[jaunty music playing]
[Phil] When I first found out I was going to get to do this series,
I called my brother and I told him,
"I'm gonna travel the world
and show you the best places in the world to eat."
He said, "Really? What will you call the show?"
"Lucky Bastard?"
[chuckling] And I said, "Quit your job."
He was a producer.
"And come produce the show with me,
and we'll call our production company 'Lucky Bastards.'"
So imagine my delight when I found a bar called Lucky Bastard.
The bad news is
they have line dancing lessons.
[woman laughs]
Are we ready for the music?
-[all] Yeah! -Say "Yee-haw"!
Yee-haw!
Let's rock and roll. Here we go.
5, 6, 7, 8. Back, 2, 3, 4. A double.
Double. Single, 2, 3, 4. Step, clap, take it back.
Good. Great vibe.
Don't all the great dancers make this face when they're dancing?
And a pair, 2, 3, 4, a double. Double.
Single, 2, 3, 4, a step…
You can see I'm not enjoying it, really, until I make it my own.
…back wall.
Beginning. Back, 2, 3, 4.
A double. Double.
Single, 2, 3, 4. Yee-haw!
Awesome, guys! Great dancing.
Did you guys have fun?
Everyone's too good, but nobody can dance quite like me.
[opening theme song plays]
♪ A happy, hungry man's ♪
♪ Traveling all across The sea and the land ♪
♪ He's trying to understand ♪
♪ The art of pasta Pork, chicken, and lamb ♪
♪ He will drive to you ♪
♪ He will fly to you ♪
♪ He will sing for you ♪
♪ And he'll dance for you ♪
♪ He will laugh with you ♪
♪ And he'll cry for you ♪
♪ There's just one thing he asks in return Somebody feed, somebody feed… ♪
♪ Can somebody ♪
♪ Somebody feed Phil? ♪
♪ Somebody feed him now ♪
[Phil] I first saw the movie Nashville by Robert Altman in 1975.
That was my introduction to this place.
It looked like a world of music. It looked like, uh, America to me.
It looked like the rest of the country that I didn't know,
coming from New York.
It's taken me till 2021 to get here.
And now that I'm here, uh, it's a very different Nashville.
I read that every day 100 people move to Nashville permanently.
I was excited to come. I even brought my family with me.
But I was a little overwhelmed by all the development happening here.
This place is exploding with construction.
Downtown I-- I don't understand very much.
I was worried I wouldn't be able to find the soul of the city.
So I started my search with a classic Southern breakfast.
[pleasant music playing]
This is the Loveless Café.
We're meeting one of my favorite actresses in the world.
Her name is Patty Heaton.
You might recognize her from a show called Everybody Loves Raymond.
-Phil! -I love seeing you.
-Oh my gosh. -You're a Nashville girl now.
When did you move here?
Over a year ago.
-Because? -You know, we have family here.
My oldest son went to school here.
And then my sister, as you know, is a nun.
Because we did an episode of Raymond about me having a sister who's a nun.
-We loved that. -Her convent is here.
In Nashville.
We thought, we don't actually need to be in LA.
-Could be where you want. -Where you want.
[Phil] This is what I want.
[Patty claps] Oh!
-Mm! Mm! -That's the happy dance I do too.
This is our pimento cheese and fried green tomato biscuit.
-So delicious. -[both laughing]
Of course, bacon, sausage, pulled pork, and our fried chicken.
If you guys need anything, just holler. I'll be around. Okay? Enjoy.
I love "just holler."
-It's like my house. -Yeah.
But we're not doing it for the same reasons.
[laughs] Right.
-This is really good. -Well… welcome to We Killed Patty Heaton.
[Patty laughs] I know.
It's so tempting here.
I mean, there's biscuits everywhere you go.
Mm!
[chuckles]
This is a breakfast, lunch, and dinner place?
-Mm-hmm. -And a motel?
Oh, I didn't know it was actually a motel.
So what they do is they make it so that you can't go on with your day.
[Richard laughs]
And, uh, you gotta lie down and then it's right there.
[laughs]
-Incoming. -Look, here's my favorite person.
Yeah. So we have our famous country ham
and the hash brown casserole.
-Now, have you ever had red-eye gravy? -I haven't.
So red-eye gravy is country ham drippings, uh, brown sugar, and coffee.
-Coffee? -Yes.
[Phil] This is quite a shock to the system for city folk.
-Yes. -[chuckles]
I'm doing it.
I'm taking a piece of ham and I'm dipping it in.
I like that it has coffee.
The red-eye gravy is like a rinse.
-[chuckles] -Also good for roots if you're going gray.
Yeah.
Where must that tradition have started?
I'm guessing an accident.
Yes. That's what I think.
Somebody accidentally-- Their coffee accidentally spilled on their ham.
-[waitress] I know. -You gotta be kidding.
I have one more surprise for you.
So this is the pulled pork omelet.
This is my favorite thing on the entire menu.
