HUSK: Southern Cuisine At It’s Best In Nashville
Before Dinner Drinks
To Peach Their Own
As this is a fancy place with fancy people I decided to start with a drink just to take the edge off of the whole situation. It came as a soft piece of art in a glass, the pedal of magnolia that was picked right outside, the lemon zest brought a very welcome fragrance to my nose which balanced the bourbon and Blanco vermouth beautifully.
For Starters
Johnny Cakes
This was a great surprise. They were savory with spring onion cornmeal, dill, cayenne pepper, and the long lost sleeper of old potlucks, Pimento cheese. This isn’t your grans Pimento either; this is smoked cheddar, smoked buttermilk topped with two house pickled jalapenos. The cakes were a nice flaky crunch to the outside and soft pillowy center. The thing I loved about it is the spread to cake ratio is on point allowing for full coverage of that delicious cheesy cream.
Dinner
LA sweet white shrimp, sweeter days green garlic, Marsh Hen Mill grits
These grits are house milled cooked in butter asiago cheese, and buttermilk sauce. Topped with a green garlic smoked tomato sauce preserves, and shrimp cooked in white wine with crispy fried onion strings. The cilantro really played well with its friends in this dish, enhancing the light shrimp and acting as a counter to the heavy grits.
Bear Creek Farm Beef, buckwheat crepe, Henosis mushroom, spring greens and green garlic
Meat so tender and done proper medium rare paired perfectly with this savory crepe. If I had a cape sized crepe it still wouldn’t be enough. The innards are creamy with goose egg, spring green garlic, red kale, with ember oyster mushrooms. I have had perfect steaks and this is one of them. That being said, I don’t think I have ever had the perfect crepe until now. I could eat a cape worth of the crepes and still be wanting more.
A plate of southern veggies
So simply named yet so beautifully complex in its arrival. This was my favorite dish as it features a dish from each station in the kitchen and the fact that it is also changed on the daily ups the once in a lifetime chance at an amazing dish. This one featured hush puppies with lemon jalapeno aioli, lemon poppy spaetzle, strawberry salad, and grilled veggies with a centerpiece of the southern classic, grits done differently. They were served in a miso ginger broth to up its umami.
Finishings
Cream coffee chocolate cake
It was a perfectly sweet softness contrasted in the bitterness of the coffee and the crunch of the crust led to a great balance of flavor and texture.
I was blown away by the whole experience and to top it all off the waiter came to our table during our dessert and said “Do you want to try something cool?” without further explanation I said yes. I didn’t know what to expect. They knew I loved their goods and what more could be cool to set it off. He brings me a glass of cider mixed with apple bourbon. It’s sweet and boozy and he explains to me that this comes from a business that went under and this is one of the last drinks available. He told me he fully intends on having some at some point but it may be too late. The once and a lifetime factor of this place is amazing, I would get the plate of southern veg every time just to see what the kitchen is up to.
I love that they took the time to have a large board up of all their suppliers like credits at the end of the movie. With great local ingredients and beautiful culinary minds, this place jumps out to me as a must if you’re ever in the Nashville area.