vacancy at the loveless
In your first days or weeks in Nashville, eventually you’ll hear it - if you want to go somewhere known for the biscuits and brunch, you gotta go to Loveless. Loveless Cafe, a few miles out of the city and with delicious surprises that will make every gas penny worth it.
The cafe has a rich history as a fabled highway stop for motorists, boasting a few rooms to settle down in and the owner’s wife serving up biscuits, eggs, pancakes and meats that became famous due to word of mouth that worked better than any Instagram pics. Over the years it settled down into a tourist destination that the locals still love to haunt. For those who fall under it’s spell, there are multiple gift shops with multiple reasons to spend any cash you didn’t shill out for your breakfast. My first visit, which like many newcomers happened shortly into my relocation to Nashvegas, found me leaving with a slick black magnet begging the question, “Got biscuits?” And really, isn’t that one of the most important of life questions?
The answer at Loveless is most certainly, yes. Biscuits are the appetizer - just like the essential chips and salsa at your fave taco spot or cheddar bay biscuits at your guilty pleasure seafood chain, Loveless means after your order is put in, they bring out the biscuits and jams for you to nosh while you wait.
It was a crisp day off when we made the scenic drive out, pulling up to vintage roadsign that tells you there is vacancy at the Loveless Cafe. Experience told me it’s best to hit the cafe up on a weekday - weekends can see a pretty long wait. Luckily the gift stores offer some distraction while you wait. No matter what day you go, it’s all like seeing a friend from your own small town. The girl at the front desk gives out a relaxed smile and takes us to a table, with vinyl red checkered tablecloths and worn wooden chairs.
Our waiter is spunky and sprinkles southern idioms over our order, which is two cups of their coffee, one southwest omelette for him and one order of french toast and bacon for me. Of course, any order comes with the aforementioned complimentary biscuits. My whole life I’ve had an aversion to jams or marmalades, but somehow I can’t resist the peach preserve on these biscuit bites.
We had some other errands to run and weren’t looking to drink, but the one’s I would suggest both come with a southern twist. The Mason Jar Mary feels like a down-home Bloody Mary you’d find your grandma making, if you had a grandma that was the type. If you like something sweeter with your brunch, the Harvest Moon is the peach tea and moonshine drink of your dreams.
The food was exactly what we were looking for, and before we knew it the waiter asked us if we had had enough. Of course we had, even though I was on the brink of asking for biscuits to go. We thanked him and headed out to see if we could find the boy a magnet similar to mine - unfortunately they no longer carry that particular one. We did discover the cafe now will ship biscuit mixes, jams and cured bacon and ham to any of your relatives across the country, and quickly filed that into our phones as best Christmas gift ever.
We left paying reasonable amounts for a simple brunch, but the experience at Loveless is always priceless. Get your best guys and girls together and head out for something you will find a way to make a new or old tradition. For that, this place is awarded the coveted Dolly Parton’s 1973, My Tennessee Mountain Home, which just like Loveless Cafe, gives you all the right kinds of feels.
