Welcome to BlueShoe Café
A
Dining Guide to Nashville Restaurants, Cafés, Brewpubs, & Coffeehouses
Finding a restaurant in Nashville, Tennessee has just become easier. BlueShoe Nashville's Dining Guide features an alphabetized directory of Nashville dining choices, along with restaurants organized by neighborhood and by cuisine categories. You'll also find menus online; we're in the process of adding more menus to complete the directory so let us know if you're a restaurant owner or manager and would like your menu included.
News on the Nashville dining and entertainment scene:
[July 17, 2009]: We're pleased to feature the following critique of the restaurant scene in Nashville from two charming Brits, John and Alice Jukes of Didcot, Oxfordshire. They traveled to Tennessee last month for a taste of the music and food in Memphis and Nashville. At BlueShoe's CMA Music Festival Open House on Sunday, June 14, John spoke so engagingly and elegantly about food, we asked him if he would put his thoughts on paper. He graciously accepted and sent us the following piece on his and Alice's culinary experiences in Music City. Many thanks to them both for sharing their insights. Sometimes the perspective from an outsider affords us the best mirror for seeing ourselves afresh.
A Look at Nashville Restaurants, by John Jukes
We came to Nashville after four days in Memphis/Clarksdale eating 'Po-boy' food out of
polystyrene containers and plastic cutlery. We were expertly guided in our Memphis exploration by Sherman Willmott (author of the Kreature Comforts Guide to Memphis).
Our expectation was that Nashville cuisine would add subtle seasoning and spices to the
simple freshness of the food in Memphis. We were disappointed. The underlying flavours were
bland, buried under heavy batter with overcooked chicken and pork creating a dry crunchy
mass. The chefs need to understand the need for a lighter batter like tempura and cooking
quickly at high temperature to retain the moisture in the meat. Michelin star restaurants
serve meat pink without salmonella poisoning.
The steaks were average with one notable exception. The Stock-Yard restaurant had a
structured policy of aging the beef according to the cut, with the tougher cuts aged up to 45
days and the filet at 21 days. The other restaurants aged all the cuts at 21 days and it showed
particularly with the New York Strip steak.
The real highlight in Nashville was the quality of the Sushi at The KOTO sushi Bar, which was
unexpected considering the nearest port is 500 miles away. We have eaten Sushi in many
places including Japan and the Yellowtail sushi was clearly the best we have eaten. The Tuna
(Toro and Contoro) were among the best.
KOTO Sushi Bar (421 Union Street)
We had early dinner twice at the Restaurant on our way to the CMA Music Festival concerts at LP Field. My wife had seafood salad on both occasions, while my son and I had selections of sushi and sashimi. The quality of the fish was exceptional, the portions generous and at a cost of $33 per head, I was surprised that the place was half empty. The reviews in Nashville Scene, Citysearch, and Gayot are lukewarm but the 83% score in Urbanspoon make it the most popular restaurant in Nashville.
Capitol Grill (Hermitage Hotel - 231 Sixth Ave N)
After Memphis we looked forward to Lunch at the Capital Grille. It was clearly a place for power
lunches at an affordable $20 per head. The meal started well with a Vidalia Onion Bisque
incorporating a miniature brie cheese sandwich in the soup. My wife was disappointed
with her Crab Salad for taste and portion size, comparing unfavourably with the seafood salad at Kotos. The main course of American Kobe Hanger Steak Salad worked well, not full Kobe
standard but comparable to Wangyu beef. The final bill came to $45 per head only partially due
to the wine cost.
The final meal at the Capitol Grille was brunch, instead of a buffet it was a variation of the
lunch menu. The Spicy Tomato Soup was good but the Tennessee Jack Sandwich did not work
at all. Whisky flavoured sourdough toast is fine but the filling of egg, green salad and ham was
a failure. The ham was not strong enough to provide a counterpoint to the egg and toast
flavours, and the green stuff was a complete distraction. The overall cost was $42 per head.
The Merchants (421 Broadway)
We visited the restaurant twice and the results were uneven. The first time the food was good
and the service excellent and the second time the food was only OK and the service poor.The ambience is ersatz French bistro, but not unpleasant.
First time we had Baby Back Ribs, smoked salmon dip starter, slow country Shrimp and Grits
and Cajun Crawfish ravioli, all of which were competently prepared and a little bland. The
cowboy baked beans were above average and the spicy lobster cream sauce went well with the<
shrimp and andouille sausage . The overall cost was $49 per head.
The second time we had the Slow Roasted Prime beef rib, Shrimp and Lobster fondue starter
and the seasoned sirloin steak. The overall execution was poor, the prime rib was dry and gray
the cheese sauce overwhelmed the flavour of the shrimp/ lobster and the steak was chewy.
The cost was $39 per head.
The lack of aging of the sirloin steak was a problem. In the UK this cut of beef is called a rump
steak and is a cheap cut. Sirloin is the topside of the loin and is the premium cut for grilled
steak in the UK, similar to Entrecote in France. Fillet steak is either pan-fried or roasted.
Palm (1140 Fifth Ave. S)
The restaurant chain has a welcoming atmosphere, particularly after the bustle of CMA Fan Fair. The booths give a measure of privacy and the paintings of celebrities is apposite after chasing autographs at the convention centre.
The food is competent and well prepared. We ate there twice, the first occasion included a
lobster special for two people and we ended up spending $70 per head but the next time it was
only $39 on the more standard menu.
Stock-Yard (901 Second Ave. N)
Frommers considers the Stock-Yard less pretentious than the Palm, but with its chandeliers
and seventeen individual dining rooms it can feel comfortable. When we dined there on Sunday
evening it was empty and the 750 cover capacity and 20+ shuttle buses mainly idle.
The food was spectacular, deep fried lobster tails and filet mignon aged on the bone. A unique
experience. Sautéed Lobster Tails would probably have worked better, the batter did not add to the flavour or texture. A Tempura batter would be an improvement.
The Filet Mignon was sensational, aging on the bone improves the flavour and with a Cajun crustwas close to perfection. My wife had it without the crust and it was just as good. The only issue was the bill, at $120 per head with only a glass of wine (filet $59 per head), it was expensive. You have to pay for quality. The Filet Mignon on the bone has only been available for two years at the restaurant and its Chicago branch. I am not aware of any other restaurant that serves this cut of beef.
Alice and John Jukes of Didcot, Oxfordshire, England
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