This one has the pulled pork, the cheddar cheese, um, sautéed onions,
all folded together with our homemade barbecue sauce.
-Could you, uh, call… -9-1-1?
…9-1 and hold your finger over the 1?
Just in case?
I forgot to ask, how hungry are you today?
-Very hungry. So good. -[giggles]
-Does this face mean anything to you? -Excuse me, can I--
-[squeals happily] -[laughs]
It's just like my first time on the show, she screamed with delight.
[Patty laughing happily]
-Honey! -Beautiful lady!
-Isn't this nice? -[Patty] I know!
-Oh… -Thank you, Richie. Did you meet Richie?
-I-- I-- -We've never met.
[both laughing]
Monica, have you ever had red-eye gravy?
-I have not. -Don't tell her what's in it.
Yes. Dip some ham in it.
That could be used on a lot of stuff.
-Like a roast beef or something. -Yes.
-[Monica] Mm. -What do you taste?
-[Monica] This is gonna sound weird… -Okay.
-Like coffee. -Yes!
-That's it. -No.
-[Patty] Yes, it's coffee. -Yes.
[Patty] Look at you with your sensitive palate.
[Phil] You know, I inherited my love of breakfast.
Max loved his eggs so much, and they always had to be fluffy.
He wanted them practically raw.
-On his headstone… -[Monica] Yes.
-[Patty] Yeah. -…it says, "Are my eggs fluffy?"
[chuckling]
-I don't know if you're joking or not. -No, it's serious.
-[Patty] No, no. No. -[Monica] It really is. Yes.
-"Are my eggs fluffy?" -And Helen's?
Helen's is what?
"I'm listening to the opera."
That was her answer to him. That was the relationship.
Did they ask for that on their headstone?
-Or did you-- -No.
[all laughing]
If there's an afterlife, that's what he's saying.
Heaven is the fluffy eggs for him.
And that's what we want for him. Nothing made him happier.
-To Max. To all our elders. -[Phil] Yes, all the parents.
Wouldn't be here without 'em.
-[Patty groans] -[Monica laughs]
[Phil] If that breakfast was anything to go by,
Nashville's soul is very much alive in its food.
But as I walked the streets, I heard it all around me too.
-[playing '50s rock music] -There was music coming out every door.
♪ Pedal to the metal And a half tank of gas… ♪
And the music was… phenomenal.
The bar is the Mellow Mushroom
and the band is Wild Bill and the Bruisers.
[flapping lips]
[man cheers]
[crowd cheering]
[song ends]
[cheering continues]
[mellow country music playing]
[Phil] I have to be honest, I-- I was not a country music person.
Uh…
I think it was O Brother, Where Art Thou?
from the Coen Brothers, where I really got into bluegrass music
and then country music.
And I started to understand it.
And I started to fall in love with the stories,
and I started to fall in love with the talent.
And one of the best of the best is Brad Paisley,
and he could not be a nicer, sweeter guy,
considering he's a damn superstar.
We're heading to Joyland,
a restaurant that uses ingredients from local farms
to create its upscale fast food.
So you haven't been here yet?
No. I've heard about it.
-All right. Well, you're my guide. -All right.
Might have wanted to pick somebody that's been here.
[Phil chuckles]
And this music superstar is taking me to meet a chef superstar.
-There he is. -[Brad] Hey.
[off-screen] This is James Beard Award-winning chef Sean Brock.
He's created influential restaurants all over the South
but now makes Nashville his home.
This is his third restaurant here,
and it's an ode to the fast food of his youth.
Anything you want me to try, I'm gonna try.
You should try everything.
[Brad] Yeah, great.
My favorite thing.
-I like that. -[chuckles]
[Phil] While we wait for everything, milkshakes!
This man must know me.
-[Brad] Yes. -Chocolate malt.
Oh, here we go.
-[Brad] Look at that. -Like a miner.
This is like a six-gauge cigar.
-Oh my God. -That took all my strength.
That's unbelievable though.
They used to call these concretes.
-For good reason. -Yeah.
-[Phil] Oh! -[Sean] You'll make room.
-Whoa! Holy crap. -I have to say…
-Oh, it's a parade. -I'm sorry. [laughs]
It's an assault.
-This is not… -He's apologizing.
We do this thing that's inspired by this gas station in Mississippi
called fried chicken on a stick.
Oh my gosh. It's amazing!
-This is a really neat spice. -Yeah, it is!
-I worked with flavor scientists… -Okay.
…to deconstruct my barbecue sauce recipe into a powder.
Isn't that something?
-There's so much flavor in that. -[Brad] I know.
['50s rock music playing]
[Phil] You like the yummy, crunchy, meaty bits on the edge of the burger?
Sean's CrustBurger is made entirely of that.
Look at Brad.
Oh my gosh.
So inappropriate, the thoughts I'm having as I eat this.
This is phenomenal.
-I'm not hearing anything you're saying. -[laughs]
-Look at his face! -[Sean laughs]
[groans happily]
You looking for partners?
