Nashville has some very fine restaurants and some very fine hangouts. What we tend to lack are very fine hangouts that serve very fine food.
That's the niche Butcher & Bee aims to fill, and it does so with admirable success. It certainly helps that the project (which opened a couple months ago on Main Street in East Nashville's former Fluffo space) is a sister restaurant to the popular Butcher & Bee in Charleston, S.C. The Nashville Butcher & Bee is actually more ambitious than its predecessor — the Charleston version is primarily a sandwich shop, though it's preparing to move and expand — but the previous venture undoubtedly helped the team hone their skills and ideas.
The mandate behind the original Butcher & Bee is described thusly: "The notion is simple: Perfect all the ingredients — proteins, cheeses, veggies, bread — and craft sandwiches with flavor combinations and food quality usually reserved for fine dining. A gourmet meal between two pieces of bread."
Nashville's Butcher & Bee goes further, busting the boundaries of two slices of bread (though sandwiches are still part of the menu), but keeping the focus on excellent ingredients and preparation.
As for the convivial hangout aspect, Butcher & Bee owner Michael Shemtov and Nashville executive chef Bryan Lee Weaver go beyond the usual lip service about shareable plates by anchoring the menu with a superb lineup of mezze, a Mediterranean approach to appetizers or tapas.
Both the dinner and lunch menus offer individual mezze items for $5 apiece. You could choose a single item, but a better step would be to order ALL of the items. At lunch that's 10 mezze for $40, at dinner it's 12 mezze for $45. (There are other variations, too, like four dishes for $16 and six for $24.) You can immediately see why it's a great idea to do group dining at Butcher & Bee. This form of economics is especially smart given how terrific the entire lineup turns out to be.
Between a couple of recent visits, my companions and I got to sample 10 or so mezze. All were highly enjoyable, with fresh ingredients and impeccable preparation, but the star is the whipped feta spread, seasoned with cracked black pepper and fermented local honey, and served with warm grilled pita. This creamy spread blows out every cheese-loving neuron in the brain, but manages to taste light and tangy at the same time.
The hummus is also exceptional, made in house (like nearly everything on the menu) and topped with a swirl of olive oil and a handful of crispy chickpeas for crunch. Ordering the trio of feta spread, hummus and the smoky eggplant dish baba ghanouj creates a classic Mediterranean combo, but don't stop there if you don't have to. There's a rainbow of other veggie mezze to try, like the spicy sweet potatoes glazed with red wine vinegar, or rich roasted beets with cool lime yogurt.
The lunch menu focuses on sandwiches, served on rolls from Dozen. (The burger buns are from Bobby John Henry.) On my lunch visit the standout sandwich was the short-rib — tender braised beef steeped in even more savory flavor thanks to black garlic and local sauerkraut. It's one of the best sandwiches I've sampled in a long time. (Menus change frequently at Butcher & Bee; this sandwich may have cycled off the menu but could return soon.)
Larger plates (described on the menu as "fun stuff") also put the focus on fine ingredients. One dinner item, lamb on grits, is the union of Mediterranean and stone-cold Southern, with braised bits of lamb in a ragu atop a basin of creamy Anson Mills grits from South Carolina. That alone would make a superior plate, but the addition of melty goat cheese croquettes and crunchy fried hominy creates an exhilarating combination of textures.
Butcher & Bee's excellent trout plate reminds me how relatively underserved we are in Nashville when it comes to fish. The Turnt-Out Whole Trout is served in a gorgeously simple manner that actually isn't very common here: a fresh trout is grilled over a wood fire and served whole. Over the years I've heard a few squeamish diners complain when restaurants serve fish with the head on; let's hope Nashville folks are more game these days. Preserving the bone structure adds flavor to fish, and Butcher & Bee's preparation is skilled enough that it's a cinch for diners to slide the moist nuggets off the bones.
The trout's accompaniment is a serving of gnocchi tossed with a potato-salad style sauce and herbs — an outstanding combination.
As good as the food is, Butcher & Bee is no silent altar to gastronomy. The bustling open kitchen dominates the dining room, with wooden booths and tables arranged all around; it faces a long concrete bar with gleaming liquor bottles and 20 or so silver taps dispensing craft beers.
The renovated-industrial decor features striking emerald-green subway tiles. In a bit of whimsy (or efficient storage), bins of potatoes, onions and other vegetables are stacked along one wall. A garage door in the front of the house is poised to roll up for spring dining, and there's a patio in back.
A slate of artisan cocktails adds to the party. I stuck with wine (there's a small but appealing lineup of reds and whites, from both new world and old, available by the glass), but I was tickled to see a drink that offers tribute to Arrested Development: Titled the Never-Nude, it combines spiced rum with a house-made banana cordial, lime, cinnamon and tiki bitters. Given the cocktail's winking slogan, "There's always money in the banana stand," I regret I didn't take time to explore it.
Butcher & Bee invites (practically demands) return visits. The prices are not extravagant, with entrees around $20-$25. Sandwiches are in the $11-$13 range, and as mentioned, the mezze selection can be a great deal for a large party.
And party is an operative word. Given the buzz, Butcher & Bee is very busy in the evenings. Owner Shemtov also makes it a point to serve a little later than most Nashville restaurants, with dinner available until midnight. (He told me he wants to cater to other restaurant folks and anybody who likes to "eat nice late.") But daytime denizens can land a superior lunch during the week.
And with outdoor dining and weekend brunch coming soon, the Butcher & Bee party will only get better.
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