Burger Coda 7: Table 3 "You Can See Me On a Wednesday"

all photos ©2014 Mary Brace all rights reserved

At one time, not even that long ago, when we didn't yet hate suburbs with a passion, Green Hills was an acceptable destination for Nashville restaurant dining. People seemed happy with Shalimar, Indian food right on the Pike; Chinatown in one of the little side plazas; F. Scotts towered over it all as the grand dame and foundation of much good that got spread around town. As that long-loved haven prepares to shut its doors, Green Hills should be thankful the team is staying on with  Table 3.

I've eaten there a handful of times and always been pleased. On the occasions where there may have been a slight misfire, the overall experience showed a sincere effort to get things right. When you find yourself eating in a bistro that's serving up dishes with an average entrée price of about $21, the last thing in the world you want to be is that guy/girl who goes cheap for the burger.

Unless it's on Wednesday. Then you can go seriously cheap. No, like crazy cheap, and get one of the best burgers in Nashville — freshly ground, grass-fed, local, cooked to order — for an Abe. Not even Twin Kegs can top that.

Juiciness: 10 Well, just look at that plate! Moo.

Attractiveness: 6  Enough of the pretzel buns, already. On a good burger, they're a distraction from the main feature. I want to look at a burger and go, "wow, this looks like it's going to be really good," not, "oh, what an interesting bun."

Flavor: 8 This was the second time I've had Table 3's burger. Last time, it was much more medium and not at all rare, but both times, the flavor had a subtle brawny something going on underneath that pleases the tastebuds without overpowering. But if you like, ask your server to switch out the accompanying aoli for some mustard (Dijon, of course) and your burger almost becomes Sunday roast with horseradish.

Atmosphere: 8 Busy, casual upscale restaurant. Hard to argue with that. On one side of me was a mother and her ready-to-hit-the-half-pipe son, on the other, a pair of women who look like they got lost trying to find the theatre district, speaking in French. Yes, I know we don't have a theatre district. We don't have a half-pipe, either.

Digestivity: 10 No backlash or sluggishness at all on this puppy.

Overall: 8.5 ... BUT. On Wednesday, when you can get it (at the bar) for $5, the value added makes it a 10. Flat out.

p.s. - the Onion Soup would make a Canadian logger melt from homesickness.

Taj: Nashville Gets a Second Indian Restaurant Worth Returning To (especially for meat eaters)

     It's long been a gripe of mine and a number of others' that what was said to be the best Indian cuisine in town was at Woodlands, a vegetarian restaurant located inside a tower near I440. For my vegan friends, I'm happy for them that they got to have something to themselves, for a little while.

    The rest of us, our problem? The typical Nashville experience is to be served with an entree swimming in curry soup.
 
    I was a happy enough camper to find Bombay Palace on West End. It was the first place in Nashville where I found something that began to approach the quality of ingredients and preparation of what I'd been treated to in the UK.

All photos: ©2013 Mary Brace all rights reserved

                  Meanwhile, Nolensville Road's reputation for ethnic food  was sealed somewhere back in the late 1990s when its Mexican immigrants' culinary contributions were joined by Ethiopians and Thai. As Turkish and Middle East got added to the mix, more of Nashville's adventurous eaters flocked over. Most of what's available is street-food quality, but it's very good street food. The high end, though, has been lacking.

   It looks like, with the opening of Taj sometime in the middle of 2013, two birds have been hit and now can wind up on your dinner plate. Walking in, I was bowled over by the scent of spices in the air and could tell I was going to be in good hands.

    It was a weekday afternoon and I bypassed the buffet to order off the menu. What came out as the equivalent to chips and salsa were papadums and condiments; pickled onions, a yogurt sauce, and a hot pepper sauce. The second of the three, the green stuff in the top photo, didn't do very much for me, as I like it very spicy.


     My appetizer was Khasta Kachoti, a puff-pastry filled with unidentified spices and fruity things, and it was delightful. Joining it shortly after was Coconut Soup, and that was the only soupy thing I saw the whole meal. Both were fabulously light, neither were overpowering, and heat wasn't a factor.

