Road Trips: Nashville

I recently drove to Nashville and back.  Here are a couple of points:

• I'm happy to report that the I-40 bridge over the Mississippi River is open again.  
• With the bridge up and functioning again, the trip is do-able as a 14 hour drive from Austin.  That's about the same amount of time as driving to Taos (a road trip I've made many times, the last time being in May).
• Nashville hot chicken is good.  If you've never tried it, I strongly recommend getting some while visiting.  I've been to Prince's and Hattie B.'s.  The former is the famous progenitor of the concept (and when I went there was a long line); the latter has multiple locations around town and can be more easily procured.  
• If you are in Austin, and you want to try hot chicken, Tumble 22 is excellent.  Their trailer behind Star Bar made me a fan not only of hot chicken but also of Duke's Mayonnaise.  
• Unless you have a thing for painfully hot spices, stick with the mid-level of seasoning.  You'll enjoy the heat as well as the flavors of the spices and the chicken.  
• There is a Hattie B.'s in Las Vegas, in the Cosmopolitan.
• The Loveless Cafe is worth visiting.  I had a great breakfast there, and I'm still thinking about the biscuits w/ peach preserves.

I don't have much else to report, though I am considering going back to see a Predator's game at some point as well as to hit a few restaurants downtown.