Appalachian-inspired Audrey has experimented with a few different styles of lunch service through the years, but the latest iteration may be the most straightforward yet. Chef Sam Jett has edited the dinner menu to create some smaller versions of those dishes — but more importantly, he has created brand-new options for midday.
The transition of Southall Farm and Inn’s ownership continues
Gone are some previous experiments with elevated meat-and-three dishes or high/lowbrow fried bologna sandwiches, pulled pork and chicken wings. Now Audrey has positioned itself as a really interesting place to enjoy an upscale lunch in a relaxed environment from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m., Monday through Friday. The always stimulating interior of the restaurant feels like a different place by the light of day, and watching the chefs work in the kitchen is akin to lunch and a show.
Fermentation is a throughline of the menu, and almost every dish we tried had some unexpected tang of slightly funky acid running through it. This is fully intentional — and typical of the preservation and cooking techniques of Appalachia. If you’re not fond of sour corn, this might not be for you. But I encourage giving it a try.
An order of fermented and grilled bread is pretty much a mandatory starter, especially for the sweet-and-savory pumpkin butter that accompanies the two thick hoecakes. The menu is designed to build a family-style sharing experience for the table with a couple of quasi-salads and side dishes that can be combined to make a meal or used as a side dish to the larger mains.
We particularly enjoyed the collard green preparation — leaves that have been barely cooked so that they are still sturdy enough to handle a topping of zesty chow chow and a rosette of Benton’s ham. Fold it up like a taco and enjoy it all in one huge bite if you’re up for that. A surprisingly generous order of tallow french fries were more than a single diner could probably eat as a side dish, but served alongside ketchup and beef glace mayo, they reminded me of the Platonic ideal of an order of super-sized fries from McDonald’s. (I mean that as a very sincere compliment, because I haven’t darkened the door of a Mickey D’s since I saw Super Size Me in 2005, and their fries are the only thing I miss.)
I didn’t do the stereotypical move of ordering the hickory-grilled cheeseburger, mainly because I figured I would love it and not order anything else ever again. I did see plenty of them coming out of the kitchen, so one will be mine soon! Instead, for our main dishes we selected a perfectly grilled Bucksnort trout served with preserved ramps and corn and an incredibly tender plate of slow-cooked short ribs from Bear Creek Farm served with carrots, onions and celery.
In addition to a long and creative wine list, the menu offers a house-made root beer with burdock root and sarsaparilla which was more herbal than sweet. I thought it was delightful! A few beers, cocktails, iced tea and mocktails are also available to pair with lunch.
This was by no means an express lunch. Dishes arrived at the table when they were ready, and the pace allowed for conversation between courses and time to enjoy each plate as it arrived. You still should have no trouble getting in and out in an hour, though. The ambiance was enhanced by a mix created by Chef Jett that could have been the set list from my eighth-grade homecoming dance in 1979. (I’ll never not whistle along to the sax riff in “Baker Street.”)
In other Audrey news, they get that times have been tough lately — especially since the beginning of the year for Nashville residents and restaurants. In order to encourage you to get out of the house to enjoy some hospitality and human contact, they have reopened the upstairs bar as an affordable watering hole. “Upstairs at Audrey” is now featuring a specialty menu with five $5 cocktails, five $5 wines and five $5 beers plus a short list of affordable snacks from the kitchen downstairs.
The bar will be open from 5 p.m. until close every night, and can seat as many as 40 people at the bar and in the lounge area. So grab a few friends you haven’t seen since before the holidays and go to Audrey to catch up. Here’s a conversation starter: See how long you can go with talking about the ice storm. Enjoy!
