Queso Fundido / Downtown Nashville / Iconic / Vegetarian
Lona
Melted cheeses, salsa, tortillas, and a memorable wild-mushroom fundido make this one worth stepping behind the curtain for.
The Queso Connection
Sometimes you get to step behind the curtain and watch the magic happen. One of my favorite memories at Lona wasn't sitting at the table. It was getting invited into the kitchen with Chef Pablo Salas, hugging the man and standing there while he broiled a queso fundido with wild mushrooms until the cheese transformed under the heat. The mushrooms made the moment even better for me. I didn't even eat mushrooms until I was 26, around the time I started my food blog in 2008. Learning to love food changed the boundaries of my palate, and mushrooms became one of the foods I grew to adore. Today, Lona's menu keeps the fundido beautifully elemental: melted cheeses, salsa and tortillas. But I'll always remember mine with wild mushrooms, straight from the kitchen, and the privilege of watching a chef make the magic before I got to eat it. Sometimes food writing gets you a great table. Sometimes it gets you close enough to the salamander to watch the cheese blister.
WHAT TO ORDER
The queso briefing
Queso Fundido
A bubbling skillet of melted cheese with salsas and warm tortillas, with the option to add wild mushrooms or chorizo. My top tier move is the mushrooms, especially after getting to go into the kitchen and watch Chef Pablo Salas assemble the fundido himself. Some small moments are career highlights. This was one of mine.
“Sometimes food writing gets you close enough to the salamander to watch the cheese blister.”
WHERE TO LAND
Locations to visit
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