If you are looking for great food and music in a honky-tonk atmosphere and don’t want to drive to Nashville, head to Hank’s Honky Tonk on Memorial Boulevard. With live music seven days a week, happy hour specials, a variety of delicious food, a full bar, friendly service and regular patrons, Hank’s will wet your whistle and satisfy your appetite for excellence in food and song.
Upon stepping inside this intimate, charming, impeccably clean space, you’ll find a small stage, several spacious, high-top tables and a well-stocked bar that runs the length of the restaurant. Images of popular country musicians are backlit, shining light on legends along the main wall.
Sometimes the word “honky-tonk” conjures ideas of greasy, frozen bar food, but not here. Hank’s smells great and the food is delectable. This is a place worth coming to just for the food quality alone.
Boasting an extensive menu filled with unique creations, the only trouble you’ll have is deciding what to try. The dishes I tried were not only flavorful and well-prepared, they were also visually pleasing.
Kitchen manager and chef Gage Estes has created an innovative menu with creations such as Nashville hot fries: french fries tossed in hot rub and topped with blue cheese; pulled pork tacos with kale and Hank’s crema; and build your own nachos, a dish that offers a choice of tortilla chips, fries, pork rinds or Hank’s potato chips as a base, topped with beer cheese, pulled pork, chili, cheddar cheese, ground beef, bacon, blue cheese, jalapeños or fresh veggies.
I had the pleasure of dining with a local newspaper publishing couple and their vibrant 9-year-old son. He was so impressed by the fried chicken’s tenderness, the freshly fried pork rinds and his double bacon cheeseburger, that he gave Hank’s a ranking of “150 stars.” (If it’s child-approved, it’s got to be good.)
First we sampled a mixture of appetizers:
Chicken bites: hand-cut and lightly breaded fried chicken
Lemon-pepper chicken wings: delectably dry-rubbed and full of flavor
’Boro hot chicken wings: a special creation of Estes’ combining a traditional Nashville dry hot rub with honey, fiercely flavorful and balanced
Fresh fried pork rinds: golden, crisp, warm and fresh
Every piece was devoured and the various sauces added to the satisfaction. Hank’s sauce is a chipotle-spiced mayo made in-house, and their peach BBQ sauce is Middle Tennessee sourced from Captain Rodney’s Private Reserve, perfect for dipping. The chicken bites were tender and juicy but not at all greasy. Same with the wings; they have a mouth-watering clean and crisp texture. Ordinarily, I avoid eating Nashville Hot in order to preserve my taste buds, but the special ’Boro hot was a balanced flavor-explosion, with sweet to add to the heat, more like a firework than a fire bomb.
We then shared in our praises for the pulled-pork tacos’ combination of texture and flavor.
The fried pork tenderloin was lightly breaded with a nice dry finish. The local newspaper publisher “highly recommend[s] eating it with the Peach BBQ sauce.”
My chicken slider stood tall and tasted divine, a lightly-breaded, satisfying portion of non-greasy fried-chicken in an adorable brioche bun. I added Hank’s sauce to mine.
Ken and Gina Strode opened Hank’s Honky Tonk in 2017 and named it after Ken’s grandfather, Hank—a “dream come true” once the location became available.
“We love going to Nashville to eat and listen to live music, but the drive back and forth became tiring. We decided to bring the best of Nashville right here. It’s a place we can enjoy, close to home,” explained Gina. “See the people at the bar? They have been visiting since the first day we opened!” she said with a broad smile.
“We fell in love with the honky-tonks in downtown Nashville,” Ken said. Living in Murfreesboro since 2005, he wanted one of his own, and here it is.
Other than Ken insisting on the inclusion of the fried pork tenderloin, flat-iron steak and a Chicago-style dog, Estes has a lot of creative freedom with the menu.
Ken likes the beer cheese poured over the pork rinds. Gina enjoys the occasional wedge salad. One recent Murfreesboro diner said the Shrimp Po Boy was excellent and that he would be returning.
Estes likes giving people good food and choices. I’ll definitely go back.
Hank’s has recently opened for Sunday brunch, from 10 a.m.–2 p.m. on Sundays, and a new menu will come soon. For the upcoming music schedule and to view the menu, visit hankshonkytonk.com.
Next time you are hungry or thirsty, want some good food, a drink or live music, you know where to go: Hank’s Honky Tonk. I’d love to hear your thoughts and see what you ate. Please share your experience with us.
Hank’s Honky Tonk
2341 Memorial Blvd.
Mon.–Thurs.: 12 p.m.–12 a.m.; Fri.–Sat.: 12 p.m.–1 a.m.; Sun.: 10 a.m.–10 p.m.
Shrimp Po Boy: $9.99; Pulled pork tacos (2): $6.99; Flat iron steak: $14.99; Tenderloin sandwich: $9.99; Honky tonk burger: $10.99; Grilled chicken with two sides: $10.99
615-410-7747
hankshonkytonk.com
