After leaving the nest at the fledgling Flyte World Dining & Wine restaurant, chef Robert MacClure has landed at The Acorn as managing chef. In an unexpectedly amicable change-up, Flyte owners Scott Sears and Scott Atkinson released their former business partner MacClure from a non-compete agreement that would have prevented him from heading a restaurant kitchen so close to Flyte.
Though MacClure has been roosting at The Acorn since he left Flyte in February, his relocation only became official last week with the paperwork releasing him from the non-compete clause. “Far be it for us to keep someone from working,” Flyte co-owner Sears wrote in a statement. “We aren’t entirely sure what Robert’s new role at Acorn will be, but we’ve been told he won’t have to pull the 90-hour weeks that he was at Flyte.”
While the title of managing chef deviates from the more popular term executive chef, the distinction satisfies the stipulations of the legal agreement between Flyte’s owners and Acorn owner John Leonard, a fellow 30-something Vandy grad. “It’s unique to Acorn,” Leonard says of MacClure’s managing chef moniker, “but he will be our creative force.”
At the 4-year-old Acorn, located just off West End Avenue by Centennial Park, MacClure will lead the kitchen team, which includes Gorge Zetino and pastry chef Lisa Griggs. “He will revamp the menu,” Leonard says.
MacClure left Flyte precipitously in February, just four months after its launch, to find a position that would allow him more time to visit his young son in Chicago. Upon his departure, sous chefs Bobby Benjamin and Jake Stearn—both formerly of the Capitol Grille—became co-executive chefs at Flyte, which is quickly making a name for itself with its creative menu and wine pairings and its unlikely location at the corner of Division Street and Eighth Avenue South, just down the street from Frugal MacDoogal and an adult bookstore.
The Acorn is at 114 28th Ave. N., 320-4399; Flyte is at 718 Division St., 255-6200.
Wine list
Wine is pouring into East Nashville. As the neighborhood awaits the unveiling of Rumours East wine bar in the location of the bygone Red Wagon and the opening of Woodland Wine Merchant at 10th and Woodland, another wine bar is popping the cork this week on Fatherland Street. Linda Forceno, a longtime employee of the YMCA, is putting the finishing touches on Vino in the historic storefront at the corner of Fatherland and Seventh Street that formerly housed Ricci’s Italian restaurant. Rich red walls and contemporary lighting will serve as a backdrop for art by Myles Maillie, and Forceno has added a bar to the small, open room.
After a VIP launch on April 11, Forceno will open Vino’s doors on Friday, April 13. The wine bar will serve a limited menu of Italian-inspired small plates, such as meatballs, ravioli and selections of cheeses, fruits and breads, some of which Forceno will bake herself. “I’m also into low-carb food,” Forceno says, so she’ll have a low-carb vegan veggie burger on a tortilla. Vino will open at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and will be open for “Sparkly Sundays” from 2 to 7 p.m. 700 Fatherland St.
Feel-good food
Grab your elastic-waistband pants, because local restaurants are serving up the philanthropy this spring and you’re invited to dig in. On April 24, some 60 restaurants—including Flyte and The Acorn—will donate a portion of proceeds to NashvilleCares, a nonprofit organization serving people affected by HIV/AIDS. In its fifth year, Dining Out for Life makes giving easy. All you have to do is dine; the restaurant does the rest, which, in most cases, means contributing one-third of the cost of your dinner to NashvilleCares. Some restaurants will also participate for breakfast and lunch.
I will be hosting lunch at Savannah Tea House, Lisa Jackson’s ladylike emporium of tea and sandwiches, and I’d love some company. For reservations at the tearoom, just a couple doors down from the Scene on Eighth Avenue South, call 383-1832. For a full list of participating restaurants, visit diningoutforlife.com/participating.php.
But wait, there’s more. Generous Helpings, previously named Best Food Event and Best Nonprofit Fundraiser by the Scene, returns May 1 for its fourth year. The deliciously charitable evening in the ballroom of the Nashville Convention Center benefits Nashville’s Table—the perishable food delivery program at Second Harvest—and the culinary arts scholarship program at Nashville Tech. For just $40—or $50 at the door—you can get a soupçon of some 30 of Nashville’s finest restaurants, including Tayst, whose chef (and Generous Helpings chair) Jeremy Barlow will no doubt deliver a tempting sample of his adventurous cuisine. For $125, patron tickets include valet parking, an exclusive dining area and a VIP bar. For tickets, call 627-1611 or email alwilliams@secondharvest.org .
An Original bargain
Set your alarm clocks. It’s time again for the frenzy known as the Nashville Originals gift certificate sale. The band of 28 local independent restaurants—including Sunset Grill, Yellow Porch, Ombi and Zola—will throw another batch of discounted vouchers onto its website. Proceeds from the sale go to the Originals to help the organization build its marketing effort. The Nashville chapter of the Council of Independent Restaurants of America, the Originals work together to promote local restaurants in an effort to preserve the unique character of the city. At savings of up to 40 percent, the gift certificates sell out extremely fast, so log onto nashvilleoriginals.com early on April 18.
