Stuff to eat. Mostly around St. Louis.
City House
Here’s how I ended up at Nashville’s City House: a friend told me to go. I didn’t look at the menu. I didn’t even ask him what to get. He told me to go, I made a reservation. I didn’t even know that chef/owner Tandy Wilson was Nashville’s only James Beard winner.
For those who don’t know but plan on visiting, City House is in what appears to be an old house in the city (Germantown, to be specific) without much signage out front. Yes, we walked right past it like total Nashville n00bs. A local couple saw us looking for it and pointed us in the right direction. It was all very embarrassing.
We ordered a a couple dishes to start: tomatoes with cottage cheese and scrapple (I cannot resist ordering scrapple) with cucumbers, ranch, and cornbread croutons. For entrees, we picked the delightfully unique bowl of corn, rice, smoked catfish, fish sauce, cider vinegar, and peanuts—it seems like someone like Thai food—and a homey, comforting smoked chicken sugo with grits ‘al forno’.
While all of those were good to very good, there was one true stand out. Something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately while I eat salads and chicken breasts to help mitigate a growing belly.
The pizza. My god, friends. The pizza. Had I known how good that damn pizza was going to be, I would have taken 30 more photographs. Hell, I probably wouldn’t have even ordered the other two entrees. I’d have just ordered more pizza.
The toppings were quality, but nothing wild and crazy: belly ham, mozzarella, Grana Padano, oregano, and chilies. Nothing outside what you’d find at Pastaria or Melo’s here in St. Louis. But that crust…
For you St. Louis readers, it comes out looking similar to a Pastaria pizza, but the main difference is the how crispy it is. You get a crunch with your bite, but you still get that nice chewy dough when you finally get to the crust. It has a unique flavor profile too—I’m not sure if it’s the flour they use, how long it’s fermented, or what.
But it’s glorious.
Tomatoes
cottage cheese
Scrapple
cucumber, ranch, cornbread croutons
Catfish salad
corn, rice, smoked catfish, fish sauce, cider vinegar, peanuts
Smoked chicken sugo
grits al forno
Pizza
belly ham, mozzarella, grana padano, oregano, chilies
Husk
My two favorite food-related shows - behind the modern day classic Guy's Grocery Games - are Netflix's Chef's Table and PBS' The Mind of a Chef. The Mind of a Chef follows one or two chefs per season as they explore the things that interest them in the food world. David Chang, chef of Momofuku in NYC and one of the men behind Lucky Peach magazine, was the first season's star. He explored NYC and Japan, cooking with rotten bananas, and getting shitfaced at the Buffalo Trace distillery with season two's star, Sean Brock. Brock's season had a heavy focus on the South and cooking with local ingredients. I don't think he was as captivating as Chang (who is like a less wordly, more brash Anthony Bourdain), but I have longed to eat at both of their restaurants ever since.
I was in Nashville for a wedding a couple weeks back, so I finally got my chance: time to eat at Husk - Nashville. The restaurant's located a short walk from the main downtown area in a renovated old house. The lighting was romantic (dark), which made photo taking a little difficult, but I still think you'll be able to gauge the deliciousness levels.
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Things kicked off with the Cheerwine Glazed Belly Ham Soft Rolls, which were astoundingly good. Like one of the best things I can ever remember eating good. I've only been fortunate enough to eat day-after-Christmas ham leftovers a few times, but take the deliciousness level of those leftover ham sammies and imagine replacing your Honeybaked Ham with the most delicious ham ever created, a freshly baked soft roll, pickled onions and cucumber, then a little smoked Duke's mayo. They're that good.
I want to go back to Nashville and eat these again, then find whoever produced the ham, marry his daughter, and become the heir to their porky throne.
Pork Belly Sandwiches at Husk Nashville
Chicken Skins at Husk Nashville
Next were the best Fried Chicken Skins I've had. Granted, I haven't had a lot of fried chicken skin appetizers because my body is a temple, but these things were perfect. They were not at all greasy - just chips of audibly crunchy, wonderfully seasoned chicken skins. They were drizzled with white BBQ sauce (my drug of choice), and a sprinkle of thyme. I had trouble getting a good photo of the shrimp & grits, mostly because my tablemates wanted to eat it as soon as it touched the table. For those of you who don't know, Brock is known for his shrimp and grits - and I can see why.
The grits were creamier than any I've had before, but what surprised me the most was the flavor of the dish: it tasted like my grandma's gumbo more than any shrimp and grits I've had before. Like a mix of a smokey sausage, shrimp (obviously), and hot sauce - that distinct trifecta that I've always associated with her gumbo. We devoured it. It definitely lived up to the hype.
The last of the appetizers was the Snapper Collar with cucumber, herbs, radishes, and benne seeds. Crispy, smokey, way bigger than expected.
Shrimp and Grits at Husk Nashville
Snapper Collar at Husk Nashville
We wanted to to try as much as we could, so we decided to share entrees. First up was the Husk Charcuterie plate with pickles, dijonnaise, and these monstrous cheddar biscuits. I'd kill to eat those biscuits for breakfast everyday - especially with some of that Cheerwine belly ham in there.
I foolishly forgot to write down what was on the platter, but it was all good. So good.
Charcuterie at Husk Nashville
Another shareable entree is the Plate of Southern Vegetables. On our night, the dish included:
Geechie Boy grits, charred preserved tomato broth, pickled spring onion, 65 degree egg
Oat croquette, pokeweed, lemon, sheepsmilk cheese, smoked mayo, malt vinegar powder
Grilled brassicas, harissa peanuts
Cucumber salad, grapefruit, grapefruit yogurt, tsire spice blend
Farro, zucchini, spinach, basil pesto
All were good, minus the brassicas. Too much spice and bitterness for me.
Vegetables at Husk Nashville
Farro at Husk Nashville
Croquette at Husk Nashville
By this point, I had stretched my stomach about as far as it goes - but I still had to eat the [symple_highlight color="blue"]NC Catfish[/symple_highlight]. We'd all been drinking quite a bit by this point, but I do remember that the fish was a big hit. Green garlic dressing, smoked potatoes, nettles, and toasted buckwheat groats gave it a nice Spring taste.
Catfish at Husk Nashville
To finish the meal, we got the O&S Chocolate Pie, a dessert as delicious as everything else we'd had that night. Served with peanut butter ice cream and a brown butter caramel, it was the perfect amount of decadence to close out the meal.
Chocolate PIe at Husk Nashville
We were so full that we Ubered back to our hotel - two blocks away. Our meal at Husk was one of the best I've had since starting this blog. This is a must visit for anyone going through Nashville.