The convivial beer garden at Cledis Burgers
Who doesn’t love something great between two slices of bread? Nashville’s sandwich scene has gotten even tastier thanks to the addition of two new options — one a burger joint from a renowned pitmaster, and the other a partnership between another pitmaster and a fine-dining chef who has found his new passion in pretzels.
I already told you that Shane Nasby, former founder and pitmaster at HoneyFire BBQ, had plans to open a new restaurant named Cledis Burgers in the former home of Various Artists Brewing Co. at 1011 Elm Hill Pike, and I’m pleased to tell you that he has hit the ground running after a short soft-opening period. True to the former tenants of the building, Cledis offers 23 beers on tap at their cozy bar. All but one of the taps are reserved to feature one beer from almost every local brewery in Nashville. Nasby saves the last tap for Guinness because he likes it and he owns the joint.
Craft-beer lovers have quickly flocked to Cledis, taking advantage of the beer garden in the backyard, complete with fire pits, a small stage where Nasby plans to host live music and a food trailer that acts as the kitchen for the entire restaurant. Nasby has designed his food menu around signature burgers, none priced more than $10 unless you want to double or triple up on the patties.
The flagship Cledis Burger features a griddle-smashed quarter-pound patty served with the prototypical toppings of American cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickle and Cledis sauce, Nasby’s version of a redneck remoulade. On my first visit, I opted for the historic Oklahoma Burger, a holdover from the Depression era when Okies stretched their meager meat supply by using griddled onions to replace half the beef in the recipe.
Nasby’s kitchen team sprinkles a mountain of thinly sliced onions on top of the patty as it cooks, and then flips it and smashes the delightful concoction together. This allows some of the onions to steam with the meat while others pick up a nice bit of caramelization from the griddle top.
Other specialty burgers include the Skippy Thai Yay, a burger served with spicy pepper jack cheese, bacon and a Thai peanut butter sauce, and the Tiga Ranch Burger topped with pickle fries (more on them later) and ranch dressing. Like most smashburgers, don’t bother ordering anything to temp. Their short time on a hot grill keeps them from drying out even without a touch of pink in the middle of the burger.
I sampled a few different fries options, ranging from cheese fries to Truffle Shuffle fries, each served with different dipping sauces. The pickle fries were a revelation — not small, dense hockey pucks like most fried pickles, but actually cut exactly like the potatoes in the regular fries and perfectly fried to a golden crispy finish. An order of those and a beer would make for a great happy hour meal.
Cledis Burgers is open for lunch and dinner — except on Monday, when Nasby and his staff take a day of service to cook for people in need of a good meal who might not have access to it otherwise. He has also continued his work with People Loving Nashville and hired some graduates of their job training program. See you in the beer garden soon!
Feast your eyes (and the rest of you) on this Fatbelly breakfast sandwich
On the other side of the river, chef Levon Wallace and his wife Kim are ready to open Fatbelly Pretzel Bakery & Deli Tuesday, Oct. 25, at 921 Gallatin Ave. The Wallaces have partnered with Carey Bringle of the Peg Leg Porker empire as an investor and adviser in the operation, which has taken over space formerly occupied by Status Dough.
If you recall Wallace’s days leading the kitchen at Cochon Butcher in Germantown, you know that he knows his way around a sandwich, often nap-inducing masterpieces of meat and bread. At Fatbelly, the menu certainly focuses on his latest generation of sandwiches on house-baked pretzel bread, but not exclusively.
Those corpulent pretzels that put Fatbelly on the map will still be available individually, seasoned with salt, “everything” spice or cinnamon sugar, and they’ll also be the base for other offerings like babkas, danishes, cookies and “stuffbellies.” Those last treats are filled with your choice of bacon and cheddar, caramelized onions and Swiss cheese, jalapeño and cheddar, pepperoni and mozz or pesto and provolone. A morning treat of a breakfast sandwich made from a pretzel roll, house-made maple bacon, cheesy eggs and hashbrowns may soon become a neighborhood staple.
Three large salads make up the healthiest portion of the menu — Wallace’s innovative takes on traditional chopped, Cobb and Santa Barbara bowls. There will also be daily deli specials, so check the board on every visit for something new.
A quintet of specialty sandwiches will draw the most attention, led by a muffuletta that I’ve already raved about in last year’s Best Of issue. Other options include the tuna salad-base G-Netty, a beefy Lango, the Cuban B served on a Cuban roll as God intended, and the Arvin, a chicken salad sandwich with all the trappings of proper wings: buffalo sauce, bacon, celery, iceberg lettuce, banana peppers and both ranch and bleu cheese.
Side dishes and desserts will also be available to complete your Fatbelly dining experience, and a fridge will be stocked with grab-and-go sandwiches and sweets. It’s been a long road from setting up a tent in the park to an honest-to-goodness sandwich shop, but hopefully it’s just the beginning of a new road to success for the Wallaces!
