Review of Eastland Cafe from the Nashville Scene, 02/22/07
Mighty Neighborly
Eastland Cafe gives the old 'hood something new to talk about.
by Kay West
Eastland Café is, as the name implies, in East Nashville. But on a recent Saturday night, the bar and dining room of this born-again neighborhood restaurant were crammed with immigrants—presumably legal—from West Side zips: BelleMeade’s205, Belmont/12South’s 212, Green Hills’ 215, and 204, which covers the emerging area between 12th and Eighth avenues south.
Judging by the high-spirited table-hopping that took place throughout the
evening, most of the people there were connected in some way and proud of their
decision to drive over the river for dinner. They clearly made their
reservations in a timely fashion, because by the Wednesday before, the only
openings available for a table of five were 6 or 9 p.m. We took the earlier
slot, having learned that diners tend to settle into their tables on a weekend
night and a 9 can easily turn into a 9:30.
Our table, placed snugly in the street-side corner of the main room, turns
its occupants into an animated window display, so dress and behave accordingly
should you be awarded the same spot, which our hostess describes as her
favorite. Besides being seated at the only round table, which abets more
inclusive conversation, my companions were distinguished by being four of the
few in the building who actually live in the neighborhood. The two couples are
charter members of the East Nashville movement, having logged more than 20 years
apiece on the east side of the Cumberland. They met when their two grown
sons—one in college, one in the Air Force—were in the infant room at Holly
Street Day Care at 14th and Holly Street. Though I am almost 14 years
removed from the neighborhood, having lived eight years there in its pre-cool
days, I was able to participate in veteran East Nashvillians’ favorite party
game: Remember When? Remember when the only restaurant in the neighborhood was
The Knife & Fork? Remember when we couldn’t get a glass of wine with dinner?
Remember when the Gallatin Road Kroger was called the Murder Kroger? Remember
when you went to H.G. Hill’s because it was, as far as anyone knew,
homicide-free? Remember Shirley’s? Remember when Sasso opened?
That was in 1998, pre-dating Margot by three years. These days, Five Points
teems with life, the sidewalks that lead to it well worn by locals who
gladly—even smugly—walk several blocks from their homes to avoid those
unpleasant DUIs. The neighborhood’s plentiful on-street parking allows visitors
to make a night of it in this one-stop shop for dining, drinking and
entertainment.
Although Eastland Café shares a zip code with Margot, Three Crow, Alley Cat,
Red Door, Pizza Real, Batter’d & Fried, Marché, Beyond The Edge, Bongo Java
and the coming-soon Rumours East, it does not share in the mutually supportive
environment of Five Points. With the exceptions of Rose Pepper Mexican eatery
across the street and Portland Brew one block away, it stands alone, occupying
the corner of a pedestrian-unfriendly thoroughfare and a street still largely
untouched by redevelopment and gentrification. Therefore, Eastland Café must be
self-sustaining and offer diners good reason to bypass 11th and
Woodland and drive one more mile to Chapel and Eastland.
Chef Willie Thomas and his wife and business partner Yvette, who live in
Brentwood with their three young children, have shown they can draw diners to
relatively new territory. Opening Park Café in 37209’s Sylvan Park in 2001—two
years after Caffe Nonna broke ground there—they quickly established it amid the
top tier of independent neighborhood restaurants. As evidenced on this bustling
Saturday night, their fan base has clearly followed them to Eastland Café.
Other than the solid bones of the historic brick building that began life in
the early 20th century as a pharmacy, little remains of its previous
occupant, Chapel Bistro. Instead of the extravagant color explosion and
eye-popping art that defines Park Café, designer Kathy Anderson opted for subtle
elegance and class. Stucco walls wear cream coats; the ceiling, baseboards and
woodwork are dusky brown. Gleaming dark wood prevails on chairs, tables, bar and
floor, and frames panels of frosted and clear glass between the bar and the
dining room. The wall above the banquette on the left side of the room is
mirrored in the style of old European cafés, reflecting the entire room in a
lively tableau. Chairs and banquettes are upholstered in a blue/green/brown
print, booth benches in green.
