Jim Webster
Tennessee may be synonymous for its music but there are a few culinary gems worth visiting, too, writes
R142 each).
The East Nasty is a biscuit with a fried chicken thigh, cheddar and sausage gravy. The Princess pays homage to the city’s signature hot chicken, popularised at Prince’s, with a spicy fried chicken thigh topped with pickles, mustard and honey.
If you’re looking for a restaurant that has the seemingly paradoxical endorsements of both the James Beard Foundation and Guy Fieri – and Nashville has more than one – get to Arnold’s Country Kitchen.
It’s a no-frills meat-and-three that’s been around since 1982 with decor built on a palate of cinder blocks and plywood that may be trendy now but feels true to utilitarian roots.
It’s open only for lunch and only on weekdays. Each day has four or five meat options – roast beef is always one, and there’s some kind of chicken and seafood – and twice that many sides – and the standard equation cost $10.74. You don’t have to get a meat, and you can get as many sides as you want, but really, it’s called a meat-and-three, and it seems like we should respect protocol.
When I went, it was chicken and dumpling day, so I got that. When picking sides, if you get white beans and turnip greens, you can take some chances with the third because you got those two right. Dessert is extra, but just $2.75 for a piece of pie that will remind you of your best family picnic memories.
If the spicy chocolate pie is among the rotating options, do yourself that favour.
The Germantown neighbourhood just north of down-town is packed with dining options, and the one getting the buzz lately is Henrietta Red, which made the James Beard list of best new restaurants this year and is led by chef Julia Sullivan, who was just named one of Food & Wine magazine’s best new chefs.
The oyster bar is the centrepiece of a pristine-white dining room and foretells the menu’s focus on seafood.
The raw bar features oysters sourced from all along the perimeter of the country ($2.75-$4 each), and the menu is made up of small, shareable plates with a laser focus on what’s in season now. That almost comes to a fault during a visit at the height of the peach season when we’re six plates in and realise that, inadvertently, we’re on our third in which the fruit plays an important role.
All is forgiven because they’re really good peaches, and each instance is a thoughtful use of them. Like the tomato salad ($14) with baked ricotta and peaches. And the polenta with sweet corn and peaches ($18).
Desserts are mostly simple, elegant affairs, but a sundae ($8) with a mix of lime, caramel and coffee, makes sense when you taste it. – The Washington Post.