     Where the heat did come into play was my entree, Hariyali Chicken. This is one that comes in a thick, yogurt-based curry sauce and I was asked at the time of ordering, how hot did I want it? (Answer: hot.)

    And it was hot, but not so much as the typical Nashville Hot Chicken dish. The poultry was about as tender as any you could find west of Franklin Road (which is another way of saying, most of the meat you're going to find in the Southeast quadrant of town is cooked in such a way to compensate the lack of freshness/quality). Rice, non-remarkable, garlic naan, colorful.

    Final take: it's not a surprise that a tasty new ethnic restaurant opened on Nolensville Road. But that it's Indian cuisine of this caliber, ought to make East and West Nashville both very, very jealous.

Nashville Hot Chicken Day 6: Hot Stuff

All photos ©Mary Brace 2013. All rights reserved

Here's another of the relative newcomers to Nashville Hot Chicken: Hot Stuff, in Antioch, has been with us since some time in 2010. Located in a fancy shmancy Bell Road strip mall just across Blue Hole Road from the Family Fun Center (ie, mini-golf), it's one of the lesser-known joints as that's not exactly a fashionable or touristy area. If the changes Metro is shepherding along in the former Hickory Hollow Mall take hold, who's to say how that may change.

I arrived shortly before 6 on a Sunday evening, placed my order (six tenders, two ways: 1/2 Hot and 1/2 Sweet Heat) and was served in about 20 minutes time. Here's the scoop:

Tenderness: 6* Because I ordered take-out for a change, it was a good 20 minutes before I got to the eating, so I'm adding on a point for the delay. The tenderness seemed about average at first but as I went on, the lack of it was more noticeable. Nashville Hot Chicken was Nashville still pretty warm chicken in this case.

Moisture: 6* Again, I'm giving Hot Stuff's tenders an additional point because of time in the box.

Grease: 9 Very little. The Sweet Heat batch had no noticeable grease.

Flavor: 7. The Sweet Heats didn't impress me, the Hots were better, although I have to say I think more of the flavor came from the coating than the chicken. On the downside, there was something a bit doughy about those coatings.

Atmosphere: 5. Flavorless strip mall.

Sides: 8. Not a lot of selection, but the fries were good. Thin crinkles with just the right amount of salt.

Overall: 7

I would make a return visit if I was in this part of town, if for no other reason than to eat them fresh out of the pan and see if it made a difference in tenderness & juice. Definitely worthy of consideration.

Loveless Cafe Burger: Hit Or Miss

All photos ©Mary Brace 2013. All rights reserved

I once thought I was finished rating Nashville's burgers, but no. Although Burger Up gave us what is still considered the meaty equivalent of the One Ring, others keep trying — and I'm happy for it. One of the less attractive aspects of Nashville's improved burger eats, since then, however, is the proliferation of restaurants serving a patty with a similar cost to Burger Up's (and others') locally-sourced and/or organic and/or grass fed beef, but without the same fresh beginnings. And although the Loveless does have a burger that's tasty enough to stop for, if there's not much of a tourist-filled line, it simply doesn't belong in the premium priced range. 

Juiciness: 5. Really, not so much. I ordered medium rare and yet the meat was pretty dry. Because it came to my table within 5-7 minutes of ordering, in a fairly well-packed restaurant, I have the suspicion it was pre-cooked and left to sit in meaty-flavored bath, the way sports and other concession stands do it. It probably doesn't help that the burger was flattened out so much.

Flavor: 8. That part was pretty good, actually. Especially on my first visit, when I got the pimento-cheese and bacon version pictured below. I was very impressed with that burger, but the plain cheeseburger just wasn't nearly as good. At least, not tonight.

 Attractiveness: 6. More mixed feelings. It's homely enough to be cute, but leaving this much surface area naked of cheese isn't cute at all. I did like the look of the bun (below) and the accompanying lettuce leaf looks fresh out of the garden. Mustard in packets? Meh.

