, the East Nashville Japanese restaurant and watering hole officially opened over the weekend with two nights of special dinners featuring guest chef Shigetoshi Nakamura of Sun Noodle Ramen Lab. Nakamura is acknowledged as one of the four "devas," or "gods of Ramen," in Japan, so his presence in the kitchen for the opening was quite a coup.
Two Ten Jack's culinary director, chef Jason McConnell, ran the pass and executive chef Jessica Benefield directed the kitchen as the staff efficiently put out plate after plate of inventive Japanese fare to several seatings over Friday and Saturday nights. It was an excellent introduction to the ritual of the izakaya, a traditional Japanese bar where patrons wind down after work over a few drinks and accompanying small plates. (I got to check out the Friday 7:30 seating.)
The usual drill is to immediately order a drink as soon as you arrive, and then you'll be served a small appetizer called an otoshi. In this case the otoshi was a dish of lightly salted edamame with an assortment of pickles paired with a delicate cocktail called the Lovely Rita, made with sake and Cocchi Americano.
The sushi course was a play on the standard Philadelphia roll, which they called the Always Sunny Roll. A nice off-dry riesling accompanied the yellowtail nicely. After the sushi, the dishes got a little heavier, in keeping with the alcohol intake. Course Three was cheekily named "JFC," for Japanese Fried Chicken, prepared karaage-style with a soy marinade and a deft hand with the fryer. The upscale chicken nuggets were served with a negi onion dip and a cocktail called the Death of Meiji, a nice blend of Willet bourbon and sake with a touch of Benedictine.
The yakitori course featured skewers of chicken hearts, Australian Wagyu short rib and corn with miso butter served with a novel Aecht Schlenkerla Urbock. The smoked German beer paired perfectly with the grilled meats, and even though the chicken hearts were a little chewy (the heart is a muscle after all), the dish was certainly worth ordering again.
Finally, Chef Nakamura took center stage with a steaming bowl of his Tori Paitan Ramen. Similar to the porky tonkatsu ramen, tori paitan is a broth made by boiling chicken bones for hours until they melt into the creamy soup. Soaking an egg in sake allowed for the yolk to remain solid and creamy at the same time, and it was a delightful sensation like the perfect poached egg. Chasu pork and chili oil contributed even more flavor to the dish, whicht was paired with a shot of Hakkaisan Junmai Gingo, the tippy-top of the top-shelf sake selections at Two Ten Jack.
We managed to snag two seats at the short counter with a direct view into the kitchen, and I would ask for those seats every time. For the first official night of serving customers, the kitchen ballet seemed exceedingly well-choreographed, with Benefield calmly leading the staff and McConnell maintaining the excellent pace of service. Nakamura never strayed more than a few steps from his large pot of precious broth, but you could tell that everyone in the kitchen was striving to learn from the master.
I had visited Two Ten Jack once before as part of a soft opening, but the place was so crowded that I really couldn't enjoy the vibe. On Friday, even with constantly turning tables and servers running everywhere, the staff seemed cool and well-informed about the dishes. I look forward to returning soon to run through more of the food and drink menu that McConnell, Benefield and beverage director Jon Yeager have developed.
If you beat me to it, make sure to leave your impressions in the comments below!
Two Ten Jack
1900 Eastland Ave., Suite 105 — in the Walden Phase II development, behind The Silly Goose and Jeni's
Nashville, TN 37206
(615) 454-2731
Hours: Bar opens at 4 p.m., dinner starts at 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
(Lunch and Sunday hours may be added soon.)
