Don’t worry about your tongue tripping over the name of this restaurant or their signature pizza, because your tongue will be busy going to town on impossibly light and fluffy focaccia and pizzas topped with amazing ingredient combinations inspired by Sicily. Working out of the tiny kitchen at Van Dyke Bed and Beverage, Chef Michael Hanna has brought truly new food to a town that thought it has already seen everything.

The husband and wife team behind East Side Banh Mi make sandwiches the way they think they should taste, not by any book. Their version of the classic pork pate banh mi comes to the table with ham hock terrine and smoked bologna. Their “cheffy” takes on sandwiches have inspired several other top chefs in town to come up with their own creations that live on the ESBM menu as specials.

Build a bowl from a list of proteins including lamb, honey jerk chicken, curried shrimp, or vegan jackfruit and then pile on up to four toppings from a dizzying variety of veggies ranging from Cuban black beans to tangy peppers or queso fresco. The last decision is your desired heat level, but choose wisely because the fire ratchets up quickly as you move up the capsaicin continuum.

Another Nashville secret, King Tut’s food truck was where local chefs craved their fix of Egyptian food artfully prepared from family recipes, and they used to chase the truck all over town to eat their fill. Now that the truck is parked and a covered patio has been added on, it’s a lot easier to find and more comfortable to enjoy. The crispy scratch-made falafel is unbelievable, as are the spice profiles of the shawarma and lamb plates. Chefs definitely know their stuff!

Unlike some celeb chiefs you see on television that you imagine never set foot in their kitchens anymore, Maneet Chauhan is still one of the hardest-working cooks in town. She runs four restaurants, but Chauhan Ale & Masala House is her flagship. From the inventive cocktail program to cheeky takes on a hybrid of Indian and Southern food, Chauhan exudes creativity and precision in the preparation of the cuisine.

You can almost smell the salt air while perusing the seafood-centric menu. (Okay, it’s really just the Cumberland River.) But Fry’s take on elevated “fish camp” fare features fresh shellfish and fish sourced from seas across the world plus some fun Southern accents. Start out with an order of whiskey-smoked salmon and one of the restaurant's signature “Plateaux” piled high with shrimp, oysters, smoked fish dip, and lobster.

After decades running kitchens in some of Nashville’s most beloved restaurants, chef Deb Paquette shows little sign of slowing down. She continues to tantalize the taste buds of local diners with multiple layers of exotic international flavors as part of a tight menu at lunch and dinner. A spot at the long chef’s bar watching the team at work is more entertaining than a front-row seat at a Titans game.

You can’t go wrong with any section of the tight menu which revolves around biscuit sandwiches, burgers and the Oxford, Mississippi Chevron station specialty of chicken-on-a-stick. Brock has exhaustively investigated these dishes to come up with his versions, including a bacon egg and cheese biscuit topped with local favorite Gifford’s bacon, a fantastic griddled Joyburger made using the same Bear Creek Farm that Brock used to serve at Husk, and delightful fried chicken on skewers.

It’s the law that all meals at Butcher & Bee must begin with an order of the cultishly-popular whipped feta dip with fermented honey and black pepper. Then move on to B&B’s avocado crispy rice, an umami bomb with delightful textural contrasts between the fried Carolina Gold rice, collards, and peanuts set off with a zing of serrano chiles. Don’t sleep on the burger topped with calabrian salsa and -- you guessed it -- more whipped feta.

Chef Philip Krajeck’s second Nashville restaurant continues to evolve as the talented kitchen staff experiments with local and regional seasonal ingredients to create innovative cuisine and wood-fired pizzas. Most of the menu demonstrates European influences, but Southern sensibilities shine through with the use of produce from Middle Tennessee farms. The popular bar is a gathering spot for neighbors who like creative cocktails, and the wine program offers a surprising emphasis on natural wines.

Don’t worry about your tongue tripping over the name of this restaurant or their signature pizza, because your tongue will be busy going to town on impossibly light and fluffy focaccia and pizzas topped with amazing ingredient combinations inspired by Sicily. Working out of the tiny kitchen at Van Dyke Bed and Beverage, Chef Michael Hanna has brought truly new food to a town that thought it has already seen everything.