Food & Drink in Franklin

Naticakes is in the business of making life a bit sweeter. They do so by supplying customers with frozen yogurt and cupcakes in more than 30 flavors, including lemon-merengue cupcakes with toasted frosting, and rich devil's food cake with caramel buttercream frosting, sea salt, and dark-chocolate curls. Patrons also can opt for bite-size cupcakes or specialty cakes to share. Crafting delectable desserts isn't the only way Naticakes sweetens things up; the company also donates 10% of profits to support the Natalie Wynn Carter Foundation, an organization committed to improving the lives of children throughout the world.

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Tracy Rice has a lot of words for her gourmet cupcakes: whimsical, elegant, rustic, high-end. She isn't wrong, but these one-of-a-kind treats fall under the umbrella of Cowgirl's most defining aspect: its creativity. It hasn't gone unnoticed, either.

Cowgirl's creations have wowed audiences of CMT and Food Network, and are regularly consumed by celebrities such as Miranda Lambert and Bret Michaels. Small batches emerge from ovens every day, with 27 unique flavors donning top hats of frosting made of rich vanilla-bean buttercream, vanilla-bourbon custard, and chocolate-espresso ganache.

Some treats crown themselves in signature garnishes, such as golden Buddhas on cupcakes, colorful flags that billow above moon pies, and cloaks of chocolate that cover Oreos. Cowgirl's confectionary artists can also create custom sugar work to celebrate occasions such as birthdays, weddings, and a baby's first thumbs-up.

Though Dublin may be an ocean away, a perfect three-pour pint of Guinness can be found right in Franklin, Tennessee. A talented bartender at McCreary's Irish Pub & Eatery will even slide you a frosty imperial pint with a Celtic symbol drawn into the foam so you can marvel at a four-leaf clover or a full Yeats verse before taking a sip. The Irish lore doesn't stop at the beer—a complete menu of shepherd's pie, corned beef and cabbage, and signature fish ‘n’ chips fits right in with the rustic decor of Irish maps and vintage posters. On weekends, live bands play bouncy Irish music as diners chat at communal tables and feast on housemade soda bread or plates of whiskey-glazed salmon. Traditional Irish breakfasts, another weekend treat, rouse sleepy stomachs with steel-cut oats kissed with brown sugar or gargantuan ulster fry plates packed with bangers, bacon, corned beef, eggs, potatoes, and black-and-tan bread.

The story of Sperry’s Restaurant began in Jacksonville, Florida, with famed restaurateur and hotelier Burton W. Sperry, whose reputation for fine food and sterling service made him the toast of the South in the late 1800s. Fast-forward to 1974, when Sperry’s descendants—eager to uphold their great-great-grandfather’s commitment to dining excellence—started their own restaurant to honor his memory. Since opening its doors more than three decades ago, Sperry's Restaurant has expanded to two locations and developed a loyal following thanks to its continued dedication to cooking palate-pleasing steaks and seafood entrees and bending over backwards for its guests. The aroma of crab legs and bacon-wrapped filet mignon converge to form a culinary siren song for diners sitting at tables made from the hatch covers of World War II Liberty ships.

Nearly every day for more than 25 years, the owner of That Sub Place—a locally-owned, independent business—has worked in the store, hand-selecting the meats, cheeses, and produce he gets delivered to the sandwich shop each morning. After getting pumped up for the day with a few wind sprints, staff members pile bread with 40 different customized combinations of roast beef, honey-baked ham, and avocado for their regular 6-inch portions or their stretched-out 15-inch sandwiches, which diners can order cold, oven-baked, or steamed. Baked onsite daily, eight types of fresh-baked bread bookend cuts of chopped steak, chicken, and roast beef drizzled in 1 of 15 sauces, such as horseradish and chipotle mayo. Along with these subs, cooks custom-build salads with an array of lettuces, cheeses, and veggies such as sprouts and banana peppers.

Since its first restaurant—literally a small, converted shack—opened in 1980, Uncle Bud's has filled its menu of Southern-style eats with golden-brown morsels of fried catfish, chicken, and shrimp. Succulent strips of chicken are breaded by hand before plunging into the deep fryer, and everything from catfish fillets and frog legs to wild-gator tails pile onto dishes such as the Bayou platter. The scent of fried po’ boys fills the dining area, which is decorated with license plates and vintage camping supplies, where patrons can happily slake their hunger or pack up carryout containers with family-size helpings large enough to feed an entire terracotta army.