Friday, January 2, 2009
Open Thread Digesting 2008: It was a Very Good/Bad Year
Posted by Carrington Fox on Fri, Jan 2, 2009 at 7:57 AM
Comments (20)
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Smaller, cheaper portions of higher quality food. There are too many places in town that are going to fail because of you can't get out of them for under a hundred bucks. People aren't going to spend that in 2009.
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The Chinese curse goes, "May you live in interesting times" -- this year was one of those, no doubt.
Off the top of my head, I'd have to say Bombay Palace was just about the best thing I ate all year, but that golubke from Elena's was also unforgettable.
I feel a pit form in my gut when I think of all the restaurants that closed their doors. It's a hard business to be in at the best of times, and this year just caught a lot of places by surprise, I think.
Peter’s Sushi-Thai…big disappointment. The sushi was almost inedible last time we visited. My fiancée’s basil beef lacked any flavor and came out cold. Not worth the drive or price to Brentwood..
Fluffer agreed on Elena’s. The pelminis were some of the best I’ve had…and everything else we’ve subsequently had was just as good.
I would really like to see people dining at Andrew Chadwick's. Small portions of beautiful creative food. The prices are high, but maybe if more people were dining there the prices could come down a little? I would hate to see AC's go by the wayside because people were unaware of it, nestled back there on the hill overlooking the river.
"The prices are high, but maybe if more people were dining there the prices could come down a little?"
Okay, it's a nice thought. But prices are determined by supply and demand. If the demand for Andrew Chadwick's doesn't exist at the current price level, and the business can't make money, then theoretically prices should be lowered.
If lots of people went there at the current prices, there would be no pressure for AC's to lower prices.
I'm not by any means poor, but I can't afford to go there without giving up money for other, more vital things. Our family income is around the 80th percentile, looking at the distribution chart at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Household_income_in_the_United_States. That's doing relatively well, I think.
But if, after housing, student loans, car, etc., we can't afford a dinner at Andrew Chadwick's or a dozen other restaurants, there are lots of other people who can't. Are all these restaurants really competing for a few percent of the population?
The menu looks amazing, and I've heard wonderful things. The ingredients aren't cheap, even if the portions were small. It's probably not possible to have this sort of fine dining at the price point I can really afford, but like I said, I'm not doing that badly.
I'm not trying to be an embittered, insulting pseudo-class warrior like the Gnome. I understand that some people decide that they're going to spend most of their disposable income on a few meals a month instead of buying books or going to movies or saving for the down payment on house (though all the entertainment money in our budget for a month wouldn't pay for a meal WITHOUT wine at Andrew Chadwick's).
Anyhow, if I can't afford it, or perceive that I can't afford it, despite the fact that the food looks amazing and just the kind of thing I'd like to try, then maybe Nashville itself can't support fancy, expensive restaurants, or at least the number of fancy, expensive restaurants that exist here.
As I was typing the counterintuitive hope that increased demand might nudge prices down, I wasn't presuming to invert the supply-demand curve in the long term so much as I was hoping more customers could help defray overhead of, say, FedEx from Perigord, in the short term. It remains to be seen whether it's possible to have this sort of fine dining in Nashville. But the core of my comment was that I hope AC's doesn't fail because people don't know about it.
Just got word that Bistro 215 in Green Hills closed it's doors. Chalk one up (down?) for 2009 already...
Just got word that Bistro 215 in Green Hills closed it's doors. Chalk one up (down?) for 2009 already...
we've sworn off fine dining in nashville for the most part
but i did hit a fair few at the end of '08
now i'm leaning down the dining out budget and saving my dollars for nyc restaurants when i go back home to visit. say what you will about that.
nashville, i love you
but i'll be cooking at home
and probably buying a car
you just can't have it all...
god bless nashville originals but i'm taking a break. you'll find me at kalamata's on occasion and pf changs to scratch the chinese itch. maybe baja fresh for a simple grilled mahi fish taco or two - and if i need a burger it'll be the beefalo version at cheeseburger charlies. 120 calories and 5 grams of fat...
leaner body, leaner budget coming up.
from my keyboard to the higher power's ears....
