Morning, fellow Nashvillians.  The gray morning that started off yesterday turned into a sunny keep-the-doors-open kind of day, so I can only hope the same for today.

I’ve been thinking a lot about my favorite Nashville area restaurants & how much I would miss them if I ever moved away.  You know how that goes, you move to the likes of windy city Chicago, just wishing you could have one more bite of Taco Loco from Garcias. 

So, to commemorate all that Nashville has to offer for my tongue & tummy, I thought I would share my top ten restaurants in the area & maybe you’ll do the same, at least I hope so. 

Okay, here we go:

1. Garcias- located in Franklin, with new restaurants in the Madison area as well as the Boro.  The freshest & best Mexican fare around.  You cannot miss their cheese sauce with warm chips, Taco Loco, whipped banana pudding & of course, their famous margaritas
2. Alley Cat- need I say more than ‘fried avocado’?
3. Amerigo- with locations in Brentwood & downtown, this Italian screams, “I may not be all that healthy, but I’m damn good.”  Favorites:  fried eggplant, cheese fritters & their delicious tiramisu with creme anglaise & chocolate kahlua sauces
4. Thai Spice- nestled in Franklin, this is one of the best kept secrets of local Thai cuisine.  Their Thai tea is out this world, as well as their soups & spring rolls
5. Provence- the best French-style desserts this side of Paris
6. Pei Wei- an off shoot of P. F. Changs’, this Asian Diner has gotten me addicted to their hot & sour soup, fried crab wontons & Pad Thai with just the right amount of lime & peanuts
7. Noshville Deli- because latkas are truly the gift of the gods
8. Pancake Pantry- if you can sit down & enjoy their silver dollar pancakes with an ice cream scoop of butter in less than an hour, consider yourself lucky
9. Star Bagel- for that Ghirardelli hot chocolate that hits just the right spot on cold days, with good & quick lunch fare
10. Cocoa Tree- this chocolatier in Franklin really understands the meaning of dark chocolate cravings

Now, tell me, where did I go wrong or right?  You know, I shouldn’t have written this post on such an empty stomach!  Now I’m craving all of it!