[laughs]
You might have found one right here. This guy's a sucker.
[laughs]
-Don't have to be a sucker, you get it. -I get it.
This is good by any standard.
Forget fast food.
No, 100%.
You are becoming, or already are, I-- I think, the face of food in our town.
One of the things that drew me to Nashville early on was its soul.
-Yeah, right. -And it's not just, um, music anymore.
Now it's turning into that for anybody who wants to start a creative small business,
this town supports people doing good work and honest work and hard work.
So what that does for someone like me is,
gives me the courage to open a crazy restaurant project
because you know that you're going to have the support
and so you do it.
-[chuckles] -I-- You're-- You are a Jedi.
-[Sean laughs] -You are.
I wouldn't care if you were a mass murderer with this food.
[Sean chuckles]
[tuning]
[birds chirping]
[blues melody playing on banjo]
[Phil] Helping keep Music City in tune is this guy here, George Gruhn.
A true Nashville character,
George has been fixing and selling anything with strings since 1970.
Oh, and in case you didn't notice, he likes snakes.
[mellow music playing]
This is a very special take-your-daughter- to-work day for Lily and me.
We're checking out Locust, a new Asian-inspired dumpling house
known for its tiny menu and giant flavors.
-Wow! This is so nice. -I'm gonna sit right here.
[Phil] Chef Trevor Moran moved to Nashville from Copenhagen,
where he worked at one of my favorite restaurants,
the world-renowned Noma.
-Hi, Lily. -Cheers.
Here we are.
Uh, so just some nice oysters for you.
-Oh my God. -I love oysters.
-These are oyster condiments. -[gasps]
So, you have a frozen mignonette made from seaweed.
A lime and a lemon. This is beetroot hot sauce.
[Lily] I'm nervous it'll be hot.
-[Trevor] You can load it up. -Really? For real?
-I'm like a baby though. -No, you'll be good.
Look at the baby.
Dad.
[Richard laughs]
It's like a murder scene.
The reason I took you here is because your mother makes a scene sometimes.
-And I didn't want a scene. -No! Oh my God.
-Oh, it's-- -Please, don't.
-Oh, we're using it. -Oh no, please don't.
-[laughing] -We're using it.
-Uncle? Let's not use it. -Oh, we're definitely using it.
This is a nice last television appearance for you.
Dad. It was so big. I wasn't expecting it.
[Phil] Maybe this tuna belly will find its way into her mouth.
-Now when you eat this… -[Lily] How do I eat it?
-Try not to… spit up this time. -[laughing]
I didn't spit up! I just…
[in baby talk] Here, Lily. Open your boo-boo.
[laughing] I am gonna kill you.
Let me give my case.
What? Oh, good?
-All right. Hold on. -[Phil] That's awesome.
[Lily] Have to prove I know how to eat.
That's a power move, that…
-Wow. Right? -It's unbelievable.
Unbelievable.
Well, I'm glad you like it. Ready for the next thing?
Okay, let's do it.
[lively music playing]
[Phil groans happily]
Wow.
We love a dumpling.
What a nice daddy-daughter activity.
I mean, it's so much better than the fakakta dolls I had to play with.
[laughs]
-Now is better. -A little better, huh? That's growth.
[Phil] Lily's a food fanatic, like her old man,
and she's found a way to put it to good use.
You wanna tell people what Liv a Lil is?
So, I bring restaurants together for collabs, right?
So we-- we take, like, a-- a barbecue place,
ramen place, bring them together, brisket ramen.
And the money goes to charity.
[Phil] You do it with your friend Olivia,
-who's the "Liv" in "Liv a Lil." -[Lily] Yep, the "Liv."
I'm the "Lil."
Oh! I just got it.
Oh! We're gonna like this.
-What's going on? How we doing today? -[Lily] Wow. Better now.
That's bottom round from Bear Creek seasoned with horseradish oil and salt.
Uh, freeze-dried capers right here. Warm rice and toasted nori.
[Phil and Lily] Thank you.
[Phil] This is as cheffy as I get on the show.
Some freeze-dried capers.
-Here's where I blow it. -[Lily] Nice, man.
[Phil] I think I stuffed it too much to make a beautiful roll.
[Lily] I'm doing it like that.
-All right. -Ready?
-Yes. -One, two three.
-That's one of the best things I've eaten. -How do you think of that?
I thought it was a fun format.
When you get meat this quality, eat it raw,
flavor it like it's cooked like a steak
and almost tastes like it's out of the grill.
Oh, what a great dish. Oh my God.
[upbeat percussion music playing]
Not minding our own business, we spy a kakigōri being made.
That's a Japanese shaved ice creation.
And this one's got crème brûlée, huckleberries, and candied pecans
topped with black tea and raspberry.
-Oh! It is for us. -For us?
-My God! Surprise ending. -Yeah, it's for you. Fresh shaved ice.
-[Phil] Thank you. -That's so beautiful! Thank you.
