Modern Love: From Nashville With Love
On a winter trip to Nashville, I found myself wandering downtown for a bite to eat before I departed the Music City for my life back in Rochester, New York. It was my last stop on a 4-day trip. I had done the big Broadway lights, roamed around the Honky-Tonks, ate Nashville Hot Chicken twice, toured the North Capitol district, drank cocktails in Germantown, visited Vanderbilt University on the West End, knocked back some seasoned BBQ ribs at the Peg Leg Porker, sipped Tennessee whiskey neat, and walked alone at night into East Nashville for a nightcap, some live music, and a bitchin’ adventure.
As it was time for me to go, I figured some coffee and a warm meal would be the perfect ending to a remarkable trip. I came to Union Street hoping to visit 417 Union, a classic American diner with historical qualities to its interior design. Unfortunately, when I arrived, I learned the hard way that it must have been a good place because there was a line out the door, and a wait. If you know me well, you’ll know I am not much for long lines, and I don’t enjoy waiting around for too long. Can you blame me? I had a flight to catch. I kept moving.
Early Bird, the coffee counter inside Modern Love, a bar and cafe in downtown Nashville, TN.
My journey was cut short a few steps away when I came upon a menu board. What drew me in was the creative detail of the design, a place called Modern Love. Modern by design, but it looked like something from the 1960s, with vibrant blue, green, and yellow hues and hardwood decor. It reminded me of visits to my great aunt Ruth’s home in Monterey Park, where I sat on shag rugs and counted the psychedelic geometric patterns on her fading wallpapered walls. However, this cafe, bar, and restaurant was not fading; it looked sharp, easy on the eyes, and I was ready to indulge in a feast to satiate my growing hunger.
Let me begin with this: I love coffee. Every city I travel to, I walk the streets like Shia LaBeouf during Mardi Gras, ready to take on a few cups of drip, a complex pour over, a silky Flat White, a unique signature latte, and a creamy cappuccino. I’ll admit, I am spoiled by Rochester’s coffee scene, as it has grown to be a coffee-first community. Shamelessly, I was lured in by the details of the Southern Latte: Caramel, vanilla, espresso, but importantly, bourbon salt.
The Hero’s Breakfast at Modern Love features a Gojuchang sausage, Creole potatoes, and a buttermilk biscuit.
The latte was well-balanced, had a slapdash presentation, but the bourbon salt gave the drink a smoky, toasty, and mellow, but sweet profile when mixed with the vanilla and caramel. It paired well as a drink with my brunch order, the Hero’s Breakfast.
This breakfast was truly fit for a hero. It was simple, traditional, modern, and was everything I expected from a southern breakfast, and more. The dish came with two over-easy eggs, confit Truss tomatoes, seasoned Creole potatoes, soft and crunchy Enoki mushrooms, a buttery buttermilk biscuit, and the most tender and flavorful Gochujang sausage with a tongue-tingling kick. It was a satiating brunch, one that I have thought about often since returning home.
Maybe it was the allure of Modern Love’s retro decor, fanciful colors, mood lighting, stellar breakfast, proximity to urban cowboys, and the lively Nashville music scene that enchanted me. What I can say is that inspiration struck at the bar of this dazzling 1960s-style hotel eatery, and in this moment, I discovered many truths. In the depths of a hearty meal, I found love for a world seemingly foreign to my own, and I saw that our similarities across this beautiful historic nation are richer than our differences. Love for a good meal, love for thy neighbor, and love from Rochester to Nashville, Tennessee, is all you ever really need.
A view of the cocktail bar at Modern Love, a retro-style bar located in the Fairline Hotel in downtown Nashville, TN.
