Penelope Pfuntner knows she has a funky name, and she’s hoping to brand a funky idea with it. She and business partner Beth Taylor are putting the finishing touches on The Pfunky Griddle, an all-day breakfast restaurant in Berry Hill where—here’s the (p)funky part—guests cook their own food at the table. Pfuntner’s father, carpenter Cosmo Smith, has been hard at work building the custom-designed fireproof tables with individual griddles built into the tops. After placing an order for pancakes, a diner will receive not a stack of flapjacks but a pitcher of batter to pour and cook on the spot.
Located in the cottage that formerly housed Eden garden store, The Pfunky Griddle will serve breakfast all day, along with a selection of sandwiches and soups. Pfuntner, who owns her own catering business in Berry Hill, first saw the idea of cook-your-own breakfast at a little place in Florida. “You can sit and automatically start,” says Pfuntner, who wants Pfunky Griddle to become a place where people can grab a quick, healthy meal without having to wait. “We’re going to be as organic as we can possibly be,” she says, adding that Taylor, who will head up the kitchen, will grind flour in house to make two styles of batter—unbleached white mix and a five-grain blend.
With 62 seats and takeout available, The Pfunky Griddle will be open 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Pfuntner hopes to open July 7, or 7-07-07. “That’s a good-luck number,” she says.
2800 Bransford Ave., 977-4925.
Open for business
Just in time for summer, a few long-awaited projects have come to fruition. Lot 7, located at the north end of The Gulch, opened with more of a menu than originally anticipated. While the überchic lounge originally touted a limited menu of tapas, chef Edgar Penley (formerly of Sperry’s in Cool Springs) upped the ante to appetizers and entrées. Expect a menu including hazelnut-encrusted scallops, tenderloin and chicken flatbreads, shrimp and grits and linguine with lobster.
125 12th Ave. N., 251-9519. Open 6 to 11 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.
Tom Lazzaro, the noodle-twirler behind Lazzaroli Pasta, has hung out the “Open” sign at his new Germantown storefront. Along with homemade pastas and raviolis in flavors such as spinach, tomato and rosemary peppercorn, Lazzaro also stocks fresh breads, cheeses, olives, desserts and take-and-bake dishes such as lasagna and manicotti. “We are tastefully tucked back 20 feet from the road—so you can miss us if you’re not careful,” he warns on the company website. Keep your eyes out for his red-white-and-green awning.
1314 Fifth Ave. N., 291-9922. Open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.
Sip Café, located in the emerging Riverside Village in East Nashville, is now serving Drew’s Brews coffee and Counter Culture espressos in a soothing little spot next to Castrillo’s Pizza. Decked in cool blue with rustic classroom chairs and framed maps on the walls, Sip opens onto a communal courtyard with umbrella tables and a doggie water fountain.
1402 McGavock Pike, 227-1035. Summer hours: 6 a.m. to noon Monday through Friday; 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on weekends.
