How do you like your gravy?

One of my favorite things to do when I am home in Nashville is to wake up Saturday mornings, drive down the Natchez Trace to the Franklin farmers market with my mom and stock up on whatever produce is looking good. As much as I love the market, it's what comes after that also gets me out of bed those early mornings.

For me a trip down to historic Franklin would not be complete without a stop at Dotson's for breakfast. As evidenced by the dilapidated building in which it is located, Dotson's has been around far before Franklin became the hip and trendy place it is today, but you would be hard pressed to find better offerings of traditional southern fare. Yum!

Dotson's is the type of place where I wish I could eat and eat and never get full. Or where you wish it would not be socially taboo, not to mention disgusting, to have a Roman emperor moment. Point is, there is so much to pick from and as hard as I try I never succeed in venturing outside of my standard breakfast - coffee, scrambled eggs, enough crispy bacon to sink a ship and of course biscuits with white gravy that would win the approval of both Mammy and my grandma.

But aside from breakfast choices, you can find all the Southern dishes one could hope for in their tried and true meat and three style. Huge plates of meatloaf, greens, mac and cheese, and fried chicken like mom makes. And the pies! - so gorgeous with their 7 inch high meringues!

I can't wait to take my Italian honey here when he comes to Nashville. It's the type of place that shows you A.) just how freaking good southern food is! and B.) that we are more than deserving of our friendly reputation.

One of my favorite conversations that I overheard the last time I was there was the booth behind us asking the waitress what red-eye gravy was (clearly they were out-of-towners). "Honnnney, it's just the grease from the ham that we booll with some coffee." They didn't order it, but I promise you that it's real good.


Dotson's Restaurant - inexpensive
99 E Main St.
Franklin, TN 37064-2249
(615) 794-2805