The Queso Connection

Come hungry, not just queso hungry. Rosepepper is an East Nashville institution for Sonoran-style Mexican food, with enchiladas, tacos, burritos, chimichangas and plenty of chile-forward dishes alongside famously potent margaritas. But for the Trail, start with the chile con queso and those flour tortilla chips, which are a textural dream and earn this stop a Beyond the Chip tag. I took myself here for Easter lunch on the patio shortly after my mama died. It remains one of those tables that taught me eating alone doesn't mean you're waiting for someone else to arrive. Sometimes taking yourself to lunch is its own little act of resurrection.