Well nigh on a year since my colleague William Williams first announced it, Ellington’s Mid Way Bar & Grill has finally opened on the fourth floor of the Fairlane Hotel downtown at 401 Union St. Before I share any more details of the new restaurant, let’s make a deal. It’s officially called Ellington’s Mid Way Bar & Grill, after the former Tennessee governor and because it's located midway up the building (on the fourth story that used to house the executive offices and dining room of a bank that originally constructed the building and the succeeding series of financial institutions that occupied the space until 2007).
But outside of the script printed on the cocktail napkins, nobody really uses the full name, so let’s just call it “Ellington’s” to save keystrokes. The mid-century vibe of the former bank building informs the decor of the entire hotel complex, and the vibe of Ellington’s is delightfully Mad Men in feel. Furnishings are made of metal and manly leather, with three semicircular booths along the bar offering a view of all the proceedings in the dining room. On temperate nights, tables on the outdoor deck that offer a 180-degree panorama of downtown Nashville may become some of the most popular in town. In fact, Ellington’s is just a quick block walk from TPAC, so it should become a popular pre-show destination. They’ll even validate your valet parking bill as long as you eat something substantial, i.e. not just a drink and an app. (As general manager Ben Webster told me, “You need to eat get a fork dirty.") Whether you take advantage of the parking deal or not, it will still be a fine place to make your home base for an evening spent downtown in the Central Business District. We’re not calling it “NoBro” or anything silly like that, are we?
The restaurant features flexible seating options, including those big booths, outdoor seating areas plus banquette seating, tables and two private dining spaces. The bar area offers a nice vista of downtown and features top-shelf spirits and classic cocktails. Chef Edgar Pendley has developed a menu of nostalgic mid-20th-century staples updated with his own special panache and utilizing local ingredients whenever possible. So yes, there’s a huge wedge salad with green goddess dressing, but it’s dressed up with some decadent pork belly. That same dressing appears to great effect on a novel app of cheese curds.
Main dishes are appropriately upsized as a reflection of the amiable excess of the era, but surprisingly for a hotel restaurant, they aren't crazily expensive. A huge double-cut pork chop was perfectly cooked all the way through its 4-inch thickness and topped with delicious fresh peaches, yet it still clocks in at less than $30. In a part of town that doesn’t blink at 50-buck steaks, only a whole New York strip or the massive T-bone topped with citrus mole butter break the Ulysses S. Grant bill barrier, and both of those dishes promise enough meat for two meals or for sharing.
Side dishes are in the $5-$6 range and concentrate on traditional steakhouse sides offered with lovely little nuanced upgrades. Fingerling potatoes are dressed with scallions and dill after being crisped in schmaltz. Creamed corn arrives at the table chilled for an unexpected but delightful contrast to an infernal platter of meat. Roasted mushrooms benefit from the citrus zing of orange zest. Seafood dishes revolve around the latest fresh catch and feature market pricing, so I really can’t comment on them yet. Go try some out and let us know what you encounter in the comments.
Whatever you do, save some room for dessert, particularly the banana pudding that Chef Pendley told us was from his grandmother’s recipe. Grandma must have been really talented with the ol' brûlée torch, because these 'nanners emerged from the kitchen perfectly charred and crystallized, served with an elegant Italian meringue and homemade vanilla wafer crumbles on top. I don’t know if it’ll be enough to get my parking paid for, but I fully intend to dirty a fork again on that dish the next time I see a show at TPAC.
If you get the chance to taste through more of the menu than I did before opening night of Avenue Q, let us know what you think.
