THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED 12th & Porter

THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED 12th & Porter Restaurant Review:

Brace yourself for this highly alternative experience. First there's the industrial gulch in which the restaurant is located. Then there's the all-black interior, and the pierced-and-tattooed servers attired in thrift store clothing. Oh yes, and the conversation-prohibiting decibels issuing forth from the speakers...and the impossibility of procuring a table, with or without a reservation, on a show night. But what else would you expect from a restaurant the does double-duty as one of the best live music venues in the Music City? Owner Jody Faison is a legend in the industry, as much for his larger-than-life personality as his personality-packed restaurants. This place still has some of the old magic. Pizzas and burgers, the lunchtime classics, are also recommended for dinner, mostly because they go so nicely with beer and live music, but also because if you get squeezed out of your chair at this notoriously crowded spot, you can still continue to eat them. Not so with the pasta, but it still gets plenty of takers. A longtime favorite is the Pasta Ya-Ya, andouille and chicken in a spicy cream sauce over noodles. Just about any recipe featuring the blackened chicken is a good bet.