Jim's Favorite Places to Eat
Critic picks 13 great places
Jim's favorite places to eat
Critic picks 13 great places
By JIM MYERS
Staff Writer, The Tennessean
Published: Friday, 06/22/07
What's your favorite place to eat?"
I usually avoid the question with politician-quality deflections like, "It depends what I'm in the mood for," which of course begets, "Then what are your top five?"
So, pressed by my fabulous expense-account-approving editors to come up with a list of 10, I wrestled it down to 13, a writer's dozen.
Let's be clear; this isn't a "Best of Nashville" list. Dismiss any notions of Michelin stars and Top 10 rankings. These are simply my favorite restaurants right now.
I used a pinch of quantifiable criteria and whole lot of intangibles, including the sheer vibe of the place. It contains high-end places and joints where ripped jeans are fine.
And so there's no jockeying for position, I've alphabetized the list. Dig in.
Capitol Grille
231 Sixth Ave. N. (in Hotel), 345-7116
This remains one of the prettiest rooms in the city and even the men's bathroom is a wonder of the world. Chef Tyler Brown's deft blend of sous vide cookery with beautiful presentation and well-executed classics makes this a wonderfully integrated experience. It's ranks as one of best "special occasion" restaurants around.
Carolyn's Homestyle Kitchen
330 Charlotte Ave, 255-1008
It's hard to choose among all the great meat-and-threes, but Carolyn is here because I've never had a bad piece of fried chicken, and that's high cotton in my book. She also starts her hand-peeled potatoes from scratch each morning and the greens are always fresh. And if the food weren't enough, I like that it feels like the late '60s the moment you walk in.
Eastland Cafe
97 Chapel Avenue, 627-1088
This east Nashville makeover is a model for casual sophistication, as well as a blueprint for restaurant-neighborhood integration. Inside it's European cafe sensibility, while outside there's a great front porch and back deck. What I really like about chef Hal Holden-Bache is his way with one of the best porterhouses around, and how he subverts tradition with steamed mussels in a coconut curry broth.
Hanabi Japanese Restaurant
214 Ward Circle, Brentwood, 376-2380
Great sushi anchors this gem deeply hidden in the folds of Maryland Farms, but the native specialties such as unctuous hamachi kama (grilled yellowtail cheeks), and chawan mushi (a savory baked custard) mark it as truly authentic. The fact that it's a haunt for Japanese business types relocated to our automotive corridor attests to its quality.
International Market
2010 Belmont Blvd., 297-4453
Owner Patti Myint is the doyenne of Thai cooking in Nashville, having breached our palates as far back as the '70s. The affordable steam table has fed generations of poor students, but the real treat is the menu taped to the wall, listing cooked-to-order specialties like pad Thai, pad see eew and a curative chicken soup.
Margot Cafe & Bar
1017 Woodland St., 227-4668
One of the city's coziest spaces, the rustic decor is totally in sync with the simple comfort foods of chef Margot McCormack. A proponent of local ingredients, she embraces the seasons, so the menu ebbs and flows with what she can find. She then creates farmhouse views of rural Europe. One day you're celebrating the valleys and truffles of the Perigord, and the next you're elbow deep in Tuscan stew. What I admire most are singular flavors without superfluous ingredients.
Martin's Bar-B-Que Joint
7215 Nolensville Road, Nolensville
776-1856
Patrick Martin can talk about barbecue all day long. That's the kind of passion he brings to the altar of meat and smoke, and his chicken, ribs and pulled pork rank among the area's best and most consistent. I have yet to find a better corn cake, and in these parts, you better make your corn cakes right if you're serving barbecue.
Ombi
2214 Elliston Place, 320-5350
A swanky room with cantilevered wood panels and a steel curtain that bisects the shotgun space, Ombi is a modernist escape. But the food is what elevates the experience, where co-chefs Kim Totzke and Laura Wilson deliver one-two punches that make you say, "Wow." I love that pork belly is at home with gravlax, and the foie gras-laden burger remains my guiltiest pleasure. You won't find a better rye whiskey list, anywhere.
Parco Cafe
207 Third Ave. N., 259-7863
Chef Fu and his wife are lessons in dynamic humility, and their funky, underground restaurant secreted off Printer's Alley remains, sadly, too secret. Go for the bouillabaisse, the rock salt shrimp and the opera torte and you'll appreciate the charms of what I think is one of the best chefs in our city. Period.
Prince's Hot Chicken Shack
123 Ewing Drive, 226-9442
Hot chicken rules our roost, and Nashville has the bird that will make your tongue cry and your sinuses weep. Perched on two slices of white bread is a bone-in piece of fried chicken, staining them red with greasy drippings. It is a thing of beauty that triggers spontaneous sweating, and owner André Prince is the undisputed queen mother of hot chicken.
Sportsman's Grille
1601 21st Ave. S., 320-1633
This spot is the closest thing to the corner bar-and-grills of my Milwaukee home. Regulars hunker down; it's just dark enough; and though I've eaten here many times, I always order the catfish basket. Catfish isn't a Northern thing, but Friday fish fries are, and Sportsman's channels that ethos. Plus, you'll find a steady flow of good beers, and that's fine by me.
Watermark
507 12th Ave. S., 254-2000
Finally, a restaurant that can elevate new Southern cuisine and back it up with sophisticated grace. Watermark and chef Joe Shaw prove that you can envelop guests in understatement and prove your points with elegant plates. Take the flavor arc of humble grits, which hit their apogee when interpreted as a soufflé with goat cheese and apple-smoked bacon. In fact, a dinner of small plates at the bar is one of my favorite evenings out.
Woodland's Indian Restaurant
3415 West End Ave., 463-3005
I've always said I could be a vegetarian if it weren't for bacon. Woodland's reminds a schlub like me that I can enjoy a meal and not miss the meat. It's less dumbed down than other Indian buffets, with fully vibrant flavors, assorted pickles, relishes, sauces and breads.
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