Atmosphere: 10. Being the Loveless Cafe, this transcends your typical burger joint for style points. In spite of it being a family restaurant and tourist trap, it doesn't seem crazy loud, either.

Digestivity: 5.  Ah. There's a rub. It's been three hours since I've eaten, and there's too much of this burger lingering where I can still taste it, and sort of feel it by way of major sluggishness. Major. What I feel right now is the reason why so many people stopped going to places like McDonald's, Burger King and other corporate McChain burgers and instead came back to independent locals for their burgers.

 Overall experience: 6. Barely. Ouch! I was expecting to give this burger a much higher rating due to my previous visit, but the second time around was definitely not the charm. On the bright side, there aren't many burger joints that offer Mac & Cheese as a side, and Yazoo, too.

Nashville Hot Chicken Day 4: 400 Degrees

All photos @Mary Brace 2013. All rights reserved

Today's Nashville restaurants venture comes from another of the spiritual grandchildren of Prince's Hot Chicken: 400 Degrees. Owner Aqui Simpson grew up on Princes and now has her own place, tucked in a stand-alone food court at 4th & Peabody. I'd never been in a food court that wasn't attached to a mall, and while the signage for Quizno's and Nuvo Burrito was clear, I had to do a double-check to make sure I was at the right location.

400 Degrees is ready-made for franchising, if you're interested. I'm even tempted. For the record, we got the medium hot, 200 Degrees.

Tenderness: 8 ... this hot chicken could have been made by one of those food scientists you hear about, who come up with ways to give consumers something that's both crispy and tender at the same time.

Moisture: 8 That also was good although honestly, it was partly due to the sauce.

Grease 6: On the downside, there was more of it than I'd have liked. So much grease went into the underlying bread that it became easy to resist the urge to gobble up all of that, too.

Flavor: 9 A simple combo of cayenne & paprika, according to their literature. Like the saying goes, if all you've got are three chords, make sure they're good chords. 400 Degrees does it right.

Atmosphere: 6 Food court. Pretty anonymous homogenous.

Sides: Sides were limited, so I declined. Not taking any points away or giving.

Overall: 7.5. Love the dish, dislike the corporate atmosphere.

Nashville Hot Chicken Day 3: Tenn 16

Today's heat is brought to you by a restaurant that's new both to Nashville and the Nashville Hot Chicken scene. The Woodland Street digs (1016 — very clever, n'est ce pas?) have a New Orleans flair with open-window seating, Mardi Gras beads for chandeliers, and they're very, very proud of their po'boys. But that's not what induced me to sit down in the middle of East Nashville's Tomato Art Festival.

Tenderness: 10 Wow. I've had quite a lot of buttermilk-induced texture since this trek began and so far, Tenn 16 has it down.

Moisture: 8 These two, tenderness and moisture are no doubt, related. Tenn 16 had plenty, although it wasn't dripping chicken juices. An element of their coating added a little bit.

Grease: 6 But there was a little bit of that; plenty of sauce soaked into the bread below the meat.

Flavor: 8 This Nashville restaurant's hot chicken has an element I haven't tasted anywhere else (yet). Rather than rely on cayenne (although I'm sure there's some) Tenn 16 uses a ginger/white pepper combo that's distinctive without over powering the chicken itself.

Atmosphere: 10 I am a sucker for those window seats. If you are a people watcher, this is a destination spot in Nashville.

Sides: 5 The dish automatically comes with coleslaw. I didn't think to ask for something different and, as I'm not a slaw eater, can't tell you how Tenn 16's ranked.

Overall: 8

Yet Another Burger Coda: Pharmacy

    Oh, Pharmacy. Why do I always have such mixed feelings about your burger? I love your East Nashville restaurant space. I love the back deck. I love the Beer Garden. I love the shakes. I want to love your burger,  I really, really do and this visit, I almost did. Actually, I did, for about an hour and then .. well, I'll get to that.
    East Nashville's bid for the perfect burger experience starts and ends at the Pharmacy, as far as I'm concerned.