The Eastland menu—created by Thomas, chef Hal Holden-Bache and sous Nathan
Wells—does not share the culinary extravagance of Park Café, where dishes assume
multiple global influences and a shopping bag of ingredients. Restrained in
description and compilation, the Eastland menu adheres to the basic bistro
concept of simplicity and comfort delivered in unadorned, straightforward
fashion.
The goat cheese brûlée is an easy plate to pass around the table while
enjoying a cocktail, conversing and perusing the menu. The “brûlée” is actually
a ball fashioned from chèvre and cream cheese, which facilitates spreading on a
piece of flatbread still warm from the grill. Strips of roasted red and yellow
peppers and sun-dried tomatoes, a swirl of chestnut honey and puddles of
balsamic syrup complete the composition. Steamed mussels—piled in a bowl barely
deep enough to contain two-dozen briny, black-shelled bivalves—emerge from a
russet-hued, sweet-and-sassy coconut curry broth, chock full of bacon, leeks and
tomatoes. Ask immediately for extra slices of grilled and buttered Tuscan bread
to sop up the excess, lest you find yourself lifting the entire bowl to your
lips once the mussels are depleted. Crab cakes assume a lighter finish with
panko crumbs rather than traditional breading, but are served with the
traditional remoulade of mayonnaise, Dijon mustard and capers. Other choices in
the appetizer category include French onion soup, baked cheese manicotti, crispy
polenta cake with portobello mushrooms and stone-baked pizza.
Four salads invite diners to go green, but what would Al do? I’m guessing the
hipper, cooler, looser environmentalist would go for the distinctive arugula and
grilled radicchio, which are nicely balanced by a fan of thinly sliced, tart
green apples with a sweet balsamic reduction. I’m not alone among diners who
order an iceberg wedge simply as an excuse to eat large amounts of Roquefort, so
I was disappointed by the bland nature of the bleu cheese dressing accompanying
this salad; not even the rounds of fried green tomato or scatter of bacon could
make up for its lack of moldy crumbles.
Meat and potatoes—chicken and whipped, pork with mashed sweets, rib eye with
cauliflower and potato purée—dominate entrée selections and, on our visit, fared
far better than the fruits de la mer. The blame for overcooking the
citrus-and-vanilla-roasted shrimp and pistachio-crusted salmon could well be
assigned to the fact that the kitchen was slammed on this particular Saturday
night; Holden-Bache, Wells and crew were a blur of motion in the small kitchen.
Thirty seconds can make the difference between succulent and shrunken, between
moist and dry, and both of those dishes spent 30 seconds too long under heat.
Sides of creamy risotto with sweet peas and tarragon supporting the shrimp and
earthy stewed lentils flavored with cumin under the salmon redeemed both dishes.
In a beautifully braised lamb shank special, meat fell from the bone into a pool
of glistening jus. Likewise, the pan-roasted duck breast arrived precisely as
ordered, with a faint blush of pink at the center, and partnered exquisitely
with a cherry demi-glace. But its side of cold soba noodle salad simply didn’t
work with the dish or the season. I would ask for a substitute from the à la
carte sides. Flat-iron steak, also known as top blade steak, is a small,
boneless cut from the top blade near the shoulder of the cow. Much like the
underappreciated hanger steak, it is gaining popularity among beef lovers for
its flavor; the flat-iron, despite its name, is actually thicker and more tender
than the hanger. Though it requires very little seasoning, Eastland’s
version—straddling a pile of crispy pommes frites—was enhanced but not
overwhelmed by a tongue-tingling green peppercorn sauce spread over its charred
top.
Of the desserts, which included a tangy key lime pie, crème brûlée and a
dense, seemingly flourless chocolate cake, the standout was the raspberry
mini-beignets, served warm and golden in a bowl with a rich crème anglaise.
Eastland Café is a tad off the path beaten to Five Points from within and
beyond 37206, but those who go the extra mile will be well rewarded. The
Thomases may not live in the neighborhood, but they do a terrific job of
creating one.
Steamed mussels $8.50
French onion soup $5
Arugula and
grilled radicchio salad $7
Grilled flat-iron $19
Pistachio-crusted salmon
$17.50
Pan-roasted duck breast $21 |
