The old Nick’s Italian Deli was a highlight of my first career stint in downtown Nashville. Our small group of friends and co-workers were there about once a week. I couldn’t get enough.
Then I took a job in the ‘burbs and was never able to make it to SoBro for lunch. Time passed and I heard it closed. I made my way through the standard grieving process – denial, anger, despair, and finally acceptance. My cravings for pepperoni rolls and chicken parm subs went unsatisfied because I knew no other place could ever measure up.
Then...one day...I stumbled across something online and learned a Nick’s location was open in Franklin, just down the road from my office. Guess where I had lunch the next day?
These days I am conveniently in the area twice a week, and in the last couple of years have become a solid Nick’s customer again. Not with the frequency of the old days, but with a more important mission: Schooling MiniMe on the difference between Chef Boyardee and good Italian food. And she’s eating it up. Literally.
What makes Nick’s special is that it is authentic. It’s real. It’s quality. Whatever I order, and I've had a lot on the extensive menu, is consistently exceptional and priced fair. And it all comes with a side of Brooklyn attitude.The ambiance has changed a little over the years. Ritzy Williamson County has different standards than downtown Nashville, I guess. But two distinguishing characteristics remain: NY Yankee memorabilia, and art tributes to the classic wise guys in Goodfellas, The Sopranos and, of course, The Godfather.
Nick is the real-life Don of Italian food in Middle Tennessee.
Fuhgeddaboudit!
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