Nashville's Unforgettable Fried Biscuits

You’re going to be both glad and mad that these deep fried biscuits from a little bakery in Nashville are now on your radar. Glad, because they’re downright delicious: like an elephant ear and doughnut in one … a simple, warm, fluffy treat served with locally-made apple butter.

Mad, because now you won’t be able to stop thinking about them, until you’ve actually tried them for yourself. Hope you’ve got a Nashville visit planned very, very soon.

Now, downtown Nashville isn’t a big place, but these legendary fried biscuits are found a bit off the beaten path, at Nashville General Store & Bakery (from the main road, Van Buren St., head east on Washington Street and find the biscuit haven at the end of the road).

Shop owner Dinah Gredy says the biscuits earned a spot on the menu three years ago after she and the staff sampled something similar from another restaurant and thought: We can do better … way better.

The biscuits are made from a bread dough that is left to proof for a little longer — it rises and plumps and only the baker can tell when the dough is ready to be made into biscuits, Gredy says. The dough is divided with a round cutter, then fried to order, never before.

When you order, the cashier will turn her head toward the kitchen and cry, “Biscuits!” in a way that means business.

After a dip in the fryer, the hot biscuits tumble around in cinnamon-sugar until they’re generously coated. They come 10 to an order and are served with locally-made apple butter, which is sold by the jar, too, at the shop.

“I’d say on a Saturday, we probably go through 150 orders of biscuits,” Gredy says.

They’re almost too hot to eat immediately. A little expert advice: Tear one in half and let some steam escape, then slather the apple butter on the insides.