It’s been a couple of years since I’ve made a visit to Lenox Village on Nolensville Road between Old Hickory Boulevard and the town of Nolensville, but somebody must be adding some serious fertilizer to the water supply out there! If there are truly 84 new residents moving to Nashville every day, at least a dozen of them must be building houses in Lenox Village. Driving around in the back 40 of the development, my GPS thought I was traveling through farmers’ fields, since none of the roads appeared on my two-year old navigation DVD.
As the population has increased, so have the dining options in the area. I happened to be out there running an errand that included a lengthy wait, (OK, it was a grooming appointment for my poodles. Not especially manly, I admit.) so I figured I’d take the opportunity to try out a newish restaurant I’d seen mentioned on social media, the Pork Belly Cafe at 7009 Lenox Village Drive, Suite 109.
Right off the bat, I should point out that the name of the restaurant is a bit of a misnomer. I had expected it to be some sort of over-the-top porkatorium, but in truth there was no actual pork belly on the menu, other than in thinly sliced form as bacon. I’m fine with that, really. What I discovered instead was a cozy sandwich and coffee shop that delivered on every promise of the creative menu.
Opened by two local restaurant professionals about nine months ago after they spent years working in larger kitchens around town, Pork Belly Cafe was originally just a small coffee shop when Chris Chwirut and Kristian Morgan took over the operation. Together, they have expanded it to include a menu of breakfast sandwiches and a wide variety of other specialty sandwiches for lunch and dinner. They are still offering specialty coffees — five different brews from Kickin’ Coffee and Tea in Madison — as well as a variety of pastries and artisan Amish jams and jellies from Spring Valley Farms.
The breakfast sammies are various permutations and combinations of eggs, bacon, sausage and cheese served on biscuit buns or bread, and apparently they are quite popular. Since I was there at lunch, I surveyed the midday menu which was divided into sections called Plates, Sandwiches and Pig Out Sandwiches.
The plates ranged from hummus to antipasti to chicken salad, and were priced in the $7 to $10 range. As is apparently now the norm in the Nashville area, sandwiches cost between $8 and $9, with the higher price reserved for specialty sandwiches that began their lives as daily specials on the menu board. Most of the breads and focaccia are baked in house, but the meats are the equivalent of high-end sandwich meats such as Boar’s Head. (But not Boar’s Head. I asked.)
This is not to say that I didn’t enjoy a fine sandwich, seductively named the Smokey and the Bandit. The smoke came from heaping pies of smoked ham, turkey and ham plus an ingenious addition of smoked Gouda, which contributed a lovely creamy texture to the sandwich to contrast with the toasted focaccia fresh from the panini press. A topping of tangy giardiniera added more crunch and contrast to the party, and the accompaniment of a house-made pickle was a nice addition, albeit a little small next to the overstuffed sandwich.
For just $2 more, you can make any sandwich a combo by adding a soft drink and chips or a small side dish from their case of cold sides or a small garden salad. It turns out that “Pork Belly” is the name of a planned restaurant group which could include more sandwich shops or more full-scale operations. If this sandwich shop is any indication, I think they may have a successful future ahead of them.
Pork Belly Cafe
7009 Lenox Village Drive, Suite 109
Nashville, TN 37211
615-454-3980
