J. D. 's Sandwich Shop in Cookeville, Tennessee

Cookeville, Tennessee is not a town known for its nightlife. Situated almost directly in the middle of Nashville, Knoxville, and Chattanooga, it is a good place to live, and it is growing. It has gained tremendous number of restaurants in recent years, but the entertainment segment of the night life hasn't quite caught up. Family entertainment is limited to a movie theater and bowling alley. The largest dance club is Cotton-Eyed Joes. There are: however, a fairly large number of small bars and clubs scattered around if you can just find them. J. D. 's Sandwich Shop is one of these.

J. D's is located at 670 East 22nd Street in Cookeville. If you can find 22nd street you're golden. If you hit the square from Jefferson, just get on Washington go out of town and take a left. It will be on your left. The outside is not too impressive, but go on in. You won't be sorry.

As far as the name goes, J. D. owns it and they serve some excellent sandwiches, not to mention some killer Nachos. The pricing is reasonable, and they give you a lot of food for the money. They have 30 brands of beer on draft and the drinks are very reasonable in price. Let me repeat that, very reasonable in price. I got out of the place having spent only half of what I expected. We ate, drank, listed to good music and had money left over.

The service was excellent as was the entertainment. J. D. 's has live entertainment, a nice pool table and two electronic dartboards. I didn't try to stress the bar requirements too much, sticking mostly to Corona, but I did have a rum and coke. They made it just the way I asked. I also had a draft beer. They keep both domestic and import on tap, and as I said they have a wide selection. My wife had a Rueben she said was good, and I had a very large plate of super nachos with chili with my imported draft.

J. D.' s is not a large place, and there was not a dance floor. The stage wasn't large, but there was plenty of seating, several tables, and a large bar. The band playing was Reverend Mad Dog and the Skeleton Crew. It was good old rock. They did some of their own stuff and covered AC/DC, Ozzy, Lynard Skynard, John Cougar Mellencamp, ZZ Top, you get the idea I hope. It's more a neighborhood bar than a dance club, but the atmosphere was friendly and the music good. I felt comfortable and at home my first time there. I am planning a return trip very soon.

I had never heard one of J. D.'s and I've worked in and around Cookeville for years. I discovered the place because of the band, which I will also review separately on this site. I found Reverend Mad Dog on myspace.com, and he listed J. D.'s as his nearest show. Apparently you have to find these places by word of mouth or by accident. If I find any other cool places, I will let everyone know just like I am now. Hit J. D.'s, get a drink, eat, listen to some cool music, play darts. What more could you want in a weekend then good food, good drinks, and good friends? You can find all that at J. D.'s. You might even catch me there; I'll be the guy with the Corona and lime and giant plate of chili nacho's. Come over, say hi, have a seat and chill.