I don’t have a lot of regrets in life, but here’s one — this award might be a year late for Bastion.
When I returned to the Scene late last summer, I knew that Josh Habiger’s Wedgewood-Houston restaurant was due for a review, but one thing led to another, and it kept getting pushed back. So a month after we closed the 2016 Best of Nashville issue, I sat down at the counter and watched Habiger and his crew effortlessly create plates in the open kitchen: lamb tartare wrapped in a hibiscus leaf, seared scallops in a delicate foam with just a hint of Carolina Reaper pepper, mushroom and squash in a dark dashi broth punctuated by … pinecone? All the while, the cool-as-you-like chef would walk over to a turntable and put on a new side of vinyl. Some Son Volt, perhaps? Maybe a little late-’70s Stones? It was all perfect.
It’s an impossibly cool place that could be pretentious as all hell, except nobody who works there will let it be. Sometimes the plates come with a bit of explanation, but never with the haughtiness that a tasting menu might imply. A conversation about the funky wine list with one server over the differences in French vs. Spanish Basque varietals led to an impromptu comparison that made the entire table smarter.
Habiger is no stranger to the tasting menu, having opened The Catbird Seat six years ago to national acclaim. But this feels more personal, from the roomy neighborhood-bar vibe on one side (complete with the city’s best nachos) to the intimate-but-never-stuffy dining room on the other side and the bingo card of a menu, which lets diners select their experience. He’s doing some of the most creative food in the city with virtually none of the pomposity, and after a year-and-a-half, Bastion has become one of Nashville’s most essential restaurants. STEVE CAVENDISH
