I'm Here in Nashville's Pie Town: A Taco Joint with a Twist

As I stand in the heart of Nashville's south side, surrounded by the city's vibrant downtown area, I find myself in an unexpected neighborhood known as pie town. The shape of this neighborhood is indeed reminiscent of a traditional pie, but that's not the only thing that catches my attention here. I'm on a mission to explore Ptown Tacos, a joint that has taken the reins after its founder, Jason Crockett, lost 90% of his business due to the pandemic. Despite the setback, he adapted and overcame, opening up this taco joint to keep his loved ones employed.

Ptown Tacos is a testament to resilience in the restaurant business, where creativity and innovation are key to survival. The story behind this taco joint began with Jason Crockett's catering company, which has been a staple in Nashville since 2006. However, when the pandemic hit, his business plummeted, leaving him with no choice but to open up Ptown Tacos to keep everyone working. As I enter the restaurant, I'm greeted by a warm atmosphere and a diverse crowd of patrons all eager to try out this new venture.

The menu at Ptown Tacos is an amalgamation of various flavors and cuisines, with each dish bearing its unique twist. One of the standout items on the menu is the tofu rice and bean bowl, which boasts a distinct flavor that's unlike anything else in Nashville. For those who are fans of Jason Crockett's catering company, this taco joint is a must-visit destination. As I chat with one of the patrons wearing a Ptown Tacos shirt, I realize that there's a loyal fan base behind this venture.

The team at Ptown Tacos takes pride in their dishes, which range from traditional tacos to innovative combinations of flavors and textures. One of the most impressive items on the menu is the Hot Chicken Nachos, a creation that brings together two iconic Nashville staples – hot chicken and nachos. The chef takes me through the process of making this masterpiece, starting with the preparation of a special blend of spices and chili. They then proceed to dredge the chicken in a mixture of flour, Cayenne pepper, black pepper, kosher salt, and other seasonings before frying it to perfection.

As we wait for the Hot Chicken Nachos to be prepared, the chef regales me with stories about the inspiration behind this dish and the technique used to create its signature flavor. The finished product is a testament to their hard work and dedication, featuring crispy tortilla chips smothered in a rich queso sauce, topped with juicy hot chicken, katilla cheese, and chopped cantro. It's clear that every element of this dish has been carefully considered to create something truly special.

For those who are eager to try out Ptown Tacos' famous Hot Chicken Nachos, the chef warns them to be prepared for an unforgettable experience. When I finally take a bite, I'm blown away by the explosion of flavors and textures on my palate. The combination of crunchy tortilla chips, creamy queso sauce, spicy hot chicken, and savory cheese is nothing short of genius. It's clear that Ptown Tacos has hit the mark in delivering an authentic Nashville culinary experience.

