On the outskirts of Nashville, just east of the Natchez Trace Parkway lies The Loveless Cafe. For over 70 years, people in the know have traveled to taste their famous country ham with coffee-spiked red eye gravy , country fried steak, cheesy hash brown casserole, and what some say are the most legendary biscuits in Tennessee.
Now a long-standing institution, The Loveless Cafe began as a love story. In 1951, Lon and Annie Loveless began serving fried chicken and biscuits with homemade preserves to hungry travelers on the front porch of their bungalow-style home, conveniently located on Highway 100. Through word of mouth, their down-home cooking became so popular, the couple converted their home into a full-fledged restaurant and built a 14-room motel for overnight guests. Although the motel is now a private event venue and ownership of the cafe has changed hands a couple of times, the made-from-scratch menu has remained.
The Fluffiest Biscuits
Although you can purchase The Loveless Cafe’s biscuit mix through Amazon , or directly from the Loveless Hams & Jams Country Market (built adjacent to the cafe in 2004), there are many copycat recipes available online. Like any great Southern biscuit recipe, the version at Loveless recognizes the importance of buttermilk , its lactic acid content mixing with baking soda to create a biscuit that’s both soft and fluffy.
” A Taste of The Loveless Cafe ,” a cookbook sold online and at their Country Market, does not reveal the full recipe for their incredible biscuits, instead directing readers to purchase their mix. But there is one title called ” Desserts from the Famous Loveless Cafe ” by pastry chef Alisa Huntsman that lists a version. It’s possible that it’s the cafe’s own recipe, as Huntsman worked at the cafe in 2005, but nothing is definitive. It’s a straightforward buttermilk biscuit recipe with all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, butter, and buttermilk, but we suspect the real secret lies in the smaller size (closer to 2 inches in diameter) and brushing the dough with butter before popping them in the oven…