I was watching a recent episode of Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives on the Food Network and they featured a place in Nashville called Phat Bites. It’s located across the street from McNamara’s Irish Pub that I have previously written about. Phat Bites is an old garage that has been turned into a fun and busy sandwich shop. I decided to take a drive to Nashville and visit for lunch.
The décor is very eclectic inside. There are mix and match chairs and tables; there’s an old Chinese restaurant sign on the wall. Local graffiti artists have crated unique pieces of artwork on the walls.
The have an extensive menu of sandwiches and salads to choose from. For a salad I started with the Long Life salad because that is what I watched them make on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives. It is a kale salad with assorted beans and walnuts covered in a tangy homemade dressing. It is one of their most popular salads and they were almost out of it when I was there.
Looking over their list of sandwiches I settled on the Muffaletta. It was loaded with turkey, ham, salami, and provolone cheese. The Focaccia bread was amazing; it was fresh and had a great crunch after they toasted it. On one side of the bread they layered their homemade olive spread. On the other half was a layer of homemade pesto. It was a multi-dimensional sandwich that had amazing chemistry. I did not think I would be able to finish the entire sandwich because it was so big but I just could not put it down.
The sandwich also came with a homemade pickle. Now this is not a typical pickle; just looking at it I could see the fresh dill, however, as soon as I took a bite the flavor hit me. It was tangy and sour; it is really hard to describe but it is a unique take on a pickle so it is a must try.
I visited Phat Bites for lunch but I would check them out in the evenings and on the weekend. It looks like they have live music and entertainment.
Check out the website at: www.phatbites.com
Enjoy!
T