What an amazing, original dessert.
I loved the shaved ice I had in Hawaii,
but here the cream he layers in there and the flavors he buries inside
and the little ingredients for you to find like a treasure hunt…
That's an absolutely original, incredible dessert.
Dad, you happy?
Eh.
Thanks, Dad.
[Phil] In Nashville, there's a party on every street.
Sometimes in the street too.
-[cheering] -[upbeat music playing]
Are you my ride?
[women] Yes, we are!
I-- I have some bad news for you ladies.
I-- I'm the stripper.
[women cheering]
[Phil] I don't want you to just drink on an empty stomach.
So I brought you Five Daughters' donuts, the best donuts in all of Nashville.
Oh, we gotta pedal?
-Who worked out today? -I did.
Good for you. Me too.
So for those of you who didn't… pedal!
[laughing]
[Phil] I'm like your worst Peloton instructor.
[women laughing]
[Phil] We're pedaling. Look, we got a clear lane.
Now we can really do it.
[women chanting] Pedal! Pedal! Pedal! Pedal! Pedal! Pedal! Pedal!
[man] Take a break.
Someone check his pulse. Make sure he's…
-We got two nurses-- -I'm all right!
You got a nurse sitting next to you.
-She's a nurse, next to you. -You're a nurse?
You're my favorite person.
[women laugh]
To nurses!
[all cheering]
[woman] Nurses!
[Phil] Quick picture. Quick picture.
Whoo!
[man] Look at each other and laugh!
[all laughing]
[music fades]
Nate Bargatze is one of my favorite comedians.
You've probably seen his Netflix specials.
He was raised in this fine city and still calls it home.
We've come to Stratton Avenue to eat at a place Nate's never been:
Maiz de la Vida.
-Hi. -[Julio] Hello.
-You're Julio, right? Hi, Julio. -Yes.
[Phil off-screen] Chef Julio Hernandez gave up his executive chef position
to perfect the art of the tortilla.
We brought all the heirloom corn from Mexico
and then milled it with volcanic stones.
Right, like the ancient way?
Ancient way, 6,000 years ago.
6,000 years ago, this recipe?
Julio's known for his innovative menu, which I know I'll love.
Nate's another story.
He is a kind of a picky eater.
I'm gonna try to, uh, expand his horizons a little bit today.
-So, Nate, do you trust me? -Yeah.
You don't have to trust me in any other department. But this…
-You know… -I think we'll get everything.
-I'll just take a Diet Coke, please. -Diet Coke, I got it.
[laughing]
[Phil] Julio has a friendly symbiotic relationship
with the tiki bar next door.
This is Chopper, where you can sip cocktails with your tacos.
It even comes with a show.
My eyes!
[bartender laughs]
-Happy birthday, Nate. -[Nate] Happy birthday.
-Wow. -Hey, guys.
-All right. -We got half of the menu here.
[Phil] I said the full menu, Julio!
I always wanted to start a restaurant, uh, called, uh, "No Tomatoes and No Onions."
And we don't…
We assure you that when you come here,
we don't have tomatoes or onions in anything.
And we don't do chives.
People just pour it on everything. Well, that is an onion.
And they do it as if it's not an onion.
They ruined your life.
This is going to make your life. Quesadilla.
[Nate] Quesadilla.
[mellow music playing]
Great. This has mushrooms in it. I would never eat this in a million years.
But you're still going.
But I like it.
[Phil] Look at the corn! Look at the corn!
Nate! Wow.
He's a talented man.
Julio, you're the man.
So far, that-- that's delicious.
Have you guys saw quesabirria before?
Our quesabirria is stuffed with, uh, American Wagyu beef
-and nixtamal tortillas. -[Phil] Wow.
-[Julio] Dip in the broth and your life-- -[Nate] Yeah?
-Doesn't stop changing. -Then your life is complete.
And this is no onions.
[Nate] All right.
[mellow rock music playing]
That is unbelievable.
-You love it? -Yeah.
I'm going in. Richard! Take this.
-[Richard] All right. -It's birria time.
Hello.
[giggles]
Yeah, I mean, this is awesome.
[Phil] I've had one bite of this,
and it's already the best birria I ever had in my life.
I would eat this every day.
-You'll be back now you know this is here. -Oh yeah. Yeah.
I think this is the fish.
-I'm not even a fish taco guy. -And?
-I like this. -Yes!
This has, I think, onions on it. I don't even care.
[laughs]
I've definitely knocked some of them away, but I'm pretty blown away by it.
You're actually my favorite kind of person to eat with
because you-- you're a little bit scared,
like me, of most things, but you are willing to go in.
Nate, everybody.
-Took a chance. -Took a chance.
Took a chance on love.
And we found it.
[pleasant country music playing]
[Phil] Today, Jackie Gutierrez Jones,
who's a great food writer here in Nashville,
is taking me to an institution.
This is Arnold's Country Kitchen.
Oh, that looks awesome.
How are y'all?
