Southern Comfort Food

Southern

Comfort Food

Like any Southern town worth its salt, Franklin has a variety of incredible local restaurants serving up classic Southern comfort food you’ll never forget. Immerse yourself in the best fried chicken, hot chicken, BBQ, and homemade sides you’ll find anywhere in the South. Save room

for quintessential Southern desserts, including chess pie, deep-fried Oreos, fudge pie, and more. Come hungry!

Puckett’s Grocery & Restaurant is practically an institution in Franklin. With its winning combo of live music, fantastic BBQ, and classic sides, it’s no wonder Puckett’s has been featured on the Travel Channel’s Food

Paradise and Burgers, Brews, and Que. Order the BBQ platter to sample a little of everything, or the Piggy Mac, cherry wood smoked pulled pork in a skillet, topped with mac n’ cheese and biscuit crumbs!

A hidden gem in Franklin, Cool Café is an old-school Southern meat-and-three. You can’t go wrong with their fried chicken, meatloaf, and fried catfish as good as grandma used to make. Choose from an impressive number of sides, including fried okra, turnip greens, yellow squash, and more. Make sure you save room for homemade banana pudding!

It might be easier to say which shows haven’t featured the incredible BBQ from Martin’s Bar-B-Que Joint than naming who has! Safe to say, though, whether it was the TODAY Show, Iron Chef Eats, or Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives, they all got to experience the “whole hog” process that makes Martin’s famous. Try the Redneck Taco, a local favorite, featuring cornbread hoecake with your choice of meat, topped with slaw.

It’s not a trip to Franklin without a stop at Merridee’s Breadbasket. Opening up in a former hardware store in 1984, Merridee’s has been serving their incredible menu that includes local favorites like biscuits and gravy, stuffed French toast, chicken salad sandwiches, and more. Don’t skip dessert here - you’ll love their peanut butter pie, molasses cookies, and a huge selection of sweets, featured in Southern Living Magazine and the Food Network’s Best of Bakers show!

If you’re in the mood for comfort food, head to Bishop’s Meat & 3. From perfect fried chicken (and incredible hot chicken) to turkey and dressing, you’ll find Southern home cooking at its finest. Bishop’s takes their homemade sides and desserts seriously too - don’t miss the carrot souffle, mac n’ cheese, and chess pie!

Big Shakes is a Franklin favorite that you might know from the hit show Shark Tank and Food Network! Known

for its next-level hot chicken and hot fish, you’ll want to pace yourself with the heat levels and opt for the cry baby (mild) or, if you’re feeling especially brave, try the executioner (super hot). Reward yourself with a few deepfried Oreos to top off your meal!