when a sauce helps out like this one did. One misstep was choosing the potato salad instead of the vinegar-based slaw as the mild side; the PS was not seasoned well for this reviewer's taste. But the beans, thick and featuring yesterday's meat, redeemed the sides experience.
Now, here's the interesting part. Jack's cornbread is SWEET. You read that right, good Southern folk. Nashville is known for being unorthodox when it comes to that delicacy, and more often than not, the "light" version comes off well. But light this was not. It was heavy, thick, and dense--essentially, it was dessert, almost resembling a pound cake more than anything texturally and in taste. It is a very good thing that I was too full to have a real dessert, for all of it would have been entirely too large a dose of sugar for this body to take (with sweetish iced tea especially).
Filling, certainly. Worth it? Probably. Just be sure to order rolls if you get a plate (you may just want a sandwich instead, anyway) and want a slice of pie to chase your 'cue down with. But, then again, you might want Jack's cornbread as a souvenir to use as a doorstop when you get home, rather than eating it. Do not say that you were not warned!
