While we endure weeks of reruns on television waiting for labor peace that could kick-start a new season of programming (one to replace the spate of reality and game shows occupying the viewing calendar), it only makes sense that a couple of upcoming dining events are reprises of old favorites. They’re joined by a new collaboration between two talented chefs that revolves around coastal Italian cuisine — something I will always be happy to enjoy again and again.
I told you about how local restaurants were signing up to take part in Giving Kitchen’s Dining With Gratitude program, in which they commit to donating at least $1,000 to the hospitality aid initiative during the month of October. Otaku Ramen has joined in the fun with an upcoming special evening featuring the return of the beloved Bar Otaku. Readers who are relative newcomers to town might not be familiar with Sarah Gavigan’s fun izakaya concept in the Gulch that closed in the summer of 2020, but it did have a legion of dedicated fans before the annus horribilis of 2020.
Now you can experience the vibe again or for the first time on Wednesday, Oct. 25, as the Otaku Ramen staff revives Bar Otaku at its newest location at 747 Douglas Ave. in East Nashville. A portion of the proceeds will go to Giving Kitchen to help provide emergency service to food service workers.
The $75 dinner will feature food served family-style to the table for your entire party, and it looks like exactly the sort of exotic menu that would make Brad Schmitt’s head explode! Take a look at all of these “mystifying” menu items:
snack OTSUMAMI
- LOTUS ROOT CHIPS | furikake V GF
- POTATO SALAD cucumber | carrot | red onion V GF
- OKONOMIYAKI | cabbage pancake | mayo | bulldog sauce | bonito flake
green YASAI
- GREEN BEANS | sesame sauce | fried shallots V GF
- CRUSHED CUCUMBERS | soy | chili V GF
- IZAKAYA SALAD | cabbage | pickled vegetables | ginger carrot dressing V GF
fish SAKANA
- HAMACHI SASHIMI | tomatillo salsa | ponzu | sesame oil | fresno | cilantro GF
- CRAB HANDROLL | kewpie | wasabi
rice GOHAN
- BEEF CURRY | carrots | potatoes | rice V GF
fried AGEMONO
- SWEET POTATOES | shoyu honey | black sesame V GF
- TONKATSU | breaded pork cutlet | shredded cabbage | bulldog sauce
If you’re more adventurous than Schmitt and not “intimidated by words like 'inari,' 'onigiri' and 'chirashi,'" don’t miss out on the chance to relive the Bar Otaku experience and help out a great cause. Grab your tickets in advance at the event website.
Chefs Rodriguez and DeJesus
In another one-night event, chefs Chris DeJesus of Butcher & Bee and Andrew Rodriguez at Blue Aster are coming together on Thursday, Oct. 26, for a special collaboration in Rodriguez’s kitchen at the Conrad Nashville in Midtown for a special à la carte menu inspired by the coastal cuisine of Italy.
Seafood will be the star as the two chefs explore oceanic ingredients in special antipasti, pasta dishes and other entrées as part of the menu. DeJesus is excited to get to show off the Italian side of his Mediterranean toolbox of culinary tricks.
“Building on the coastal, Southern cuisine that’s always at the heart of Blue Aster’s menu and infusing my Italian heritage into that process has made for some really exceptional dishes that I’m excited for guests to try,” says DeJesus in the official announcement of the collaborative dinner. “The dinner menu we created offers twists on Italian classics but doesn’t shy away from bold influences or intense flavor profiles.”
Guests will be able to choose from a menu of three antipasti, two salad options, three pastas and four entrées, as well as two desserts to finish off the meal. Reservations are required and can be made through OpenTable.
Fresh off her BON win just last week, Henley chef Kristin Beringson is expanding her Rabbit Hole secret dining experience to the larger snooker private dining room for one night only on Monday, Oct. 30, as she presents a reprise of last year’s “Something 'Offal' This Way Comes” dinner at 6:30 the night before Halloween.
The 10-corpse, err, course meal will be inspired by spooky foods and creepy textures, like the grapes that your brother told you were eyeballs or the spaghetti that the Halloween party host said were worms, but a whole lot better! The menu is intentionally challenging, especially if you’re not familiar with eating proteins that aren’t just chops or chicken wings. But put yourself in chef Beringson’s capable hands, and you’re sure to be rewarded with a dining experience that will challenge and delight all your senses.
Tickets are $125 per person and are available on Tock.