-Thrilled to be here. -[Coco] Thrilled to have you!
-What's your name? -I'm Coco.
Coco! That's a good name.
What can I get you, darlin'?
Uh, first, keep calling me "darling."
-Okay. -That's the sweetest thing ever.
There's this thing here called "meat and three."
What does that mean?
You're going to have a meat and you're going to get three sides.
But I just can't follow rules, so I went with six meats and 500 sides.
Creamed corn, green beans, turnip greens, just to name a few.
I'm a little nervous.
Don't be. You're in good hands here at Arnold's.
[Phil] Well, that's delicious, that fish.
[chicken crunches]
Mm! Mm-hmm.
All right. I'm gonna take a bite of that thigh.
It's seasoned beautifully.
[Jackie] That's the turnip greens.
[Phil] I'm guessing that's seasoned with a little pork,
as a matter of fact…
-[chuckling] Look at this. -Oh my gosh.
At Arnold's, pork is a vegetable.
-You people are crazy… but in a good way. -[laughing]
So, I know a little about you. You moved here from Miami.
-Mm-hmm. -And I was going to ask you why.
This is a good reason. This is one good reason.
It marries two worlds.
You got the big-city life
and you still have down-home Southern hospitality.
So you can have this, which is so traditional and so Southern,
but then you can have that kind of big-city taste.
-People trying exciting new things. -Yep.
Bringing things from their hometowns, other parts of the country.
But Nashville retains its roots.
-What are you young people having? -[man] I have ribs.
And I had the sauerkraut and sausage, and nobody makes it like this.
We drive 300 miles just to get here.
-300 miles? -[woman] Yes.
-What town do you live in? -St. Louis.
Seriously, it's that good.
I just love how neighborly it is.
You can talk to the people to the left, to the right, diagonally, behind you.
It's just really sweet.
And that's what you get when you have, uh, communal seating.
And that cafeteria feeling. We're back in school, people.
But you never had cafeteria food like this.
It's elevated.
Every element of it
from the people behind the counter being super sweet to you,
to the food itself.
-What are you guys having? -Well, I'm doing the veggie plate today.
[Phil] Veggie plate, good for you.
So, you got the Meat and Three without the meat.
I've been doing Meatless Mondays.
-[Phil] Ah! -[laughs]
Isn't that sweet, she's here for Meatless Monday.
Do I tell her there's meat in every side?
[Richard chuckles]
[pleasant guitar melody playing]
[Phil] There's an unofficial competition in Nashville
for the spiciest, hottest fried chicken.
So if you're a fan like my boy and I are,
I don't know how you don't go to Prince's Hot Chicken.
Here we are.
-We're in the temple of, uh, chicken. -[laughs]
[Phil] Prince's labels their chicken by the level of torture.
Today, we're going to try to climb the ladder from mild to hot.
-Thank you, dear. -[cashier] You're welcome.
And then I got to meet royalty.
-Are you Miss André? -Well, of course!
I'm Phil.
-Have mercy! -This is my son, Ben.
Thank you all for coming.
[Phil] André is what you might call the Queen of Prince's.
Building on the success of her family's recipe,
she's both delighted and seared taste buds for the past 40 years.
And how hot do you like it?
I don't go any further than mild.
-[laughs] -Ben, we might be in trouble.
But I want to say that more women eat it hot than men.
-Interesting. -[André] On a consistent basis.
-Why is that? -It's that fire in us!
[Ben chuckles]
Yes.
You might have to add a new flavor for me, which is "coward."
Wimp chicken.
[laughs]
[Phil] This is already an emasculating experience.
[woman over intercom] Order up for Phil.
[Phil off-screen] Our chicken is ready. Let the humiliation continue.
-Here we go, people. -[Ben] All right.
[Phil] A mild sandwich.
-Do we do it together? -Yeah.
One, two, three.
It's pretty hot.
Like a bee sting almost, right? It's like on the outside.
-It's slow. It builds. -[André] Keep going.
[Phil and Richard laugh]
[Phil] We have cheerleaders.
Now I'm nervous. We're moving up to medium hot.
-Oh! Yes. -[Ben] Yeah.
Yes…
Goodbye, tongue!
[laughs]
You haven't seen too many acts of bravery from your father.
And so I feel it's an important thing for a son to see
that his father's not afraid.
You don't have to prove anything.
-This is for you, Ben! -[Richard laughs]
[suspenseful music playing]
[André laughs]
[Phil off-screen] We have arrived at hot.
Have mercy! [sighs loudly]
It's like waiting for a time bomb to go off.
It is. There's a little bit of anxiety that builds.
-Yes. You're doing more? -Mm-hmm.
I'm doing one more.
Don't punish yourself, now.
Look at me!
[off-screen] We survived it all.
Okay. She's getting ready to bring you the extra hot.
-No, she's not. She is? -[Richard] Yeah, she is.
Oh no.
[Richard laughs]
[Phil] Why does Richard insist on trying to kill me?
