Our Favorite Coffee + Food in Nashville, Tennessee

Nashville, oh Nashville, where to even begin. To be honest, Nashville has never been at the top of my list of places to visit. Country music has never been my thing and I had many other cities I still hadn't made it to yet that I considered "higher priority." But when some of our best couple friends invited us to join them in Nashville for the Fourth of July, we dropped everything and went. We spent three days there and despite the ridiculously intense heat, we enjoyed a lot of wonderful coffee and a lot of amazing food and I started to see where all of the hype surrounding this city came from! The lack of traffic and absence of general business alone (in comparison to Chicago) had me ready to sign a lease and move. Still not out of the question. ;) I can't wait to plan another visit! Here is a round up of all of the places we loved! If you've been to Nashville, share with me some of your favorite spots!

Hattie B's

Not a healthy place in the slightest, but worth every fried bite! Hattie B's serves up hot chicken to your preferred spiciness level and it is so good! Although fried, the chicken isn't nearly as greasy as a lot of other fried chicken I've had. I got the medium spiciness chicken tenders with coleslaw and fries. Highly recommend!

Pinewood Social

If you're not on broadway with all of the tourists, this place is the place to be! It's a super chill bar / coffee shop / bowling alley full of photo-worthy couch sitting areas. They also have a patio full of yard games and even have a pool! We spent our first evening here and contemplated another. It's the perfect spot to work during the day or cap off the evening at. Obsessed! 

Dose

Coming from Chicago I was initially slightly underwhelmed by the amount of trendy coffee shops in Nashville, but although there were few, the ones we went to, were great! Dose was no exception. My only consistent disappointment was the lack of oatmilk (my favorite non-dairy alternative), but eventually I anticipate some shops to start carrying it. Dose served up an amazing iced almond milk latte, drip coffee, and a very unique avocado toast (with roasted corn, jalepenos, feta, and pickled onions). It was super close to our air b and b in East Nashville so we popped over there a few times. They had a nice, bright vibe and a wide selection of tiems that I really enjoyed. Definitely recommend checking it out! 

Five Daughters Bakery

Known for their 100-layer donuts, this adorable bakery is a MUST if you're in Nashville. Josiah and I shared a peanut butter chocolate one that was really good! Next time I am going to try one of their paleo donuts! 

Burger Up

Although Burger Up is known best for it's beef burgers (obviously) after having Hattie B's fried chicken the night before, I decided to go with a lighter option. I ordered the quinoa patty and a kale salad with parmasan, hazelnuts, and dried cranberries. Oh my gosh, it was so good! Everyone else ordered different burgers and they raved about theirs as well. Definitely a solid place! 

Barista Parlor

I would consider this a coffee shop for serious coffee lovers, but it was super fun! It's a very open space that had a lot of tables available if you wanted to work here during the day. Although I paid almost $8 for an iced almond milk latte, it was so tasty! The neighborhood (Germantown) that this coffee shop was nestled in was cute and fun to explore too. 

Biscuit Love

I don't want to hype this place up to much because I probably wouldn't wait an hour in line again to eat here, but it was a fun experience and seems to be considered a staple when visiting Nashville. I ordered the sausage hash with two sunny side eggs and it was really tasty! According to everyone else at our table the biscuits seemed to be a bit overrated though. 

Ugly Mugs Coffee & Tea

The name alone makes me love this place! They serve up an amazing iced almond milk latte and according to my friend Caitlin, vanilla latte as well. Perhaps my favorite thing about this place was their "Love Coffee Love People" t-shirts that they sold. Definitely picking one up on my next trip! 

Wild Cow

Located right next to Ugly Mugs Coffee & Tea, this adorable little hippie vegetarian restaurant is stealing hearts of meat eaters and veggie heads alike. I ordered the sweet potato black bean tacos with vegan sour cream on corn tortillas with vegan queso and chips and Josiah ordered the chipotle portabello tacos with pineapple coleslaw on the side. Both dishes were so, so good! Their menu had so many amazing options, I'm sad we only got to eat here once! Be aware that they are closed on Tuesdays so you don't make plans to go only to realize they're closed. Not that that happened to us or anything. ;)

Crema

Probably my favorite coffee shop in Nashville! it reminded me so much of one of my favorite Chicago spots. They served up a delicious avocado toast that had goat cheese on it (game changer!) as well as another amazing iced almond milk latte. It's such a bright and plant filled space --- i love it! 

