Food in Midtown

Walk-up soft serve on Charlotte since 1951, renamed for Bobbie McWright when she bought it in the eighties. Harmony Korine shot the milkshake scene in Gummo here and the stand still looks the same.

Until 9pm Mon through Thu, 10pm Fri and Sat, 5pm Sun · Walk-up window; cash-friendly, seasonal hours.

Chuck Cinelli cooks his grandmother Lucia’s recipes, and his mother Joan comes in six days a week to check the kitchen still does it her way. Grocery in front, tables behind it. Bocce courts on the lawn.

Until 9pm Sun through Thu, 10pm Fri and Sat · Call ahead on busy nights.

On the National Register of Historic Places. Lynn Chandler opened it in 1939, taking over a soda fountain that had been on this block since the 1920s. Get the Dreamsicle: vanilla ice cream spun with orange juice and sherbet. Or the griddle burger with crinkle fries. Jimmy Buffett ate here after playing Exit/In.

Mon to Sat, 7:30am to 4pm. Sun, 9am to 3pm.

Hot chicken ordered by heat level, from Southern all the way to Shut the Cluck Up. This is the 19th Ave South location, the one closest to Music Row. The line is usually long and usually moves.

10:45am to 10pm, until midnight Fri and Sat

Burgers and a beer list longer than the food menu, in a bar about the width of a hallway. Two in the morning Thursday through Saturday.

Until midnight Sun through Wed, 2am Thu through Sat · Walk-in counter service, and it is a tight squeeze.

A steakhouse on Louise Ave that has been running since 1934. Doors open at four every day, so an early dinner is easy to get. Reservations are worth making.

From 4pm daily, until 8pm Sun

Pat Martin's whole-hog tradition from Henderson, Tennessee. Same operation as the original Nolensville spot. Brisket, ribs, pulled pork on Elliston Place, walkable from most of Midtown.

Open through dinner · Elliston Place location; verify hours before you go.

Open at 19th and West End since 1987. Southern cooking done as a sit-down meal, with breakfast and lunch on weekdays and dinner starting at 4:30. Valet parking is complimentary, which matters on this block.

Breakfast and lunch daily, dinner from 4:30pm

Tex-Mex on 21st Ave S that has fed Vanderbilt students, hospital staff and Music Row for decades. Open until eleven six nights a week. Counter ordering, no ceremony.

11am to 11pm Mon to Sat, 11am to 5pm Sun

Indian cooking on 21st Ave N, with a lunch buffet from 10:30 to 2:30 and dinner service from late afternoon. Closed Tuesdays. Plan around that one day and it works the rest of the week.

Lunch and dinner, closed Tue

Asian fusion on Church St with a bar that keeps going after the kitchen slows. Drag dinner runs Friday and Saturday nights and drag brunch on weekend mornings. Closed Mondays.

5pm to 10pm, until 11pm Fri and Sat, closed Mon

Wendell Smith opened it in 1952 and died in 1967. His widow put son-in-law Jakie Cook in charge two years later, and Jakie is the one who turned it into a meat and three. Benji Cook runs it now with his sisters. The corner is named after the family.

Until 7:10pm Mon to Sat, closed Sun · Counter service, no reservations.