The smell is making my eyes water.
[dramatic Western music playing]
I've never had a food that you needed to do this for.
I'm not a doctor, but isn't the inside of your mouth
a little more sensitive than your fingers?
-Maybe. -As I'm doing this, I'm thinking,
"Man, you are some kind of idiot"
to myself.
[André laughing]
[Phil] "You must be dumb."
-You ready? -[Ben] Yes.
Mm.
[man] Order up.
The swallowing was a little…
-Something is arriving. -[Ben laughs]
Do you need to exit?
When you say exit, what do you mean?
[laughing]
Got-- Got-- A little got on my lips.
-I'm going to have to have them removed. -[Richard laughs]
I think that's my favorite. I can't get it all the time.
-No. -But…
It's my favorite because today I proved that I could do extra hot.
[Ben chuckles]
And we did it. How do I feel now? Not so good.
[Richard laughs]
[Phil and Richard chuckling]
[Phil] Nashville knows how to make the classics feel new.
That's what Chef Nick Guidry's got going on at Pelican & Pig,
where he makes magic with a whole lot of wood and fire.
My God.
You're a serious man.
I try to be. When it comes to meat, at least.
[Phil] Food writer Delia Jo Ramsey says
this is one of the essential places to eat in Nashville,
and I'll do what she tells me.
I could lie down after that. I can actually lie down with that, but…
If you don't leave here needing a nap, did we do our job?
[pleasant blue grass music playing]
[Phil] And you'll want to be awake for this next Nashville stand-out.
Welcome to Rolf and Daughters,
where you'll find all sorts of interesting and delicious things happening to pasta.
It's a favorite of two of my favorite people.
You guys fall in the category of people I love
that I hardly get to see enough.
And likewise.
[Phil] This is T Bone Burnett,
who's one of the great music producers in history,
and his wife Callie Khouri.
Callie wrote the movie Thelma and Louise and created the show Nashville.
This might be a dumb question.
Why Nashville?
-Still have a lot of family here. -[Phil] Nice.
-But then we did the show for six years. -Right.
So I started thinking, you know, if we're gonna be here,
wouldn't be bad to have a place here. He can work here.
Is it me, or is every bar filled with enormous talent?
[Callie] The bench is so deep here, it just blows your mind.
This is probably the most profound gathering of musicians
in the history of the world, right here, right now.
Nashville is a drinking town with a music problem.
-[chuckles] -[Phil] Fantastic.
-How's it going? -[Phil] This is Phil Krajeck.
The chef-owner of Rolf's.
So, first off is roasted kabocha squash
-with nasturtium pesto. -[Phil] Wow.
[Krajeck] And these are lady peas with longfin squid,
'nduja, and a little crispy condiment of garlic and chilies.
-[Callie] Yippee! -Phil, you're my favorite Phil,
including me.
[laughing]
Why isn't it called "Phil and Daughters"?
Well, my mi-- my middle name is Rolf.
I have two daughters. It's obnoxiously literal.
[chuckles]
I was expecting an old man,
Rolf, who sits in the back and does nothing and owns the place.
-But it's you. -[Krajeck] Enjoy.
-Thank you. -Thank you.
[Callie] Oh yeah.
Oh my gosh, this is so good.
That's amazing.
I saw your concert movie of the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack.
Was so phenomenal.
Loved it, fell in love with bluegrass from that.
Not my music. I didn't know it.
-You changed my life in that way. -That's wonderful.
And then the folk music from Llewyn Davis.
And the concert movie from that.
This band, Lake Street Dive.
They're not on the soundtrack of the movie,
but you put them in the concert movie. Why did you do that?
I've been privileged, I have to say,
to have held the door open for a lot of people
who weren't getting through the door.
They're deserving of much more attention.
I called you.
Yeah, I remember that.
I said, "I've never done this in my life."
"But could you let me know the next time that they're in LA?"
"I'll take the band to dinner."
And when it came time to have a theme song for Somebody Feed Phil,
I went right to them and they said yes.
-So I thank you. I just remembered it. -You're very welcome. My pleasure.
[Phil] Next up, bucatini with clams, chili butter, and bottarga bread crumbs.
And a side of pasta with matsutake mushrooms and duck,
showered with cheese.
That looks like a beautiful snow-capped mountain.
-And that looks like a bit of Italy. -[Callie] Looks gorgeous.
[Phil] Looks, like, peachy.
[T Bone] An interesting thing about coming here,
is we've both become immersed
in the whole equal rights, civil rights movement.
Because I was completely unaware
-of Nashville's crucial role in all that. -[Callie] Right.
Nashville was one of the first cities to desegregate in the United States,
and they chose Nashville because it's right in the middle of Tennessee.
And people came from all over to get married, to vote, to do everything.
Except there were signs everywhere,
"whites-only water fountains," everywhere you go.
And they said we're not going to be able to solve segregation nationally,
but let's just solve it in downtown Nashville.
