A New Begin-ning

Rare is the meat-and-three restaurant that can claim salads among its signature dishes. More often than not, the fresh-vegetable proxy is a pale mixture of cucumbers and onions, maybe some sliced tomatoes or a scoop of slaw. But at The Daily Dish, bountiful and creative salads go head to head with mac-and-cheese, gumbo and almond-encrusted chicken for top billing. It’s a happy schizophrenia of country cookin’ and big-city cuisine that owners Sean and Jill Begin describe as “meat-and-three cooked by a chef.”

After selling their share of the Copper Kettle on Granny White last June, the Begins took some time off from the restaurant business to think about their next move. Just as Sean was settling into a cushy gig as a personal chef, the couple learned that Grassland Grille was vacating a space they had long eyed. Next thing they knew, they were back in the business of running a quaint neighborhood restaurant—but this time they were in their own Franklin neighborhood.

Anchored by a traditional buffet line with an ever-changing array of comfort foods, The Daily Dish also offers a menu of salads and sandwiches with a surprisingly modern twist. Alongside the usual suspects—fried okra, candied yams and mashed potatoes, to name a few steam table regulars—there’s a less predictable roster of ingredients ranging from mahimahi and mozzarella to cranberry chutney and brie. Diners can call the restaurant to hear a recorded message of the day’s dishes.

Underlying the whole dining experience is a visible creativity and an attempt to bring modern flair to traditional favorites, the result of Chef Sean’s experience in elite kitchens from Palm Beach, Fla., and Vail, Colo., to the esteemed Capitol Grille in the Hermitage Hotel. Take the coconut chicken, for example. Ask for a piece of the nubbly golden meat, and one of the ever-friendly servers manning the line will quickly advise you to try it with some tangy pineapple chutney, available at the end of the counter. There’s also a chunky remoulade studded with bits of smoked corn and herbs, which goes well on a sandwich of cornmeal-encrusted mahimahi—not your standard steam-table fried-fish affair.

Eight-and-a-half bucks buys a meat-and-three plate, and kids get meat-and-two with a drink for a mere $4.50. On any given day, the buffet of three entrées might boast meat loaf, pork loin, barbecue beef or chicken that has been country-fried, pecan-encrusted, grilled, roasted, baked or coated with coconut. We particularly enjoyed the gumbo, a chunky version loaded with andouille, crawfish and chicken, which benefited from a few shakes of hot sauce on the table. Baked chicken offered a crisp breadcrumb coating, without the grease of frying. Veggies and starches run the gamut from cheese grits and creamed corn to red beans and rice, turnip greens braised in chicken broth with strings of tender pork, and other country-cookin’ staples. Mashed potatoes with the skins provided a welcome homemade touch, and mac-and-cheese delivered a rare equilibrium of creamy texture and sharp flavor.

Not everything on the bountiful spread is homemade. Fried okra announces itself as a once-frozen product, with a familiar coating of cardboard-textured breading. Begin also takes a shortcut with the sweet potatoes, which come in uniform orange discs that he cooks in a sweet cinnamon-clove glaze and tops with brown sugar, pecans and toasted marshmallow. For anyone with a sweet tooth, the Nerf-colored casserole is a near-perfect infusion of sugar masquerading as a side dish. Its only shortcoming is the mushiness of the patties—somewhere between a solid and a liquid, lacking any of the fibrous texture of the real thing.

Among the sandwiches, we particularly enjoyed the roast turkey breast with brie, apples and cranberry chutney on whole wheat toast. In a dining era when more and more restaurants are sneaking in sandwiches well above the $10 mark, The Daily Dish offers relative value, with Begin’s BLT at $5.95 and the most expensive sandwich on the menu—grilled pesto chicken with mozzarella cheese and lemon aioli on ciabatta—topping out at $7.95.

What sets Daily Dish apart from other down-home restaurants is the variety. Without overwhelming the menu, the Begins manage to cover the bases of healthy and hearty, with equal parts fluffy green salad, inventive sandwich and meat-and-potatoes. Looking around the low-key room, decked in earth tones and a few colorful canvases, there appeared to be just as many meat-laden plates slathered in gravy as there were large white bowls overflowing with fresh mixed greens, fruits and vegetables. Of the three salads we tried—including the grilled pesto chicken salad with a fried mozzarella cake, mushrooms and pine nuts, and the roasted turkey salad with a fried sweet potato cake, bacon, cheddar, apple-cranberry chutney and maple-cider vinaigrette—our runaway favorite was the bed of mixed greens topped with sliced mangoes, strawberries, candied nuts and decadent golden-brown globes of almond-encrusted goat cheese. Rolled in slivered nuts and deep fried, the gooey mixture of chèvre and cream cheese added a rich counterpoint to the crisp leaves and clean fruit, while a vinaigrette with dried cherries added a sweet and tangy finish. A vibrant medley of contrasts—crunchy, silky, tangy and sweet—the salad offered a little of everything, from the obvious to the unexpected.

The same could be said about The Daily Dish.

The Daily Dish serves lunch and dinner 10:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.