I rang in the New Year at Ombi (if you can call a 5:30 p.m. reservation ringing in the new year), and my dietetic resolution is not to eat anything that wasn't as good as the meal chef Laura & Co. cooked up for us. If I had even a scintilla of self-control, that could make a for a very abstemious year, because my dinner was fab, and most things will pale by comparison. Of course, I have already managed to rationalize that a McGriddle is on par with Ombi's carpaccio and frozen pasta in a bag is right up there with Ombi's lobster stracci. Do you think I need counseling?
IMO, the main problem with the Nashville food scene is a lack of any standard for the below fine dining crowd. In my time living here I have not found any cheap to moderate priced places to eat consistently well executed food. I'm not talking super refined or cutting edge but simple well prepared food. Even the attempts at bistro style food are over priced for the end food.
It's sad when to even have a small chance at a good meal you have to be in the $50+ per person category. Even at those prices I sadly say I have more bad meals in the area then good. I to will save my money and pay the same prices as high-end restaurants here in other cities where food quality is delivered more consistently at the same prices plus travel costs. Tough words but true.
Hopefully restaurants and chefs in the area will strive towards a style of food that embraces rustic foods that cost less and may even result in a better food.
fox, probably....
well - if i was going to have only one chef cook for me in this town, it'd be laura. i'm a fan. the woman knows her pork, amongst other things.
still though - not dining out in nashville.
except maybe when my mom visits next week...
saving money.
losing weight.
praying i can do both
thankful i can cook a thing or 2...
Places I loved in 2008:
- Sitar
- Mama Mia's
- Back To Cuba Cafe,
- McDougal's Chicken
- Copper Kettle.
Maybe I'm low brow compared to some on the blogs, but I've eaten at these places regularly and have yet to see a big hole in my dining budget.
Recession or not...Nashville's a great city, a new city. Hot New cities breed chains. The only affordable Mom/Pop mainstays are BBQ and M&3. 120-150 check restaurants are needed but few "hidden gem" mid-range options truly exist in midstate. Given the food-based start up cost Nashville's entrepreneurs are cloaked with, it may stay that way.
Claudia and Carrington, thank you so much for your kind words. I'd like to add that for my recent maternity leave you have experienced a lot more of the "& Co" than the Laura. My proudest achievement as a chef to date is assembling the crew at Ombi that does the hard lifting, Chef de Cuisine Jason Love, first Cook Trent Raley, AM manager Alan Horsnell, Mariah Hiller and Ted Ringeisen. And bar manager Terrell Raley. Thank you guys. Please, ladies, keep supporting Nashville independent restaurants, we need you.
The Garden Years:
I have some suggestions for you:
1) Tin Angel
2) The Acorn
3) Eat vegetarian.
Because I can get a wonderfully-prepared meal at moderate and better restaurants for cheaper than omnivores. Sometimes it's a special meal, sometimes it's an appetizer or small plate and a nice salad. But it's rare for me to eat $50 in food. Even with wine and dessert.
That said, one of the reasons I really love where I live is that I'm so close to really great ethnic restaurants. Woodlands, Anatolia, Miss Saigon, Hot Kabobs and more. And as soon as it's open again, I'll make the drive to Los Rosales.
Had a fantastic meal at Anatolia over the holidays. And Kien Giang! Which Laura sez is closed for renovations until late Feb., sadly.
Les, is there something you'd like to tell us about Acorn? Something special? Or maybe you wouldn't.
Lesley I appreciate the recommendations.
Number 3 is so not on the radar. I've eaten at Acorn and was not impressed, it was in fact bad. Scallops that could have been used as stand-ins as a rubber band.
I do think the only options, besides cooking at home, are ethnic restaurants. They at least sometimes offer a degree of adventure, that being good or bad, but even those often disappoint.
My real hope is more people won't go into the restaurant business but will maybe consider going the artisan food path. It's much more cost effective to focus in on doing one category of food well as oppose to trying to offer a restaurant with a menu of dozens of items. The best place to open in Nashville is Lazzaroli's pasta and more of those concepts is what would help the food scene.