And after they successfully desegregated downtown Nashville,
cities across the country adopted the same methods.
That's awesome.
[mellow country music playing]
[Phil] Oh!
-How old are your daughters? -Uh, 23 and 21.
And are they interested in the family business?
Absolutely not.
-We've turned them off, completely. -[laughs]
But you know, Russ & Daughters. The daughters, they did it.
And now the granddaughters and great-granddaughters are doing it.
-It's incredible. -Maybe they'll come around.
-We'll see. They're still young. -Want me to talk to them?
-[laughs] -[Krajeck] Yeah.
[whimsical music playing]
You know I love a hot dog, and I heard there's great hot dogs here in Nashville.
And the king is Daddy's Dogs.
-Phil, how are you? -You're Big Daddy.
I am.
Meet Sean Porter. These are his dogs, and he's the Big Daddy.
Here's our Music City Dog.
Music City Dog. What's on this?
It's, uh, cheddar cheese, bacon, uh, onions, and barbecue sauce.
Go for it, man.
[Phil chuckling]
Yeah, size matters. Your know what I'm sayin'?
-What's this guy? -This is the Big Daddy.
It's got cream cheese, a pickle, bacon, jalapeños.
-And our secret sauce. -"Sauce"?
"Sauce." You got to throw that W in there. Bite into that. Tell me what you think.
-[Phil] I will, but cream cheese, really? -Yeah!
Did it taste good? Yes!
-Cream cheese on a hot dog! -[Sean] There it is.
-This is a gourmet item. -It is.
This is not--
-It's not your typical street meat. -It's not your typical street thing.
[woman] Oh! He's on the food show!
Hoo! Here we go, brownies, here we go! Hoo-hoo!
-Your first time in Nashville? -Yeah.
-Me too! -No!
-Are you serious? -Yes! I'm serious!
-High five! -Yeah! Nashville.
Oh. Nashville.
And these people are with you, these maniacs?
[cheering]
This is the coolest thing of my life.
-It is? This is it? -Yes. This is it!
I want you to get out and live a little more.
[laughing] I would like that too.
Here you go, Amanda. Should we bite it together?
[laughing] Yeah. Are we gonna do it?
-Okay. -All right. Here we go.
[giggles]
Amanda!
Phil, this is good!
-Bless you. -It was so nice meeting you.
[giggling]
I just met Phil!
Classic.
Daddy's Dogs, baby. That's where you meet everybody.
[Phil] It's good! Get one.
[woman cheers]
[pleasant music playing]
[Phil] Brad Paisley and his wife,
the great actress Kimberly Williams Paisley,
invite us to a unique place that's doing great things
for the city of Nashville.
Welcome to The Store.
[Brad] This is Somebody Feed Nashville.
Well, it was actually Kim's doing.
In Santa Barbara, we were out there for Thanksgiving one year,
and our kids acted spoiled and she said…
[snaps fingers] "They need to understand there's hungry people." Right?
Need to put them to work.
So we went to a place called the Unity Shoppe in Santa Barbara,
-which is a community grocery store. -Yeah.
And we just loved the concept of dignity, of being able to shop for their needs,
as opposed to getting handouts.
Brad said, "We gotta take this concept to Nashville."
I knew we would be on to the really dignified experience,
when it's as normal as a kid's riding that while the parents shop.
[Kimberly] And we opened right after the tornadoes here in town.
And then we had the pandemic.
And we were right off the bat serving
five times more people than we anticipated.
-Wow. -We had to pivot and go to delivery.
So by July, we delivered 1.5 million meals.
Then finally got to open the store again and have the original concept.
We have so many fresh fruits and vegetables.
This was so important to us,
because a lot of these people live in food deserts.
They don't have access to fresh fruits and vegetables,
and it's cheaper to buy fast food than broccoli or kiwi.
But ideally, people won't be our customers for more than a year.
We want to help people get back on their feet.
This isn't meant to be a long-term solution.
People love the concept and, yeah, we want to see this replicated
in other cities. Not just Santa Barbara and LA.
By the way, as it grows, there's also job opportunities for people.
These are the people you want to hire.
People that care enough about the dignity of this experience for their families.
And the people who are volunteering,
I would imagine, are getting so much out of it as well.
They're learning firsthand the experiences of their neighbors
-that they wouldn't otherwise-- -Exactly.
Erases the margins, so we're all a community.
-So this is the first store. -[Kimberly] Yeah.
And let's make it first of many.
-Yes, let's do it. -I'd be in on that. Let's figure that out.
If you wanna make a little contribution to The Store,
you go right here to this website
and make a little donation.
Help them out. I'm certainly going to.
Using your powers for good, people.
Hey, Google. Video call Kevin.
[video call ringing]
Oh!
Mazel tov!
-Hey, how are you doing, Phil? -I'm very nice. I'm enjoying Nashville.
You cannot beat the food and the music in Nashville.
Right? And the people are so beautiful and friendly and sweet.
I just loved everybody I've met so far.
