I had a boot kicking good time at a women’s event earlier this month. In keeping with tradition, I decided to host a fab meal at a local standout spot in conjunction with the conference. The amazing thing about my industry is that like-minded colleagues eventually blend into the friend column so hosting a group of gals really is like a big gabfest group meal. We are loud. We are fun. We are awesome in numbers. And I’m so here for it.
I read so many best of bakery articles about The Butter Milk Ranch in Nashville that I was drooling to try their offerings. And what better way to sample everything on the menu than to visit with a big hungry group? Even the name of the restaurant had me salivating… The Butter Milk Ranch. Yum.
And to be honest, I’m a total ranch girl. Way back in college we used to hit a cool spot called Billy’s for a massive crudité platter and thick steak fries with a gallon of herby, creamy ranch on the side. I’m surprised my sorority sisters didn’t make us pledges do shots of it freshman year. It would have been a lot more tasty than what they did “encourage” us to drink. Anyway, since then I’ve always been a ranch dipper. Fries, naturally. On a salad it’s my go-to. Obviously, all veggies. Chips, pretzels, tortilla chips and even pizza have been known to make their way into a cool ramekin of my favorite dressing.
The Butter Milk Ranch considers itself a small batch bakery that serves day dining. My kinda place. With an impressive menu of breakfast standouts, brunch faves and lots of good lookin lunchables we couldn’t wait to dig in. On the day we visited, sadly their croissant roller was on the fritz, so takeout bakery items at the front were super limited and did not include croissants. It was not a good sign so we were worried.
But from the takeout counter I scored a gigantic Oatmeal sandwich cookie (sans raisins of course) they call a Lil’ Deborah that had a creamy frosted filling and swipe of sweet caramel. Wow. My friend Carol boxed up a gigantic Lemon Cookie and later said it was outstanding. Thankfully they did save a good portion of their handmade croissants for sandos and dishes so the menu was in full effect. Whew.
We were seated at a big rectangular table in a crowded room of chatting lunchgoers searching for the best options on a menu of hard to pick choices. While we perused, I immediately ordered two portions of the Brown Butter Beignets for the table. These were a game changer. Each order had four square pockets of pillowy dough lightly fried to a golden brown with a crispy but light outside and fluffy cakey insides. There was a schmear of lemony curd at the bottom of each dish which balanced the brown butter snow on these babies. We absolutely devoured them!
We also shared the Loaded Ranch Potatoes that came in a hot skillet and were smothered in a thick queso sauce with smoked cheddar, crispy bork belly bits, ranch and topped by scattered scallions. Another winner.
Our mains were a mix. I ordered the Hot Brown which was an open garlic butter croissant with a too heavy rich scoop of savory tomato jam, shaved turkey breast, bacon, queso, and topped with cherry tomatoes and scallions. It wasn’t what I expected so I nibbled.
But the Buttermilk Pancakes with warm maple syrup and whipped butter were sweet, fluffy and delicious. And the Dirty South Fried Rice with grilled pork belly, hot mayo, a fried egg, and lacto hot sauce was a table favorite. The soft scrambled eggs with a homemade biscuit got rave reviews. And the Caesar Salad with Fried Chicken looked amazing.
After lunch we trolled around the neighborhood of Twelve South. A few ladies peeled off and a few new ones joined us for the shopping tour. We popped into stores like imogine + willie, Finnley’s, and White’s Mercantile. Just about everyone found some sort of treasure or treat. We browsed odds and ends and even found an exceptional donut place we all loved called Five Daughters Bakery. Their croissant like donuts were absolutely incredible!
After a fun day of snacks, laughs and shopping we had to head back to the hotel to change and prepare for the opening reception. We all agreed that The Butter Milk Ranch was best for bakery items and breakfast dishes and that Nashville was the perfect place to go with a bunch of smart, savvy chicks who wanted to let their hair down and have a great time.
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