Grain-Free Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Slowness has been on my mind lately. Probably because my life for the last three months has represented anything BUT slowness. Ever since we moved out of our old apartment and into a state of unknown (see here) there has been far less thriving and way more surviving than I would care to admit. I'm a busy body by nature. I can't sit still, but amidst the shuffle of the last few months I've lost so much of myself and my purpose and I need to get back to my normal. 

As a challenge to myself I want to make a little shift. I want to slow down. I want to embrace slow mornings where I have the chance to cook breakfast in my PJs and sip coffee as long as I want. I want to forgo rushing from errand to errand or getting anxiety over the impending to-do list. Instead I want to slow down and take more breaths. Wish me luck. 

Between breaths you can find me making these paleo banana chocolate chip muffins. They're hella easy and damn good. And I know we're all about that. 

Grain-Free Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins 

Makes 15

• 1/3 cup coconut oil, melted and cooled slightly 
• 4 mashed bananas 
• 2/3 cup maple syrup 
• 2 eggs 
• 1 teaspoons vanilla 
• 2 cups almond flour 
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda 
• 3/4 cup Enjoy life mini semi-sweet chocolate chips, or another non-dairy chocolate chip 
• a pinch of salt
• 1 banana, cut into slices to top the muffins 

Preheat the oven to 350 and line a muffin pan with muffin tins. In a large bowl beat together the coconut oil, mashed bananas, maple syrup, eggs, and vanilla. In another bowl mix together the almond flour, baking soda, and salt. Slowly add the dry mixture to the wet until they are fully combined. Fold in the chocolate chips. 

Divide the batter evenly between the cupcake tins and then top each with a banana slice. Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Take out of the oven and allow to cool. 

Snickerdoodle Bliss Bites

Hello hello! 

Welcome to the start of a new week. Am I an insane person for saying I actually enjoy Mondays? I mean, I can comfortably say that I am an insane person, but whether or not that's solely related to my being okay with Mondays, not sure. I'll get back to you on that one. 

Most of the time a new week leaves me feeling inspired and motivated for all of the potential that lies ahead. This week Josiah and I have the entire week to work on our camper renovation. Up until now we've just been working on it here and there, getting things accomplished as we had time, BUT this week it's going to be all about the camper. I'm trying to manage my expectations though because the amount of things I think we can accomplish in a day are generally way more than is possible. Josiah will be there to help keep me in check. And these snickerdoodle bites will be here to keep me from having a hangry meltdown between Home Depot runs. They're full of fats and nutritious enough to justify as a snack, but sweet enough to satisfy a sweet craving. All wins in my book. Make them up today and have them on hand all week! 

Snickerdoodle Bliss Bites 

Makes: 10 

• 3 tablespoons coconut butter
• 2 tablespoons ghee, melted and cooled
• 3 tablespoons coconut oil, melted and cooled 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla 
• 2 scoops collagen
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon 
• 1 cup almond flour 
• 2 teaspoons maca, I used Trader Joe's 
• a pinch of salt 

Combine the coconut butter, ghee, coconut oil, and vanilla in a medium sized bowl. Mix the collagen, almond flour, maca, and salt in another bowl. Slowly add in the dry mixture to the wet. Scoop the mixture into 1" balls and place onto a baking sheet covered in parchment paper. Place the bites into the freezer for approximately 20 minutes or until the bites feel firm. As soon as the bites feel firm, enjoy! Store in the freezer. 

