It feels like Nashville is getting a couple new restaurants every week ranging from casual to high-end…a few that could qualify as uber high-end with pricing typically seen in NY, Vegas and Chicago.
We went to one of the new entrants, Prima (www.primanashville.com), on Saturday night. Opened two weeks ago…made the reservation pre-opening. Certainly has the feel of being in another city, and the pricing isn’t overly expensive given the level of service and quality. The grilled broccoli salad was quite good and the Kansas City Strip (18oz) was cooked a perfect medium rare…I’ll try to get a picture up, but there is one on the website. Fun to try a new place. As for the wines…
Started off with a 2006 Rudius RRV Syrah…my last one…popped and poured…inviting nose of burnt meat and red fruit…pleasant mouthfeel…fully integrated with no noticeable tannins…finish on the short side, but tough to find any complaints as it paired well with the spicy salad…got better over the course of perhaps an hour…92.
For the main course, we opened a 2012 Outpost True Vineyard Cabernet. These just arrived and I was excited to try one soon…perhaps buy more. Decanted shortly after we sat down so this had a little over an hour to open…“dark and smooth” summarize a couple of the comments…red and black fruit on the nose…plush mouthfeel with abundant chocolate and coffee notes…medium finish…bottle went down fast…95+. One concern is that the wine seemed to lose some weight in the second glass. If the regular bottling is any resemblance it will be a nice purchase as well.
One other weekend wine…2011 Carlisle Monte Rosso Vineyard…opened a couple days ago and finished off with some homemade chili last night…dark in the glass…the nose did not reveal much, but definitely get spice/pepper with dark fruits…much better on day one versus a couple days later…90.
George…I have not been to Catbird Seat…have heard good things from my “foodie” friends, but for me I like to know I can order what I want to eat…especially if the bill is going to be $150/person. Entrees in the $40-$50+ range are relatively new for Nashville…a few that come to mind are Bob’s Steak & Chop House (inside the Omni Hotel), Sinema and Union Common. Haven’t been to any of them personally. Kayne Prime is also on the expensive side, but I’ve never had a bad meal there…they do a great job. Have also heard good things about The Standard.
Nashville is a super accommodating corkage town. In fact, I cannot think of a single restaurant that does not allow personal wines. Most places waive corkage for semi regular patrons as well.
Just show up! None of the restaurants require advance notice of BYOB to my knowledge. Kayne Prime, a very popular independent steak house, asked that I call ahead to verify my intended bottle wasn’t on their list when they first opened. However, their list is on-line so I really never had to bother with that. Plus, I always bring bottles typically not distributed in Tennessee to avoid any potential list conflict.
I have never had a restaurant in nashville turn down my request to bring wine. As a matter of etiquette, if I have never eaten there before, I always call ahead and ask. For the many restaurants that I have been to before, I just show up. I also rarely pay full corkage, between being nice, having interesting wines and sharing them with the staff- I might be charged once for three bottles or not at all…
We live in Franklin and Franklin has also recently had a few nice restaurants open. Try Grey’s next time you are in downtown franklin.
I didn’t think corkage was legal in TN though when we ate at the delicious Etch, they were fine with it. Maybe it is a local ordinance? Given how backward the state is regarding shipping and alcohol pricing, I’m somewhat surprised.
I was charged full BYOB for both bottles…a bit surprised since the GM (just came over from Kayne Prime) recognized me and I offered him a taste of both bottles, which he accepted. I suspect the server just added it to the bill as normal course, but would have been nice gesture by the GM to waive at least one fee.
I’ve taken wine in a couple of places in Nashville without an issue. Of course, I called first, but I haven’t had an issue; they all seemed like it was a normal every day type of thing. Happily paid the corkage as I don’t have that privilege in Indiana!
Went to dinner at Union Common last night and had dessert and cocktails afterwards at Greys in Franklin. The former was excellent. Some of the best steak I’ve had. Liked the room a lot. Wine list was good as well - we had the Pierre Peters BdB NV and the 2012 chateau montelena cab. Would both recommend and return here.
Greys was trying harder to be edgier/cooler/more hipster. Liked the cocktail and would be fun to se a band there I expect.