Don't click this if you don't want to drool

      Few other Nashville restaurants have put as much thought into the overall experience as the team behind Holland House did when they opened their little burger joint just up the block, at McFerrin. In addition to the brick and mortar, the outdoor Beer Garden brought to Nashville an experience I'd previously only experienced in the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco.
    There have been some changes since the Pharmacy first opened, in early 2012.

    What was a mix of typical restaurant tables on the back deck and pub-style seating everywhere else is now almost entirely pub-style.
Also, the burger itself has improved in a big way. In my previous visits, although the presentation and atmosphere were top notch, what was between the bun wasn't all that much to write home about.

    I'll get to that, too.

 Juiciness: 6 Plenty moist as you can see from the photos, dripping was minor at best.

Attractiveness: 8 Just as Rod Stewart once looked far sexier with his clothes on (and probably still does) the Pharmacy burger looks better with its top on, too.

All photos ©Mary Brace 2013. All rights reserved

 On this particular visit I share partial blame because of a communication error that left me initially cheeseless. But as you can see to the photo at right, when fully dressed this is one bad-ass looking burger.

Flavor: 9 I don't know if they switched suppliers, or have made wider, less vertical patty that gets more and better browning, or if it's a seasoning change, but the flavor from a year ago has been jacked up for the better.

Atmosphere: 10 This Nashville Restaurant is appropriate for everything from Sunday brunch with the kids to a late Friday night out.

Digestivity: 6 The single disappointment of this visit was, an hour after finishing, I felt like I'd over-indulged at Logan's. You know, that sluggy feeling you get from one roll too many? One something loaded with trans-fats too many? Another hour later the feeling had passed, but it's not something I'd want to return to the office with.

Overall: 8 I'll be back and in less than a year, next time. Might skip the fries, though.

Day 10 - Burger's Up: Mary's Notes

Our intention this day was to visit another of Nashville's traditional burger dives, but the hours listed on the web were wrong and we needed something that was open already at 10:30. So we drove from the Nolensville Road area to Melrose and our second choice wasn't open yet, either. Went four streets over and Burger Up, the new venture from the owner of the Frothy Monkey, was unlocked and ready for business, or at least it was ready to serve a margarita. Here's how it went:

Juiciness - 6. Most of the 1/2 teaspoon or so of drippage was in the form of grease more than juice.

Flavor - 10. There it is, finally, a 10 from me. Local, grass-fed beef flavor wins out. Burger Up's basic cheeseburger adds caché name-brands Jack Daniels for ketchup, Cabot's for cheese and über-hip (for Tennessee foodies, anyway) Benton's bacon; I'm pretty sure the burger would have tasted just fine without them.

Attractiveness - 7. It was a lovely burger. It was ordered medium rare and appeared to have the texture of a medium-rare but the meat was suspiciously grey, not pink.

Atmosphere - 9. Very 12 South; matted steel with some vintage wood thrown in and public-house style seating.

Digestivity - 5. Getting some pangs. I'm not sure if it was from the beef, grease from the bacon or the French fries, which, by the way, were seasoned with truffle shavings. Major points on the foodie scale, for both of the latter.

All photos ©Mary Brace 2013. All rights reserved

Overall experience - 8. In spite of finally finding a burger with flavor that beat out Dalt's (which will make all of my hipster friends very happy with me) the overall experience was brought down by two things: the above-mentioned pangs and the less-than-stellar margarita.  Burger Up's margarita seemed to venture too much into screw-driver territory. The $11 price tag on the burger can be justified by the gourmet burger craze, the $10 inferior cocktail, not so much.

afternote: this review was written in June but circumstances prevented posting it. On a return trip the burger was just as good, and no pangs. I don't get the margarita anymore, and it's a 10 every time.

update Dec. 2011. After Burger Up! we pretty much stopped rating Nashville burgers because nothing else we'd had up to that point could touch Miranda Pontes's burger in quality. Still, the Nashville burger universe is ever-expanding and if a great one is found, I'll write about it in the future.