With the same scratch-made menu items, signature drinks, honky-tonk feel, and Blake Shelton flavors as the other Ole Red locations, the venue/bar/restaurant chain is bringing a completely unique music and dining experience to its new location in the Nashville International Airport at Concourse C.
“Ole Red is so different for the airport, and breakfast is so different for Ole Red,” Head Chef Jason “Punchy” Stuart said of creating a whole new menu for the airport location.
The new menu includes Ole Red staples like Redneck Nachos and the Austin Brisket Sandwich, but with an airport-exclusive breakfast menu. We took the liberty of trying some of the featured items to help you make the most of your layover.
FRESH OPTIONS
Stuart loves breakfast food, he said, but the airport location is the only Ole Red to include it on its menu. When given the opportunity, he said he knew he wanted to raise the bar on airport food.
“Airport food is synonymous with frozen burgers and just unhealthy,” Stuart said. “I’m a meathead and I’ve been a bodybuilder for 25-plus years … I wanted to give people traveling a fresher, healthier option.”
And that he did.
The Honeybee
Ole Red’s acai bowls are made in-house with non-fat Greek yogurt, seasonal fruits, honey, and granola. This is a vegetarian, nutrient-dense, and delicious travel-friendly option.
The Honeybee is not too sweet or artificial tasting like they tend to be, and again, Stuart is only including the best, seasonal ingredients available.
“I want to use what’s best for the customer’s experience,” he said. “If blueberries aren’t sweet right now, I’m not going to add blueberries. We’ll use pineapple or mango or whatever.”
Avo Smashville Toast
No breakfast menu would be complete without everybody’s favorite modern staple: avocado toast. Named for the Nashville Predators and topped with crunchy radishes, fresh arugula, tomatoes, and high-quality olive oil, this is hands down the best avocado toast you’re going to find inside the Nashville airport.
Egg White Frittata
Made with real egg whites, diced onions, seasonal vegetables, and arugula, this is one of the lightest options on the menu, but it packs a heavy punch in flavor with a unique seasoning blend. Stuart said what fruits and vegetables they include in their dishes largely depends on what is available fresh and in season at the time. The frittata will feature vegetables like peppers and zucchini in the summertime, and vegetables like acorn squash and broccoli come winter.
BREAKFAST CLASSICS
If you’re looking for a more traditional way to start your day, Ole Red has mastered the classics.
“Everybody else at the airport is serving scrambled eggs because it’s all liquid eggs,” Stuart said. “Here, we’ll give you a nice sunny-side-up egg.”
From breakfast biscuits to plates and pastries, Ole Red has the most important meal of the day covered.
“Everything here is prepped and made that day,” he said. “We’re not buying frozen eggs and throwing them in the microwave, we’re making everything from scratch.”
The Classic Bacon, Egg, & Cheese Biscuit
This is your classic, bacon, egg, and cheese experience – but better. Ole Red uses thick-cut, Tennessee bacon, soft and buttery biscuits that don’t crumble apart when lifted, and scrambled eggs made with cheese.
“I went with the more southern approach of scrambled eggs with cheese added,” Stuart said. “Opposed to a fried egg with sliced cheese.”
This provides a more balanced bite and a more travel-friendly eating experience. Ole Red has perfected the art of the breakfast sandwich with this B.E.C.
The Big Ole Breakfast Burrito
If you were missing Ole Red’s famous tater tots, fear not; no tot was forgotten in the making of this breakfast menu. The Big Ole Breakfast Burrito is made with pillowy scrambled eggs, crispy Tennessee bacon, cheddar jack cheese, salsa, and homemade tots wrapped into an extra-large flour tortilla for the perfect on-the-go breakfast.
OLE RED FAVORITES
In any Ole Red kitchen, even the one at the airport, you can find fresh produce in the refrigerators, pork and brisket smoking overnight, and pickles being made in-house. They’re not only delivering on breakfast, they’ve also got all of your American staples covered.
“We’re not trying to raise the bar on what we’re doing, we’re just raising the bar on how we do it,” Stuart said.
Redneck Nachos
The best way to use that pork that’s been smoking in-house? Throw it on the best bar nachos in Nashville, of course. Ole Red’s Redneck Nachos are covered in Velveeta Beer Cheese (a.k.a. Liquid Gold), pickled jalapenos, tomatoes, signature Bar-B-Que sauce, and pulled pork, and served with avocado mash and sour cream. These are an Ole Red fan favorite for a reason.
Southern Tater Tot Poutine
If you haven’t had poutine, you haven’t lived, or maybe you just haven’t been to Canada. Regardless, French-Canadian Chef Joe Denomme brought it to Nashville with Ole Red’s Southern Tater Tot Poutine, a distinctly southern take on a Canadian go-to. Instead of traditional french fries, this poutine has a base of crispy homemade tater tots, topped with white gravy, smoked pork, white cheddar cheese curds, a fried egg, and Ole Red hot sauce.
Denomme said it combines the best of Southern food and Canadian comfort food – and gives them another excuse to use tater tots.
“People love the tots,” Denomme said. “Everyone here has a pulled pork sandwich, we’re like the only people who make our own tots.”
Austin Brisket Sandwich
Another Ole Red fan favorite? The Austin Brisket Sandwich. With a thick chorizo link, smoked brisket, vinegar slaw, and fried onion straws piled onto a soft Ciabatta Roll, this sandwich hits the spot every time.
“We wanted to add another wow-factor sandwich, the crispy onions give a lot of height and crunch,” Denomme said.
It’s served with Ole Red’s famous white Bar-B-Que sauce and topped with house-made pickled Okra. And with every sandwich on the Ole Red menu, guests get a side of dill and bread and butter pickles made in-house. The secret to their classic Ole Red taste? “A ton of sugar,” Denomme said.
Lucky Charms Mud Pie
In 2013, Blake Shelton took to Twitter to tell the world that General Mills should throw out the oats in Lucky Charms and produce all-marshmallow cereal. Ultimately, General Mills sent him a rare box of marshmallow-only Lucky Charms. Ole Red took those marshmallows (maybe not the ones from that exact box) and incorporated them into a classic dessert. Enter: Lucky Charms Mud Pie. The fun, chocolatey dessert is sure to add some decadence to your airport experience.
We love Nashville for its unparalleled country talent, good cookin’, vibrant nightlife, and sweet southern hospitality. And while spending time on Broadway is a must for anyone visiting, if you’ve had your fill of Music Row or don’t have time to hit up the Ole Red downtown, you can get all of that Music City goodness inside the Ole Red at the Nashville International Airport.
Learn more about other Ole Red locations and stay in the loop on upcoming specials and events here.
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