Karsten and I went to the Young Professionals / Brian Ritchey / The Katies show at Mercy Lounge with a bunch of my coworkers last night. (This was after we’d been to Lyrix to see our buddy Joe Hendricks play a writers’ round, which was after we’d been to Cabana with the coworkers for happy hour.) The show was great. All three acts were great, even if I’m especially partial to the latter two who are friends of ours through day job connections.
Anyway, I saw JD of Gypsy Cab Co. rockin’ out with his new haircut and funky vest. Small blogosphere. No pics because it was just too damn dark in there for my Treo.
After the show was over and everyone had had their fill of after-hours dorky dancing to cheesy ’80s pop, my colleagues and I sought drunk-dining options at Hermitage Cafe south of downtown. Wow. I’d never even heard of it, but apparently it has quite a following. Wow. That place was… um… an experience. Wow. You know the kind of dive where the cook is flipping hash browns with a cigarette hanging out of her mouth? Where the waitress looks about 80 even though she’s probably only 40, and she says “hon” a lot? This was even divier than that. When I asked for decaf coffee, the waitress answered that it was Sanka, apparently giving me a chance to back out of the deal. I said, “well, ok” and she cautioned me again, this time more clearly: “It’s not very good, hon.” I reassured her that I would face the consequences bravely and she moved on to someone else’s drink order. My shoes were sticking to the so-called “carpet” which was so worn it looked as if it had become a single trodden-down layer of matted grime and grease. I’ve never seen anything quite like it.
Naturally, the place was overrun with drunk songwriters. (Including several of us.) Heh.
I’d say more about it but I got so little sleep I think I’ve overstretched my ability to articulate. Off to make dinner and then go see the WJ Cunningham opening at the Estel Gallery. I think it’ll be an early night tonight, though. I can’t imagine staying awake much past 9 PM at this point.
Hope everyone else is having a great weekend.
The Katies! I miss those guys. We had a ball at Mucklewain, and that was the last time I saw them.
I love the hermitage.. I took a (crappy) picture of it just the other night!
Me and some Germantown fellas make a trip to the Hermitage about once a month on a random Thursday around midnight.
We even went on a Saturday morning once.
No different.
They’re a blast. Such stage presence! Great fun.
Oooh. That’s it, alright. It’s a cool shot! It just doesn’t quite capture the… um, je ne sais quoi about the place. But I’m not sure that it can be done with still photography. In fact, there may need to be new technologies invented simply to convey the Hermitage-Cafe-ness of this place. You’ll get right on it, won’t you?
Wow, your comment title makes me wonder if visiting the Germantown Cafe and the Hermitage Cafe one right after the other could deep-fry a person’s brain. Guess there’s only one way to find out.
except I think that Tom Waits has already done that.
Breakfast on a Saturday at the H. Cafe is almost beyond words to describe…the ripped-up booth seats, the community of the street, the honeyed waitresses, the hash-house slang, the incredible amount of cholesterol that practical clouds over the room. God, I love those biscuits, gravy, bacon, grits…
The Hermitage Cafe is definitely one of my favorites. When folks come to visit me and have never been to Nashville, I do my best to take them there. “Mama” is the lady that took your order. She’s been there 12 years. Her daughter “Sissy” works the day shift except for the weekends when she helps out on the night shift. It is tasty! I had to quit going so much because my pants began to hate me for stuffing too much of myself into them.
Mister Nashville
When you cut your hair using only a four-guard I think it’s more of a “give-up” than a “hair-cut” per se…
Kudos to making it out past the Katies (who were greatness) and on to the greasy spoon. I’ve been dying to go to but somehow always forget about it during my 2 am trek through the Krystal Burger. I had to leave early anyway and somehow pull myself together to catch enough zzz’s before a charming 9 mile run at 6 am the next morning. Marathon time again.
-JD
Hermitage Cafe rules! It’s such a better answer to “what’s open at this hour?” than Cafe Coco. 90% fewer tattoos and 100% more hash browns.