During the 2021-2022 school year, students got creative with their dining options after understaffed dining halls left them with few on-campus dining options. At the time, the Taste of Nashville program was a glimmer of hope that allowed students to use their Meal Money or Commodore cash at participating off-campus restaurants.
This school year, four new restaurants–including three Asian restaurants–have been added. Additionally, five restaurants that were on the card last year have been removed. ‘Za Wood Fired Pizza and Qdoba closed their doors, while The Row, Wingstop and Flatiron have been taken off of the card.
The four new restaurants are Sarabha’s Creamery, Barista Parlor, Koi Sushi & Thai and Sweet Dots Bubble Tea. Each of the new restaurants is located in different neighborhoods around the Vanderbilt campus: Midtown, Hillsboro Village, West End and Elliston Place respectively. The Taste of Nashville website is now organized by neighborhood, which makes finding the new spots easier than ever.
Sarabha’s Creamery is Nashville’s first Indian-style homemade ice cream parlor. They opened in early 2022 and are located on 21st Avenue above Chipotle. Their menu boasts 14 unique ice cream flavors–Kesar, Chai Spice and Indian Coffee to name a few– and also offers various Indian snacks and drinks. Online ordering is available for in-store pickup or delivery, which sounds like the perfect idea for those hot days when you need a sweet treat as quickly as possible.
Barista Parlor has eight locations in Nashville, with the first opening in 2012, and the Hillsboro Village location opening in 2021. Their menu has classic coffee shop staples like drip coffee, cold brew and pastries, but they also have a seasonal menu and even drinks infused with CBD. I stopped by last April and tried a seasonal special with vanilla and cinnamon-flavored coffee, and it was rich and tasty. The coffee shop environment is perfect for studying with bright colors and natural light, soft music and lots of outlets for laptops. They also offer online ordering for those last-minute coffee runs before class.
(Barista Parlor)
Koi Sushi & Thai has been around for over 10 years at their two Nashville locations, the Midtown location being the most recent addition to Taste of Nashville. They have four large menus (lunch, dinner, sushi and to-go) with items such as green curry, tempura and several unique sushi rolls. If you want to watch the sushi prepared right in front of you, ask to be seated at the sushi bar. For a relaxing night in, try their to-go menu and enjoy the delicious food from the comfort of your own room.
(Nowplayingnashville.com)
Located on Elliston Place, Sweet Dots serves a variety of boba tea-style drinks. You can pick the liquid base–brewed tea, milk tea, coffee or a specialty item–and add in either boba or fruit. Boba is having a shining moment at Vandy, as Campus dining implemented it at the Highland Munchie mart last year. Additionally, VanTea, a student-run initiative to make bubble tea more accessible to students, hosted a variety of pop-up shops in local Nashville restaurants in 2021. Bubble tea is the perfect way to have a treat from a different culture. My suggestion is the Strawberry Blossom, or you can make your own creation either in-store or through their mobile ordering service.
(Sweet Dots Bubble Tea)
