Biscuit Love

Karl and Sarah Worley, both trained at Johnson & Wales, started Biscuit Love as a three-item food truck in 2012, working out of a borrowed truck and then a customized Airstream named Lilly. For two years they were a fixture at the Franklin Farmers Market on Saturdays and White's Mercantile in 12 South on Sundays, building the kind of devoted following that made the jump to a permanent restaurant in The Gulch in January 2015 feel inevitable rather than risky.

That brick-and-mortar location is now the flagship, and it's built its reputation on a short list of dishes that have become genuine Nashville classics: the East Nasty, a fried chicken biscuit stacked with pepper jack and sausage gravy; the Bonuts, biscuit dough fried and rolled in sugar; and the Southern Benny, shaved country ham and eggs over a biscuit with sawmill gravy standing in for the usual hollandaise. The Lindstrom — shaved Brussels sprouts with poached eggs — gives the menu a lighter option without abandoning the Southern-brunch premise.

The Gulch location puts it within easy walking distance of downtown hotels, Lower Broadway, and Music Row, which makes it as much a visitor stop as a local one — and the tradeoff is a wait that can run long on weekend mornings. It's a better fit for people who want a proper sit-down brunch with cocktails than a fast in-and-out breakfast.