Franklin Chop House
1101 Murfreesboro Road
Franklin, TN
(615) 591-7666

Silver Sands Restaurant
937 Locklayer Street
(615) 742-1652

Camino Real
5332 Cane Ridge Road
Antioch, TN
(615) 717-0205

Norman Couser’s Country Cooking
3754 Nolensville Road
(615) 781-8270

Nashville Zoo
3777 Nolensville Road
(615) 833-1534
nashvillezoo.org

You can also spot Josh at popular Nashville attractions not known for food.


“Jennifer and I are both animal lovers,” Josh says, “and we love going to places like the zoo. I don’t have a favorite exhibit, but the one that piqued our interest last time we were there were the monkeys. They started their calling around late afternoon and the sound they made was incredible. The amplification and volume of it was breathtaking. It was quite entertaining. They sounded very human-like.”

"When the doorknob‘s greasy on the outside, the food on the inside is always good!” Josh says.

Hungry Man

Josh Turner loves Nashville’s country cooking—and doesn’t mind a greasy doorknob! 

Josh Turner knows a thing or two about love.


It’s obvious when he turns on the charm in his recent romantic chart-topper “Your Man” and his latest hit “Would You Go With Me.” And closer to home, it’s also clear: He and his wife of three years, Jennifer, are starting a family—they’re expecting a baby in the fall.


But Josh also knows another passion: food. While touring to support his sophomore album, Your Man, the South Carolina native takes a breather to share his favorite Nashville dining spots and more.


“The first restaurant on my list is the Franklin Chop House,” says Josh. “I love their food. My favorite dish is the salmon with mashed sweet potatoes, sweet tea—and their bread is really good. The salmon is grilled–-and while I can’t remember the sauce they use, it sure is good. I don’t usually have dessert there, because I fill up on the meal. Jennifer’s favorite is the barbeque sausage and rice. Every now and then, I’ll take a taste off her plate.”


Another favorite isn’t exactly glamorous.


“It’s a hole-in-the wall called Silver Sands,” says Josh with a grin. “It’s very, very obscure—and definitely not a Music Row hangout. I never hear anyone talk about it maybe because it’s so hard to find. It’s in the Farmer’s Market area, north of the Capitol. It’s real country-cookin’ and soul food without any flash. You go through the line and tell ‘em what you want. Their pork chops and brown gravy are my absolute favorite. They also have great sweet tea and fried cornbread.


“I’ve taken several friends who’ve never been there, and they start getting a little antsy. I always tell them: ‘Hey trust me, when the doorknob‘s greasy on the outside, the food on the inside is always good!’ A booking agent turned me on to the place. Jennifer and I go every chance we get. They usually have chocolate cake and different kinds of pies for dessert—all homemade.”


Josh—who burst onto the country charts with 2003’s “Long Black Train”—also likes to go South of the border, food-wise.


“I love Mexican food,” says Josh. “One of the best in Nashville is Camino Real. The staff is so friendly. We got to know the manager and servers, and they even wound up inviting us to different weddings and barbeques at their houses! My favorite meal is the Burrito La Fontera. It’s basically a big burrito. Whatever meat you chose chicken, beef or shrimp is grilled, and it’s filled with beans and cheese. All of their food is really good. And every now and then, they have Mexican dancers on Saturday nights.”


Josh and Jennifer love discovering different restaurants in town—like Norman Couser’s Country Cooking.


“I’ve driven by it for more than six years,” he says. “But it wasn’t until Jennifer and I went to the Nashville Zoo that we realized it was across the street. We decided to go, and they sure live up to their name–-great country cooking! My favorite is the fried okra and the sweet tea.”


Since Josh purchased a home in Nashville he’s been dining in more—but he couldn’t be happier.


“My wife’s a great cook!” he declares. “I have a friend in Colorado that I’ve been hunting with a bit, and he’s been giving us a lot of elk deer and mule deer meat, so we’ve kind of jumped into the elk meat world. Jennifer just made lasagna with browned elk meat, and everything was homemade—the tomatoes were homegrown, she made her own sauce. It was to die for! She also recently put an elk steak in the crock-pot—and it was the best thing I’ve ever put in my mouth! I didn’t even have to use steak sauce.


“And she does great Southern cooking, too.”



-Rick Taylor