They're very folksy in Nashville.
Very folksy.
[laughing]
I'm eating a lot of food. A lot of like heavy, heavy food.
It's called "meat and three" down in the South.
Know what that is?
I had it. I went to Arnold's. You know Arnold's?
I don't know Arnold's. Susan, do you know Arnold's?
-[Susan] Of course I do! -Susan is from Nashville.
Oh, we're gonna-- we're gonna talk to her in a minute.
Before we talk to Susan also, who I, you know, absolutely love,
do you have a joke for Max?
I actually do have a joke.
Um…
And it might even be a real story.
-I'm not even sure. -Okay.
This guy was walking down the Strip in Las Vegas.
And another man approached him, who looked quite desperate and frenetic.
And he said, "Excuse me, sir. Can I please borrow some money?"
"My wife has to get into the hospital for emergency surgery,
and I don't-- I don't have enough to get her in there."
"Would you please help me? I'm desperate."
He said, "You know, I would, but how do I know if I give you that money
you're not just going to spend it on gambling?"
The guy looks at him and goes, "Oh, I got gambling money."
[laughing]
That's a beauty, I think that's excellent.
-What do you think? -Good joke, right?
[playing gentle melody]
It's Brad!
It's Nashville's Brad Paisley.
♪ I'm sorry, Kevin But here are the facts ♪
♪ I'm afraid you're no Max ♪
[Richard laughs]
-Brad Paisley, everybody! -Sorry, Kev.
Better luck next time.
-All right. -Kevin. We wish you were here with us.
It's similar to when you came and stayed a long time.
A lot longer than we expected.
I still have stuff there.
You do, you have stuff here, for sure.
Let's see Susan. Can you bring on Susan?
Sure. Susan!
-[Susan] No! What?! -Get in here!
-There she is. -Oh! That's-- See, now it's a good show.
Thank God.
Susan and I go way back.
-[Susan] Way back. -Is it possible that I met Susan before
Susan met Kevin?
Phil, we met about 20 minutes after I met Kevin.
-Is that right? -Yeah, um…
He hired me for Everybody Loves Raymond.
And you were phenomenal.
-You were the cult leader. -Thank you.
Is there any chance that she might recur with that character on your show?
[laughs]
-It's not on anymore. -Oh, it's not on. Oh, I'm so sorry, Phil.
You know, I just don't watch the show. But it's not on anymore, okay.
But she's going to recur on any show I do, like this one she's on.
-Right! -See, as soon as I…
As soon as I have a show, I put Susan on.
Anything to get out the house, you know what I mean?
[chuckles]
Oh, oh, one thing I wanted to tell you guys before I go.
-[Phil and Richard laugh] -Oh jeez. We walked right into it.
-Kevin Nealon, everybody. -[Brad] Whoo!
[Phil] I got one more place I want to go
and meet up with all my beautiful friends from Nashville.
-Hi! -[Jackie] Hugs?
[Phil] I'm taking hugs, yes.
[off-screen] This is the Pinewood Social.
Got one! Yay!
[cheering]
If you're looking for a good time in Nashville, yes, it's got bowling.
But it's also got food.
-[Monica] Wow. That looks amazing. -People, what about breakfast tacos?
[off-screen] It's got music. It's got booze.
If you're gonna have one drink, make it a big one.
I feel the Nashville spirit.
I don't know what more you need in life.
Terrible.
I don't think I've bowled since I'm 12 years old
at some kid's birthday party.
Very bad.
-My buddies. -Hey, how you doing?
I'm so happy you're here.
Let me tell you a story
about a little Jewish boy's first trip to Nashville.
[Richard laughs]
[pleasant music playing]
You know, I always say that, uh, I made this series
because I wanted to take everything I knew about how to tell a story on TV
and use it in the service of everything I love in life.
And that was family, friends, food, travel, and laughs.
But after my trip to Nashville,
I think I have to include music.
[playing folk music]
♪ 'Cause it's 2:15 a.m. ♪
♪ And my tears are falling down ♪
[people cheering]
[man] Thank you.
[Brad] Oh jeez!
And look, a strike! A strike! I turned a strike!
Nobody's watching.
[indistinct conversations]
Thank you, Nashville. This lucky bastard will be back.
[dramatic string music rises, fades]
♪ A happy, hungry, man ♪
[laughs]
♪ Traveling all across the land ♪
[all laughing]
♪ He's trying to understand ♪
♪ The art of pasta Pork, chicken, and lamb ♪
♪ He'll drive to you, he'll fly to you ♪
♪ He'll cry for you, he'll die for you ♪
-What's… I don't remember. -I like what you're doing.
[plays chorus]
♪ Somebody ♪
♪ Somebody feed Phil ♪
Please.
[Phil] That's beautiful.
-Yay! -[Monica] Aw.
-That'll be 50,000 dollars, please. -[women laugh]
Oh yeah, I owe you now.
[Monica chuckles]
[playing soulful melody]