The recent announcement that POP Nashville was closing caused us to think back on some of the excellent events that reigned there during the pop-up space's heyday.
Near the top of that list is Actual Brunch, chef Dan Forberg's creative take on weekend food, which held down a spot at POP in 2013 and 2014 and was so good that it won a writer's pick for Best Brunch in the Scene's Best of Nashville 2014.
Forberg then switched gears, eventually securing space at the former Mrs. Winner's site at 3914 Gallatin Pike to run a popular catering business, Actual Food. He's been busy with weddings and craft-service gigs, but in his spare time, Forberg has been using his DIY skills to gradually transform the space into an "eclectic neighborhood bar."
"I haven't had to rush into it," Forberg tells the Scene. "I've been taking my time, being careful about every decision."
Today he announced that he plans to open the new bar, Inglewood Lounge, by the end of the year.
The lounge menu, Forberg says, is bar food, but "a little more interesting," inspired by the flavors of global street food.
Some of the items he mentions are piri piri fried chicken with lemon-chili hot sauce, tacos carnitas with pickled red cabbage and salsa verde, poutine with porcini gravy, and s'mores waffles with smoked honey. He also hopes to offer some vegetarian options.
The menu of libations will include "creative and affordable cocktails, cheap beers, Belgian high-gravity beers and off-beat wines."
Forberg tentatively hopes to have a grand opening in mid-December. He says Inglewood Lounge will operate 5 p.m. to 1 a.m. weekdays, staying open a little later on weekends. He describes it as "a bar hang that will serve food until 1."
Once the bar is in full swing, Forberg plans to bring back Actual Brunch, something fans have long been waiting for. For people curious about the "Actual," name, it's described as denoting "actual food," created with "considerations for freshness, local origin, production standards, sustainability and flavor."