In a city where food trucks and restaurants come and go, it's refreshing to see a new venture like Ptown Tacos making waves with its innovative approach to traditional dishes. As I leave this vibrant taco joint, I'm left with a lasting impression of Jason Crockett's resilience and creativity in the face of adversity.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enso I'm here in Nashville on the south side of downtown in an area known as pie town I guess it's cu the neighborhood's shaped like a pie but anyhow here to check out a joint where a dude had a catering company and well pandemic hits loses 90% of his business but he adapts and overcomes as we do in the restaurant business and opens up a taco joint to keep everybody working this is Ptown tacos if you can drop me two grilled fish P Town's just different has that unique flavor to it tofu rice and bean Bowl you guys got a P toown Taco shirt on you think you might like the place do you work here no I don't work here you just have the shirt got to be a big fan all the time and that fan base began with Jason crock roll's catering company which has been a Nashville staple since 2006 yall doing all right but it wasn't until 20120 that he took on tacos Co hit you know our business went down and so we got all these people we love and care about we got to keep them working so we opened it up started selling some tacos here's your outp store tacos I love this s of food I love Nachos and Tacos and bowls with rice and beans hot chicken nachos up this is like the grandal opery of queso and naille Hot Chicken all combined it's amazing what's up next we're going to make the queso for the hot chicken nachos you get a little veget oiled butter onion in garlic koser salt cumin flour cook off that R green chilies chicken stock half and half we'll start dropping the cheese in little by little melted in there the goodness going over the top nachos was that going that was going over the top yeah yeah culinary sign language going over top what's our next step a chicken spice guo chili some AR Bowl well you're not missing the hot part here no we use the pikin chili Cayenne onion powder garlic powder coaster salt and some sugar and we're going to bloom this in that hot oil brings out all that flavor out of those spices and how are we dredging that chicken chicken Breer chicken Breer chicken breader don't y'all know chicken bre everybody knows chicken bre come on now come on flour Cayenne pepper black pepper kosher salt a little bit more of that guo chili garlic powder onion powder milk powder is a binding agent in there for the chicken we'll add water to it to make a wet butter so we'll go wet dry dye or Dy always Dy like what this guy rolls yeah chicken we just fried it up that spice that we bloomed earlier full hot Nashville Hot Chicken style tortilla chips queso qu so you going to put that on qu so I hear you brother throw that hot chicken right over the top katilla cheese chop cantro That's All She Wrote no hey you look good now you get a little hanger there little hanger okay I don't think you could ever say a little hanger and ever have it sound good those good chips great texture amazing crunch the ca is perfect good cheese sauce I can't shovel it in my mouth fast enough by the way when you tell people in Nashville that they're getting Nashville hot Che chicken nachos you got to deliver legit my friend we got some hot chicken nachos how legit is the hot chicken I mean it's the best you can get right this part of the spices and everything best queso in town it's just deliciousso I'm here in Nashville on the south side of downtown in an area known as pie town I guess it's cu the neighborhood's shaped like a pie but anyhow here to check out a joint where a dude had a catering company and well pandemic hits loses 90% of his business but he adapts and overcomes as we do in the restaurant business and opens up a taco joint to keep everybody working this is Ptown tacos if you can drop me two grilled fish P Town's just different has that unique flavor to it tofu rice and bean Bowl you guys got a P toown Taco shirt on you think you might like the place do you work here no I don't work here you just have the shirt got to be a big fan all the time and that fan base began with Jason crock roll's catering company which has been a Nashville staple since 2006 yall doing all right but it wasn't until 20120 that he took on tacos Co hit you know our business went down and so we got all these people we love and care about we got to keep them working so we opened it up started selling some tacos here's your outp store tacos I love this s of food I love Nachos and Tacos and bowls with rice and beans hot chicken nachos up this is like the grandal opery of queso and naille Hot Chicken all combined it's amazing what's up next we're going to make the queso for the hot chicken nachos you get a little veget oiled butter onion in garlic koser salt cumin flour cook off that R green chilies chicken stock half and half we'll start dropping the cheese in little by little melted in there the goodness going over the top nachos was that going that was going over the top yeah yeah culinary sign language going over top what's our next step a chicken spice guo chili some AR Bowl well you're not missing the hot part here no we use the pikin chili Cayenne onion powder garlic powder coaster salt and some sugar and we're going to bloom this in that hot oil brings out all that flavor out of those spices and how are we dredging that chicken chicken Breer chicken Breer chicken breader don't y'all know chicken bre everybody knows chicken bre come on now come on flour Cayenne pepper black pepper kosher salt a little bit more of that guo chili garlic powder onion powder milk powder is a binding agent in there for the chicken we'll add water to it to make a wet butter so we'll go wet dry dye or Dy always Dy like what this guy rolls yeah chicken we just fried it up that spice that we bloomed earlier full hot Nashville Hot Chicken style tortilla chips queso qu so you going to put that on qu so I hear you brother throw that hot chicken right over the top katilla cheese chop cantro That's All She Wrote no hey you look good now you get a little hanger there little hanger okay I don't think you could ever say a little hanger and ever have it sound good those good chips great texture amazing crunch the ca is perfect good cheese sauce I can't shovel it in my mouth fast enough by the way when you tell people in Nashville that they're getting Nashville hot Che chicken nachos you got to deliver legit my friend we got some hot chicken nachos how legit is the hot chicken I mean it's the best you can get right this part of the spices and everything best queso in town it's just delicious\n"