Cheap Food Critic

722 Thompson Lane
Nashville, TN 37204

Mon-Sat 11:00 am – 9:00 pm

After a week in Nashville I was sick of eating steak, burgers, and fried food. I was recommended Baja Burrito by the hotel’s concierge staff for fresh Mexican food. The location was a little away from downtown Nashville but easily reached just off the 440 and the 65 freeways. The restaurant is also pretty easy to spot with the brightly painted Volkswagen Beetle up front. Once you get inside head to the counter and look up…that’s your menu. But I’ll save you the trouble. Get the three fish tacos or the brisket torta (not actually on the menus but was posted on a piece of paper on the side), either one will run you $6.83 after tax.

Both of my orders required a little more time than the normal Chipotle/Q’doba burritos that these guys also offer here. Understandable since the fish and the brisket needs to be cooked/warmed up as well as assembled in the taco and torta.

The fish taco was not the best that I’ve had but it was still very satisfying. My issue with the tacos were not the meat or the toppings but the tortilla/taco shell. It was super flimsy and pretty much broke once you pick it yup. The brisket torta on the other hand was absolutely amazing. The meat was so tender and juicy it pretty much fell apart as you are eating it. Add in avocados, tomatoes, lettuce, beans, onions, and cilantro and you have one of the best tortas I have ever eaten. Of course when you stuff a sandwich to capacity its going to be messy, so be prepared with extra napkins.

I also tried all of the salsa/sauces. Most were good but nothing special. The one that stuck out was the pineapple salsa. It added a nice sweetness to all of the food. I do wish there was a little more spice to that salsa but that’s just personal preference.

In summary, it was an amazing find in city full of burger and fried food spots. Unfortunately as I was looking for less oily food I ended up getting fish tacos with fried fish and a torta that dripped oil from the meat. But whatever…food was good.

Note – There’s plenty of parking all around the building. Seating was also plentiful indoors and outdoors.

Yelp – 4.5/5.0 Stars (126 Reviews)

2413 Elliston Pl
Nashville, TN 37203

Mon-Fri 10:30 am – 10:00 pm
Sat 9:00 am – 10:00 pm

Found this place by chance running around the Vanderbilt campus. It caught my eye because it was one of few run-down buildings in the area. It was also one of the few cheap non-chain places in the area. The outside of the building was a pretty good indicator of the restaurant inside. It was super divey with very cramp booths but had a comfortable atmosphere to the place. There were about five groups of diners when I was here and about half were locals and half college kids.

The staff was friendly and helped me navigate the menu until I reached the Burger section and he said I have to get burger on French bread. It sounded good so I got that along with a side of half onion rings and half fries. The total bill was $10.21 after tax.

After about a 10 minute wait my food was ready to go. The Burger was interesting…I felt like I was eating a sandwich the whole time I was eating it because of the French bread. The bread was obviously fresh and contained the normal Burger fixings such as onions, cheese, tomatoes, mustard. The meat Patty was also really well seasoned. As for the the onion rings and French fries, they were nothing special. I could have did without them, the burger was filling enough.

It was an interesting place that I would definitely come back to if I make it back to Nashville.

Yelp – 4.0/5.0 Stars (111 Reviews)

5008 Maryland Way
Brentwood, TN 37027

Mon-Fri 10:30 AM – 3:00 PM & 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Sat 12:00 pm – 8:00 pm

The short time I’ve spent in the Nashville-area I didn’t see many Asian restaurants. So when I was recommended Soy Bistro for lunch I was a little skeptical. I did a quick Yelp search and notices that there were a decent number of reviews and it still had five stars. I was still a little suspicious. You don’t really see many place with that many reviews and still have five stars. So I have to try this place out for myself. I came here in a group of six right at noon so I was expecting to stand around waiting for people to leave but we were luck and got a table pretty quickly.

When you walk into this place you will notice the menu on your right side. Pick between their different tacos or rice bowls. I tried a little of both with a chicken traditional bowl for $6 (plus $2 for meat) plus tax and a beef taco Korean style for $2.50 plus tax. The taco came out first and was really awesome. Very reminiscent of Koi Fusion in Portland flavor-wise. The taco had bulgogi beef with some type of slaw on top. Much like Koi, this place was way above average but still playing runner up to Marination in Seattle for Asian style tacos. The rice bowl was really just fried rice. Again really delicious and above average. The rice was really moist and they gave you plenty of chicken. The portions for the rice bowl was pretty big. I was really stuffed after trying to finish the whole bowl.

My only complaint was that they close for two hours between lunch and dinner. I tried to come back around 4:30 PM the next day for a to go order; unfortunately, they were not open for dinner yet. Despite the weird closure times, I was pleasantly surprised to get such good Asian fusion food in this area. Seriously though, who would have known there would be this awesome of an Asian restaurant in Nashville, TN (Brentwood, TN to be exact).

Note – Very fast service. Great for a quick lunch.

Yelp – 5.0/5.0 Stars (51 Reviews)

123 Ewing Dr
Nashville, TN 37207

Tue-Thu 12:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Fri 12:00 pm – 4:00 am
Sat 2:00 pm – 4:00 am

I heard about Prince’s Hot Chicken Shack from Esquire magazine’s website for being in the running for the “Most Life-Changing Fried Chicken in America.” Ezell’s in Seattle ended up winning that honor but I wanted to see if the people at Esquire were right (it’s actually voted by the people not Esquire, so it’s more of a popularity contest).

As much as I enjoy Ezell’s fried chicken these guys have something very special going on here. But because of the location I can imagine people not wanting to come here. The single storefront location is located about ten minuets north of downtown Nashville in a pretty sketchy part of town. Buildings in the area are pretty decrepit (including the one that Prince’s is located in) and the people hanging around the area are characters to say least. I’ve been to worst places (like Newark, New Jersey) and was never scared for my life. You just have to mind your own business. I would however, recommend you get your food to go.

When you arrive in the restaurant you will probably see a crowd of people (normally half locals and half tourists) sitting and standing around waiting for their food. Make your way through them to the second counter where it opens up to the kitchen to place your order. Now remember your order number and find a place to stand/sit for the next 30-45 minutes. No joke. It’s going to be awhile. You maybe thinking is that worth it? Well, I would not be taking the time to write about it if it wasn’t.

So, what about the food? Well, in short…its amazing. I got the half chicken (hot) for $11. I’ve never had anything like this fried chicken before. It was saucy like chicken wings but still had crunch like normal fried chicken. I got my chicken “hot” and it was pretty hot even for me. So if you can’t handle heat get it mild or medium spiciness. Your order also comes with some Texas toast that helps to soak up some of the oil and sauce as well as a few slices of pickles (don’t know why these are included). The half chicken would have stuffed two people easily. I would also recommend you just get the quarter chicken for $5. That will fill you up plenty.

If you can deal with horrible service, long waits, and the shady neighborhood you will be treated to one of the best fried chickens you will ever have.

Note – If you want to spend less time in the store try calling ahead to place your order.

Yelp – 4.0/5.0 Stars (151 Reviews)