Our Favorite Coffee + Food in Paris, France

After spending three days in Amsterdam and enjoying all of the incredible dairy-free and gluten-free options they had to offer, I was initially a little underwhelmed with Paris' food scene. That's not to say I didn't find amazing places to eat foods that I enjoyed, but it was much more difficult to find a coffee shop with almond milk or oat milk to put in my coffee. This meant often times just drinking it black, which I'll admit, is't the end of the world. But after a bit more research I came across a handful of places that seemed worthy of time. I'm happy to report that after all of that searching we landed on a TON of great places that I will probably be dreaming about for years to come. This guide includes a few cafes and restaurants that have gluten-free and dairy-free options to make traveling with dietary restrictions not only less stressful, but exciting and enjoyable. 

Holybelly

This place was so fun! It reminded me a lot of a place we like in Chicago called Hutch. It's a very trendy brunch place and the line was pretty long to get in, but the food was totally worth the wait. I had a poached eggs, kale salad, and sausage, which is super simple, but was so, so satisfying and delicious! The only thing I wasn't a fan of was how close we were sitting to other people, but I would definitely still go back to this place. It is for sure one of those places though that if you go at prime brunch time then you are going to have to wait a very, very long time to get a table. We went on a weekday and waited maybe 20 minutes around 9am. 

Blackburn Coffee

This place was great! They had super cute hipster vibes going on and their espresso was amazing! The staff was very friendly and I would totally go back. I was planning to get drip coffee, but unfortunately they did not have any non-dairy milks and black coffee is not my favorite so I opted for espresso (which I do find tasty without any plant-based milks). 

Bob's Juice Bar

This place was super fun and very, very tiny. They have a pretty small menu, but everything is reasonably priced and what we tasted was delicious and refreshing! The little shop has a very west coast DIY feel that I found charming and the staff was very sweet. 

Ten Belles

I loved the little upstairs nook that this shop had! It was so cute! The coffee here was very good, but I was a little disappointed they did not have any non-dairy milks so I tried to drink it black and it was still great. 

Chambelland

This was my favorite place that we ate at in Paris and I would fly back again and again just to try each and everything in their display! The entire bakery is full of gluten-free goodies, but my favorite was their gluten-free breads. They're homemade daily they even use special flour mills that they've created themselves! While I wait to book my next trip to get some of their breads I might have to buy myself a gluten free bread cookbook to make some myself! Their date and nut bread was my favorite! 

O/HP/E

This place doubles as a cafe / decor shop and it has the cutest Scandinavian / modern kitchen tools and home decor. I wanted to buy literally everything they sold! I did treat myself to a little mug and saucer (as if I don't already have enough mugs) and everything time I use it I think of our wonderful trip! This is definitely a fun place to pop in, look around, and then grab a treat to mucnh on. 

Dose Dealer de Cafe

This coffee shop was close to our air b and b so we frequented it daily. I loved how the maintained the charming classic Paris atmosphere, but offered some trendier options. Their regular coffee as well as their almond milk flat white were great. They were super fast (which I definitley appreicate when I am getting my first cup of the day!) but they also had a cute outdoor seating area that you could sit and relax for as long as you wanted and not feel rushed. 

Le Guynemer

This was a nostalgic visit for us. When we were in Paris for our honeymoon we frequented this cafe because it was close to our hotel. Going back there was super fun! It's one of those places that gives you a truly authentic Parisian experience. It's located just outside of the Luxembourg gardens and is the perfect place to grab a late breakfast and espresso. 

Coutume

This is the restaurant that inspired me to start incorporating a salad into breakfast. I order the salmon, poached eggs, and avocado and it came with SO many greens! It was so unbelievably tasty and it felt so good to fill up on greens so early in the day. Josiah had toast with pickled beets, cauliflower, hazelnuts, and some sort of honey sauce drizzle. It's a very hipster brunch / lunch place, but it really did live up to the hype. Definitely add it to you list to visit! 

Thank You My Deer

I definitely would give this restaurant a 10/10 based on their amazing customer service. The owner greeted us so eagerly and kindly made sure that our every need was not only met, but anticipated. She was so, so very thoughtful! This was our last meal in Paris before heading back to Amsterdam and I can't think of a better way to be sent off. They have a very good gluten-free menu. We kept it very basic and just went with eggs with gluten-free bread. They had great coffee as well! We also ordered a carrot, strawberry, grapefruit juice that was delicious! It was so light and the perfect way to spent our last morning in Paris.